Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting will you ever pay to kill a whitetail?.

I think the question that needs to be asked is should I pay to hunt, not would I pay.......

The number one enemy of the hunter in this country is not PETA, the Sierra Club, or the Humane Society, it is the hunter himself...Our hunting heritage began to die the minute the first hunter decided to pay for access to private land or pay to be led around by the hand by an outfitter.

As we all strive to kill TV sized game, more and more private land gets leased every year by outfitters. Meanwhile groups of average hunters are scrambling to keep pace by consolidating funds and carving out a lease of their own via hunt clubs..

Those who cannot afford to lease or are just not willing to, are eventually displaced. It's why the public lands get more crowded every year! Folks like Tedthorn who get sick of the public land hunting pressure either quit hunting or try to keep pace with outfitters. I have followed Ted's posts over the years and I know where he leases. I know because 20yrs ago I used to knock on doors up there and get permission to hunt for free.

The days of knocking on doors and gaining permission are largely over. Landowners know that there is no shortage of people willing to line up with their wallets out...... Those who think they can continue to keep pace with outfitter lease rates are kidding themselves. The average group of guys simply cannot compete with an outfitter running as many hunters a year as possible...

This has become our hunting culture. Largely predicated by hunting shows, social media, and the urbanization of this country. The longer we allow this culture to continue without even giving it some thought, the more the average hunter is going to get shut out. Forming hunt clubs and consolidating funds is a great idea but it is not going to work forever. There are simply too many people willing to pay an outfitter a lot of damn money to shoot trophy animals...

How long before the lease rates become so high that it requires so many average guys to fund a hunt club that the lease itself begins to resemble public land hunting? Not long fellas!

The single most important factor in changing this culture and continuing the hunting heritage passed down to us lies with the next generation and their fathers. That's us dumb asses, wake up!

It is our duty to pass down the heritage of hunting but more and more dads are finding it difficult to take their kids hunting simply because there are increasingly less and less places to go..

We have got to change this trophy animal no matter the cost mentality. We as trophy hunters are doing far more damage to ourselves than the anti hunting groups ever could.

I find myself resentful of what we as hunters have become. We have got to stop paying outfitters for private land access or for sh+t we can do ourselves.....Period!

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As someone who hunts public land and non-posted private land it would be nice to hunt an area that doesn't see quite as much pressure. Never fun to find human or four wheeler tracks all over the place...

What exactly is non-posted private land ?

In my home area in Idaho, it's what the newer generation of neighbors and drive-by-road hunters view as "their" rights to hunt your land without asking. We are seeing more and more folks coming onto non-posted land without a thought of stopping at the house and asking permission. I doubt we'd ever say "no", but it would be nice to be asked before hearing shots on your property.

So what is the term used if they jump in your truck and take it for a spin without asking. Kinda the same thing in my book. I gotta figure if it isn't yours, you don't belong on it or in it.

I'd pay to hunt Iowa or Illinois and I'm considering it for next year. Gun only though so Id need a guide that includes gun hunting.

Mike,
You'll likely need at least one preference point (maybe more) to draw the shotgun tag in Iowa. (depends on unit) It's not impossible to draw without a PP though. I did a couple years back and had a good hunt around the Bloomfield area.

What exactly is non-posted private land ?