Access to hunting land, do we do it to ourselves?

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In Pennsylvania one has to have a no tresspassing sign every few feet to make it possible to enforce no trespassing. My signs were routinely taken down by tresspassing deer hunters.

In Ohio it's different. It is illegal to hunt any land you don't own without written permission from the owner. I've had no problem with tresspassing hunters here. If I did, I wouldn't ask them to leave; I would call the Sheriff or Game Warden and have them talk with them.

I have let a guy on my property to hunt waterfowl the last couple of years and he has done very well.
 
About 6 or 7 years ago we acquired a little over 100 acres. We’ve built a house and barn and live on the property now. It’s been a constant battle to keep hunters and poachers at bay and seldom does a year go by where we don’t find at least one dead deer shot by others. The property is posted, but that doesn’t help unless you can catch them and have law enforcement with you. There are 4 hunters in particular that claim the right to hunt our land. 3 are local doctors. Last year my wife found a deer stand about 200 yards above the house. I destroyed the stand (the 4th since we purchased the land) but could never put my eyes on the individual. Next door neighbor and I look out for each other’s property but it’s a constant battle as I travel frequently for work.

I actually had a hunter shoot a red tailed hawk out of a tree while I was standing near it admiring the bird. The Game Warden says there’s nothing he can do as he can’t be on my land all the time. At some point I fear there will be a serious problem. There’s negatives to owning land you can hunt on too.
 
rayatphonix said:
About 6 or 7 years ago we acquired a little over 100 acres. We’ve built a house and barn and live on the property now. It’s been a constant battle to keep hunters and poachers at bay and seldom does a year go by where we don’t find at least one dead deer shot by others. The property is posted, but that doesn’t help unless you can catch them and have law enforcement with you. There are 4 hunters in particular that claim the right to hunt our land. 3 are local doctors. Last year my wife found a deer stand about 200 yards above the house. I destroyed the stand (the 4th since we purchased the land) but could never put my eyes on the individual. Next door neighbor and I look out for each other’s property but it’s a constant battle as I travel frequently for work.

I actually had a hunter shoot a red tailed hawk out of a tree while I was standing near it admiring the bird. The Game Warden says there’s nothing he can do as he can’t be on my land all the time. At some point I fear there will be a serious problem. There’s negatives to owning land you can hunt on too.
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Lotsa trailcams!!! Especially the ones that use cell towers for remote access!
 
We have about 140 acres a couple of counties up from me, about 1.5 hrs away, I've found multiple stands and blinds constructed on it and trash, there is only one local that has permission to hunt and he mostly bow hunts, I do not like to clean up behind someone and spend my time removing stands and blinds but just before deer season I usually sell about 2 or 3 stands.
We put out 3 dozen quail a couple of yrs ago and then found 3 hunters on property with birds the next year, the sheriff took them off but I still had to go back up 2 times to press charges and court. We always find 4 wheeler tracks, some being destructive. We now have coyotes so when the weather cools we will be spending some time there and maybe catch some trespassing
 
daniel craig said:
Sorta makes you wonder why there aren’t more land co-ops bought by all those hunting organizations that claim to care about us.
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They're bust pushing through things like CRP and other programs to make more land viable; lots of walk-in programs, etc. DU has purchased millions of acres for waterfowl conservation over the years, so groups are doing something. YOU can always get your buddies together and buy some land and make it private hunt club and set up the rules however you choose. LOTS of those, especially here in the South; a stark contrast to when I lived out West with all of the BLM and NF lands open to the public
 
When I was young we hunted on friends' land, people were very generous. From my experience I would say it's real risky to let strangers hunt your land and many are inexperienced or entitled. If I owned my own land I'd probably be full of hunters from my family and a few special friends or their kids but I would probably let an occasional parent with a kid hunt.
 
Unfortunately, in today's litigious society, if I owned land, it would be family only; some stranger shoots someone accidentally, you're looked at as a deep pocket; they trip and fall from a gopher hole, some ambulance chaser will be coming after you; just not worth the risk any longer to "be nice" to someone who comes knocking on your door like we used to be able to do.
 
Some folks, myself included, lease the land for hunting, and use the lease money to pay their property taxes.

OTOH, many entitled people simply treat other people's private property like it's their own, till they get caught. I've been told "they would rather beg forgiveness, than ask permission". On the bright side, I'm setting aside a nickel, for every lame-assed excuse I hear, from these trespassers.

I estimate I'll be a billionaire, in no time.

So, I would say there are many folks who disrespect other people's land, who aren't
fostering landowner's trust.
 
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As it stands, I haven't been hunting in over a decade. Land access is certainly a large part of the reason.

