|
|
Post by johnc911 on Mar 25, 2008 20:50:00 GMT -5
Steiny is right on the money. Im very fortunate that my family owns a big farm. And my grandfather was state farm bureau pres back in the day. So most of the farmers know my family. However i have NOT ONCE been turned down by people that i dont know also. Never just go right into the hunting question. Just stalk LOL the farmer for a while and look for the right opportunity. It will come trust me. I had some property that i really wanted to waterfowl hunt on but did not know the farmer at all. I drove by his house about everyday looking for the right opportunity, Sure enough one day i drove by and all his cows were out on the road and in the corn fields. BINGO knocked on the door helped him get the cows in. He said i cant thank you enough i said oh yes you can. Been hunting it ever since. So just keep trying dont give up your time will come.
|
|
|
|
Post by handgun357 on Mar 25, 2008 20:55:10 GMT -5
Never give up.........
Keep the faith fellow hunters .......
Rock on........
Our children depend on us!.......
|
|
|
|
Post by freedomhunter on Mar 26, 2008 8:57:31 GMT -5
You pretty much have to offer something up before you ask to hunt. Offering to kill some of the doe deer that are destroying the crops usually isn't enough. What are you going to do for me? It is the sad state of hunting permission today!
|
|
|
|
Post by johnc911 on Mar 26, 2008 15:39:27 GMT -5
Dont ask for the whole season also just start out with wanting to hunt a couple days during the week or one specific weekend.
|
|
|
|
Post by duff on Mar 26, 2008 18:23:12 GMT -5
Dont ask for the whole season also just start out with wanting to hunt a couple days during the week or one specific weekend. That is a great tip that I have used several times. Ask for a day or morning or evening, then a day or two after you hunt it stop in and thank them. Ask then if it might be alright if you come back another day when you have more time to hunt. Might be suprised. Might not get your special honey hole overnight but building trust or shelling out the bucks is what it's all about any more. Trust me Mac, we have all had our days weeks or even years when it hasn't gone our way. Best way to not get any more private land to hunt is to not ask. I will bet you any amount of money they are not going to be knocking on your door adkinh you to hunt their ground...so either suck it up and keep on asking or break out your toy trains for your new hobby. Your choice  |
|
|
|
Post by omegahunter on Mar 26, 2008 19:17:39 GMT -5
Great idea! Let the livestock out and help them round them back up. Just kidding guys. Most everywhere that even looks decent in SW Indiana seems to have several hunters already there. I also have resorted to public land on occasion just to fill a muzzleloader tag with a doe to get some meat in the freezer.
|
|
|
|
Post by steiny on Mar 30, 2008 12:21:13 GMT -5
Like I said, it aint that tough. Make friends first. You aint gonna make too many farmer friends in downtown Evansville, or at Starbucks ...... duh .... farmers are in rural areas.
Here is another way to pull it off that has worked several times. Don't know if you're a beer drinker or not, but buying a few beers, tipping good, and making some friends in a country tavern is pretty easy to do, and a good way to get a place or two to hunt. Grant it, you can run into some real winners in those joints and might come home smelling like you smoked 3 packs, but you can also get to know some nice folks in those joints, who's dad, brother or cousin has a farm, etc. and might let you hunt. I've done it, it works.
There aint no shortcut to the plan. You've got to make friends first. Then when they find out you like to hunt, heck they'll invite you out ..... you won't even have to ask.
Your location has little to do with it. I've had success getting free hunting access around here in the northern part of the state, in southern,IN (Sullivan county), in Montana and Wyoming.
This business of a complete stranger, pounding on a door asking to hunt, aint gonna have very high odds of sucess. Also, I recognize that there is a certain segment of the population that couldn't sell ice water in the Sahara Desert. These guys better just pony up and lease.
|
|
|
|
Post by swindianapaul on Apr 1, 2008 13:03:37 GMT -5
One thing which has worked well for me over the years is to become a frequent visitor to the co-ops/seed stores. Become friends/acquaintences with the guy behind the counter as he will know the majority of the farmers/landowners in the region. It may take a few early Sat. morning trips and more than few cups of coffees to do it, but eventually you'll be able to ask him if he knows of any farmers/property owners that might be willing to allow you hunt their places. Once he suggests a name or two, I'll ask him to check with them next time they're in to see if they mind me calling and stopping by next time I am through. I have several places here in Indiana (sw and west central) and 2 in Illinois I found to hunt by doing the above. I am fortunate in that I enjoy drinking lots of coffee and enjoy the 'courtship'.
