kevin1

I agree that the greed factor is beginning to rear it's ugly head , but who's to blame for that ?

When a landowner is told or reads about the kind of money that his land can fetch it's no surprise if he starts to think about charging . Many a farmer who used to allow free access is feeling the pinch of declining farm revenue and deciding to let somebody else pay his property taxes and make himself a small profit . Then you have to factor in for leasing brokers and outfitters who seem to think the sky's the limit on pricing , and the ever growing number of states who seem to think that fees can never go down or remain the same for more than a year . Who's to blame ? We are . Many of us in our quest for record book entries or "braggin' rights" have created the situation .

In fairness , most of the land that nurtures the game we pursue is privately help , mainly by farmers . They are the ones who are providing the habitat , water , food , and most of all safe haven for the critters . If you have a relationship with a landowner that doesn't currently require shelling out a lot of cash then celebrate your good fortune and go out of your way to protect that relationship before it's gone .

rybohunter

This is going to get ugly.

silentassassin

It always strikes me that the folks that make these kind of posts are the same ones that are in the welfare line with their hands out because they think everyone else owes them something..... I am not saying that is the case but that's sure how it comes off. No body owes you anything, pay your way or move on.

Bees

Welp sneekky go buy your own land and then you can start to figure it out Dah.......

Cougar Mag

Its their land, they can do what they want. Its also supply and demand. Deer hunting in general is now so popular and so commercialized. Their are not so many small farmers these days, less landowners owning more of the land means less opportunities. Neighbors are not as neighborly as in the past either.

I would not exactly call having permission to hunt private property a handout or welfare.

atlasman

It cuts both ways. Hunters have abused landowners and taken what they had for granted for a long time. Not all, but some. Landowners and people in general have a more "What's in it for me?" attitude these days. Mix those two together and you get our current situation.

I know guys that pay a local farmer here $1,500 a year for hunting permission.........there are 3 guys so $500 a pop. I asked them what they got last year and they killed 6 deer.....4 does and two 4 pt bucks. They don't butcher their own so add another $420 for that. $1,920 total for about 360 lbs of meat and a couple crab claw racks. That is over $5/lb for meat and they have to renew every year.........so you know that price will keep going up. No thanks.

Scoobiedoo

Interesting thread...be fun to see where thos goes...

I can appreciate both sides of the coin on this.

Yes, many 'slob' hunters have ruined it for many of us. Acts such as littering, placing nails in trees and cutting limbs, rude behavior, wasting game, illegal taking ofgame w/o proper permits, excessive taking of game, etc. has all contributed to our loss of private land to hunt on.

Many public people have a poor image of hunters these days. Guys running around with camo on all the time, guns in the window's of their pickup trucks, deer with their tongues hanging out of vehicles, etc. all contribute to the publics lack of respect for the hunter today.

Also, the realities of today are law suits, etc. People sue over everything today - spilled hot coffee from McDonald's, tobacco, etc. No one wants to assume responsibility for their OWN actions and deeds today.

I have encountered several bowhunters on our land that when politeky asked to leave simply headed off onto another section of our land and had the nerve to climb into yet ANOTHER one of our treestands and ignore our polite requests to exit private property.

All these issues have contributed to the problems we face today. Not all fair - but "Thats the way it is."

dough boy

I hunted a piece of property that was a "slice of deer hunting heaven". HOWEVER, 4-5 years ago, on opening day of gun season, my brother in law brought a friend of his to hunt. This is not a big deal because the land owner was my other brother in law. Well, this friend of his shot at a buck and was 35 yards from a house that had 2 small kids on the porch!!!! My brother in law(the land owner), told my other brother in law that was enough, and since then no one has been able to hunt up there. I asked if I could by myself and was told NO. My brother in law(the hunter), got mad because we were told not to come back.DUH!!!!! I am allowed to squirrel hunt on that piece of land and occasionally see a nice buck. At that point, I curse my brother in law because of his disregard for others.

STUPIDITY IS NOT AN EXCUSE FOR IGNORANCE!!!

shootnmiss

I have a place that i hunt on around here and last year the farmer told me I would have to start paying a fee. I told him politely no thanks i don't have it to spend but offered to work for him a couple of weekends before season to offset the cost. Long story short he called me two weeks ago and now i give him about 3 weekends of my time putting up fence and moving hay and i get about 440 acres to hunt this year. The day i have to pay to hunt somewhere is the day i stop hunting. Not to judge anyone who does it just doesn't sound like fun to me. I fully understand what landowners go through, (I worked for one all through high school) and my dad is an owner). With rising taxes and a tough economy I would probably try to get something out of my land too. If a farmer tells you that you have to pay to play offer to help out around his place instead, YOU WILL BE SURPRISED.

silentassassin

I wouldn't either but the expectation that someone should give you something for free does IMO.