hoax023

OK I have a question for everyone. I have a friend of another friend that has permission to hunt some land. He is asking me to come and hunt with him. He says that he has permission to bring others with him to hunt. I have no way to verify if this is true or not due to the fact that I don't know who the landowner is and the landowner lives at another location. My question is how does this work? He is telling me that he has permission to bring others to hunt however I'm not 100% if that is true. Can I get into any trouble with the law if I do hunt the property and find out that he did not have permission to bring others? I don't think he would jeopardize losing his hunting property but on the other hand I need to make sure that I'm not opening up to get into trouble. Any help would be great. Thank you.

Bocajnala

Ya you could get into trouble. Do you trust your friend and does he trust this other friend?? If so, then go, he's telling the truth. Do you not trust your friend? Then it's time to get new friends... To do it properly, at least in Ohio, you need to have written permission from landowner at all times while hunting private property.
-Jake

VAhuntr

Pretty much agree with what Bocajnala said but you need to find out the laws in the state you will be hunting in. In my state if the property is not posted, all you need is oral permission. However, if it is posted you have to have written permission.

Mojotex

Here in Alabama, all private property is considered "posted". No special markings or the presence of "Posted" or "No Tresspass" signs are required.

For hunting purposes, the hunter must have in his/her possession, written permission from the landowner that clearly defines the permission(s) granted and the time frame those permsions are valid. This document must be signed by the land owner.
I would suggest that you go a route similar to this, thereby eliminating any issues down the road.

NEBRbruiser

Good question. I have a couple quick suggestions. There is nothing worse than finding someone "glassing" or "hunting" your property that is a friend of a friend of friend of a guy that had permission to hunt the ground. If your going to hunt the property call the landowner yourself and introduce yourself and let him know the situation of you being a friend of the guy with permission. Don't try and avoid this step and just trust your friend that says its ok. Landowner will appreciate this 100%. This coming from experience of my dad letting a few people hunt turkeys on our ground since I don't do much of it. Before we know we are chasing people off our property during deer season that we don't even know or people saying they have permission from the original guy, etc, etc. Basically what it boils down to is be courtious to the landowner and who knows maybe he will be willing to let you hunt there for many years just for approaching him and asking.

Jenks

In MO, the law against trespassing is not very strict, just pay a fine. Our farm is posted, it is on the "No Hunting" list in the local paper. Yet, we have to run hunters off every year that tell us that they have permission, own the farm, etc. Some just run when they see us coming. I get tired of it. We are in good deer hunting country in NE MO, it costs money to get a hunting lease. The tresspassers are stealing from the landowners, the law should be more strict.

We once had a case of a guy being denied permission to hunt there. He went to his buddy and told him that he did have permission and they went hunting. They did not get caught, the "buddy" told me later that he had hunted the farm. He was suprised when I told him that his friend did not have permission. What a life.

Kid

Just like in other states, here in Illinois you have to have written permission in your possession at all times when hunting private property.

Terasec

am always wary of third party permission,
lots of people claim to have permission but you have no way of knowing unless its written,
agree with what others have said,
ask to stop by the owners house and get introduced as a friend,
owner would appreciate that. and this could open the door in the future to have your own permission.
many states trespassing is tresspassing regardless of posting,
in PA trespassing on unposted property is 1 level of trespassing
tresspassing on posted property is another level,
many times the trespassing itself is not a severe offense, and not enforced, but if you get caught with any game violations while trespassing then the penalties can be severe, the trespassing compounds the the game violations.

MZS

You need to find the owner. If it is OK, he/she will tell you so. If not, he/she will tell you so. To find the owner, contact your county courthouse. Or, you might even be able to find plat books online for your area. Or buy a current plat book for the area.

Years back a farmer assured me his neighbor would not mind me hunting his land. So, to be sure, I found the neighbor and asked. The answer was a very firm "No".

rogerstv

Wrong. Written landowner permission not needed in Illinois.