Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Advice from the landowners among us

How about those of you who are landowners give some tips to those who are not on how to get permission to hunt your property and on how to act if one wishes to be invited back.

And do you feel like the average guy looking to hunt your property has a lack of understanding of how you have worked your a$$ off to acquire that property and that he is being given more of a gift than he knows?

just ask , you will get a yes or no.

dont act like a know it all for one!! and respect our rules
i have a nice fishing pond and i know that a pond needs fished but put a stop to it. one guy asked and i said ok for him but dont bring the whole town and dont fish it out. his first time had 4 guys and 40 plus fish and BRAGGED to evryone about this hot pond. needless to say the gate got locked for all

I would ask this question in one of the hunting forums.

not a land owner but what always worked for my buddies and i is to show up in April or May and ask if they needed a couple of strong backs to help with something....showing up to brand 200 head of calves or a weekend or two of fixing fence or plugging holes in irrigation dikes guaranteed the run of the place in the fall....

Just ask politely and present yourself as responsible and one who is considerate of another person's property.
Don't dress like a slob. No need for anything fancy but clean and mended works.
Send a Xmas card now and then or a call from time to time. Offer up some jerky or sausage. A extra grouse if you have shot several.

As a landowner...

Don't act like it's your land, it's not...

We make the rules, you follow them...

If you're not sure, ask first...

Respect...

Offer a little help once in a while. Even if we don't take you up on it, still offer.

And please don't complain if you don't see, shoot or catch something. We control the land, not the game...

If you're worried about getting a "No" get to know the landowner a bit before asking. And like already mentioned, help out where you can because you might have a skill or equipment that the landowner doesn't have and that can create an opportunity to trade.

Here are a few basics that some non-landowners don't think about when asking.

1) Don't call the night before opening day. Get connections made well in advance.
2) Don't call during busy times for ranchers and farmers like calving, seeding, harvest, right in the middle of dinner, etc...
3) I always get a kick out of the guy who leaves a message asking to hunt and ends the message with "call me back and let me know." Yeah right. If you really want to hunt, you need to make the connections.
4) Don't bring every friend you have along if you do get permission. Make sure you let the landowner know if you are bringing your kid or a friend. We let a guy and his wife on our property once and did not realize that included 8 of his friends. That was his last hunt on our property.
5) Send them a Thank You at the end of the season. If you scored let them know. A gift card is appreciated if you feel it is a worthwhile property.

Ask before you put in for tags.
Stop by in the evening when you won't be interupting the landowner.

If permission is given, ask if there are any ares off limits and know the boundaries of that particular piece of land.

Come back in the summer and ask to help with chores or do some work that needs to be done.

It always helps to chat a little before and after you ask for permission to hunt, but don't keep the landowner from his work.

After the hunt,or before,take the landowner something he/she would probably not buy for themselves.

Be polite and don't walk up to the door with a beer in your hand.

Even if the answer is No,thank them.

Sometimes ask if you can hunt later in the seaosn.Many times opening day and shortly there after is reserved for family.

If yu ask for yourself,don't show up with 2-3 other hunters.If that is the number in your party, state so.

Unless the landowner says you don't need to,ask every time you go there.

don't get your feelings hurt by getting turned down. sometimes land owners do not let anybody in, or maybe there is already people hunting there. don't kiss a$$. explain clearly what you are interested in (doe for the freezer, first deer for your kid, monster mulie, ect..) and listed to, and follow the landowners instructions, recomendations to the letter. if he sez park at the creek and walk from there, don't drive across the creek to keep your feet dry, then park your truck. don't come back with a bunch of buddies.

I expect a persoanl relatinship to exist before hand, so you probably will get a no.

Don't forget landowners have family, grandkids, and friends and may already feel they are puting too many people out there for the number of animals using their place.

And, we may not have a ton of time for hunting ourselves, so prefer the place undisturbed on the days we have available.

My point is a no answer doesn't mean we are jerks. Try to respect us, cause to be honest, most of society doesn't.

What I find truely amazing is this - offer my 550 yard range to people for practice, and the few people that show up want to use it the last days before the season opens, and are mad because I close it a month before opening day so that the animals are not disturbed.

