Help finding private land

Remington1010

New member
Can anyone tell me if there is a list of land owners in McPherson County? And if so how can I obtain phone numbers of landowners. I am coming from Pennsylvania and plan on hunting mostly public land but thought it would be nice to hunt some private land. Thank you very much for any advice you can give me.:cheers:
 
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I'm thinking that the plat maps inside show the landowners and then in the back of the book is a directory of those landowners with phone numbers. But I'm not 100% sure. I may be confusing this directory with one that Midland Atlas use to put out. We had both when I worked in the bank.

You might stop in one of the rural banks in the area and see if they have an older atlas they might give/sell you. It may not be totally current but I'm sure most of the info would be good. Great Plains Bank out of Eureka has an office on east Hwy. 12 in Aberdeen. You could ask them. Or call them and ask if they have plat maps that show owners and how you might get one.
 
Leola is the county seat for McPherson, we have obtained a nice plat book from there, has contact numbers in it. Think about 30 bucks? Good luck.
 
Thank you dakotazeb and flushedup hopefully this information will help . I am coming out for ten days and any help that my brother in law and I can get is greatly appreciated . We have been out 4 times before this but this is the first time we are doing it all on our own .we are staying in my camper the whole time I hope the weather is good to us . Good luck this season to you both . Hit me up if your in the area and want to do some hunting . Haha thanks again
 
Leola is the county seat for McPherson, we have obtained a nice plat book from there, has contact numbers in it. Think about 30 bucks? Good luck.

Good idea. Check at the courthouse in the county seat.
 
Bought a map last year (different county) from the county auditor. Map and directory is published by "midwestplatmaps.com."

Can't recall the price - $30 sounds close.

Also if you "google" plat maps, there are several resources offered.

Happy trails!
 
By cold calling land owners and offering to pay a trespass fee has anybody had good luck with doing this? Or does anybody have any better suggestions. We are just starting our trek out to South Dakota!!!!! We will be there Sunday morning.:cheers:
 
It might be late enough in the season to have success finding birds in the morning and knocking on a nearby door. It has been successful in the past for me, but I always go sometime after Thanksgiving. It helps if you are in a small group and one of you has the "gift for gab"as it sometimes takes a hour + of talking about all kinds of stuff before getting permission, which is a lot of the fun in its own right. I don't bother with places that look like they actively manage for bird habitat as I assume (maybe incorrectly) that they are doing so because either they "pay to play" or are saving their birds for family/friends. I stick to asking the folks that have smaller looking operations and I can take rejection gracefully. Lastly, a secret weapon is to bring a kid with you to the conversation, good for both of you anyway and it's the only way our sport will be sustainable:). Good luck
 
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Don't cold call and offer tresspass fees that is a bad idea. Drive around in the morning at sunrise and the hour after, find some birds, knock on door and ask permission.
 
I agree: Smiling n Dialing is a bad idea.

I have a lot of experience pounding on doors, to ask for permission - cold calling isn't a strategy I would use.

Most land-owners want to see who they are allowing on their land and how many are in the party and where you are from et al. A gift after the hunt is appreciated, but not always necessary. However, be prepared to discuss trespass fees.

Saturday's and Sunday's are always difficult to find farmers home. Many have cell phones and can be reached in the field. Be mindful, they get pestered all season by hunters! Good Luck!
 
Face to face is the way to go. Put on some miles driving and knock on some doors. Keep in mind you are in SD there is a lot of public land that has some great bird numbers. We flushed 150+ birds off of a 60acre pc that was of the beaten path.
 
Take it from an old salesman. It is far harder for people to tell you no to your face, you will have little luck calling.

Ps. Remember they can't eat you
 
When I lived in Brookings during college my friends and I had decent luck knocking on doors while road hunting. A rooster would across the road in front of us onto somebodies land, into a tree grove, or just an unmowed lawn. We would pull up to the house and ask if we could find it. 85% of the time we got a yes, and probably 50% of the time the landowner appeared to have no clue it was even pheasant season. Typical responses were "Sure, just don't shoot my cat." "Take as many as you want but don't aim towards my house." Did come across a non-hunting person once, something along the lines of "those birds have as much the right to live as you do."
 
My favorite was from a landowner's wife. She angrily asked, "How would you feel if I came to your house in the city and asked to swim in your swimming pool?!!?" I nearly replied, "Well, how do you look in a bathing suit?":D
 
My favorite was from a landowner's wife. She angrily asked, "How would you feel if I came to your house in the city and asked to swim in your swimming pool?!!?" I nearly replied, "Well, how do you look in a bathing suit?":D

:laugh: love it! I would have just said "well that's OK with me, but we don't wear swim suits in our pool...you still want to come over?"
 
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