Asking Landowner Permission for Hunting?

[Arisaka99]

Hey Guys and Gals!

I just learned that a distant neighbor (older couple) has over 100acres fairly close to where I live.

They're on the end of a private road (long driveway), so I feel kind of uncomfortable about driving down to knock on the door.

Should I put a letter in their mailbox introducing myself with contact information, or just go knock on the door?

Tell them I'm willing to give meat or do yard work in exchange?

What has worked for you folks, and what would you recommend?

Cheers!
Chris

[Scorpion8]

When I lived in the country in PA< we'd always go knock. Always be polite, and ask them what restrictions they may have above and beyond such as "there's a horse over yonder, so don't shoot in that direction". And we always offered to share if the harvest was good, or to exchange the privilege by return-in-kind such as clearing groundhogs or other varmints.

[WebMonkey]

+1 for not driving right up.
i think that is very considerate given your description of things.

a note in the mail box would be good.

personally, i moved onto acreage to get away from drop ins no matter how nice they might be.



just my advice, i know i'm not the authority.
i just want to pee out the back door of the garage without an unscheduled audience.

[Omega]

Hey Guys and Gals!

I just learned that a distant neighbor (older couple) has over 100acres fairly close to where I live.

They're on the end of a private road (long driveway), so I feel kind of uncomfortable about driving down to knock on the door.

Should I put a letter in their mailbox introducing myself with contact information, or just go knock on the door?

Tell them I'm willing to give meat or do yard work in exchange?

What has worked for you folks, and what would you recommend?

Cheers!
Chris

The few times I've asked, I had good results doing it face to face. I have always taken them some meat, and took care of minor maintenance for them in the area I am at, like mending fences, closing open gates (if they are supposed to be closed) clearing downed trees etc. Go in the afternoon, dress casual and have a business card or some form of leaving your info in case the person who makes those decisions is not there, and go back and meet them if they call.

When I was in Colorado, it was difficult because the owners sometimes didn't live on the property, so I'd approach them when they were there. In NC (last time I have asked), a son of the owner actually approached us and introduced us to his dad. He graciously allowed us to hunt his farm, we repaired the fence around his pig enclosure and cleaned it out a bit. We would also look out for unwanted guests for him. We offered to give him some venison (before we had one), but he said he had plenty and not to worry about it.

At my place, I still make it a point to introduce myself to the surrounding land owners, I ask permission to retrieve any deer that happen to cross over, and I keep an eye out for broken fences, escaped cattle, etc.

[toallmy]

Either way you go about meeting them give them time to think about it and get back to you don't put them on the spot to make a decision right there or it will be a no + having a person that knows you both speak on your behalf is a big help . Start out with if you wouldn't mind me doing a little hunting a couple times this season on your property or if you don't have anyone hunting your property and wouldn't mind if I set a couple afternoons trying to get a deer . A relationship with a hunter and the property owner takes time to grow and get comfortable with each other don't rush it just plant the seed for now .

[JoeJames]

+1 for not driving right up.
i think that is very considerate given your description of things.

a note in the mail box would be good.

personally, i moved onto acreage to get away from drop ins no matter how nice they might be.



just my advice, i know i'm not the authority.
i just want to pee out the back door of the garage without an unscheduled audience.

Good one ... if you decide to go up to the house, might work, but, don't walk around to the back of the house. It was especially apt back in the day, when a lot of folks back up in the hills just had privies.

[redhawk0]

I'm a face to face guy. I hunt private land in PA as well. I went to talk with Ken when we first met. He's a great guy and we've gotten to be good acquaintances. (I don't live close enough to develop a true friendship.) But we do enjoy getting together when I am down there for a visit. We've even duck hunted together during the active deer season.

Face to face is the way to build a trusting relationship. Also try to prove to the landowner that you'll take care of his property/land. I've even done some improvements to the hunting stands that he's been kind enough to let me use. (repairing broken steps, reglaized sliding windows...etc)

A little courtesy goes a long way.

redhawk

[Minerat]

Word of caution of leaving a note in the mail box. The Post Office frowns on that unless it is post marked. If they have a paper box you could leave in there or tape it to the door of the mail box.

Might look their name up in the county records and then see if they belong to any of the local clubs, Elks, Eagles etc and get an introduction that way if you or you have a friend in the same organization too. We had guys in our hunting party that were Elks and we used to stop at the Elks in the Yuma CO the night before a pheasant hunt and usually got permission on more places then we could hunt in a weekend.

[dragon813gt]

Face to face or don’t bother. An impersonal unsolicited letter in a mailbox is a good way to make sure you aren’t granted access to the land. I’m not a landowner but my previous job had me in people’s homes and I was able to gain their trust. The stories I was told about people asking for access were quite amusing. The overall theme was that if they didn’t know you then the answer was no. All of them had stories about to many hunters not following simple rules. And a lot of them had stories about dead livestock. Some of the farms I hunted raised thoroughbreds so dead livestock is a large financial loss. A lot of people shy away from granting access due to liability reasons. And if you are lucky enough to be granted access get it in writing as it helps protect both parties.

