Just bought a piece of rural property to hunt on...less than 100 acres. Made the mistake of mentioning it to my immediate family and one of my neighbors found out in my excitement also. I have waited a long time for this and it is specifically for my hunting enjoyment and my wife and kids to mess around on. First words out of my bros mouth is not congratulations or anything like that but instead is about when he is going hunting on it. When is he gonna get to set up trail cams etc. Neighbor who has never expressed any interest in hunting except to come get free deer meat from me suddenly tells my wife he should buy a new bow so he can start hunting there....my wife said he did not sound like he was kidding at all. I don't want to be too selfish but other than surveying the property I haven't even set foot on it to hunt or do anything. For 35 years I've hunted in clubs and on some private land and now I have my own piece to manage how I like. My wife and I have been planning this for 16 years and it cost a chunk of money!! I didn't plan on everyone suddenly inviting themselves to help me enjoy it. I've quickly learned that I need to keep my mouth shut about it. For others that have been in this situation, how did you handle not hurting the feelings of others who have tried to invite themselves onto your land???
Be honest and clear. Tell them you bought this land for you to hunt and if/when you're ready, you'll invite others to hunt it at your discretion. BTW, I invite myself to hunt on others property... but I'm used to being turned down.
unless you spill the beans as to where it is located i think your fine. or tell them you have leased the hunting out to help on the payments. Well you may have to man up and make it clear you bought it for yourself and would like to hunt it a few seasons to get the feel of the ground.
Brutal honesty. It's gotta suck, especially with the brother, but I'd tell him exactly what you told us. If you plan on inviting him to hunt, tell him. If you don't, tell him. If you would be ok with just him and no one else, tell him. I'd love to have this problem.
Thanks for the replies. I have really been quite shocked by all this. My bro is even talking about quiting his current hunt club and hunting my land full time. I am grateful for the opportunity to own a piece of land and have been blessed but I would like to enjoy it a little first. Hopefully some of this talk will blow over and I intend to keep quiet about it and have instructed my wife to do the same.
I couldn't imagine not sharing the land if my Brother hunted. I love hunting with friends and would think the benefit of a brother helping with the land would be a good thing
Honesty is the best policy but I tend to be a little too direct so my wife tells me. I really don't want to offend anyone. Especially my neighbor and bro as I've basically got to live with them both in one way or another.
I can't get into all the details but my bro gets plenty fun at my expense as it is and I'm cool with that. Having my own property is a very special thing to me and I can't really explain it in words. In one sense it is a big dream come true and my wife and I along with being blessed have worked hard and saved to make it happen....you know??
Probably would help us to understand.................. Do you and your brother have similar hunting styles/outlooks? I'm guessing not.
My brother and I are very close and I would be sharing with him if it were me, BUT it sounds like he's taking advantage of the situation. I would have a civil talk with him. It would help if we knew more details though.
Change your phone number. Place burning crosses in your front lawn with artificial sheep(sacrifice) at their bases. Start wearing a turbin with a pretty flower tucked into it and change your name to Muhamed AKliketohuntalone..
When I bought my house in 1994 it happened to be on a lake. My family started to reply that it was awesome "we" have a beach to hang out on, and swimming and boating, so on and so forth... I quickley told them that this was my home and I would invite them over when I wanted company. My home is not a vacation home, as I live there year round. Of course they are welcomed over ANYTIME they want but to call first in case I have other plans. Plain and simple --> common courtesy!!! Aske all your new found friends that the tax bill will be in twice a year so they can donate to "the cause" and that you have projects on your land you could use help with and tell them a schedule will be sent out for volunteers
Be sure to make it clear to your brother before he cancels his hunt club membership! It's your property, it doesn't have to make sense to your brother or any of us. You do as you please with it. :D
He's a "trophy hunter" and I really don't care one way or the other. I've been to Canada a couple of times and have seen what a real trophy deer looks like. This area I have land in is reported to be very good for "trophy" deer in this state but IMO it's not Canada or Texas so for me it's about having fun and teaching my own boys to hunt and shoot.
I did the same thing last year (buying land). It was also my life long dream. 45 acres is not that big of a piece for a lot of hunters. I've been lucky that friends and family did not pester me about hunting. It has been by invite only and so far has never been more than 2 hunters at a time. Myself and one other. I did have to mention, one time, to my GF that I'd take care of the hunting arrangements. She started to invite most of her family members to "come on up"! I'm glad it never came to that but like you, I didn't know what to say. Now I have a back up plan which is to offer them a place to stay while they hunt the near by public land. Honestly, the public land looks awesome and I may be hunting it from time to time as well. Good luck
considering it is less than 100acres you can easily pull the "its a small piece" line tell them only 4 people are hunting it each year and thats you your wife and kids. i've got the same boat going on right now, looking to buy an 85acre piece that looks like it will be prime, its big enough for my dad, gramp, my self and one of my dads friends, anyone else and we would consider it over hunted. its an easy enough sell.
I envy your land purchase, but do not envy your current situation. I would have to know alot more details before i could offer real advice.
I understand your situation and empathize a bit since I've had similar situations with my boat up here. The way I look at it though is that I fished on a lot of other people's boats as I came up through the ranks and I feel I have an obligation to "pay-it-forward". That's not to say I let people take advantage, but I do try to help others out with a fishing trip now and then, mostly the ones that don't push it though. As others have said, being forthright is the best policy.
