Land owners. How do you decide?

[Redneckrob]

Attention Land Owners: Help us out.
How do you decide if you are going to give permission to a hunter or not? What factors affect your choice?
Do you feel pressure to give permission to others after you have given it to one person?

[H380]

Permission depends on whether or not I have cattle on the property they want access to . Allow all whitetail doe hunters on in my area , I'm tired of dodging em on the highway . I like to hunt others property so I feel I should allow access on my as well .

[rednuck]

I'm a bit terrible because I put my own hunting first, no permission if I know there is something I want to shoot around. After that there are a few things:

- Politeness
- If there are cattle, although I will just give permissions to certain areas and kick people off that don't follow.
- Small groups, I hate seeing a truck of 6 guys
- Asking in person not on the phone
- Anyone with a kid pretty much gets to do whatever they want

A couple things that I recommend:

- Leave gates as you found them, when in doubt close.
- Don't knock on the door 31 minutes before sunrise, I am probably out hunting and my wife is an angry person at that time.
- Even if someone says no, say thank you for your time and walk away. Don't be afraid to ask again if it just wasn't right at that time.
- Just because you got permission once, check in again things could change.
- Ask about areas to avoid, it shows you respect them.
- listen, if the guy says no whitetails cuz there aren't many around this year don't shoot the spiker behind his house when you claim you just want a muley doe (experience)
- Let them know your intentions and where you will be. Don't lie nobody likes hearing my son and I will be pheasant hunting only to come home and see 8 people in the coulee next to your house (another experience lol)

The last thing is just a personal pet peeve but I hate when guys show up at the door dressed like rambo. I understand some people wear camo but the dressed head to toe with face paint and a giant knife thing makes me not want to answer the door. At least nobody has brought their gun so far.

[wildwoods]

Originally Posted by rednuck

I'm a bit terrible because I put my own hunting first, no permission if I know there is something I want to shoot around. After that there are a few things:

- Politeness
- If there are cattle, although I will just give permissions to certain areas and kick people off that don't follow.
- Small groups, I hate seeing a truck of 6 guys
- Asking in person not on the phone
- Anyone with a kid pretty much gets to do whatever they want

A couple things that I recommend:

- Leave gates as you found them, when in doubt close.
- Don't knock on the door 31 minutes before sunrise, I am probably out hunting and my wife is an angry person at that time.
- Even if someone says no, say thank you for your time and walk away. Don't be afraid to ask again if it just wasn't right at that time.
- Just because you got permission once, check in again things could change.
- Ask about areas to avoid, it shows you respect them.
- listen, if the guy says no whitetails cuz there aren't many around this year don't shoot the spiker behind his house when you claim you just want a muley doe (experience)
- Let them know your intentions and where you will be. Don't lie nobody likes hearing my son and I will be pheasant hunting only to come home and see 8 people in the coulee next to your house (another experience lol)

The last thing is just a personal pet peeve but I hate when guys show up at the door dressed like rambo. I understand some people wear camo but the dressed head to toe with face paint and a giant knife thing makes me not want to answer the door. At least nobody has brought their gun so far.

Great post

[norwestalta]

First impression is key. Hat sideways or backwards is no. Pants hanging past your ass is no. Ear rings every where is more than likely a no.
Immediate neighbors are generally a yes. Friends and family are a yes. Most people are a yes once my tags are done or i'm done hunting.

[wwbirds]

Respectful young fellows usually get in. if I see them chasing around in the fields in their dads truck and shooting gophers out of a moving truck (happened) they are uninvited for future.
If I have hunters with dogs hunting or training on the preserve people asking permission have to understand clients get priority rights. Had one argue with me that he would just go south of my property and set up when I told him clients had the day booked up so I corrected him by saying no you wont because I lease that quarter as well and now you will never get on the whole section. Respectful to me means working with me not confronting me because I have a private shooting preserve and that hurts your feelings.
Sense of entitlement (telling me I don't own the birds or animals) guarantees a closed door.

