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Hurteau: Hunting For Permission

May 20, 2010

Hurteau: Hunting For Permission

So I’m thinking there must be some reasonable-sounding excuse for me to post a picture of a turkey on a whitetail blog and brag about how I called the bird in for my visiting brother-in-law, Geoff (at left), last weekend. And what do you know? Turns out there is: I know some hardcore whitetail hunters who claim they hunt turkeys primarily to get permission to hunt deer. Most of you get this, but for anyone who doesn’t, here’s the idea: Landowners are generally more willing to allow turkey hunting and if over the course of the spring season you can reveal to them that you are not a complete schmo (or hide that you are), you’ll have a good shot at maintaining access for deer in the fall.

I’m not savvy enough to pull something like that off myself, but with Geoff’s help, I might have accidentally begun the process. . . .

This past weekend, he and I struck a late-morning tom at the far end of a property I have permission to hunt. We couldn’t get the bird to come across a ravine, and at the noon closing, we figured we needed to be on the other side of the gully in the morning. It would be a long, bumbling walk in the dark getting in—unless we approached from the fields on the adjacent, posted, property.

“Why don’t you ask the farmer if we walk through his fields,” Geoff suggested. “Not to hunt his piece—but just to get where we need to be?”

So I did. Nice guy. Happy to oblige. And despite my sputtering, the conversation was going pretty smoothly, so I tried slipping this in: “Ahhh…well, would it be okay, you know, if we, maybe, hunted your piece… a little…?”

“Yeah, I guess that’d be alright,” he said.

When we got home, I checked my tax maps and just about fell over. In the end, Geoff got his first gobbler, and I got onto to 500 acres—a huge piece for around here. And I could be bowhunting it next fall. All I have to do is convince the landowner I’m not a complete schmo.

Hey, it could happen.

Comments (16)

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from Taylor3535 wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

Never thought of this. Nice article

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Koldkut wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

You can do the same with Coyotes.....

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Bones812 wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

Goodluck

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from MB915 wrote 15 weeks 4 hours ago

Do that with the resident goose population in Sept. Shoot some geese for the farmers, try to prove I am a good ethical hunter and try to turn that into me bowhunting their property in the fall, might take a full year of goose hunting to be able to deer hunt, but normally worth it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from fliphuntr14 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

good plan many people in my area only hunt the gun season i tend to benefit by asking only to hunt the bow season and almost all let me turkey hunt as for some reason many people don't hunt that here.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from jfgann66 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

I have found that it is easier to get permission to bow hunt than it is to gun hunt. In Georgia we have a new law that prevents the land owner from being sued over hunting accidents on their property. This is a good thing unfortunately most people do not know about it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Hank111 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

In most states the landowner is protected from being sued for accidents,as long as he has given permission and not recieved any money. If any money changes hands he is not protected.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from scott powers wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

man i hope that you get that land to hunt that sounds like a good place to be.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Beekeeper wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

Yes, it is an excellent approach.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Edstoresit wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

When I went to college in River Falls, Wisconsin, we spent many hours in western Minnesota knocking on doors for permission to hunt slews and lakes on private property for ducks. The one thing we always did was to bring any ducks/pheasant/quail dressed and frozen to give to the landowners whether we got permission to hunt or not. It also helped to have a friend who worked for Gillette in Minneapolis, who would throw in various toiletries and sundries for them as well.
Year in and year out we would approach the same people and upon every no we would hand over a dressed bird and a bag of goodies and thank them for their time. The end result was access to some amazing duck and pheasant grounds that we never would have been able to hunt. Persistence and politeness still go along way in this world.
And I might remind people to treat those lands with utmost respect and stewardship so that those who follow may also be able to experience what you just did.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from woodsmanj35 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

Good Idea, I think I'll steal it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from woodsmanj35 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

What happened to "all deer all the time though"? Just kidding, nice bird.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from gautrey wrote 14 weeks 5 days ago

Just a suggestion, offer some of your meat to the land owner. Sometimes they r too buzy to hunt themselfs and find that your generosity of giving him some the trophey that you just got will help you stay on the property. Or donate some of the meat to HUNTERS FOR THE HUNGRY. I donate all that I can and it shows that I`m not out just to hunt but that i care about others as well. Great Job on the bird.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from deadeyedick wrote 14 weeks 5 days ago

I'm Back. I have been gone for a while due to health problems in my family.
Many landowner will indeed give permission to hunt if a person goes about it in the right way. I , myself have gotten permission by aking to hunt destructive varmints during the summer months i.e woodchucks, coyotes, and other varmints that plague farmers .

