Landowner: What do I do?

[BobT]

As a landowner I appreciate it when someone shows enough respect to ask permission before hunting on my property. For the past few years I've had a couple guys come out for the pheasant opener and we hunt together. Because there are still those that do not respect my property rights and out of respect for those that do last year I was forced to post my land indicating "No Hunting Without Permission."

When I give permission to someone to hunt my land and then someone else stops by, I usually tell them that I have already granted permission and so out of respect for them I don’t grant it to someone else. I only have 87 acres and don’t want to create a situation. Is that the wrong way to do this?

This year about two weeks before Labor Day I granted someone permission to goose hunt on my 25 acre wheat field. About a week later another person stopped out and asked permission but because I had already granted permission to another party I suggested he contact a couple of my neighbors instead. The problem is that the first person I granted permission to didn’t hunt my property after all. He had secured permission on multiple properties and chose to hunt elsewhere. Now I wonder how to handle this.

Should I grant permission to more than one person or limit it to only one like I did? If all land owners limit it to one as I did, one hunter could conceivably tie up a lot of land by getting permission from multiple farmers. If I grant permission to more than one then there’s a potential issue when they all show up on opening morning to hunt goose and there’s not enough room.

I’d like to hear your opinions.

Thanks,

[picksbigwagon]

My first thought would be that the first guy you granted permission to did exactly as you said in the last part of your post. He tied up a few pieces of land and no one had access to your land. Judging by your post, you weren't comfortable with that.....

I think it comes down to what are you comfortable with Bob. If you don't like trespassers but will grant permission, keep on doing it the way you currently are with you land posted as such. communication from the people you grant access to should be expected, tell the granted parties that you expect a phone call or email from them when they are going to be hunting your land and who all will be out there. To me, that is a common courtesy, I do the same thing with my wife's uncles land in SE MN. He gives me grief each time I call him and when I stop in at his shop before heading out, but I think it is the right thing to do.

[First Ice-Mike]

If that same guy shows up next year I would not grant him permission and I would give the next guy a shot.

[BobT]

If I try to picture it from his point of view:

He was from the metro area so he's got about a 2-hour drive or more. I can understand that he may not want to put all his eggs into one 25-acre parcel. At the same time if I grant permission to more than one hunter I could also imagine how he might feel if he did only have permission to my land, drove for 2 or 2-1/2 hours only to find out someone else is already setting up.

Do you think I do the right thing by granting permission to only one hunting party, especially when we're talking about goose hunting where there is setup work and such?

[bowhunternw]

It is nice that you are willing to share your land with others. I wouldn't worry about it too much if it was mine, early bird gets the worm type of thing. If he chose not to hunt it then it gets a break for the year.

[lakevet]

Even as relatives hunting each others land, we communicate for safety reasons first and to avoid interfering with another's hunt second. Land access is the biggest barrier to hunter recruitment and retention.

Some will use the "TIE UP" strategy to get access to as much land for an entire season, more than they will ever hunt, as backup etc. Problem is that this worsens the access problem.

Unless the guy has a good reason (medical issue,deployment over seas) I would not give him preferential treatment.

This is our approach:

Everyone is informed UP FRONT.

Preferential access/treatment: kids and adults who want to guide kids, not just use them as tool to get access, those with health issues, and the elderly.

Others have access, but always may get "bumped" by the above group. For example, if a groups of 30 yr olds ask permission, they a couple of 16 yr olds ask, the 30 yr olds get bumped. They have the ability generally to access more land/travel than kids do. If they are not more than happy to be bumped, they are "me first before anyone" and are off the list. Only had this problem once.

Let landowner know when/where/who will be hunting. Even if it is cousin/uncle/etc. Safety first.

Non relatives only get access by being with relatives. Even then have had challenges with "piling on" of a large group of "buddies".

Consider making short list of those who you give permission. If they don't call/text/ etc and get confirmation from you a day or two before hunting, they don't have access. Next person on list does.

Or make list and if no show one time then no permission the next. Give the next guy a chance.

One party a day is safest.

Thanks for giving access!

lakevet

[TooTallTom]

Hey BobT, I think it's great that you're trying to help others access your land for hunting. I'm sorry that it's becoming a little bit of a headache for you.

Another option is that you might allow access to a small number of groups/ hunters (a limit which you'd set for each in advance) with the stipulation that they may have to hunt with others. You can identify a couple of areas to hunt, depending on the wind, and tell them to set up there and there only for safety reasons.

