Last year I thought I lost out on a nice piece of hunting land. I sent two letters and covered the land owners concerns about a stranger on his property. He granted me sole hunting permission to hunt his 58 acres. His stipulations were no firearms, no problem I only bow hunt. Plus I did not allow anyone else to hunt there, its not my property, not my rules, that makes some friends upset, oh well. I have never met this man face to face yet, he lives in Florida and rarely visits during the winter months. i tell him to call me when hes in town, but he always seems to slip by. Karma: I call this man to thank him for letting me hunt the deer season and am looking to continue our relationship, well this seems to have struck a cord with him, he tells me he is buying another farm in the area, and that he will give me the address to go hunt that farm as well when he closes on it. I could not believe that I didn't even have to ask, he told me he respected how I respected his other property and I'm more than welcome to hunt the new land. More info: Land 1 butts up to a friends house, well that friend knows this land owners daughter and gets eggs from her. Guess what fellas.....she tells my friend that this man buys up farmland. He has a bunch of it all over the place. So I may have opened up a door to other places as well. I am so freaking happy, I was grateful for the land I already was granted permission to hunt. I can't wait to see what this new property brings, maybe closer to my house for some after work hunts!?!?!
Good for you, there are still great people in this great country of ours! Your respect for his property has opened up new doors for you, keep up the honest hunting, and my friend, the skies the limit!! Congrats to you, best of luck this upcoming season!!!
Karma can be two things, your enemy or best friend. Glad this worked out so well. How great to have someone you never "met" trust you so much. Truly doing something right!
I think I got lucky, I did send him a copy of my disabled veteran hunters license. That may have helped sway his permission. He had initially told me no, but I respectfully didn't try to sway him over the phone the first time. Just thanked him for calling and giving me a chance to speak with him. I waited a month or so and printed out a liability waiver and signed it. Included the waiver, Hunter safety card, and Hunting license and resent him a letter. He called and told me I checked off all his worries and that he respected his wishes and concerns. I think its hit or miss with some land owners. I also do not leave stands or cameras out through out the year, not sure if that was a contributing factor. My boss lets me hunt his 42 acre spot and I am not allowed to leave things out past the season. He said it would be fine during the season, but I'll carry my stand out each time out of respect.
I am in the same boat so to speak. I have a few places to hunt on private land, but my favorite spot is open to myself and my main hunting buddy only. Some of my friends have gotten a little testy about not taking them to my favorite spot.. but, it is not my land. I follow the home owners rules to the letter and I have been hunting there for several years now. I always e-mail him that we plan to hunt and he has told me several times, that I really don't need to do that.. but it is respectful. As far as procuring private land.. best thing I could suggest is to just knock on doors. Be polite, respectful and if you hear no, thank them for their time and walk away. I usually have on nice jeans and a button down. I also have had business cards (cheap off e-bay) that have a name I gave to my small group of hunting buddies. It clearly states that we are meat hunters, we only bow hunt and we are willing to sign release of liability forms. The #1 reason I was denied access was over concern that I would hurt myself or get hurt on their land and I would try to sue them. Maryland, where i live, has some wild laws about stuff like that. If a thief enters my home/property and hurts themselves, they can sue me for damages.. crazy, but true.
