KYDeerHunter03

I really really need a place to hunt this year and I was wonderingwhat isbest way to ask a complete stranger to hunt their land. Like what to say and how to say it. Sorry for the dumb questions, but I need help

NavyDeerHunter

Permission to hunt...from a complete stranger...in todays environment you have your work cut out for you. That said, give it a try.
Go at a reasonable time of day when you expect them to be home, but hopefully not sitting down for a meal. If you don't already know it, find out the name of the land owner before you go and introduce yourself to them by name; "hello Mr. Smith, my name is .... and if I could I'd like to take a minute of your time to talk to you about the possibility of hunting your property this season." Explain that you're a responsible individual who has completed hunter education/safety (hopefully you have) and that in exchange for his permission to hunt that you'd GLADLY return to the property and help him out with whatever chores need to be done to help maintain the property. Offer to share some of the deer meat with him as well.
Obviously a key factor is being polite and looking the man in the eye and speak with confidence. Don't show up in shorts, a tank top and flip flops with a can of coke in your hand. I know this sounds like a silly thing to say, but it's happened to me with someone asking permission to hunt land that I manage (don't own).
It's a hard gig now days. 25 years ago farmers in Missouri (at least in my area) would let folks hunt just for the asking...even strangers. Today a lot of farmers make a business out of it by leasing the land to clubs and it can be really hard to get your foot in the door.
Don't give up. If one says no, go look for another. A lot of it has to do with who you know and if a friend of a friend can help...don't overlook that option.
Best of luck to you.
By the way...the piece of property that I mentioned managing...I don't get paid for that. I fell into the job by finding out who owned the land, meeting them, thankfully getting permission to hunt and by taking good care of the property for them. That led to me having full authority over the property and who does...or does not hunt it. Win-win for me and the land owner.

8mm

i have not had much luck asking a stranger to hunt i normaly get the door shut in my face but if u are kind an curteouse u might have a shot

BowHunterJim

My uncle scored some hunting land for me by asking the guy after he dixed his roof.

nctaxi

I have scored many, many, many times asking strangers. I have 20 acres, 65 acres, 200 acres and am working on 75, 200 and 125 acres by asking strangers. It's like asking a girl to dance, it's either yes or no, nothing personal. Remember you never get a second chance to make a first impression. My wife says I should be a salesman because I can talk and have confidence and don't mind hearing no. Besides I have never met a stranger, a few strange people but strangers are friends I haven't met yet. Don't get discouraged, I used to ask a few girls to dance before one said yes.

longknife12

Deer and Elk in Colorado are money crops! That's why I hunt public land.
On dove, I asked for 20 years before I found a guy about 30 miles east of Denver that let me and son set under some trees and hunt.....small place but it is at least a place to go.Got a good relationship......started out by asking if he knew of any places to hunt.
Dan

whitetaildreamer

Great advice from NavyDeerHunter. It has worked for me many times.

geterdun2

i actually did that this past wekeend, and will be doing it again this wekened. i went to talk to a farmer about possibility hunting his land, but when he said he didnt let anyone bow hunt the area (said it maimed animals [:@]), i imediately started wanting somewhere else to hunt. so when i left, i knocked on about 10-11 doors in the surrounding area. i simply knocked on the door (or alot of people were already outside) and put a large smile on and jus asked, looked them right in the eyes andsaid"how are you mam/sir, i was wandering if you would be interested in leasing some of your land for me to hunt". every one said no, but they werent ignorant or downgrading or looked at me like i was crazy. most said, with a smile, "its already leased" or "our family hunts it" only one guy gave me a stuck up "hell no" type of look. i see it like this, you will never see the person again, ever, so why care if they say no, or even "hell no you little sh*t get the hell off my property", either way its a no and you can move on to the next. all ya need is1 out of 50 to be successful, right? just that one yes will set ya up. so i say, find a general area where there alot of farms, land or whatever and jus go down the line, one after the other until ones a hit. i would have did alot more this weekend, but had other engagements. i plan to start around 11 am this saturday and go until i get myself some land. if i spend 5 hours knocking on doors, and get a hit after 5 -6 hours, or after 70-100 houses, my day will be extremely successful. sorry for the long post, just wanted to relay my observations since im in the same boat as you. like i said, all they can say is no, or hell no lol, either way you will never see them again in your life ,so who cares what they think. some people have that kind of personality, like my girlfriend, she wont even take cold food back to a mcdonalds because she embarrased to tell the person, me on the other hand, i will take everything back if its cold, b/c i dont care what they think and i paid for hot food, if they think im an a-hole b/c i want hot food, i dont care, i will never see them again and even if i do, it doesnt bother me. i just thought that was somewhat related, sorry for taking up a whole page lol

Lanse couche couche

Sometimes the most aggressive personalities really do well in terms of getting permission. I once visited a friend that had just moved into a rural area of South Dakota. I was out driving around with him in the area and he was literally stopping people driving down gravel roads and asking them permission on the spot and knocking on the doors of people that he had never met. It sounded crazy to me and is something that i wouldn't do, but in the space of one morning, he got us permission to hunt over 1000 acres of prime rabbit and pheasant land scattered across several landowners.

As for me, if someone asks me nicely and they are doing it (at least supposedly) for the benefit of a kid to go hunting, I have never said no to letting someone hunt my land.

geterdun2

lanse - do u mean u are more likely to give persmission to someone hunting witha kid then jus a "regular" adult. maybe i need to get myself a little rug-rat to run around with while i ask this weekend lol.