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Del in KS wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

I also give the farmers that let me hunt a gift. Something they can't get at the local store that does not cost too much either. I give them smoked bacon that was smoked in my cold smoker for a day or two. They always love the stuff (me too). Store bought bacon isn't smoked very much anymore and usually has water added.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post a Comment

from Taylor3535 wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

Never thought of this. Nice article

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Koldkut wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

You can do the same with Coyotes.....

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from scott powers wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

man i hope that you get that land to hunt that sounds like a good place to be.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Edstoresit wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

When I went to college in River Falls, Wisconsin, we spent many hours in western Minnesota knocking on doors for permission to hunt slews and lakes on private property for ducks. The one thing we always did was to bring any ducks/pheasant/quail dressed and frozen to give to the landowners whether we got permission to hunt or not. It also helped to have a friend who worked for Gillette in Minneapolis, who would throw in various toiletries and sundries for them as well.
Year in and year out we would approach the same people and upon every no we would hand over a dressed bird and a bag of goodies and thank them for their time. The end result was access to some amazing duck and pheasant grounds that we never would have been able to hunt. Persistence and politeness still go along way in this world.
And I might remind people to treat those lands with utmost respect and stewardship so that those who follow may also be able to experience what you just did.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Bones812 wrote 15 weeks 5 hours ago

Goodluck

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from MB915 wrote 15 weeks 4 hours ago

Do that with the resident goose population in Sept. Shoot some geese for the farmers, try to prove I am a good ethical hunter and try to turn that into me bowhunting their property in the fall, might take a full year of goose hunting to be able to deer hunt, but normally worth it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from fliphuntr14 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

good plan many people in my area only hunt the gun season i tend to benefit by asking only to hunt the bow season and almost all let me turkey hunt as for some reason many people don't hunt that here.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from jfgann66 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

I have found that it is easier to get permission to bow hunt than it is to gun hunt. In Georgia we have a new law that prevents the land owner from being sued over hunting accidents on their property. This is a good thing unfortunately most people do not know about it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Hank111 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

In most states the landowner is protected from being sued for accidents,as long as he has given permission and not recieved any money. If any money changes hands he is not protected.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Beekeeper wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

Yes, it is an excellent approach.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from woodsmanj35 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

Good Idea, I think I'll steal it.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from woodsmanj35 wrote 14 weeks 6 days ago

What happened to "all deer all the time though"? Just kidding, nice bird.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from gautrey wrote 14 weeks 5 days ago

Just a suggestion, offer some of your meat to the land owner. Sometimes they r too buzy to hunt themselfs and find that your generosity of giving him some the trophey that you just got will help you stay on the property. Or donate some of the meat to HUNTERS FOR THE HUNGRY. I donate all that I can and it shows that I`m not out just to hunt but that i care about others as well. Great Job on the bird.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from deadeyedick wrote 14 weeks 5 days ago

I'm Back. I have been gone for a while due to health problems in my family.
Many landowner will indeed give permission to hunt if a person goes about it in the right way. I , myself have gotten permission by aking to hunt destructive varmints during the summer months i.e woodchucks, coyotes, and other varmints that plague farmers .

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from Del in KS wrote 14 weeks 3 days ago

I also give the farmers that let me hunt a gift. Something they can't get at the local store that does not cost too much either. I give them smoked bacon that was smoked in my cold smoker for a day or two. They always love the stuff (me too). Store bought bacon isn't smoked very much anymore and usually has water added.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
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