[Hossfly]

^^ what he said about getting permission in writing, here in Louisiana its the law. If you don’t have it in writing on you you could be charged with trespassing.

[rancher1913]

if someone I dont know comes to my door for hunting permission its always a "no"

if someone I dont know comes to my door and lets me know a fence is down or cows are out and helps get things back in order then asks if they can possibly have hunting permission the answer is usually a "yes". someone that shows they take care of things beats a cold call.

my advice is get to know them and become friends before you ask to hunt.

[WebMonkey]

yes, that's what i was thinking of.

cold calls.

coon hunters drove down my 1/4 mile drive looking for 'permission'.
they had permission two properties over supposedly and let their dogs off it.

told them no and told them i'd follow them out to make sure my gate got closed, the way it was.

[Tom W.]

The last person I asked was a fellow that had a juke joint near Clayton. He said that I could take my three boys
(they were very young at the time ) put up tree stands and anything else I wanted to do as long as I didn't start any fires. I asked him where his favorite area was to hunt, and he replied that he didn't have time, as he grew sugar cane and made cane syrup. But he sure liked squirrels. Sooooo, we'd get a bunch of squirrels and leave them with his wife, who didn't want us to clean them. That went on for years, and I introduced him to a friend of mine who would be sure to buy him a good sized bottle of Wild Turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. He had a stroke several years later and bot he and his wife died. His son ended up selling the place....

[JoeJames]

^^ what he said about getting permission in writing, here in Louisiana its the law. If you don’t have it in writing on you you could be charged with trespassing.

Same now in Arkansas.

[country gent]

I would call ahead if possible and make an "appointment" to speak with them at their convienience. Remember a lot of the older farmers and land owners still want to see you and a handshake is important to them.

[Omega]

^^ what he said about getting permission in writing, here in Louisiana its the law. If you don’t have it in writing on you you could be charged with trespassing.

Same now in Arkansas.

Here in TN, they only need written permission if you post your land in a certain way, I do. But I only have just under 8 acres (600 acres on each side of me), so only I hunt there. But I make sure I know the neighbors, in case I need to retrieve a deer. For those with tablets or smart phones, I recommend the huntstand app, it is available for Android and iPhone. Beside some of the other useful tools it has, it can identify the owners of any piece of property (public tax records) so you can contact them in the manner you chose. It has 10 free searches a month, unlimited if you pay for it. It is also available on the computer, and anything you add on the tablet/phone will show up there:



Computer
https://www.huntstand.com/

Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....core&hl=en_US

iTunes/Apple
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hunt...778772892?mt=8

[Jackpine]

I assume you want to hunt this fall, but I have found that approaching a landowner in the spring or summer, well before the "rush" may significantly increase the odds of getting a yes answer. Also increases the chances of catching someone outside already, rather than banging on the door and interrupting them inside. Going back after the season is over, even if not successful in bagging game, with a small gift pays big dividends.

[JimB..]

Dad would take one of us boys, pre-teen, and talk face to face about squirrel hunting and teaching us. I presume that he’d have worked up to deer after a year or two, but life got in the way, and he liked squirrel.

[2400]

I grew up on a ranch in CO that my Grandpa posted no hunting or trespassing. However if someone came up to the door and asked permission I don't remember him ever saying no. He would just ask them to leave the gates alone (open stayed open and closed stayed closed) don't shoot cows, horses, water tanks, equipment, etc, to stay out of the areas he asked them to and don't bring anyone else along.

When I see a place I'd like to hunt I go up and park, walk up to the door and introduce myself and ask for permission to hunt their property. I offer to fix fences, vehicles, equipment, do some welding or whatever help they need. I ask if they would like some of whatever I'm hunting and offer to bring it cleaned, cut up and ready for the pan. I promise not to bring extra people, leave the gates like I find them, not shoot cows, horses, equipment or game I don't have permission to hunt. In other words promise to treat their place like my own and leave it better than when I got there.

It's rare that I get told no. If they do say no, I just say thanks anyway and tell them if they need any help to just ask and I'll be happy to help and wish them a good day.

[trapper9260]

I always ask face to face. When I want to trap some ground I do it face to face and they at time let me hunt there ground also. Also I get ground to trap by word or mouth. Say if a land owner have a coyote problem and you want to hunt them .Like was stated be nice and dress like you would normal dress and take no as no and move on.Some will say yes and some will not. Around here i talk with some land owners that when someone ask to hunt they look at there number plate of what county they live and go from there. Because there is some counties that is not normal good where the person is from.