Let 'em hunt on my land?

[ihrules]

Glad to be on G&G, thought I'd run this by you guys for your opinions.

A young guy from around here left a message on my cell the other day asking if he could hunt on my property for the next few days with his bow. There's been about 12 elk that have been passing through regularly in the last week, including one very nice bull. I said sorry, I wouldn't mind myself but my wife would freak out. He was cool and said he understood.

Now I wasn't exactly telling the truth. Yes, she would freak out, I let a neighbor and his buddy get a couple elk 2 years ago and she had a problem but honestly she's about to take 1/2 my stuff and I couldn't care less if she has a problem.

These are the reasons I said no, was I thinking right?

1. I finally got a hunting rifle, Winchester M70, and I'd like to get one myself when rifle season starts.
2. If I'm going to let anyone hunt on my land it should be my buddy's, I've only talked to this guy just a few times
3. His family probably has 80+ acres of prime hay fields down there and why doesn't he just hunt his own land. His dad probably doesn't let him.
4. Is there a chance that this herd will get spooked off if one gets taken? Maybe a different herd doesn't come around then I'm out of luck in a few weeks.

Reasons why I was thinking I should say yes.

1. Don't want to appear to be a d**k, his family has been here forever, I've been here 5 years.
2. Come rifle season he could probably help me out with my first elk.
3. Maybe he'd return the favor in the future, they have a lot of nice land.
4. If he got one I imagine I'd get some meat for doing nothing, that would be nice

The decision has been made already but I would like to learn what's proper and what most hunter's would do if they were in my place.

Mike

[SwedeSteve]

Given the situation, I'd let him hunt for a nice roast.

[ArkansasHunter]

I'm going to appear selfish. It's your land and you say your fixing to start hunting which is reason enough to not allows others to hunt on it.

Time and Time again I have witnessed people asking permission to hunt someone else's land and then they over run it and take advantage and when you call there hand there's very ill feelings.

I happen to hunt on my land and land I lease around it. I'm often asked can I hunt with you.
And to be honest I don't want them to because in this sue happy times you can be sued if something were to happen to someone you allow to hunt on your land.

I have witnessed roads destroyed and rutted out to unsightly deer stands erected and NAILED to tree's. You don't NAIL anything to trees anymore, it depreciates there value. Need I mention litter ? Need I mention they invite friends.

I invited a cousin on my Fathers side to hunt with me and over the course of 2 to 3 years he had about 15 people hunting with him and he got over on other peoples property nailing up Deer stands.
There was 40 acres I leased next to my Mothers family land. I told them it's mine and to stay off. Well they didn't.

I eventually left and hunted with my Step Fathers Deer club. I didn't like it and quit.
I went back to hunting my Mothers land which is mine now and I had some bitch pull a gun on me that was married to my cousin son. Demanding I get out of here !!!

Let me tell you that pissed me off so much I went hunting for humans !!! When I got through with them...Honest truth I could here them burning rubber hitting the highway getting out of there .
I forgot to mention my Big Brother was with me and he someone that will hurt you LOL.
It just ain't worth the hassel anymore to let some people hunt on your property unless everything is spelled out to what you expect of them and tell them it's for (one) hunt if you allow it.
Where you'll know I only have 100 acres next to my Mothers brothers and sisters land in the middle of know where to hunt on.
None of them hunt and I have permission to hunt on theres which gives me more land to hunt on, but I rarely do because that 100 is enough and because of where it is at.

I could go on and tell about the big family that use to hunt on our land that were not invited to hunt there.
It was hell getting them out of there where my brother and I could hunt on it before the above happened.

I'll tell this I had a guy stick a 30-30 in my face one morning that had several others with him. They said I could'nt make them leave LOL LOL I jumped that guy te next week end when he was by himself and you never heard the appolijizing like I heard comeing from him.
I called the Game Warden because these people were shooting anything that moved and the Game Warden cleaned house.

So you be the Judge do you want anything like this happening to you...Times have changed theres no respect or courtesy anymore plus it's liability...A.H

[moosemike]

I don't know. That's a tough one.

[pajaro]

maybe say no to bowhunting, but have him hunt the land with you during rifle season.... a compromise......

[.22hustler]

I like all your reasons to say no.

[Archetype_wyo]

Originally Posted by ihrules

Glad to be on G&G, thought I'd run this by you guys for your opinions.

A young guy from around here left a message on my cell the other day asking if he could hunt on my property for the next few days with his bow. There's been about 12 elk that have been passing through regularly in the last week, including one very nice bull. I said sorry, I wouldn't mind myself but my wife would freak out. He was cool and said he understood.

Now I wasn't exactly telling the truth. Yes, she would freak out, I let a neighbor and his buddy get a couple elk 2 years ago and she had a problem but honestly she's about to take 1/2 my stuff and I couldn't care less if she has a problem.

