Lost my hunting spot. Again.

[d2wing]

I have been hunting for several years with my buddy on land behind his house. I knew the property was owned by a distant landlord but my buddy had permission to hunt it. The neighbor on the other side sold his land to a new guy. The new guy contacted the owner and claims that my buddy never had permission. And he has made a deal to take it over. hunting rights.
I don't mind hunting public land so much but in my condition I need the help of my son or someone else. Besides everyplace is over run on opening day. There used to be plenty of private land willing to let hunters hunt but that have become a thing of the past.
Where ever I go my son and grandson have to come along. Fortunately his cousin owns land next to a big public area so the plan is to hunt there. Not on the cousins but the public land. It's really popular area so we will be in competition for a spot. Hunting land hasn't been easy to find or buy for years. Oh well. Been through this before. I care more for my son and grandson than myself.

 

[courtgreene]

Hindsight, but don’t you wish you’d have made that call before the neighbor?

to your point, you’re correct. Hunting land access is very hard to come by if you don’t pay for it. Even then it can be hard when the competition to be the first guy with money in hand is so stiff. The beauty of your plan is having an access point to public land that others don’t have. Get in there and let the hoards walking from public access points push them to you. That has worked for me on public land very well.

 

[buck460XVR]

As I have said before on here, the biggest threat to hunting as we know it, is access to good hunting land. It is the reason so many older hunters quit hunting and the reason so many new hunters never really get started. Where I live we have access to a considerable amount of public hunting land. Still on opening days, it can be frustrating to say the least. Most of it also is not as productive as private land, and game numbers and mature animals are fewer and farther between. It does not mean one cannot have a quality hunt tho. It means one cannot expect to see animals like you see on "The Outdoor Channel". It means one needs to be happy with a antlerless deer or immature buck instead of a monster. My grandfather once told me...."if the largest fish in the pond is 2#s than a 2 pounder is a trophy!". The speaks well of public lands in many areas. The western mountainous states are the exception. Just be sure to be early and to know the places where the crowds tend to overlook. Be prepared to go to a backup spot when someone who comes in after you and refuses to leave the area shows up. Make the trip about the hunt and not the kill and don't let inconsiderate rectal orifices get under your skin and wreck what could be a good time.

For years, I have proposed to the state at our Spring Conservation hearings to create a public land charge. One would need a sticker/patch/tag to hunt public land. Maybe $20. Youth under 16 would be exempt. All the proceeds would go towards procuring more public land to hunt and to better the habitat on public land already owned by the state. Usually gets shot down as being too hard to enforce or that it would not bring in enough monies to make a difference.

 

[Ru4real]

I have been hunting for several years with my buddy on land behind….

Shrinking resources and the tragedy of the commons. What’s a fella to do? I moved from Minnesota to Utah.

 

[Chuck R.]

Where I live we have access to a considerable amount of public hunting land. Still on opening days, it can be frustrating to say the least. Most of it also is not as productive as private land, and game numbers and mature animals are fewer and farther between. It does not mean one cannot have a quality hunt tho. It means one cannot expect to see animals like you see on "The Outdoor Channel". It means one needs to be happy with a antlerless deer or immature buck instead of a monster. My grandfather once told me...."if the largest fish in the pond is 2#s than a 2 pounder is a trophy!". The speaks well of public lands in many areas. The western mountainous states are the exception. Just be sure to be early and to know the places where the crowds tend to overlook. Be prepared to go to a backup spot when someone who comes in after you and refuses to leave the area shows up. Make the trip about the hunt and not the kill and don't let inconsiderate rectal orifices get under your skin and wreck what could be a good time..

An awesome way to look at it!

d2wing,

I feel for you, been there, done that and it sucks. The I've still got decent access to my neighbors 480 acres, but he's also got relatives hunting and they're the priority and rightfully so. So I've adjusted my expectations and am thankful that I've still got someplace to go...

 

[earlthegoat2]

Hunting lease drama like this led me to buy my own. I was in 4 different leases in 6 years never knowing if I would have that land the next year. It felt like I was throwing my money away.

I read a good post on GON about all the good reasons to buy your own land, any land really, and about how many of the drawbacks can actually be twisted to your advantage if your crafty.

That did it for me. I am now the proud owner of mediocre deer hunting land that myself and a few select others have access to. I think I can turn it from mediocre to OK in the next year and maybe good in a few years.

 

[d2wing]

Thanks for the responses. Good news. The new neighbor lied. My friend still have access. And my buddy is buying the land. Permanent solution I think. Still we have to share with whoever he brings pn the land which can be an issue. But better than worrying about who is going to give you trouble like on public land.

