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what is the best way to gain access to private land?

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what is the best way to gain access to private land?

Old 05-23-2006, 03:30 PM
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Default what is the best way to gain access to private land?

i just wanted to ask you guys what the best way to goabout getting permission to hunt private land is? for anything, not just turkey. but since this is the turkey forum, lets say your driving around and its a couple of months before turkey season and you spot a flock in a farmers field that you dont have permission to hunt. whats the best way to ask the farmer if you can hunt his land? should i just go up to his door, introduce myself and ask? should i write him a letter? i just wanted to see what you guys think is the best method. thanks for the help!!
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Old 05-23-2006, 03:49 PM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

First, check at the local town hall to determine who owns the property---many times nowadays even farms lease land from nearby neighbors, and hence you will be asking the wrong person. Not necessarily a bad thing, as for me this has led to permission on continuous adjacent property, which in New England is a prized commodity!

Second, after determining the landowner, go to their door and speak with the owners. Be very courteous, but be very direct. Inform them you just saw turkeys in their field, and that you wondered if they allowed hunting, and had any available space. Usually I immediately assume that, if they allow hunting, other people are already hunting the property. Always ask in person, unless after checking with the town offices you discover that the property is owned by someone living out of town and/or state, and then ask at the town hall how to contact the owners.

I personally always state that I would be willing to trade some labor for permission (if a farm, be very careful about trading labor---some may want you to cut 100 acres of corn to hunt with 50 other people). I do this on all lands I hunt, even those that are not being used for agriculture. I've pruned trees, helped build water-gardens, and in general (because of my demeanor and knowledge about hunting) have gained access to exclusive properties that most other people drool over...

"You got permission on that property?! That guy hasn't let anybody hunt in 30 years!"

To which I have responded, "Well, he said nobody has asked the last 10, and he's been having a problem with deer for the last 5...he said I was doing him a favor..."
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Old 05-23-2006, 03:52 PM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

In person is the best, but if you really want to guarantee a yes, bring along a kid. My experience is that farmers/landowners might refuse an adult, but they have a soft spot for kids, as we all do. Of course, that's assuming you have a kid to take along. If you don't, rent one.

If you get access, be sure to:

Say thank you.

Check to see if other hunters also have permission, and, if so, try to find out who they are, where and when they'll be hunting, etc.

Follow up before the actual season--let the landowner know when and where you plan to hunt.

Close all gates, park courteously/out of his way.

Follow up with a thank you, successful or not. I like to write a thank you as well as stop by the place and shake hands. If I had success, I like to send along a picture of me and the dead animal, so they can recognize me next year.

I also send a gift at Christmas, if I haven't shown appreciation at some other time--my wife and I bumped into and then bought supper for a landowner couple that let us hunt their land, and got some new friends in the process!!

Don't rule out inviting the landowner along. There's a long story that goes with this, but one time I invited the landowner along, he said he didn't hunt but his son did. We became friends and now I stay at their place when I go there to hunt!! (There's much more to this story--my son's friend even wound up getting married to the farmer's daughter!!)

Don't think that because you get a yes once you have lifetime permission. Always check. I get to hunt one piece of ground when the landowner's son-in-law doesn't get drawn, but don't when he does get drawn. (I have offered to guide the son-in-law, as he's never taken a turkey, yet, but that's not happened yet.)

Don't think that because you have a yes for turkeys that implies a yes for deer, or upland, or what-have-you. Most landowners DO have a sport or time of year or attitude about certain game that may mean a different response at different times. Some folks LOVE to hunt deer, but don't care about pheasant, for example. But then they often don't want you to "spook" their deer if the deer season is approaching. Others absolutely don't want you to kill Bambi, but don't mind if you whack a turkey. In areas out west, I've actually had ranchers tell me to "shoot all those %!@&@^($@) turkeys you want" because they are a problem. (I limit my harvest to the tags I have, anyway, but that is an interesting thought, to me. Spend a spring harvesting turkey after turkey.) Yet those same ranchers charge big bucks for deer and elk hunters!!

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Old 05-23-2006, 08:05 PM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

i agree that having a kid with you helps gain access. landowners expect a hunter to be more ethical and responsible if they are teaching a kid to hunt. always ask in person. if the landowner isn't home, i'll stop at the next place and simply ask who owns the property. they'll tell you and give you their opinion about the landowner and you'll get more info than you dreamed. also, get their phone number and call them to let them know when you will be on the property. get their mailing address and send them a gift card with a christmas card and be respectful at all times.
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Old 05-24-2006, 02:25 AM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

HStomslayer870,

What you have been told here is good, but let me tell you and anybody trying to find out who owns the property and farms it.

Go to your local Farm Services Agency office (which could be in an ajoining county because a lot of them are being consolidated). They will have both the owners name and address and the person (operator) farming the land, which may or may not be the owner. Then your county extension office, be careful here, because a lot of these folks also turkey hunt, I'm not saying they aren't good people, but good people like to hunt to. Just ask for ownership or operator, as for as they know, you may be
wanting to buy or farm the land.
Another note, the Farm Services Agency has a web site, you can get the office address, phone number, etc., in any state. This is good if you are going out of state to hunt.

Good Luck,
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Old 05-24-2006, 07:33 AM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

jghoffman12wrote:
they'll tell you and give you their opinion about the landowner and you'll get more info than you dreamed.
While that may be true, don'tALWAYS believe what the neighbor says. Once I was told that this particluar person NEVER let anyone hunt on his land. In fact, the neighbor said "he's crazy." I was desperate to hunt the land, though, so I screwed up my courage and went ahead and knocked. The man was gracious and allowed me to hunt there. It turned out he had a feud with the neighbor because the neighbor had treated this guy's land like his own in that he trespassed on it often, until the guy got nasty about it and permanently kicked him off. So the neighbor had a grudge and misrepresented the truth about him. (Or else I get along uncommonly well with crazy people.) THe man is now a good friend, and I get to hunt there whenever I'm in the area. We visit away from hunting times, and I consider him a friend. So, don't always believe what the neighbor says, though it is generally good advice and insight into the landowner.
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Old 05-24-2006, 09:34 AM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

snowdog,

That is sooo true.

The example I listed at the bottom of my previous post was not fictional. I gained access to a 60 acre parcel last year, to which others had been turned down 25 years ago. Nobody had bothered to ask the landowner in years, and it turns out he was saying no because his son-in-law and his family were hunting the property. Well, 10 years ago his daughter moved, and hence nobody had been hunting the farm.

Now I'm the only one hunting there, because I hadn't lived in town and didn't know that "the crazy old man on top of the hill doesn't allow hunting", and had just driven up and asked...

As for me I don't ever listen to neighbors, simply because they may hunt the same property and view newcomers as "competition"...
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Old 05-24-2006, 09:53 AM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

your in camo for gosh sakes! park somewhere out of the way and sneak your butt in there!!...just JOKING
seriously.....the others gave good advice...i usually knock on the door....it works..but i always find out that the land i want to hunt isnt owned by the doors i knock on!!
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Old 05-24-2006, 07:10 PM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

snowdog, that was my point. i should have worded it better. you'll find out more bad stuff and hear more trash talking about a neighbor than you'd wish to hear. after asking one neighbor who owned a piece of property, the first words out of his mouth were, "oh you mean that worthless S.O.B........and it went on and on. pretty funny but he gave me a name and pointed me to the right farm so i got what i needed with some extra commentary.
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Old 05-25-2006, 04:18 PM
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Default RE: what is the best way to gain access to private land?

thanks guys, i feel a lot better about trying. thanks again!!
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