I have 250 acres available to hunt. 130 of it, is mine the rest is another guy’s. There are 5 guy’s and 2 women that bow hunt it. The 2 women that hunt 1 is my wife and the other is the other land owners wife. The 3 other guy’s that hunt 1 is his friend and the other 2 are mine.
When it comes time to do the work, cutting & splitting firewood, planting food plots, hanging tree stands my 2 friends never show up. I call them and ask them for help and they always come up with some excuse. The other land owner is getting frustrated with these guy’s also. Come the end of September my phone is ringing off the hook are we set for hunting when can I come up.

The question is do I give these guy’s the boot and invite other people or do I just keep my mouth shut. Or give me some other opinions.

That is a tough one man. My thoughts on this is to let them hunt this one last year; however mention to them the situation and if they do not help out next year they are going to have to try to find some other place to hunt.

Maybe this year when they're calling asking when they can come hunt, tell them that you guys did all the work and things are ready, but if things continue to work this way, with you doing all the work and them not helping out, that next year you will be looking for someone else that is willing to lend a hand in the off season. and if they still don't think they need to help next year give 'em the boot.

Well the way it normally works on any lease, you have to do the work inorder to hunt the land. If they arent doing the work that needs to be done to EARN the PRIVLIDGE to hunt, then they dont hunt, simple as that.

Thats the perfect way to handle it. If they dont put forth any effort, why should they reap the rewards?

I would give them the boot. Lazy excuse makers don't have a place here.

Tell them that the land is ready for "me" to hunt, just not "you", and then tell them why. They have you doing all the work, & they know it.

An ultimatum is definitely in order.

Beupfront andstraightforward with them. If they don't pitch in they loose thier prevelge's to the place. Plain and simple.

This is not a tough one. You really cannot do anything about it this season, because their hunting plans are made and it would be too wrong to screw a guy's hunting season up (for whatever reason). However, after the season I would sit your buddies down, drink and cold beer and explain some "rules" to them. I had some friends that done pretty much the same thing to me, I ran all of the trail camera, hung all the stands, planted all the food plots. They showed up and killed deer. I went the route of keeping my mouth shut and it destroyed our friendship, I do not talk to either one of this to this day and that 5 years ago I stopped hunting with them.

Just let your friends know that there is more to deer hunting that sitting in a tree and shooting a deer. Explain that this is not an "outfitted" hunt and if they want to hunt, they have to work. Schedule "work" days during the spring and summer and make so many "mandatory" to gain hunting access. After all you own the land, so your rules. Good luck!