Gaining permission to hunt private property can be a challenge, yet it can be achieved if you go about it in the right way.
Imagine if a stranger knocked on your door and asked to borrow your car, truck, or camper? Would they act responsibly? Return it as good as new? Why should you do that anyway?
For farmers and ranchers, their property is their most valuable asset. Granting permission for you to trespass and harvest the game that they’ve probably fed the entire year is a significant request.
Kip Adams does a great job of summarizing ten positive steps to gain a landowner’s trust in this post from QDMA.
Hunter access was identified as one of the largest issues impacting the future of hunting at the 2013 North American Whitetail Summit. East of the Rocky Mountains, most hunting occurs on private land, and this is especially true in states like Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas where 97 to 98 percent of the land is in private ownership. Add in development, anti-hunting sentiment among some landowners, and competition from other hunters, and it can be downright difficult finding a place to hunt.
In decades past, many hunters could walk out the back door, cross several boundary lines during the course of a hunt, and never worry about upsetting the landowners or being arrested for trespassing. Unfortunately those days are long gone. There may be a few remote areas like this left, but for the vast majority of hunters this isn’t the case.
The reality for many hunters today is they must seek land to hunt on. Some own land, some lease land, and most seek the opportunity to hunt on someone else’s land by receiving permission from the landowner. A few are good with “the ask” but most are not, so here are 10 tips to help you secure a spot to hunt.
1. Ask permission well in advance of the season. Don’t show up the week before opening day and expect a positive response. It may happen, but increase your odds by asking weeks or months in advance.
2. Make a good first impression. Don’t show up dirty from work or in hunting attire. A shower and clean (non-camo) clothes can go a long way toward receiving permission.
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