This post is a little long but, I really need everyone opinion on this one. Here is the deal, last season my two brothers and I started hunting my then girlfriends now wifes Grandmothers property. She is giving us the property in the next year so you may hear me refer to it as mine or ours sometimes. After doing a very unethical thing I told one of them he could not hunt here any longer. I have put in a ton of time out here prepping for the season. My other brother that hunted all last season hasn't done SH**. He has been out of town working during the week but, comes home on the weekends. He has the time to go out and get hammered, go riding his four wheeler and anything else he can find to do but, can't seem to find time to make the hour drive and put in half a days work. I am not asking him for much. Just a few hours a month to help me prep. It also gets under my skin a little that he was here every weekend during last season and here opening day of turkey season but, I haven't seen him since. I do talk to him every couple days or so. I know we are bunch of guys in here but, I would like to think he wants to see me, his new sister in law and his nephews and not just use us for hunting. Thats kind of what It feels like right now. He called two days ago and said "I have us a new hunting partner". He said and I quote "yeah he said he ain't paying that hunting club $500 this year and not see hardly anything when he can come hunt with me and kill more than he has seen in the past 4 seasons". Not " Hey bro do you mind if one of my friends comes up and hunts some this year, he will help out on the property some and help plant the food plots or something. WHAT THE HELL???? His friend hasn't set foot here much less helped with anything nor has he offered to help or do anything at all. I haven't talked to his friend since I tuned and sighted his bow that I barely got a "thanks" for. If anything I may let him come hunt once or twice but, I be damned if he hunts up here every weekend and doesn't do crap after I have put all this time and money in. If he doesn't offer or I ask him to help and he doesn't do anything, I am not letting him hunt at all. I really have a good mind to tell my brother the same. I am wrong for this???
I have a similar belief system as you when it comes to this stuff so I can sympathize. It's hard to continually give to people that don't have the conscience to give back or at least say thank you. As far as the unethical brother goes, some people just can't be made to follow the rules. You probably know your brother better than anyone and if you don't think he can be safe and lawful than there is nothing wrong with keeping him off your property. My first response would be to tell your other brother to get bent, but I'm starting to become more aware of burning bridges than I used to. To look at this from a different perspective, you'd probably already be doing all this work whether or not your brother hunts with you. When it comes to him giving his friend permission to hunt, that tells me he feels like he has some ownership in the property too. You might try telling your brother that you put a lot of hard work into your property and being that he's your brother you have no problem with him hunting it, but that if he wants other people to hunt it, he's got to put in time on the land too. He's already extending the offer to his friend and he'd look like a **** if he retracted it. He could always just tell his friend that you were the reason he couldn't hunt, but your brother would still have to deal with the guilt of throwing you under the bus like that and that he was the real reason it didn't happen. Who knows, if he felt comfortable offering up your property to somebody else, maybe he's comfortable enough making them share whatever work he has to do too. If the friend thing bombs out and your brother still ends up hunting the property, make sure he knows that without help, there are some very strict rules on the type of deer he can take like old does and nothing else. Good luck to you either way, dealing with family can be a real ***** sometimes, especially if you care about them.
Nah man I agree that you're not wrong. Before I got into bow hunting, my brother bought some bow off a guy at work. He had it for about a month and was wanting to go bow hunting out at my parent's land. Needless to say I was pissed. I spent hours and hours planting food plots, cutting lanes, had multiple cameras... and so on. He never stepped foot in the woods and wanted to "not be in my way by going in first". In his defense, hunting really isn't his thing, it's not a passion like it is for me, it was more of a "whatever" thing. He actually was very pissed off by my response and went to my parent's and they actually told him what I did, that I had spent so much time there that it was "his rules" as to who hunts there and when (my cousin's fiance helps me a ton and I let him hunt there). So no, I would tell them that none of them are allowed to hunt there until they put in the time, especially bring friends.
Im really sorry u have been treated like that. I tell everyone i know hunting is alot of work with a short window of actually getting to wnjoy the actual hunt. Wveryone wants to shot deer but very few wanna put in the time or money . 2 years ago i bought and hund 8 stands on the property i hunt then cleared trails thru it so we could access more areas. But if someone was willing ro share the spot they have i would be there workin every chance i had
Times like this make me glad I don't have brothers. I own some ground and family owns ground next to it. I welcome friends to hunt it with me, but they know not to hunt it w/o calling me first. If a friend invited a friend to hunt it w/o asking me first, they would both be SOL.
That doesnt look like a button buck to me lmao. Give him the boot. If you dont so ur job u dont get paid right. Dont put in the work on the property you dont get to hunt it. Brother or not.
I don't mind sharing if the person wanting too, asks in at least a polite way. If they don't then it makes me think all my rules won't matter at all. Last season I told him (the one that will still be hunting here) NO YOUNG BUCKS period. His first one was a small 6 point. It was his first one ever. I know he loves the hunting part. Heck he hunted for 5 season before harveting one. I was happy he got one but, not happy it was a smaller younger buck. I didn't make a big deal out of it though. I did tell him after that one, NO MORE. I be dang if he didn't take another one. This one was a smaller one, a 4 point maybe a year and a half old. This one I was pissed about. The rules will be set in stone this year and I have a ton of them. I almost need to print and publish a book for it. hahaha. I believe I will let his friend hunt a few times but, most certainly not every weekend. As for my brother this will be his probationary season I guess you could call it. If he doesn't help or follow the rules he's gone. As for his friend, he breaks one period no matter what it is he will be out for good. I want my herd to grow and without young bucks getting old, we wont have any big boys for the taking later for that matter if the young guys are all killed off we wont have a population at all. I would rather go 4 years with all doe's in the freezer to get one good buck rather than 10 young guys. We still have a few months to go and I still have stands to hang. If they don't come down and help at all, they won't be in one single one of them this year.
