Changing attitude about pay to hunt ?

Goosemaster,
I'm curious to know if roles were reversed and you were a private land owner who's
money ,time and efforts created an environment that allowed bird numbers to flourish and offers of financial compensation came your way would you still consider "commercial hunting" the bad guy ?
 
Of course not, but in
M just trying to put this in perspective, because it relates to access. 30 years ago, nobody paid to hunt in Montana. Now, it is becoming common.Outfitters, are leasing huge tracks of land, tens of thousands of acres. Outfitting is sort of a sketchy industry, so I am down on these people. Nobody on here, is going to convince me, that pay hunting I'd a good thing.Eventually, America will become like Europe , where only the wealthy will be able to hunt.
 
Goose,
30 years ago I hunted many farms here in Illinois and limited most days. Today, I don't have a single farm to hunt. Haven't shot a wild IL pheasant in many years. Change has been happening (you could say for the worse) for many years. We would all love to hunt good land for free. Not happening. I have a choice to drive 12 hours to hunt public and ditches and see and shoot a few birds for "free" or I can see 200 birds a day and have our group of 7 hunters limit out and pay. We choose to pay and love every minute of it.
 
PheasantWhisperer said:
Im pretty sure more people pay to play up north in pheasant country than down here in bobwhite country. I dont know of anyone who pays to hunt quail.
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You ever been to the real South? MO mid west sorry to say... U still have public land & some quail left to hunt in MO go to the south. GA TX SC FL & a few other states that once had quail to hunt now gone & gotta pay hunt plantations etc.
 
carptom1 said:
The thing nobody seems to think about is what do you think propagates the pheasant hunting in SD and parts of ND? The public lands that are pounded day after day by many more hunters than birds? Or the countless commercial operations that farm for pheasants? It costs me nearly 700.00 to drive to SD every time I go. Why would I balk at a few hundred more for some private property where the farmer has spent a couple thousand in fuel and time to put some food plots in. And forgoes additional income by leaving grass in waterways and other areas that could be income producing? Those of you that don't pay should be thanking those that do. I know in the area I hunt, he supports all the birds in a several square mile area with food and shelter.
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Yes I do thank you guys who pay to play mostly that u guys are not adding to the crowds on public lands I'm on... Thank you...
 
small munsterlander owner said:
I'm in the camp of not paying to hunt private lands my main objection is not how others spend there $ but I fear the future when we will have to pay $ to even see birds worth hunting like down south in Bob white quail country...

I feel guys are paying to either just kill birds & or take hero pics or to control the amount of hunters on a peace of land like mentioned earlier that's what you should pay for knowing the land ur hunting has not just been hunted or over hunted & birds are void...

Had the worst trip I. Could imagine November in SD not shots fired 3 days out of 5 I still can't imagine paying for my 3 pheasants...
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Yea you would have had 15 if you would have been on private land
 
Wow! Three day's out of five and not shooting. Can't imagine spending that kind of time hunting/walking; but perhaps the exercise is worth pursuing birds on public land.

I used to pound on doors to receive permission to hunt a farmer's land; sometimes 5- 10 doors a day, only to find them not home, owned by someone else, or leased. Very frustrating...

The last time I hunted public land was about five years ago. We did manage to shoot a limit and had an enjoyable time. This was in the Fulkton area. However, there were more birds in those day's...
 
jonnyB said:
Wow! Three day's out of five and not shooting. Can't imagine spending that kind of time hunting/walking; but perhaps the exercise is worth pursuing birds on public land.

I used to pound on doors to receive permission to hunt a farmer's land; sometimes 5- 10 doors a day, only to find them not home, owned by someone else, or leased. Very frustrating...

The last time I hunted public land was about five years ago. We did manage to shoot a limit and had an enjoyable time. This was in the Fulkton area. However, there were more birds in those day's...
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Oh it sucked trust me... Multiple times I seen birds fly into the stuff I had hunted that day or even minutes b4 & go to roost they would fly out & spend days in cut sunflower fields they were wise to hunters... Was the worst trip to SD or pheasant hunt I've been on...

I did manage to get my dad who has major health issues some birds in a ditch out by the town u mentioned... Only area I seen birds while driving...

If I drug my dad up to some doors we could get on private land I'm sure I just don't have it in me to go bug 5-10 landowners per day on a 5 day trip... & not gonna go b4 season so I'm skrewed I guess lol

I did manage to get in good shape them 5 days in SD

Nobody ever even brang up trying to locate a pay to play operation guess we are gluttons for punishment???
 
Funny story, my home farm is bordered on two sides by public hunting. Our CRP gets lots of birds into it when the public gets hunted hard.

An out of state truck with four guys and two dogs stopped one day when I was getting the mail and asked to hunt, said they would pay. Seems they chased all the birds into our CRP while hunting the public.

I had some obligations and thought for a few seconds, then said I needed to go to the house and would be right back.

Came out with my gun and asked if they would mind if I went along, they couldn't get out of the truck fast enough.

They got two and we had a good time watching their dogs.
 
carptom1 said:
Yea you would have had 15 if you would have been on private land
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I've shot 15 & or 12 my 5 or 4 days limit on public 6 out of 8 trips over 4 years usually average 10-11 birds a guy... This year was the opposite end of spectrum...

If I had to cough up 300$-450$ for 3 days for the birds I would not be strutting around...

I hunt areas with plenty of public land with food plots windbreaks grasses sloughs places birds winter up vs the private croplands all around birds were smarter then me & my group this year not void of birds...

Is there anybody other then the guys who pay your land owner $$$ benifiting from them plots or cover he left??? Like is his land surrounded by public land if so I'll thank him... If his land in a sea of private land & only pay to play guys can hunt em why would I thank that guys? I like seeing birds on public land we all can hunt free of charge... Happy u got your limits tom...
 
