Robv2007

The past couple years I haven't had very good access to hunting land so I was thinking about going door to door and asking permission from landowners to hunt their property. I have never done this before so I was wondering if anyone that has done it has some advice.

kevin1

If your state DNR is like mine then their website has a downloadable permission form that outlines the legal rights of the property owner who allows you to hunt/fish their land. Ours outlines what activities are allowed/prohibited, and much more. It also reminds the landowner that allowing such activities indemnefies them from any legal liability by state law. It's a pretty good bet that your DNR has a similar form since your state probably has a similar law, consult your local game warden. I've used ours with considerable success.

When you approach a landowner, with or without such a form, dress in casual dress, not camo, and just be nice. First impressions are crucial. If the landowner grants you an interview treat it like you would a job interview, put your best foot forward and present your case briefly and logically. Assure the landowner that you'll respect both their property and their wishes, and that you will leave their property better than you found it. Stress that safety is your first priority, especially if the land you're seeking permission for is one that the landowner lives on. be prepared to offer him an indemnity contract, even if your state indemnifies landowners for property use. Offer to trade sweat for access, this will go a long way toward getting you in, especially with farmers. In short, be real with them, they don't have to let you in. Never offer money, especially any talk of leasing, landowners view money far differently than they do friendship. I know many farmers, and most of them would rather have a hunter who helps protect their crops than a head hunter who is only interested in taking big deer from their land. Offer to take does, preferably on crop depredation permits which are usually issued before hunting seasons, this will show them that you are a partner in their interest. The farmer is your friend, show him that you're his friend. Don't expect something for nothing, be prepared to give up front for what you want.

bowmanaj

1. Be polite
2. Take into consideration the clothes you're wearing. Its a shame, but the reality of the world is that people make assumptions based on appearence..This is coming from someone who would fall under the "hillbilly" atire category.
3. Don't go during dinner time or too early in the morning/too late at night..
4. Explain that safety is 1st to you
5.Explainthat you will respect the property.
6. Offer to help on the farm (this has worked for me). If its not a farm, offer firewood, shoveling snow, etc..
7. DO NOT have something already written up (like a contract or permission slip) when you show up. This puts pressure on people and makes them uncomfortable/weary.
8. Explain that you will only bowhunt the property if they so wish, there will be no guns on the property (if you don't bowhunt, disregard this one).
9. Offer their family some of the meat from the game you harvest...say "harvest" not kill
10. Explain that you understandwhen and where you hunt on their property, is totally up to them.
11. Again, be polite
12. Its always a good idea to give something in return, whether it is meat, help with chores, card/cookies at christmas time..Little stuff like that shows that you are appreciative of them letting you hunt their land. You never know, you could end up being friends with the people.

Some of these things I have tried andthey worked for me, and some are things I've learned from people in the bowhunting forum.
Good luck

FeederHelperGuy

First, I believe you should be honest and sincere when asking. Remind yourself of why the owner would refuse and try to eliminate those doubts by telling him you will not leave trash behind(pick up any new trash you find), leave gates as you find them, don't ruin trees or drive trhough pastures leaving ruts, etc...Sadly, I would think most owners have had bad past experiences with others and hopefully you can change their mind and build a quality relationship that last that benefits both parties. Good luck.

gbrownlee

When hunting around Oklahoma, I usually hunt through family land and their farm contacts. When hunting out of state,I usually go door to door and do what bowmanaj said above, especially the chores. It's pretty common to get turned down due to liability reasons. Be prepared. Offer to sign any realease of liability that you can come up with, I usually use the one from my work that we send to our clients when the go on our hunts we sell and just change the wording to the landowners name and such.

cardeeer

Good luck, lots of good ideas mentioned. I stopped trying here in SE pa 10 years ago. Been cussed at, had a lady chase me off her porch with a broom, Been called murderer,Had the police called on me. Had people say yea fror 2000 dollars. Fooey went and bought my own property far away from this crazy State

pats102862

That could explain why there is always abunch of doe tags still for sale in late December at the courthouse down in Montgomery County.

12GaugeGuy

It is nearly impossible to get permission around here and this is why...
The one guy approaches the landowner and gets permission. The landowner assumes that the ONE guy will be there alone or maybe have a friend with him. WRONG!!
The landowner goes to sit in his stand on opening day of buck rifle season and instead of seeing the one truck parked along the road, he sees TRUCKS parked along side the road and hears and sees ATVs ripping and romping all over the place. That ONE guy that seemed so nice and professional a few months before decides to bring his whole extended family and turn them loose on the landowners 100 acre plot.
After watching two weeks of ATV racing and mud bogging from his stand, the landowner goes and looks at the damage. He finds where the other hunters stands were by the beer cans piled under the trees. He then finds a few deer with the heads cut off along with the backstraps cut out. The small creek that always had the baby ducks in it in the spring is now a mud hole filled with ruts from the ATVs driving through it.
Angrily he posts the yellow no tresspassing signs around his land and for years to come he has to run off hordes of people off his land and the excuse is always the same- "you gave my cousin permission to hunt here didnt ya??" or "what posted signs?"

So yeah.....

As frusterating as it is, I dont blame the landowners one bit. If I worked all my life for my peice of land I wouldnt give permission to nobody, because I dont want my stuff tore up. Responsible guys- like the guys on this thread, are a rarity in my neck of the woods. Oh yeah, the written permission part. You can forget about that. Nobody in thier right mind is going to sign anything with the way things are in WV with the BS lawsuits going on. I hunt public land and I stay out of the woods during buck rifle to avoid the retards. I hunt the last few days of it and usually to no avail. I am a antlerless season and muzzleloader season guy!!

J The Deer Slayer

Be polite. Get a signature just in case something goes wrong. If you bow hunt, defiantly tell them that's what you want to hunt there for. A lot of people like the idea of bow hunting on their property over rifle or muzzle loading. Offer to do some work for them. Especially if they are farmers. They always have work that needs to be done.

Redclub

That is going to be very hard to do nowadays, Hunting land is very valuable and even if a landowner doesn't hunt He almost always have friends/relatives/neighbors that do. Plus selling hunting rights can be lucrative. $ 500 for a 9 day deer hunt is resonable, Cost of rifle,bow fancy clothes heck boots can run up to $200, but the same folks will not want to give a landowner a few dollars to hunt deer that belong to everybody. I grew up when you could hunt a lot of area's but that is not happening anymore. Too bad its that way.
You would have better luck getting the landowners daughter (or Wife) than hunting rights
RC