If someone doesn't like having to share and play nice with others, or proves themselves incapable of doing so, they're not welcome to stay and hunt any longer.

Or you can also request that they get in touch with you a few days to a week before they plan to hunt and let you know if they'll be hunting. No call means they won't be there on a specific day, no show after a call means no access in the future. That might also cut down on the "locking up" large amounts of land with no intention to hunt.

[mainbutter]

The way we do it is that the only people allowed to hunt our land is 1) us and 2) the neighbors who were kind enough to not shoot our dog when he ran off as a puppy once.

We also only let people hunt north of the river, so we know where it might be more dangerous to be out walking around with the dog.

You wouldn't believe the number of people we've given permission to in the past that leave trash, so unfortunately it's pretty much close friends and family only now.

[ANYFISH2]

Bob, first thank you for allowing access to others to your property! Us, that are not fortunate enough to own our own, apprecaite landowners such as yourself.

I would ask of any persons to notify you if they do not intend to hunt your property after they have aquired permission, so that you may grant it to someone else. Or to sayif there are specific weeks/weekends they intend to hunt, so you can orginize as you see fit.

In the end it is your property so what you say is the "law" and us whom ask permission should be more than happy to follow.

[creepworm]

Ask for their phone number when they ask permission. Then if someone asks after them you can give them the phone number and they can call and coordinate who will be out there when. This works pretty well.

[tunrevir]

Here is what I have done in the past. If I know there are multiple users, I get phone #'s and e-mail from them and when a new person comes along I say I already have someone hunting but here is their name and number. Give them a call, if they aren't going to hunt you may hunt but I Want to be informed if you are going out there so I have an idea who is in my woods/feild. I have had good luck with this and have also made some good friends over the years using this method.

Tunrevir~

[ClownColor]

Here is what I have done in the past. If I know there are multiple users, I get phone #'s and e-mail from them and when a new person comes along I say I already have someone hunting but here is their name and number. Give them a call, if they aren't going to hunt you may hunt but I Want to be informed if you are going out there so I have an idea who is in my woods/feild. I have had good luck with this and have also made some good friends over the years using this method.

Tunrevir~

Again...Thanks for sharing your property with fellow outdoorsmens! This sounds like a great way to handle this, however, don't feel like this should be a burden on YOU.

I feel it was the leasee that did the wrong here and not the leasor. It sounds like you're a;ways willing to open your land to outdoorsmens so maybe telling them "I gave permission for john doe but if they don't show, your welcome to hunt this if nobody is here.

Thanks again for your willingness BobT

[UMC]

I've talked to landowners that get annoyed by guys who ask for permission to a field and then don't hunt it. They tell others that ask no because someone is already hunting it and then no one ends up hunting and it just rubs them the wrong way. Keep this in mind

[BobT]

I've talked to landowners that get annoyed by guys who ask for permission to a field and then don't hunt it. They tell others that ask no because someone is already hunting it and then no one ends up hunting and it just rubs them the wrong way. Keep this in mind

This is pretty much what happened. It doesn't rub me so much the wrong way but what does bother me is that I turned down another hunter because I already gave permission only to find out later I could have given permission to the second fellow. I just hope he was able to find another place to hunt. I know both of my neighbors would have no problem. In fact, when I asked my neighbor to the south if I could take geese off his field he was more than happy to say yes. I think his words were, "By all means. Get them out of my crops."

[BobT]

I appreciate the input especially from those who would be on the receiving end of this. It helps. Thank you.

[birdswacker]

This same thing happens in SE MN during the spring turkey season alot. We've talked to alot of land owners that just don't know for sure if "there hunters" are going to show up or not. We just ask if we could stop back in a day or two to see if they showed up or not. The land owner will usually let us on if he hasn't seen anyone around.

Bob,

If your having problems getting hunters to hunt your land after asking tell them no if there just hoarding spots or make tham call you to let you know if they'll be using it or not. To me it's not very respectful to ask and not use it.

I'd be happy to take my son to hunt pheasants on your land if your guys don't show up?

[hoppe56307]

Here is how I would handle it.

I would get the Name and phone# of the first person to ask to hunt. If he does not show up to hunt and a second group asks, you can call him and ask him if he plans on hunting your property for that specific day/weekend.

I have had people give me the phone number of the person who has permission to hunt their property and told to call them, but if they are land hoarding they will say no. But if the land owner would call you might get a different response.