These are the reasons I said no, was I thinking right?

1. I finally got a hunting rifle, Winchester M70, and I'd like to get one myself when rifle season starts.
2. If I'm going to let anyone hunt on my land it should be my buddy's, I've only talked to this guy just a few times
3. His family probably has 80+ acres of prime hay fields down there and why doesn't he just hunt his own land. His dad probably doesn't let him.
4. Is there a chance that this herd will get spooked off if one gets taken? Maybe a different herd doesn't come around then I'm out of luck in a few weeks.

Reasons why I was thinking I should say yes.

1. Don't want to appear to be a d**k, his family has been here forever, I've been here 5 years.
2. Come rifle season he could probably help me out with my first elk.
3. Maybe he'd return the favor in the future, they have a lot of nice land.
4. If he got one I imagine I'd get some meat for doing nothing, that would be nice

The decision has been made already but I would like to learn what's proper and what most hunter's would do if they were in my place.

Mike

You might get a good friend out of this deal, ask him if he wants a bull or a cow. Chances are the elk won't totally avoid your land if he snags one. They may stay away or go a different route for a few weeks but avoid it? Probably not. As for him helping you and all I shouldn't see why not. Ask if you can come along or something.

[tommy]

wny not let him hunt with you?? why be a butthole and say no if they been there forever and you just moved there i think i would try to make friends and not enemies. lay down some rules of the land and let him know them if he breaks the rules then kick him out but jeeze let the boy hunt he was nice enough to come ask you first before tresspasing right?one day you might need all the friends you can get so why make enemies?

[tommy]

Originally Posted by ihrules

Glad to be on G&G, thought I'd run this by you guys for your opinions.

A young guy from around here left a message on my cell the other day asking if he could hunt on my property for the next few days with his bow. There's been about 12 elk that have been passing through regularly in the last week, including one very nice bull. I said sorry, I wouldn't mind myself but my wife would freak out. He was cool and said he understood.

Now I wasn't exactly telling the truth. Yes, she would freak out, I let a neighbor and his buddy get a couple elk 2 years ago and she had a problem but honestly she's about to take 1/2 my stuff and I couldn't care less if she has a problem.

These are the reasons I said no, was I thinking right?

1. I finally got a hunting rifle, Winchester M70, and I'd like to get one myself when rifle season starts.
2. If I'm going to let anyone hunt on my land it should be my buddy's, I've only talked to this guy just a few times
3. His family probably has 80+ acres of prime hay fields down there and why doesn't he just hunt his own land. His dad probably doesn't let him.
4. Is there a chance that this herd will get spooked off if one gets taken? Maybe a different herd doesn't come around then I'm out of luck in a few weeks.

Reasons why I was thinking I should say yes.

1. Don't want to appear to be a d**k, his family has been here forever, I've been here 5 years.
2. Come rifle season he could probably help me out with my first elk.
3. Maybe he'd return the favor in the future, they have a lot of nice land.
4. If he got one I imagine I'd get some meat for doing nothing, that would be nice

The decision has been made already but I would like to learn what's proper and what most hunter's would do if they were in my place.

Mike

plus it seems your worried about spooking the heard well i think a blast from a m70 will spook them more that a silent arrow don't you think so. plus he could get together with the suroundiog owners and block the trails leading to your property and totally cut you off it's been done down here and it leaves a property owner with nuthing but woods and no game in it.

[charles73]

Maybe it's just me but if the guy has "known" good character, I would let him hunt. Because if he does have good character you will not regret it. And besides you might just pick up another good hunting buddy.
Just my 2cents...and probably what it's worth.

[JESSEDR]

Here in Az. lease land is open land unless posted by G&F or the forestry. If private then its private. If you have to cross private to get to state or forest you best ask. Most ranchers and farmers have no problem with giving okay to cross their land. But a lot are starting to refuse permission to cross and hunt do to A-- h--- so called out doorman who cut fences and leave trash and shells all over. You see a lot of this around stock and water tanks where bird hunters go. We have a saying at the ranch you pack it in you pack it out. But it don't always go that way. You all have fun hunting or just being in the outdoors and the GREAT SPIRIT RIDE WITH YOU ALL.

[Metronome]

I think it is smart to be wary of letting others wander around on your property. If it seems like he has good intentions and he can be trusted, I would opt for the inviting him to hunt with you once or twice to see a bit of his hunting habits. It's most likely he would like to hunt your land as he will always have access to his areas, and is just looking for some new pastures (don't we all do that?).
If you do decide to allow others to hunt on your turf, I would write out a very specific list of rules to follow and get specific dates of use, as well as limit 'guests'. If they are from a good family, you could also swap out a chance to hunt on their land if things go well.