[Cowchaser]

I will give permission in person or over the phone if you have hunted on my land before. You have to walk, if you do get something I will give permission to drive close to pick up. I only allow a limited number of people sometimes there would be more hunters than deer. Be respectful and chances are you will get permission.

[Immigrant]

The only person I give permission to is my neighbour and his boy.
Why?
Because the one year I gave permission to a guy , he somehow felt he had the authority to also give his buddy permission, and so on and so forth! My wife took the kids for a ride on the quad and find two complete strangers, on my posted, fenced and locked gates land, putting up a tree stand. They were mad at her for spooking the deer.They could not tell her who the land they were on belonged to!!
The other reason is that one year I found 3 dead gut shot deer. They were obviously not happy with the size and went to shoot another one. And how about the time I found a bear bait in the same 1/4 where I graze my cattle.
Or the time they guys shot a deer on my land, were to lazy to drag it through the fence and decided to ram and break my gates to get in

To the OP - I respect you for asking permission. And because you are doing the right thing by asking permission, I suspect you are also an ethical hunter and respect private landowners. It sucks that good people like you will pay the price for the A holes that ran around my place.

That being said, if a guy comes to ask me permission, I will look at the following:
1. Does he look after his truck, is it clean (if he does not respect his own property, he will not respect mine)
2. How does he treat my dogs ( they are friendly, so if he pets them it shows he respects animals)
3.How is he dressed (if he does not care and respect himself he will not respect me
4. How long before hunting season does he come and ask. That is relevant because if you come to my door during the season, it means you just spotted a huge buck on my land and now I am suddenly your new best friend)
5. Offer to park your truck in his yard so he knows you are on his land. Offer to give him a phone call before you head out to see if it is ok with him

As far as I am concerned getting permission is a huge deal. You should treat it like a job interview. If you come to me with a plan or a strategy on where and how and why you think my land is ideal then it shows me you are not just an opportunistic "road warrior" picking the fruits of my labour.

Good luck

[protect]

Will give permission to anyone hunting with kids in tow who are hunting. As they continue to hunt well and obey few simple rules they are more than welcome to hunt as they get older. The young ones are the new generation that are up coming so give them space to enjoy the outdoors

[edmhunter]

Originally Posted by Immigrant

The only person I give permission to is my neighbour and his boy.
Why?
Because the one year I gave permission to a guy , he somehow felt he had the authority to also give his buddy permission, and so on and so forth! My wife took the kids for a ride on the quad and find two complete strangers, on my posted, fenced and locked gates land, putting up a tree stand. They were mad at her for spooking the deer.They could not tell her who the land they were on belonged to!!
The other reason is that one year I found 3 dead gut shot deer. They were obviously not happy with the size and went to shoot another one. And how about the time I found a bear bait in the same 1/4 where I graze my cattle.
Or the time they guys shot a deer on my land, were to lazy to drag it through the fence and decided to ram and break my gates to get in

To the OP - I respect you for asking permission. And because you are doing the right thing by asking permission, I suspect you are also an ethical hunter and respect private landowners. It sucks that good people like you will pay the price for the A holes that ran around my place.

That being said, if a guy comes to ask me permission, I will look at the following:
1. Does he look after his truck, is it clean (if he does not respect his own property, he will not respect mine)
2. How does he treat my dogs ( they are friendly, so if he pets them it shows he respects animals)
3.How is he dressed (if he does not care and respect himself he will not respect me
4. How long before hunting season does he come and ask. That is relevant because if you come to my door during the season, it means you just spotted a huge buck on my land and now I am suddenly your new best friend)
5. Offer to park your truck in his yard so he knows you are on his land. Offer to give him a phone call before you head out to see if it is ok with him

As far as I am concerned getting permission is a huge deal. You should treat it like a job interview. If you come to me with a plan or a strategy on where and how and why you think my land is ideal then it shows me you are not just an opportunistic "road warrior" picking the fruits of my labour.