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Paying to hunt

Try treating it like a Vegas trip. You know when you say "honey, we got
$400 bucks to spend gambling, and darn it, when its gone its gone and we are done. Then you go to Hoover Dam or go downtown to the light show and keep drinking. Thats what you can do out in SD. I got no problem spending a couple hundred bucks a trip to hunt some private ground, and then spending some time on public, along with a little ditch time. Ha, when I'm in the ditch I always say I'm hunting private for free. Gotta be flexible I think. There's birds in all those places. You just gotta work harder in the latter. If you want to hunt public thats more like private, hunt the last two weeks of the season. I'm leaving in the morning. Got my snowshoes packed. Am I gonna suffer? Yes. Am I gonna see birds? Yes. Are they gonna flush out of range? Yes. Am I gonna enjoy? You bet.
 
I view paying to play similar to the guys on these TV hunting shows they go deer hunting on a farm they can only hunt managed for deer they grow a buck to 4-5 yr old then shoot it then brag ??? They should be killing big deer yearly & or get n limits of birds ...

Now go spot & stalk a buck out on public land any average Joe can stink up & you mite feel a little more proud of that deer??? Maybe it just me???

Its not my $$$ so more power to those that wanna pay to play but its very few who are paying to help pheasant population's vs bag many birds with no crowds like on public...
 
carptom1 said:
The thing nobody seems to think about is what do you think propagates the pheasant hunting in SD and parts of ND? The public lands that are pounded day after day by many more hunters than birds? Or the countless commercial operations that farm for pheasants? It costs me nearly 700.00 to drive to SD every time I go. Why would I balk at a few hundred more for some private property where the farmer has spent a couple thousand in fuel and time to put some food plots in. And forgoes additional income by leaving grass in waterways and other areas that could be income producing? Those of you that don't pay should be thanking those that do. I know in the area I hunt, he supports all the birds in a several square mile area with food and shelter.
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700$ on gas holly s*** do you drive a bus tom??? J/k. For about 18 hours of driving 9 hr each way that seem crazy expensive???

I drove my van from MN to black hills WY;) then from black hills to NE/KS border alma NE area & then all the way from NE/KS border back to MN under 450$ entire trip...
 
Pay to play

The TV show pay for play hunt relates better to the pheasant lodge where the birds are raised at a hatchery in Janesville, WI, 40 miles from my home, and are deposited in a dumpster after they are shot. I prefer to believe that when I give a local farmer $100 to hunt his shelter belt, he takes that $100 to town and stops at the local cafe. He pays for his breakfast, catches up with his buddies that he grew up with, and leaves the waitress a good tip. She really needs it cuz she's single, has two young kids at home, and they want a Christmas present or two. Then he heads to the hardware store to pick up some nuts and bolts of various sizes. The high school kid has a job because the farmer needed some supplies. Then the farmer heads to the local John Deere Implement Dealer because he needs a bearing for the the feeder house on his combine. The parts guy gets to have a job, and the tech in the shop installs the bearing, making himself and his company some money. Then the farmer stops at the grocery and works down his list for gramma. The mark up on grocery is only 4%, so every cent that the farmer spends at the grocery makes a difference. Before he heads home, he stops and has one beer at the local bar. His bar tab and tip keep the place going, which is important, especially when there aren't many places to meet up in a small town, and the winter is six months long. If you look at the big picture, the $100 that you spend to shoot a few multi-colored chickens, has a much larger impact than just making you feel like you had a good, safe, successful hunt.
 
I'm moving to SD, because $100 goes a long way there! J/k
We show our appreciation with gift certificate,booze,or some cash, but no $100 bucks a day.
 
mgorvi said:
The TV show pay for play hunt relates better to the pheasant lodge where the birds are raised at a hatchery in Janesville, WI, 40 miles from my home, and are deposited in a dumpster after they are shot. I prefer to believe that when I give a local farmer $100 to hunt his shelter belt, he takes that $100 to town and stops at the local cafe. He pays for his breakfast, catches up with his buddies that he grew up with, and leaves the waitress a good tip. She really needs it cuz she's single, has two young kids at home, and they want a Christmas present or two. Then he heads to the hardware store to pick up some nuts and bolts of various sizes. The high school kid has a job because the farmer needed some supplies. Then the farmer heads to the local John Deere Implement Dealer because he needs a bearing for the the feeder house on his combine. The parts guy gets to have a job, and the tech in the shop installs the bearing, making himself and his company some money. Then the farmer stops at the grocery and works down his list for gramma. The mark up on grocery is only 4%, so every cent that the farmer spends at the grocery makes a difference. Before he heads home, he stops and has one beer at the local bar. His bar tab and tip keep the place going, which is important, especially when there aren't many places to meet up in a small town, and the winter is six months long. If you look at the big picture, the $100 that you spend to shoot a few multi-colored chickens, has a much larger impact than just making you feel like you had a good, safe, successful hunt.
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Well said. I have enjoyed reading these thoughts. As a guy in the business it is interesting to know what people think. I do think that there is a shift in some peoples thinking. What I always come back to when I hear people say that they won't pay is, you pay the state of South Dakota, several gas stations, sporting goods stores, restaurants, maybe a bar. If you have a dog you pay a lot of people for dog expenses. That is all expected I guess. But pay a guy who creates habitat for many species of birds and wildlife and could probably reduce your gas and lodging bill and in my case you can do your own cooking so you can cut your eating expense, that seems to bother some people. Just my thought, thanks for the insights and Merry Christmas to all of you.
 
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