[Lng Rng]

This is a tough one. I ask farmers for permission, and I have people ask me for permission as well. Our family has some land up north, and if somebody wants to hunt it for basically anything other than Bear or Deer, I usually give them the green light. I had a guy ask to trap it, and I allowed it. .The exception to this is if I will be hunting it that particular weekend. I don't want people walking around on the property when I am hunting it for reasons of safety and to keep them from spooking game. I reserve the rights of Deer and Bear to my friends and family, because that is what we primarily hunt up there. I have friends that need a place to hunt, and in return, they allow me on their property if they have any. It works pretty well.

So, it may be in your best interest to allow him to hunt. I would call him up and go into detail about what you want out of it. It could benefit you.

[99z28monster]

I think perhaps you should have had a good talk with him and tell him you needed some time to think about it. That way you can get a feel for his character than ask around to verify your feelings. At least the young man did the right thing and asked in the first place, some folks wouldn't bother, that should show you something. As for it scaring the herd I think that's really a hard question to answer. Would depend on if he took a satellite bull or maybe a cow I think it would be fine than. You can never give a a yes or no answer to something like that though.

As far as your No's they are all legitimate because it is your right to say no regardless. However maybe with some time you would feel more comfortable allowing him to hunt once you get to know him. Perhaps you could do a work for hunt type of deal, that is pretty common back home. Have him help with hay or some other manual labor job around the place during the summer or something along those lines.

If you where to decide and invite this gentleman out to hunt make sure you set firm guidelines for him to follow. Perhaps have him hunt only a certain area of the farm so that you can have a "fresh" area for you to hunt. Also don't allow him to bring along anyone with out your approval. Mandate that nothing permanent be brought out and so on.
I feel its always better to befriend folks and ditch them if they are not someone you want as a friend. At least you took the chance and didn't seem like the angry neighbor.

[dog party]

I'd suggest getting together with the young man and his father. Strike out a good deal where you can hunt on their land and they can hunt on yours. Then set parameters like; 7 days advance notice on intent to hunt, who/how many will be in the hunting party, what the hunt is after, etc. You both, of course, would adhere to these parameters regarding the other person's land.

You might just end up with a couple great hunting buddies.

All that being said, I agree with your listed reasons not to let someone hunt on your land. And I'm really sorry to hear that you and your wife are separating.

[Heavy shooter]

I generally don't other other people hunt my land. It's nothing personal, I just am usually hunting it. A couple of years back I let a couple locals hunt bear on my land and everything went fine so I let them bait and hunt there every year as I don't care to hunt black bears anymore. There are usually filled out opening weekend. But quite frankly I really don't anyone hunting deer there as I want the best chance for myself and my family. Bow hunter would generally hunt many,many times over the course of the season, and the deer do notice that kind of thing.

One thing to watch closely is other people getting the idea if it's okay for him, it's okay for me. I've run into a few people on my land who had no business being there and they basically said, "well, so and so got to hunt here so I thought it was okay". I might have to pull the plug for just that reason.

[wirehunt]

Sit down with the lad and have a yarn, I'm sure you've got a spare 30-60 minutes. Hint at your concerns and see what he has to say.

Set some ground rules like maybe, he can take a younger bull or whatever is going to suit you. But only after you decide if he has respect for both you, the property and the animals he wants to hunt.

Then think to yourself, in small places thing's go round, call this 'paying it forward' and be happy that your helping another young fella get started. After all, we all start somewhere, and you yourself don't know much about hunting yet........

[samuel]

The one problem I have had on land I will never hunt is if I give someone permission,they take about 6 others on with them.Easier just to post it.Someone will sneak in anyway,just not as many as if I gave one permission. ,,,sam.

[Paper]

I've read the posts. It's your land, and you can do as you wish.. I see all your points for both ways.. If it were me...

I'd let him hunt after opening weekend, or however long you'd like to take to find the animal you want. I'd then talk to him and let him know that he, and only he is allowed to hunt your property.. Say it with a smile so he understands that he's welcome, but lay down the rules, and tell him that as long as your rules are followed, he's welcome.

In the end, you're going to have some asshats tresspass onto your land. They're going to be semi-local and you'll have to decide if you're going to take care of it or have the police/DNR do it..

I absolutely appreciate all offers to hunt other's land. I make sure that they know this before and after the hunt, and I'm probably more concerned about people's property than the actual owners are.. I'm a guest and I know it..

Make sure the kid understands that he's a guest, too..

[rdale501]

You know, it is entirely up to you. I think if it were me I would expain to him that I didn't know exactly what I was going to do about hunting on this property yet. I would take his name and number a tell him that if I decided to allow public hunting he would be the first on the list. It shounds like you are at least concerned with what he thinks, that is a good thing.