Good luck

Thank you for that insight, I even offer to help the farmers in the summertime, if they need an extra hand.

[woody1948]

All these conditions sound nothing but reasonable to me. Thanks for posting

[dgl1948]

Usually give permission as long as they ask before they start hunting.

[landowner]

I have a "friends and family " policy. While you may not be able to become family , you can always try to be a friend. The guys I hate most are the ones who leave messages stating when they want to hunt and could I phone them back. Never happens and permission never granted.

[Okotokian]

One guy I know decides based on who is willing to come out and work for him. Put in a few days labour and you can hunt his quarter section.

[Cowtown guy]

So I am not a landowner but here is what I do.

I hunt quite a ways from home. 2 1/2 hours away so it is not really feasible to just drive around every weekend.

I make a game plan and study my maps. If I choose a new location or area I will call a landowner at a reasonable time. I try to call around 7pm. This way I am not interrupting supper and it isn't too late. I also try to call in June or July. I will always offer to make a time to come and meet face to face if that would make them feel more comfortable.

If I am fortunate enough to gain access, I will ask if there are any areas I need to be aware of or stay away from. Is there any special requests they may have like parking a truck in a certain place or do they want predators taken off as well. Do they allow driving or is it walking only? If it is walking only, would they have a problem with me coming to them if I bag a critter to see about retrieval options? Do they want me to contact them every time I am wanting to come out or do they want to be left alone?

I always offer to give them a sheet of paper which has my name, number and vehicle description. In the event of a face to face meeting I find it important to remove my sunglasses before getting out of the truck. I feel that it shows a level of respect to look a man in the eye and shake his hand while allowing him to look you square in the eyes also. I hate it when people stand in front of me with mirrored sunglasses chatting away if I don't know them.

Above all, treat them with respect. Not wringing your hands like a whipped puppy but not like a cocky arrogant arse either.

I seem to do pretty good on succeeding. If there are areas I could improve upon please let me know.

[amosfella]

It's an interesting question...I have a few guys who like to go yote hunting, and as I know them well, and the yotes harass my cattle, they have a blanket permission with a few caveats.
Other friend will call and ask. Especially one friend. His wife is from Germany, and every time her relatives come over, they ask if they know someone that has guns and would let them shoot, and so I take them out, show them gun safety basics, and let the shoot gophers with the 22. I generally will have smoked bbq going for when they come... Said friend's wife's brother is always welcome. He keeps his guns stored at my place while he's living in Germany. A few of the folks living in Germany have gone on to get their gun licenses and guns since being here.
Another older gentleman comes here every year from Germany to train his dogs for upland bird hunting competitions. He comes and sits at the table and visits with us a few times both before and during the season.

That being said, I have turned guys away, as has my dad. Most of those turned away are those who get out of their truck and blurt, can I hunt deer on your land?? I just saw a big one. If they can't even introduce themselves, and offer a courtesy of an extended hand, I'm not interested.

There is a pair of monster bucks around that pretty exclusively hang around on my family's land. I'm waiting for another year or 2, when I think they'll be close to record setting. I want them for myself. So, I'll tell guys that mention them that. Some get angry, some understand. Whatever. If they get angry or growly, I won't let them back on.

Also, I don't like guys driving on the fields unless I"m there.

[elk eater]

The biggest issue I have with allowing people to hunt on my land is them asking or lack of. Like others said I don't want to catch you on my land telling me your buddy said it was alright. Drives me to the brink. If your on my land I want to know who u are and when your there. I enjoy having respectful hunters around they can be friends and help with my hunting by letting me know what they see when I'm not there. I usually limit it to one group per day for safety and for respect of the group who asked to enjoy their hunt. I have found having hunters with proper and I stress proper permission hunting my land has helped curb the trespassers and damage to my fields and fences. I tell my hunters they have exclusive rights to hunt my land for the day and if they see anyone else to record the information and report it to me. If they make contact with the trespassers to inform them they do not have permission and ask tem to leave. I have found doing this has cut down a great deal on the poaching, trespassing, and damage to my land. At certain times of the year I ask u to walk. Lots of people wonder why and my reasons are tracks in a field seem to somehow translate into permission for everyone. Also I don't need ruts and invasive weeds tracked across my fields. Someone put it best by saying it's like an interview. Show respect and you will receive it back.