[gurkster]

Bob it is great that you are willing to open up your land. I would allow use for a short period of time, like a day or weekend. Ex: Sure you can use it this weekend and I will not let others on it. Call me if you want to use it again. Then when someone else asks you can say it is in use this weekend but open next if you are interested. This way you can get to know some of the people using your land, how they use it, etc. As issues come up you can always deny permission and no one has it tied up for a long period of time.

[paceman]

I have asked to hunt land that others also have permission to use. The owner said the first one there gets to hunt. The other group did not know about us and was angry at us for getting there a little bit earlier than them. They went to another spot, but the next day they were there like 4:00 in the morning. We left and never came back. I would not recommend this method. I like your ideas of exchanging information between hunting parties.

[walleyeking19]

Ask for their phone number when they ask permission. Then if someone asks after them you can give them the phone number and they can call and coordinate who will be out there when. This works pretty well.

This is kinda what is happening me this year for bow hunting. I got permission to deer hunt an apple orchard where the deer are destroying the crops. My brother and I were the first to ask, so the owner gladly gave us permission to hunt. Last night, the landowner gave me a call and asked me for a favor. An old friend of his recently had a stroke and would like to get back into hunting. He uses a crossbow and because of the stroke, he forgot a lot of the finer points of deer hunting.

So he asked if I would be willing to take him out a few times, and sit with hm and be his guide; and re teach the art of hunting to him. Being in college, I never thought I'd be asked to be a guide for someone, especially someone my dad's age. I've been deer hunting for about 10 years, so I'm no beginner, but I'm not an expert by any means. I have no problem sharing the land with someone else, espcecially since he has a disability.

Its not my land, so I dont think I should be able to control who hunts it. I cant be out there all the time with school, so I'm more than happy to help the landowner by hopefully getting more deer off his property.

[96trigger]

I have to do this on some of the land I bowhunt. It is my uncles land but sometimes other people are allowed to hunt it. If that happens I get the email and phone numbers of any other people so that we can coordinate. If we coordinate and share information, I don't even care if they use my stands. The majority of the people that bow hunt only get out 1 or twice a week, so with a variety of stands, it doesn't make a big difference to me if they are out there or not.

BobT, its great that you allow people to hunt your fields. If you have someone that hunts it and you know them well, have them coordinate for you. I know my uncle is more than happy to let me coordinate as long as he knows who is in the woods. He actually likes having us back there because we are respectful and other people see our trucks and they know that people are hunting back there. I have actually gotten to know some pretty cool guys that way. I have yet to have a bad experience. Hopefully, you have someone that uses your land that you can trust and have a good relationship with.

[TylerS]

I'd be up front with the people asking permission. Tell them that since they've gone out of the way to ask permission, you expect them to go out there, respect the property and enjoy themselves. Then tell them that if they plan on not hunting it, you expect them to contact you as soon as they decide so other people may have the chance to use it. If you you find out later that they did not hunt it when they said they would, they will never be allowed to hunter your property again. Might seem harsh, but that oughtta keep people more honest...

[BobT]

From those of you that do ask permission how do you look at it? When you get permission to hunt someone's property do you expect there will be no other hunters hunting it? Does the area of the property play a role and if so, how much of a role? On my land for example I have 25 acres of wheat stubble on the northwest side of my home (home is centrally located) and on the southeast side of the home is 12 acres of alfalfa. Would it upset you to get permission to goose hunt my wheat and discover I gave someone else permission to setup on the alfalfa? You'd be separated by about 300 yards or more but on the same property nonetheless. For pheasant hunting how would you feel to find out that I gave multiple parties access. In this case it would be like having access to public land I suppose but since you've asked permission I want to know if you view it differently.

Despite my owner rights I'm trying to understand what is fair.

[creepworm]

I always ask if other parties were given permission when I ask. If they say yes I thank the landowner for the opportunity to hunt their land, but tell them that I will leave it for them.

The two different fields thing, it really depends on the other people hunting. It would not bother me if they did not pass shoot geese that were coming towards our decoys and I certainly would not do that to them. I guess I would rather there were not other people that close, but it certainly would not dissapoint me as long as they were respectful.

The several people pheasant hunting deal is one that would not bother me, especially if I was aware there was going to be someone else out there. If I pull up and there is someone else there I would simply go elsewhere. However, knowing that there would be other people hunting it would probably make me hunt it much less than land I had all to myself.

[birdswacker]

Bob,

I would only let one group at a time otherwise your opening a can of worms. Group A will be coming to you complaining about group B shooting birds that are to high, to soon etc. One group only unless they know each other. Same with pheasants if you have a couple groups hunting that could be very unsafe if a bird was to get up between them.