Originally Posted by
GrandSlamHunter
I understand how you guys feel. I live in Georgia and about 15 years ago Florida hunters started coming up here and leasing GA land. They came because of the high price of hunting in Florida due to all the development there. Our lease prices went from a couple dollars/acre to 15 or 20 dollars/acre. Many Georgia hunters could not pay it, some refused to pay it, and others hunted on public or family land. Florida hunters were not looked upon favorably but they were just doing what they had to do to continue their hunting heritage.
I hunt in Illinois along with several friends and I assure you that we are not wealthy. These guys have jobs and families and bills just like you do. They start saving in January to be able to afford one 5 day hunt in your state. Because of the economy this year, several who planned to come will not be able to. We drive 13 hours each way to be able to experience what some of you might take for granted, the opportunity to hunt where there are truly magnificent whitetails.
I don't have a solution to your problem. Some different approaches have been mentioned above. Just try not to look so negatively at the guys with the out of state tags. They are a lot more like you than you think.
And thats all I have to say about that.
I understand where you are coming from, but my experience's have been bad.. I started hunting in Pike county when I was 14 (22 years ago), I used to be able to hunt pretty much anywhere I wanted as long as I had asked permission. Then came the publicity from T.V. and that was the end.... At 26 I had enough and made a move for the better..
Not until last year did I start having bad experience with out of staters.. These 14 guys from Maryland and West Virginia leased 1000 acres surrounding the property in which I hunt.. Where do you think they had put up a stand??? 60 yards from my permanent stand which had been in that spot for the past 10 years.. and they knew it was there cause they had mentioned that when they were walking their properties they had seen it... Talk about infuriating... Then on top of it they are shooting 130" bucks, while all the time prior, they talked about how they are into QDMA.....what a load of B.S....