How to approach land owners?

[teej89]

I was scouting in a state forest last week and ran into posted signs in the woods in an area I was really interested in hunting, so i jotted down the last name and went to the county auditor's website and found the information of the land owner. I have his address and name and spouse's name however they didn't provide a phone number, my question is should I try harder to find a phone number and give him a call or should I go up to his house personally and ask for permission to hunt his land?

Also how do I go about the conversation? I've always hunted public land and hunting clubs, never asked an owner for permission to hunt their property before.

[Jim D]

I would go to the address and talk to them. Start out with some basic fact finding question like do they hunt, what type of hunting (bow shotgun) ect, then I would go into more direct for you. I find that face to face works great because they will get a feel for you. I had a ton of land in NC with no lease agreements just a little liability paper that I would sign and the owners would sign to protect them if I was hurt on their land. Hope this helps and good luck, land is hard to get for hunting these days.

[radicalxl]

Never hurts to offer to do some chores around their place either. You will find that if you maybe just ask to bowhunt you may get permission. Some people have alot of gun hunters and may say no to that. Good luck, you'll need it.

[Greybeard11]

Definitely go to the house, it's always better. Dress nicely, I prefer no camo, be polite, yes sir, no sir. Be honest and ask to bow hunt first. It harder to say no in person. If he says no thank him for his time and ask if he knows of anyone else that may let you hunt. Sometimes you can leave your name and number and ask him to call if he reconsiders. You'll know pretty quick if this may be an option. Good luck.

[Dan]

No phone calls, if it were only that easy. Look respectable nice jeans and a collared shirt. Take off your hat and sunglasses, make eye contact. I try to show up around lunch time or before dinner, never on Sundays. I get right down to it once I am talking to the landowner. "Good morning mr jones I'm full name, and i live in your town, the reason I stopped by today was to see if you allow any bow hunting on your property". The conversation flows from there. Remember to be gracious in defeat. If its a place I really want to hunt I will ask about stopping back next year to discuss the possibility of getting permission.
Once you get your spiel down and make it your own it will get easier. Cold calling landowners can be tough at first but it gets easier every time.
Good luck.

[mrbb]

always do so in person, phone calls send up red flags as to how you got there number

secondly, best advice I can tell you is NOT to go just prior to hunting season, to be honest, its some what putting the owner on the spot if you ask, me and also, or how i feel anymore, showing me somoen was lazy and last minute planning
To me most guys have all there spots picked out prior to season start

BUT I do understand that things happen, but I truely believe you double your odds of a YES if asked in say MAY as to say Sept.

I would be mostly up front real quick and not waste there time.

simply knock on the door, tell them you were scouting the public lands, found there signs, made the effort to find out who owned them, and was wondering if they allowed anyone to hunt on there lands or not
keep it simple

Sadly, as being a guy who's hunting lands is very close to the border of a public hunting area
we tend to get asked way more times, and due to so many people that cannot read and follow no trespassing signs
we tend to say NO more, due toubles and costs we encounter from trespassers!
SO, your already at a lower odds of gaining access

most land owners that are willing to let hunters hunt there lands next to public lands, work with the state, and have signs saying so( seen many places in OHIO where it said permission gratned on a what ever basis, on state funded sighs on private lands near where I hunt in ohio)
due to how many times there approached
if its posted, I say odds are low
and honestly if it was me , I don't think I would even ask about hunting
I would HIGHLY suggest this to you!

I would simply ask if they allowed permission to track a deer on there lands just in case
and MAYBE from there at some later on point in time, ask for permission in say OFF season
it to me shows effort it shows you are looikng to be a smart hunter, one that has concerns BEFORE A KILL, and wants to be correct in what you do!
it gives them a chance to see you before hunting season!

and secondly it lets you know ahead of time, that if you hunt this public lands and one runs onto this land if you can recover or not
maybe making you not hunt there and find a place that offers more room to recover
things happen, and again, its a good way to get a feel for the owner, and how he views hunters
and even opens the door to allow them to say if they let hunters hunt on there lands too!

[teej89]

great thanks guys, this is a ton of help and yeah I know it's not as good as asking in the spring but we just decided to hunt ohio this summer and I just found this spot on a topo and scouted it last weekend. We aren't looking at hunting it until november but I wish I would have gotten the opportunity to go out sooner.

Mrbb, I like the idea of just saying to track deer because who knows the guy may just give me permission to hunt after I ask him. On the auditor site it says his land is for cash - general farming. He has bean and corn fields as well as cow pastures so I'm hoping he's a farmer that doesn't hunt and will give me permission. Thanks for all your feedback you guys, I'm going on friday, I'll let you know how it works out! (hopefully in the positive)

[mrbb]

if he is a crop farmer you can also try asking the local game warden about him, as if he complains about deer damage, the warden would know, and that could be helpful too
but if your going to ask to hunt, you might want to say you will be willing to shoot some does first if thats needed to gain access, tags are not that much more, and if he has crop damage, and don't know a farmer that doesn't
that could also show your willing to help him and not just yourself on a buck!

[teej89]

thanks for all your help guys! I'm hunting an area in state lands that peninsula's into private property and talked to all 4 land owners that line the area, 3/4 being able to track a hit deer on their land and 2/4 to hunt their land. All pretty good guys tho, the one even drove me around on his property.

[mrbb]

cool glad it worked out for you

[ManOfTheFall]

There is a property 2 farms away from my family's farm. This farm always has a large ag field that is full of the deer that bed and live mostly on our farm. I have had great success on our family farm but I love early season hunting and since our family farm isn't farmed anymore, those ag fields are really hot spots in the early season. This makes the 4th year I have asked these people to hunt. The first year I was told no but we made alot of small talk and had great conversation. The second year it was the same thing. The third year we are now on first name basis and I get permission to hang trail cams on the property. The fourth year, which is now I show them the nice pictures I have and I am told I will probably be allowed to hunt in the late season with my bow. I usually have my 6 deer by then but if I don't you'd better believe I will take the opportunity to take in a few hunts on the property. I'm really hoping by next year my foot will be in the door enough that they will say yes to all season. Also, the fields will have beans again next year. When there are soybeans in those fields it is like deer heaven there. I say go to them in person, be kind, courteous, make small talk, and be persistent if they say no the first time. Also, if they say no to hunting ask if you could hang a couple trail cams on the property. These land owners really loved seeing the pics of the deer on their property. Good luck and hopefully you will get permission.

[ManOfTheFall]

Good job on the properties you got permission on. The other ones just keep at it and you never know what may happen.

[Dan]

thanks for all your help guys! I'm hunting an area in state lands that peninsula's into private property and talked to all 4 land owners that line the area, 3/4 being able to track a hit deer on their land and 2/4 to hunt their land. All pretty good guys tho, the one even drove me around on his property.

Thats great, good job and good luck.