I grew up in Northern California, so state and federal lands were always available for hunting and outdoor activities. I am now in the mid-west and there is, "no land without a master."

In many ways, I can understand the "no hunting" situation here. After all, I would be thinking about liability. What I find interesting is that unlike the schools I went to, in California, none of the kids here go hunting. I mean none. It just seems odd to me, and a complete reversal of the California/Mid-West stereotypes.
 
Dibbs said:
Some folks, myself included, lease the land for hunting, and use the lease money to pay their property taxes.

OTOH, many entitled people simply treat other people's private property like it's their own, till they get caught.
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In my experience they treat it very much like it is NOT theirs...and they are entitled to do whatever they want because they paid. In my life, I have had worse experience with paying customers of hunting land than I have ever had with trespassers. That is why hunt leases are riddled with rules and clauses.

Hasaf said:
What I find interesting is that unlike the schools I went to, in California, none of the kids here go hunting. I mean none. It just seems odd to me, and a complete reversal of the California/Mid-West stereotypes.
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Changing interests from generation to generation. I think land access declining through the years has also stymied the next generation from taking an interest in hunting....among many other things. Dad hunted as a youth but as the years went on lost access to land and stopped hunting. He would have loved to teach his son or daughter but alas, the same reason he stopped is the same reason he can’t teach his kids.
 
What happened to driving over to a farmers property and doing some work in exchange for hunting? I admit I haven't tried this. I know a few who used to. I always hunted my grandparents land. Until they passed and the bank took it. Seems you could print out a hold harmless agreement. Or something like it. Idk times have changed for the worse.
 
Seems like the thread were the Government should take over all private land and give it to others that don’t work it but what do enjoy it.

I suppose the Country is moving that direction, along with no personal responsibility for ones actions.

We have land and let others enjoy it, hunting and fishing as well. Not just anyone though, there are lots of folks that have been down once, a hand full of them have their own keys to everything. They are the people that treat it as their own or better.

The guys that get there early when they know there is work to be done vs having something else to do that weekend. Picking up trash instead of leaving it behind. Respect is reciprocal.
 
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Meeks36 said:
What happened to driving over to a farmers property and doing some work in exchange for hunting? I admit I haven't tried this. I know a few who used to. I always hunted my grandparents land. Until they passed and the bank took it. Seems you could print out a hold harmless agreement. Or something like it. Idk times have changed for the worse.
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Last time I allowed someone to "help" in return for privileges, I had to redo it anyway (putting it nicely) intent was genuine, abilities are lacking. That combined with the general public previously referenced equals even less endearment to the idea.......
 
Good hunting land is hard to find and even if you live in a rural area you may have to drive long distances to get to better land. Roger Raglin said it right when he said if you want good hunting you have to go to places where there aren't many hunters. The good news is that it doesn't take many acres to have a good hunting place. I hunt in areas with several hundred acres but the sweet spot on each property is an area less than than 20 acres in size with only one stand location. A busy hunter who moves around constantly is probably not going to be very successful. With experience and knowledge of the area I can see every deer in a 640 acre section just by hunting one small area. The trick is to hunt animals coming from surrounding areas just by hunting the place where the animals like to go. I hunt land that I own and land that I lease and I have planned ahead to have and keep good hunting. To be successful it is important to understand where the animals are, what they are doing, and what other hunters are doing.
 
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In my experience the good land can be made if the greater area around it is decent. We bought a piece that was recently logged out and the owners that had bough it off the loggers had done nothing with for several years. It has been a lot of work but enjoyable work and the quality of the deer and turkey had improve noticeable under our management. I would almost say I enjoy managing/working the property as much or more than hunting it.
 
Plenty of National Forest and Wilderness to hunt where I am. The big problem is that most of the land on either side of the roads that isn't almost vertical, is privately owned. So finding ways to get access to the NF can be frustrating. A few hundred yards from the road might be some good ground, but you have to go 2 miles on foot to get to it.

So my big gripe is there aren't enough avenues of access. No need for a paved road, just a parking lot and a rough trail. Too much to ask.

So no, I wouldn't let people hunt on my land (unless they were friends). But I might let people walk through it to hunt on public land.
 
horsey300 said:
Last time I allowed someone to "help" in return for privileges, I had to redo it anyway (putting it nicely) intent was genuine, abilities are lacking. That combined with the general public previously referenced equals even less endearment to the idea.......
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I can see how that would be a problem. Not sure what my friends did in exchange for hunting rights. This was 20+ years ago. Never went with them. Had 10 acres to myself. Not enough room for more then 1 maybe 2 deer hunter's. We used to wear squirrels out together. Ah to be young with a pellet rifle and acres of endless joy.
 
jmorris said:
Seems like the thread were the Government should take over all private land and give it to others that don’t work it but what do enjoy it.

