i (along with a few family members) have access to hunt bow and rifle season on an 80 acre farm that borders my grandfathers 15 acre property....i have had permission for going on 10 years here and it's been wonderful....i recently learned that the land owner had a random guy (doesn't know him at all) show up and ask permission to hunt and he said yeah sure no problem.....here's my issue.....i have worked this land for this old timer for almost a decade...(anyone who actually works land knows what kind of work is involved....A LOT)......everything from haying it to planting (food plots on MY dime) to bailing and chopping.....you name it....i've never asked for anything but to be able to hunt it.....i've set up trail cams and set up stands over the years and i know the property very well....A LOT of work finally put me on a 5 1/2 yo 10 point with a drop tine on his left side that i've seen on the farm the past 2 years just never presented a shot.....i know where that deer is for sure now and i find out that the farmer told this random guy that stopped not only where he has been hanging out the past few weeks but also tells him he can use whatever stands he finds out that way.....MY STANDS.....i have only got to hunt 4 times this year due to my business and taking care of the farm but i have this coming week off and i was all excited to get on this deer and now i'm afraid my plans have been altered...i'm at a loss on what to do about it because although i've done everything on that property for years....it's still not mine.....the land owner is a nice old man but i feel like he did me wrong....really wrong....what would you do?
You're looking at it from a whole different perspective than the farmer is... To him those deer eat crops, which costs him money. And while I'm sure he appreciates your efforts, more dead deer equals more return on his crops, which equals more money in his pocket. One thing I've always done on the farms I've hunted, was make sure the farmer knew that I was there not only to help me, but also to help HIM if the deer population was costing him money.... Knowing more than a few farmers, I know what they see the deer as, especially if they do not hunt...
You have no reason to freak out. Its HIS land, he can do WHATEVER he wants with it. Trust me. I play this game with my neighbor every year.
Been in your boat many times..... only thing you can do is talk to the farmer and ask for exclusive hunting rights, otherwise your gonna be sharing land like the rest of us bud!
Honestly i would pull the stands or do something that would make it impossible for the guys to use it. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do other then stopping them from hunting on your stuff. I would also not share any information of the deer you are getting on your cams so they have no clue if you are getting big deer or not until they start putting the time in.
The part that I think sucks is that the farmer told this dude he could use your stands ....what is the address ... I wanna talk to this farmer :D
Nothing you can do about the hunting rights, his land and you've worked to earn your stay. Nothing says you have to leave your stands up, but as much as it sucks he gave the other guy free reign as well. Maybe you can get the new guys contact info and try to work out, never know he may bring something to the table as well. On a side note, if it were here, the said guy would have probably walked up eh a pocket of cash and either bought it or leased it exclusively. I'd be happy to have more private land to hunt, even if I had to share it
Been there done that...It sucks when its not your land. Just dealt with this last year. My grandpa owns the 130 acres I hunt. He cash rents it to the people who farm it. My grandpa doesn't hunt and doesn't care about hunting. He owns a trucking business and this guy from the DMV got real friendly with him. So my grandpa let him hunt it. Keep in mind my family has hunted this farm for 15+ years. We were livid, but what can we do? We sat down with my grandpa and just explained how it could be dangerous, especially during gun season when we dont know these guys (Two men and one of their sons) and if we don't know how they hunt someone could get shot.(Considering they are or aren't careful) Our gun party is myself, father, brother,other grandpa, uncle and cousin. We told grandpa we didn't feel as if it was right considering we do so much work to land and pre season time scouting to have "some guy" ruin it. He said "well, I told them yes so I'll let them hunt the rest of the season and then theyre out" If thats all of the ground we would gain, then you gotta take what ya get. I live 35 miles from that farm and those guys lived ten. They were out there a considerable amount more than I was. They cleaned out all three 4.5 year old bruisers weve had consistently on camera. They %*^$&# us over good(trying to keep it PG). It's very frustrating. But as Joe Dirt said "Ya gotta keep on keepin' on"!!
I'd say this would be a bad decision. It would show spite. Showing spite about a decision a guy made about his land might get you kicked off. Let it roll off your back and be happy you get to hunt there. If you decide to talk to the farmer, I'd really make sure to keep any sound of entitlement out of conversation.
Yes I'd be pissed and all I could do is talk to the landowner, talk to the new hunter and explain my situation with kindness and common courtesy, particularly addressing MY stands... perhaps something can be worked out, help can be added to making his land even better for the both of you.
The more I see your posts, all I can happen to think is "If your gunna stir ****, why use a paddle when you can use an outboard motor"!
I would talk to the land owner and explain your part to him and go from there. After the talk if he still grants this gentlemen to hunt the land i would talk to him like cls74 said, maybe he has stuff to bring the the table, maybe he will stick around next year then you two could split the cost of what it takes to manage the land. Could help you in the long run you never know. I would be mad too but just give it a chance and go from there
I say this because i really hate people using my stuff if they dont ask me(I take it that those guys didn't ask Backstrap if they could use his stands). Its also a safety issue because he could get sued if one of them injured them self in on of his stands. I would first talk with the farmer about this though because i do see how this is a bad decision but this is one i would most likely do.
Have you talked to the "nice old man" recently? If you haven't and, have only hunted 4 times this year, maybe he thinks you've lost interest. I know quite a few of these "nice old men" around here who let people hunt their land and, it's not for deer herd control or anything like that. They like the social aspect , someone to swap hunting/fishing stories with, someont to show a little interest in them and, a lot of the time, just someone to talk to. I'd just suck it up and be thankful for the last ten years of solitary hunting. See if you can work something out with the new guy, it might benefit you both. Remember, ten years ago, didn't you get the same treatment when you asked for permission to hunt?
