Private land?

jmnhunter said:
show up in 1 vehicle, send only 1 guy to the door, if the landowner wants to know who is hunting, by all means introduce your friends after, and if you get permission, be sure you get clear info on where you can hunt on the property.
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I agree with this part. Go by yourself. And if others are with you, send 1 person up there. I think landowners are way more likely to give permission to one person than a group. Face to face is always more professional and courteous than by phone, email, etc. Don't just assume that since you have permission, you can bring a bunch of "buddies" with either. Be specific about who intends to hunt and when you intend to hunt it.

And then when you receive it, don't ruin it either. Be respectful of people's land. Don't hunt it every other day or for days on end.

Be prepared to get rejected too. Some people just don't like strangers on their property carrying guns.

The good part about receiving permission is that quite often, once you obtain it and don't abuse it, they almost always let you come back in the future if they still own it. There are some spots I've had permission to hunt for over 20 years and the owners have come to expect me every season. Some of them tell me I don't even need to ask anymore, but I would never go without doing that anyways.
 
gimruis said:
I agree with this part. Go by yourself. And if others are with you, send 1 person up there. I think landowners are way more likely to give permission to one person than a group. Face to face is always more professional and courteous than by phone, email, etc. Don't just assume that since you have permission, you can bring a bunch of "buddies" with either. Be specific about who intends to hunt and when you intend to hunt it.

And then when you receive it, don't ruin it either. Be respectful of people's land. Don't hunt it every other day or for days on end.

Be prepared to get rejected too. Some people just don't like strangers on their property carrying guns.

The good part about receiving permission is that quite often, once you obtain it and don't abuse it, they almost always let you come back in the future if they still own it. There are some spots I've had permission to hunt for over 20 years and the owners have come to expect me every season. Some of them tell me I don't even need to ask anymore, but I would never go without doing that anyways.
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When asking,keep your head down,and act like a total sap.That works some time.Or drive a vehicle more than 40 years old.Taking a kid helps.Tell them you know Kenny olson.Dont shoot the combine!!
 
Do you draw straws then the house is guarded by a ferocious beast nipping at your tires as you drive into the yard while barking and then staring intently at the car door waiting for it to open ? :unsure:
 
BRITTMAN said:
Do you draw straws then the house is guarded by a ferocious beast nipping at your tires as you drive into the yard while barking and then staring intently at the car door waiting for it to open ? :unsure:
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Yes we actually did that for the last 10 years on one piece of property! Somehow it seemed like I drew the short straw most of the time.
Finally got somewhat smarter and now I just call ahead. Just 80 acres, half trees but it was between 2 large ag fields, always good and really great if there was snow.
 
Once we pulled into a yard, two guys were out in coveralls, and a large dog. I rolled down window, a buddy was driving. Dog looked intently at me, I asked, "Is he mean?" The guy replied with a pokerface on, "you'll find out if you get out." So I opened the door and stepped out and that dirty old farmyard german shepherd came over and sniffed my hand and I gave him a few friendly pets on the head. We got permission, but it was to fish a trout river.
 
Is pay-to-play the primary way to gain access to decent private land?

Absolutely NO.

Unless you consider taking the landowner's family to dinner or my approach, include sharing my homemade jams and jelly from my farm.
My experience is some of the best people on earth live in SD and for the most part, their family has been on that property for decades, not a corporation.

Knock on some doors, be respectful. Most of the private property I hunt now I got permission 20 years ago.
We actually stayed with one family that we got permission to hunt for many years until they had to move into assisted living. They only had 3 sections but got us permission to hunt 2 more sections.
 
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