#1 is probably to have a relationship ahead of time, but your question's really probably meant to apply when you don't.

So...
- Try to seem like a decent, respectable sort.
- Be low-impact. Make sure that nobody coming afterwards can tell you were there.
- Get permission ahead of time before using anything like scents or (even if it's legal) bait.
- If you get a "yes", you have to understand that that doesn't mean "yes, for all time". And don't put me in the uncomfortable-ish position of having to get in touch with you to cut you off. Assume that you need to re-ask at least every few weeks.
- If you get a "no", that might just mean "not right now", so try to maintain a decent relationship thereafter.
- Don't act like it's yours. Especially if you happen to cross paths with (for example) one of my family members. What you have is permission, not rights. So be humble about it.
- I don't want your permission to turn into 5 of your buddies asking me.

Strangers don't hunt my land, period. If someone calls or stops by and I don't know them the answer is no.

On the other hand neighbors have permission to hunt and fish as long as they check in so I know where they will be. This is for safety since I tend to hunt and shoot at will.

Acquaintances who are not neighbors are welcome if they put in a little off season sweat equity. There is always something that I can use help on.

All good info so far.

The common theme is don't act like I owe you anything, or you have some sort of entitlement just because you asked.

I don't expect payment or work, just respect my property.

And never, EVER, make the mistake of thinking that you can poach on my property. The one and only time that I ever called "the boys" was in regards to that. My property is behind a gate, so a certain group felt "safe" in there, thinking the law would never be able to catch them. I gave the local warden the code to the gate, and he and his deputies ares not afraid to wear out a pair of boots either doing a little deeper patrolling. They still patrol my place, with the understanding that if they see a certain family, or any of their friends, that they are NOT welcome there, and to feel free to do whatever they like to them. And yes, I told that group of individuals exactly what I did, so it's no secret.

An option which is seldom mentioned and is obviously not available to all:

Sell that big old fancy house in the city, and purchase your own patch of real estate to hunt and shoot on.

Often twenty or forty acres in the country will cost less than a lot and a home in town. The house in the country might be less impressive to "the Joneses". But a wise man only has to impress himself.

I can give you a pretty long list on how not to get invited back.

Leave the gates open.
Mudride instead of hunting.
Shooting an animal not in season or was specifically told not to shoot.
Shooting a buck when you asked to shoot a doe.
Shooting a 1-1/2 year old when you were told to shoot 3-1/2 and year old up bucks.
Bring friends not mentioned beforehand.
Come back at a later date with/without more friends without permission.
Get an attitude quickly if I allow you to hunt one time and then won't allow you to hunt everyday of the season or similar.


While mowing around the mailbox one day a guy stopped by and was talking about a big buck he had seen crossing the road onto my property. I didn't tell him who I was. I gave him the number to call and ask for permission to hunt. Guy went on and on about how big of a jackass the owner of the property must be. He called that night and I reminded him we had talked earlier while I was mowing. I guess he thought I was the hired help.

One that I don't care for is someone who stops by the night before season and drops a sob story about how their kid has no place to hunt (kid isn't with them) etc...I always feel like someone is trying to play me. If you really wanted your kid to have a place to hunt try and get motivated to do so before the night of opening day.

Those are just my top ones. I've seen them all. Pretty much now I only invite people to hunt and most of those are people I have known a number of years.

I used to let about everyone come in and hunt doves, until two guys let their sons wander off unsupervised. They shot holes in my 3" lay-flat irrigation lines, about 12 of them. It cost me a day of patching and a lot of money to fix. The dads didn't even offer to help me or to pay for the damage. I called the sheriff, and they got what they had coming.

Now only a few people I have let in for many years get on the property.

And when you come to ask for permission, don't bring your kids. It wasn't cool when obama did it, and it's not cool for you either...

One thing that doesn't apply to most people is don't go behind the owners back. I own 51% of land holding in the family. My sister owns 49% which means she gets the payout from the timber and oil/gas and that's it. A number of people have asked me and I tell them no and make it clear that I make the decisions and then go to my sister and try to get in that way. A friend of mine who also owns land people try to go thru his wife after he tells them no as well.

The guy taking his kids out for a day's hunting were the ones we always gave permission to.