They would never ask for or expect any kind of payment for any of it, including letting me hunt on their land.
Being conservative I probably have access on over 150k acres of posted private land and not once has the owner asked for a dime of my money or a second of my time for that access. What I do in labor or gifts is 100% to show my appreciation to them and typically they try to decline same though I insist.
You talk about the decrease in hunters in NY as well as brag about all the public land you have hunted and your success on same. So what have you done to bring new hunters into the fold in NY? Do you make it a habit to take new hunters out and show them public spots and help them learn to hunt?
My guess is you haven’t done so as that would decrease your odds of harvesting a good animal on these same lands. Not sharing your public spots with new guys due to an increased risk to your success rate but bitching about private owners locking up land is hypocritical of you!
You keep saying that land is getting locked up due to landowners wanting to manage for trophy quality. Sure in some places that absolutely happens but I doubt it’s that common nationwide. I can’t speak to NY as I have never hunted there but of the many farms in WA, OR, ID, WY and MT that I have gained access to over the years not 1 has been posted for trophy hunting opportunities. Rather ALL of them have been posted due to problems with so-called hunters when they allowed open access.
Driving in planted fields, cutting fences, shooting signs, shooting farming equipment, shooting livestock etc, the list goes on. Hunters as a whole have done a lousy job of maintaining their image and I don’t blame anyone who posts their land to avoid the shït show.
Here in WA land doesn’t have to be fenced or posted as private. it’s your responsibility as a hunter to know where you are and if it’s okay to be there and I’m 100% okay with that. It goes back to responsibility and accountability. If it isn’t public then you don’t belong there without permission.
Here is an idea, why don’t you tale some time to talk to some of the farmers that have denied you access in the past or that have posted land as to why they posted their land. Don’t go into it with any preconceived ideas, just listen to their reasons and then come back and tell us they are selfish. My guess is they have many valid reasons that have nothing to do with trophy hunting that 99% of hunters can sympathize with.