It is similar to farming: It takes time, energy and perseverance. I usually start stopping by the co-ops sometime in early Dec on Sat. mornings about an hour after they open. If you're someone that runs diesel in anything, throwing an empty can in to fill up when stopping in never hurts. Whether you're talking to the guy behind the counter or the property owner themself remember that you need them, not the other way around.
Good luck
|
|
|
|
Post by Old Ironsights on Apr 10, 2008 10:25:51 GMT -5
So, as usual, the introverts in the crowd get the screws.
Go look up ISTJ some time. It's who I am and it's not going to change.
It means I don't, and CAN'T, make "friends" of random individuals - especially for selfish reasons. It is just outside of my innate personality profile.
Maybe after going to the right church in the right rural community for the right number of years I could make it work - but I'd be dead by then.
|
|
|
|
Post by gundude on Apr 10, 2008 13:02:45 GMT -5
I helped mend a farmers fence three years ago..... Didn't know him just saw him working. Parked my truck grabbed some goves and started helping... Didn't meven say hello for 5 minutes or so. After that I called him a year later and bought some beef from him....... This year I can hunt ALL 350 ACRES...... No deer hunting this year. He still has a boy at home who hunts. Turkeys or upland game or OK. Next year I can Deer hunt...... Piece of cake. Didn't really cost me a dime...... Not as hard as you think.
|
|
|
|
Post by parrothead on Apr 11, 2008 7:20:38 GMT -5
Why dont you and your buddy go in a buy some land together. Then you can be the ones saying no.
|
|
|
|
Post by aoliver on May 3, 2008 5:42:52 GMT -5
I am in the same boat as you are mac, I lost my private area 4 years ago when it was sold to a local farmer. I would drive over 3 hours round trip to hunt this area. After it was sold, I told myself to find something closer to my home. I was lucky enough to hunt 5 mins from home the first year, but have had to go to public land ever since. I am truly disappointed in my fellow hunters on public land. People will walk all over you, come up to you and want to talk while you are hunting etc. I am still looking for some private land, but with today's gas prices I am most likely to give up as well.
|
|
|
|
Post by mac67t on May 5, 2008 7:46:16 GMT -5
Your right hunters on public land have no respect. I used to drive up to german ridge in the hooseir national forest. But two years ago. I went in to hunt got to my stand about an hour before day light. And 15 minutes after light here comes a guy walking in on me. He walks right up to me and tells me this is his hunting area. He's been hunting here for the last 10 years. I told him this is public land. He preceded to cuse me out an turn and walked away. He got about 75 yrds from me and decided to take a  right on my doe in heat scent waffer. And walked out of the woods making as much noise as he could. This was opening day. I stayed and hunted never seeing any thing. Came back the next day to find my ladder stand gone. Wonder were that went? If by chance that guy is reading this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.. To you. So I gave up on hunting public land. Just going to pack it in. Mac67t |
|
|
|
Post by fftce67 on May 5, 2008 7:52:32 GMT -5
Man that really sucks there. Hope he got his later and went to put it up and it fell on him, but not bad enough to really disable him permanently.
|
|
|
|
Post by Decatur on May 6, 2008 14:08:02 GMT -5
It cracks me up when people naively ask "why don't you just buy some land?" Not everyone CAN buy land. I'm sure we would all love to be landowners, but it just doesn't work that way! As if everyone of us hasn't dreamt about, and tried to figure a way we could buy land! If only!
|
|
|
|
Post by parrothead on May 6, 2008 14:14:49 GMT -5
I teach school. But I also buy and fix up houses and have for 16-17 years I saved every bit of that money to buy my house and buy land. I worked 70-80 hours a week in the summer with the sole purpose of paying cash for a place. It it something everyone can do. It took me many years to do it. So everyone can or work overtime. I new nothing about fixing up homes when my partner and I started. We took a gamble buying a place on contract many years ago and developing it in Brown County. And we struggled A LOT at first.
|
|
|
|
Post by duff on May 8, 2008 19:26:03 GMT -5
It cracks me up that this guy is still blaming everyone else for his lack of opportunity, if you want to do something you will find a way to do it...
|
|
|
|
Post by Decatur on May 8, 2008 20:56:37 GMT -5
I wasn't blaming anyone for anything!
|
|
|
|
Post by 10point on May 9, 2008 8:55:22 GMT -5
It cracks me up when people naively ask "why don't you just buy some land?" Not everyone CAN buy land. I'm sure we would all love to be landowners, but it just doesn't work that way! As if everyone of us hasn't dreamt about, and tried to figure a way we could buy land! If only! Half of the main place that I hunt just got auctioned off. 40 acres went for 380,000.  |
|
|
|
Post by duff on May 9, 2008 15:31:32 GMT -5
That's Chump chage for you for you 10point, I bet you are just waiting for a bigger section!!!!
|
|