[IR_mike]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

One guy I know decides based on who is willing to come out and work for him. Put in a few days labour and you can hunt his quarter section.

[bearsnoreson]

We haven't let anyone on to hunt. We do get asked. I will say this, everyone that has come to ask has been polite and is okay when we say no. However....as a woman let me say don't open my screen door and try to come into my house. Freaks the crap out of me, but that could be the city in me. Has happened more than once.

[GreenCanada]

Originally Posted by wildwoods

Great post

Excellent information, much appreciated!

[Red Bullets]

If I owned huntable land ...Hunters asking at choretime, mealtime, harvest time, planting time and the day before the season opens I would tell them to come ask me the following summer for next season. haha (even if they are locals)

It might be a good idea for landowners to draw up a document stating rules and privileges of using their land. Signed by the landowner and the hunter. One copy each. The document should have the hunters hunting licence number, address and WIN card number recorded too. This might seem like alot but in reality you don't know how competent or responsible anyone might or might not be. Kids or not too.

And hunters should have a document they could offer the landowner that has the hunters pledge to the landowners rules of land usage and the hunters particulars.

And if a hunter offers a landowner their help anytime... "Landowners...take up the hunters offer of help anytime." Especially around opening day. hehe

[crazy_davey]

Originally Posted by rednuck

- Anyone with a kid pretty much gets to do whatever they want

While I agree with you on most of what you say, I will disagree with you here. I like the way you think but not all parents are responsible hunters.

Here is a recent example:

I was standing in front on my neighbors house chatting with him, mule deer walking all around in his field and a neighbors fields. A truck driving up and down the main road, obviously watching the deer.

They eventually drive up the drive way close to us and park. The two fat guys in the truck don't get out, they send the kid they have with them to talk to us. He gets out in his long johns and stocking feet, walks up to us on the gravel and asks us if they can shoot deer on the property while the two overweight males stay in the truck smoking. My neighbor says no, but only because of the way they asked. If the adults would have got out as well and been polite they would have permission . The kid hops back in the truck and they take off spraying gravel everywhere, obviously ****ed off. Great role models for the kid

Just an example of what NOT to do.

[jcrayford]

While I'm not a land owner, I'm the guy that's politely driving into your place, removing sunglasses and approaching your front door in a non-threatening manner. Removing my hat and introducing myself with my FULL NAME is important to me - allowing you to first off hear who you're conversing with.

After introducing myself (this all takes place at the proper time of year - my preference is NOT during hunting season) I'll start off by mentioning my intentions; asking for permission to hunt. If this first mention of hunting gets your hair in a knot, I'll gladly shake your hand, thank you for your time and walk away (no use pushing the issue). If the thought of hunting goes over OK with you, I'll gladly talk to you as long as it takes for you to either feel comfortable enough with me to allow me permission (I love to walk hunting, see more game that way), or you'll get the feeling that it's just not going to work (and at that point, shake hands thanks for the time and walk away)

I believe that I'm a visitor on your land and I will always respect it more than my own land because I'm the visitor. I cherish each time I'm hunting, and being allowed permission on someone else's land means more than the act of hunting. If you don't like this approach to respecting your land or think I'm sucking up to you, I won't be back as it's my morals that I follow.... Taught to me by my father....

What really irks me is when I see the opposite happening.... That is just dis-respect to both land owners and fellow hunters.

BTW, to all those land owners on here that do allow others on their land, please accept my deepest thank you from those of us that aren't fortunate enough to own our own land, and really appreciate the opportunity to get some fresh air within your boundaries.

J.