 

[.455_Hunter]

The new neighbor lied.

Such a great way to introduce yourself to the area. Probably the start of problems moving forward with that guy.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Hunting this wknd / Brother and Me. Bought property next to Public land…. Google earth and researched few years ago. It’s not easy to find good spots anymore

 

[Captcurt]

Hunting lease drama like this led me to buy my own. I was in 4 different leases in 6 years never knowing if I would have that land the next year. It felt like I was throwing my money away.

I read a good post on GON about all the good reasons to buy your own land, any land really, and about how many of the drawbacks can actually be twisted to your advantage if your crafty.

That did it for me. I am now the proud owner of mediocre deer hunting land that myself and a few select others have access to. I think I can turn it from mediocre to OK in the next year and maybe good in a few years.

I have a friend who had permission to hunt a nice place for a couple of years. He put in food plots and feeders. Shot a couple of good bucks. Last year when he got ready to hunt the owner told him that he didn't want him shooting any bucks. He had put in hours of labor and several hundred dollars and didn't have a place to hunt. This year he bought 120 acres. He has food plots galore and even moved a travel trailer in for a hunting cabin. Now all that he has to worry about is keeping the bears out of his feeders or trailer.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Had a private farm that I was given permission to hunt. Once I Took this Big Buck … That was all the permit I was granted and never again. Lady said “We have to many hunters this season”

I thought that was a coincidence

 

[Ranger99]

I've seen one of the main reasons that
landowners deny permission to people to
access their land. Cigarette butts, drink cans and bottles, spent shells, food wrappers, fencing cut or altered, deep muddy ruts in farm roads, etc. etc.
Also, unauthorized people showing up and hunting/fishing/camping
Some years back, I was on a lease that one of the members brought a guest ( which was allowed) but the time after that I was there,
the guest just showed up on his own then
started bringing his own guests.
Also ,with the current climate of frivolous lawsuits, it's a blessed wonder any of us can find a place to hunt on private property

There's a lot of factors against the individual
wanting to hunt in 2021.

 

[Captcurt]

Had a private farm that I was given permission to hunt. Once I Took this Big Buck … That was all the permit I was granted and never again. Lady said “We have to many hunters this season”

I thought that was a coincidence

Same thing happened to my friend. Shot 2 nice bucks and never got another invite. I guess that is the price for being good.

 

[troy fairweather]

This has happened to me a few times, nothing like losing the land you learned on, one that you know like the back of your hand.

 

[Patocazador]

3 years ago I bought 150 acres of cut-over pines. Seedlings had been replanted but it looked ugly. However, there were deer, turkeys, and small game on it along with hogs, coyotes, and bears.

The bears are protected but the others are a nuisance that I remove when the opportunity arises.
It's not perfect but it's mine.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Sell Guns/Keep few and Buy land. Or….

 

[earlthegoat2]

Someone on here once scolded me for saying land owners are weird.

So I went out and bought my own to see what all the fuss was about.

I stand by it.

 

[Captcurt]

There is a lot of public land here in Arkansas, but the Game and Fish ties your hands with shorter seasons and different bag limits. I live between 2 Corp lakes with thousands of acres of public land around them. Some is Archery only while other parts have a rifle season less than half of what the private land seasons is. Then there is over 150,000 acres of National Forest within 6 miles of me. Same here, short seasons, limited access, and restrictions on camping. I have an excellent place about 1 1/2 miles from the road, but ATV's are not allowed off road. The last deer that I shot there took me almost 3 hours to drag out. I had a climbing harness to drag with and the hillside was so steep that the buck passed me twice while sliding on leaves. That was 30 years ago when I was 40. It is a little too much for this old man now.

 

[Speedo66]

I have an excellent place about 1 1/2 miles from the road, but ATV's are not allowed off road The last deer that I shot there took me almost 3 hours to drag out. I had a climbing harness to drag with and the hillside was so steep that the buck passed me twice while sliding on leaves. That was 30 years ago when I was 40. It is a little too much for this old man now.

Been there, sweated that. My problem was the opposite, getting out was uphill.

 

[Howland937]

Around here, the Amish and Mennonites are buying up every farm they can. The ones that aren't for sale typically tend to lease their land to out of state hunters or corporate farms. I hated bowhunting on public land but I'd much rather gun hunt deer on public land. More pressure early means more deer moving, and most of the out-of-towners don't take the time to find where the deer go after they've been jumped.