I suppose the Country is moving that direction, along with no personal responsibility for ones actions.

We have land and let others enjoy it, hunting and fishing as well. Not just anyone though, there are lots of folks that have been down once, a hand full of them have their own keys to everything. They are the people that treat it as their own or better.

The guys that get there early when they know there is work to be done vs having something else to do that weekend. Picking up trash instead of leaving it behind. Respect is reciprocal.
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That’s a bit of a stretch from what I was getting at but I can see why it would look that way.
 
daniel craig said:
That’s a bit of a stretch from what I was getting at but I can see why it would look that way.
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Oh, sorry, I didn’t intend to imply you think that personally but that thread kind of split into two groups.

One that has had to work their tail off or pay for the privilege to hunt land others have had to pay for, any continue to pay for in terms of up keep and taxes.

The other group of “takers” that don’t know why they don’t get invited back to have free reign without any responsibilities.

As I said before, I let folks enjoy our property and often invite people to hunt it as well. My decision making process is however, far from “random” and I don’t let random people on our property for the same reasons I don’t invite random people into our home.
 
I have learned over the years if you treat others stuff (property, vehicles, homes) as good if not better then you treat your stuff. You have a better chance of them letting you use, borrow, hunt, etc... Keep reading about idiots leaving a gate open or not picking trash. It takes no time at all to do both. Don't be lazy and ruin it for everyone.
 
daniel craig said:
Which leads me to wonder, how many people here, who never had access before and finally got their own land, allow other random people to hunt it or know someone who does?

To me, it’s a problem we do to ourselves, and I get it. Everyone wants the best hunting they can get and can be protective of it when they get it, but is it the right move? I don’t know.
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I bought my own land. I let some people hunt it, not strangers, but people known to me as 'friends.' Screw that. Nobody hunts my place anymore unless they have hunted with me and proven that they know what they are doing and will do the proper thing. I have had too many experiences with self proclaimed hunters and stewards of the land who seem to think access equates with carte blanche use and that they know better what I should be doing with my land than I do.

I am protective of my land, not because I don't want to share what I have, but because so many people are just not capable of doing the right thing. Several folks have access to my place. Many more have never been invited back.

The problem isn't with the landowners. I can't stress that enough.
 
Unfortunately, in today's litigious society, if I owned land, it would be family only; some stranger shoots someone accidentally, you're looked at as a deep pocket; they trip and fall from a gopher hole, some ambulance chaser will be coming after you; just not worth the risk any longer to "be nice" to someone who comes knocking on your door like we used to be able to do.
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We have people over to hunt doves or shoot annually, mostly family, friends and THR members. My daughter is an insurance professional, so we asked her about this. The answer is "blanket policy", which is pretty cheap and we gladly pay for it (It's also a must if you conceal carry). Also, a waiver of liability is not worth the paper it's printed on. Don't bother.

If you get invited to my place to hunt doves, don't assume you have carte blanche permission to come here for turkey or deer or quail (which we don't have anyway). There's only a couple of non family members who we allow to hunt here. One is my friend Bud, who is always around to help with whatever needs doing, whether it's cement work, building barns, weeding the garden, canning, etc. He is allowed to just call before and come over and hunt. The other would be H&Hhunter and his family. Always respectful and helpful.
 
He did say “if he owned land”. Once folks become land owners they see things through a different Lens.

I think that is the premise of the OP.
 
In today's world if you hunt on someone's land you owe them something. Even guys on hunting leases owe money. When I'm not hunting public land I hunt two different pieces of property owned by friends. They get plenty of favors and assistance with various forms of work. One of them got some of my .30-30 handloads for his Model 94 Winchester last year and he doesn't even deer hunt, but shoots occasionally. Helped the other one with a few projects last year and also gave him a few boxes of 22 Short ammo for an old gallery gun he has. My basic rule is that if I hunt your property, you will be compensated along with having me treat your land with respect and following any rules that may pertain to your land. They help me; I help them.
 
22250Rem said:
In today's world if you hunt on someone's land you owe them something. Even guys on hunting leases owe money. When I'm not hunting public land I hunt two different pieces of property owned by friends. They get plenty of favors and assistance with various forms of work. One of them got some of my .30-30 handloads for his Model 94 Winchester last year and he doesn't even deer hunt, but shoots occasionally. Helped the other one with a few projects last year and also gave him a few boxes of 22 Short ammo for an old gallery gun he has. My basic rule is that if I hunt your property, you will be compensated along with having me treat your land with respect and following any rules that may pertain to your land. They help me; I help them.
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Gee, treat others like you would like to be treated - amazing how that works without the need for ambulance chasers and 85 page contracts to hunt
 
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