[rednuck]

Originally Posted by crazy_davey

While I agree with you on most of what you say, I will disagree with you here. I like the way you think but not all parents are responsible hunters.

Here is a recent example:

I was standing in front on my neighbors house chatting with him, mule deer walking all around in his field and a neighbors fields. A truck driving up and down the main road, obviously watching the deer.

They eventually drive up the drive way close to us and park. The two fat guys in the truck don't get out, they send the kid they have with them to talk to us. He gets out in his long johns and stocking feet, walks up to us on the gravel and asks us if they can shoot deer on the property while the two overweight males stay in the truck smoking. My neighbor says no, but only because of the way they asked. If the adults would have got out as well and been polite they would have permission . The kid hops back in the truck and they take off spraying gravel everywhere, obviously ****ed off. Great role models for the kid

Just an example of what NOT to do.

I agree there are possibly some situations where the parents aren't great people. I also think we need more youth hunters so I usually lean towards giving them permission. A long time ago I had a kid and his dad come to the door, you could tell he was shy and didn't want to but the dad made him come with. I invited them to step into my house because it was a miserable day. That kid seen my 2 190+ muleys and the 3 180's on the wall and his eyes lit up like Christmas morning. He did the permission asking after that, I told him exactly where he could find his first deer and how the best way to get there was. I went over and helped them load it up after, later in December a Christmas card saying thank you and a picture of him with his deer showed up in my mail. Like 5 years later the little bugger sent me a picture of him and a huge whitetail and thanked me again for that first time. I haven't seen them since the first day but its good to know I made a small difference.

[ResidentSpokesman]

I used to let the first 3 or 4 guys that asked properly every year.

After the 4th or 5th time they ****ed me off I stopped letting anybody on.

[arrow_baron]

I am not a land owner but have only been told no once in my life. Even places where my cousins and brothers have asked and heard no. I've gotten the thumbs up. When I ask for permission I usually do it well before the season. I make sure I am not to be in full camo when I go. This gives me the opportunity to scout land but I also ask the farmers if they need a hand with anything around the farm just to show my appreciation. I usually check in with the farmer in daylight hours if there home and just see how things are throughout the year. Getting permission isn't about just getting to hunt the land that one year. It's about building a relationship with the farmer or landowner, so that he can trust you to be respectful of his land year in, year out.. When I go to ask for permission now its usually involves me having a beer or coffee with the landowner bull****ting about life. Then he tells me happy hunting. I hope this was some help

[Kurt505]

I have never denied anyone who has asked permission, but I have specified to everyone who has asked do NOT under any circumstance shoot towards the buildings, or in the general area of the yard. So far not once have I had a problem with anyone I've gave permission to. It's the ones who don't ask permission I've had the problem with. I've had people shoot towards my buildings and I've found 2 dead moose and a dead buck on my land over the last 10yrs or so. Not too bad compared to a lot of stories I've heard.

[north american hunter]

.

[NPRT]

I always specify that the permission is only for the asker not for buddies.
Foot access only unless retrieving game.
This way if they are a guide and lying about it, it doesn't work and yes it's happened......
Don't call if you are looking at the large muley rack out in my canola field and talking to my brothers on the side of the road (or it would have already been dead)........don't laugh it happened and was the local area poacher to boot.......guiding ...........
Despite how it sounds I almost always give permission.

[rednuck]

Originally Posted by NPRT

I always specify that the permission is only for the asker not for buddies.
Foot access only unless retrieving game.
This way if they are a guide and lying about it, it doesn't work and yes it's happened......
Don't call if you are looking at the large muley rack out in my canola field and talking to my brothers on the side of the road (or it would have already been dead)........don't laugh it happened and was the local area poacher to boot.......guiding ...........
Despite how it sounds I almost always give permission.

Thanks for reminding me! I forgot to mention guides are always a no in my book.

I also had one incident where I watched some guys shoot a deer, they left it and came into my yard. Asked who owned that piece, THEN for permission. I let them drag it out of there but politely said please don't ever come around here again.