I hunt and my buddies family's property. I do stuff all year round for them and to the land in order for me to hunt their. Plant trees, mow lawn, cut down trees. plant food plots. do electrical work, make mineral sites..... What I'm getting at is, it should be a privilege to hunt some good land and not a right to hunt a property that technically isn't even yours.
If this exact message isn't loud, clear and enforced then you're wasting your breath and setting yourself up to be pissed off in the future. It sounds harsh but make sure they know that's the way it is.
I will be sitting down with them in the next few weekends. Everyone out here helps each other. Especially if someone is letting us use something or do something. You will never hear anyone out here ask someone for a dime for doing something. Its like an unwritten rule that is emended from birth. Thats just how it is. The way I feel about it is, if the tables were turned, I would be helping him out every chance I could. I would make time if I had to. I also would not just tell a friend of mine that they could come hunt without asking him first. At least one day a month or so. Just because he is my brother and his friend has been around us for 15 years doesn't make it a right, its a privilege. IMO privileges are just that until they are abused. I really don't mind them hunting but, at the same time if I put the and effort into finding the trails, planting the plots, making mineral stations, digging the watering holes, making land bridges across deep branches to give the deer easier access to food plots and corn fields and figuring out the travel paterns, I would like to at least have some help hanging stands and cutting shooting lanes. On top of that I want them to follow the rules I want to be followed to ensure a healthy big herd. I do want my sons to be able to hunt out here one day.
I would allow your brother to hunt. I would not allow his friend. Also, tell your brother that if he brings a friend then he cannot hunt the property.
Look, plain and simple, hunting ground is hard to come by, especially free ground and double especially good free grounds. Tell them like it is, don't look back. I'm pulling duty this Sunday, next Sunday and the Sunday after that plus buying a ladder stand for the new 45 acre property. The guy has a 45 acre property and the new one. All he asks is to buy a stand for the property from ****'s or equivalent for $50 - $60. There are like 14 stands on the old property and we are just in the new property. Ain't much to ask for a place to hunt I tell ya.
I agree, your bro is way off base inviting an outsider, especially not asking how you felt about it first. Someone that does'nt know what they're doing, can ruin the hunting situation really quick.
Be brutally honest, tell your brother what you are thinking. His reaction should be all the indication you need as to what you should do. My brother might not come out and ask me to help me on food plots etc, but that's not his nature. BUT if I ask him to or tell him I am doing something that i could use his help on, hes' there EVERY time. You already know your answer. You know if you are or you aren't being taken advantage of, act on it.
I would let your brother hunt because he is family and a couple hours a month might not sound like a lot but i think its not that fair to get mad over that. I think he should go up a couple times before deer season. If i was you i would not let his friend set foot on my property.
I would tell your brother to put in the time or no hunting. My primary spot was secured because my friend did some painting for one of the owners. My friend is not in any shape to hang stands and his father isn't so I trim lanes, hang sets, give them the lowdown on where I have seen deer. We also allowed a guy that has hunted the property for 15 years to stay because his son in law and him help me take care of the property and he lives a mile away and keeps an eye on it. In a way we all have an equal stake in labor and time and we all benefit. I do not take it for granted and I don't shotgun hunt it so my friends father has better odds since he doesn't bowhunt. This will soon be your land and should be run by your rules. You owe nothing to your brother if he doesn't want to help out. It is ridiculous that he is having a blast while you bust your hump
Maybe let your brother know what you are feeling about his help being needed to have a right to hunt on the ground and while your at it make it clear that his buddy cant hunt unless your brother is with him.. or you may find a lot more people on your ground as you have seen how face book works... friends of friends deal.
I first want to say this is a good post...I want to say a story that happend this year for me and want advice...Well my father in law and his brother recently purchased a farm with about 15 to 20 acres of woods however they do not hunt and i do along with my dad and they said i and my dad could hunt on the land. However my father in laws brother mentioned that maybe one of his friends might be hunting in the same woods and i really don't know the guy. How should i react to this situtation i don't want to loose any hunting land to someone that i dont know and I'm sure he wouldn't be by himself he would probably be bringing a friend along too it just worries me. The land is not that much for three people in the same woods...Please let me know how i should feel or react. THANKS GUYS
Thats a hard one. I think I would first talk to my father in law and see what he thinks. I would be careful not to make him mad or sound too negative about it though. Yo unever know, the guy may have just mentioned it in conversation and may not even want to hunt it if you guys are. I would let him know your concerns and if he still says he is going to be able to hunt it, sit down and talk to the friend. hunting it on a schedule or a little less would be better than not hunting it at all. Make sure everyone is on the same page with helping, deer you all are willing to let walk and such. Letting young bucks and does walk is my biggest thing right now. I am trying to be an educated hunter, not just a guy that thinks if its brown its down and evintually wonder why there are no deer around. I want quality and quantity and I know it can be achived if properly managed.
