Advice for private land access
- Thread starter amoor983
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shootbrownelk
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shootbrownelk
Veteran member
that's right Go Deep, and they don't claim it as income to the IRS. I know a few like that.
Alabama
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shootbrownelk
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the wanderer
Member
Yeah marrying the farmers daughter doesn't always work. That's what I did. I killed two nice bucks on the farm. Which, then my brother in law figured out where to kill bucks on their property thanks to me. He had me kicked out. That's not why I married my wife, but the deer hunting perk was kinda nice.
missjordan
Veteran member
I apologize for treading on your forum but I also have a question along the same lines for gaining private access. Do you think a landowner may be more likely to allow hunters on their land if money is involved? I think as a hunter you'd take it more seriously since you paid the landowner for that luxury, and the landowner would be more trusting knowing they got something out of the transaction as well. I've been thinking about approaching someone next year but unsure how to go exactly about it.
Jordan, in my experience it depends on the landowner and sometimes the species you are after. No pat answers. My advice would be to approach the landowner well before the season and simply ask if they would be willing to talk about allowing hunting access. You may strike gold or strike out. If you don't get a quick no or a yes with a price, you might be well served to say we'd be happy to pay for access. Keep in mind a no can sometimes mean not now on a topic like this. I've had a no or three I turned into a yes after a few years, reported a down fence, loose cow, etc. The worst you will get is a no, so go for it.
joens
Member
I know a lot of the land owners/Ranchers around where I live here in eastern Montana . I don't think access is a money issue .I think it is a trust issue. The Elk and deer do eat crops and haystacks and the ranchers wouldn't mind them getting thinned out but they are hesitant to just open their gates to anyone they don't know. I believe that is why many of the ranchers here make a deal with an outfitter . They know the outfitter will keep things under control. And they don't have to be bothered. I have noticed here that the ranchers that live on or near the ranch are more likely to allow access than the ones that live in Billings or even another state and never even come to the ranch. and if you can talk to or build a relationship with the owner rather than a manager you have a much better chance. I do agree that being willing to pay demonstrates that you are not just wanting something free. But the landowner is more concerned that we wont leave gates open , throw trash, shoot their cow etc. etc. But every landowner is different , some of them are not letting anyone in no matter what . Others might if they trusted you . once I have gained access little things like reporting downed fences or even offering to fix them went a long way. But every part of the country /state is different , what I have noticed here may not apply somewhere else.
B&C Blacktails
Active Member
- Mar 1, 2015
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If your area is close enough to drive to, try offering help with ranch maintenance; shoveling manure, fence mending etc. It has worked for me when I wanted to save money. Plus you get a chance to build a relationship with the property owner
Hilltop
Veteran member
B&C- That has proven the most successful for me. Offering free work demonstrates a lot to a landowner.
Fence's, reminds me of this year and makes me laugh. An earlier hunter on the ranch we hunted this year decided to help out and build a new barbed wire gate for different access into a pasture, ranch was all for it as he said he had built fence and made gates before. He had to install brace posts as there was never a gate here before. So he does. Nice job with the posts and barbed wire gate, then puts the cross tensioning wire to the top of the brace post where the wire gate attaches, to the bottom of the second post away from the gate, on both ends of the gate, with the gate closed, and tightens the tensioning wires gorilla tight. The tensioning wire should have been at the bottom of the post nearest the gate to the top of the second post and tightened before the gate was built...how I was taught anyway.
Needless to say it took 3 of us to pop the wire off the gate post and open the gate, and then the post was pulled back just a bit as it was under tension from the top, and the gate could not be closed. About all he did right was be on the right side of the gate after he was done to be able to drive away, so he never knew. We had to give it a temp fix just to be able to close it and keep the cows in, the ranch hand will have to finish the modification later and re do the tensioning wires and probably rebuild the gate. Will take longer to fix than to have done it right. Sooooo, just make sure you know how to build fence and how that ranch likes it built or you will forgever have a gate named after you, like this guy does. It is now known as the Canadian gate. Guy was from Canada... Still makes me chuckle.
Needless to say it took 3 of us to pop the wire off the gate post and open the gate, and then the post was pulled back just a bit as it was under tension from the top, and the gate could not be closed. About all he did right was be on the right side of the gate after he was done to be able to drive away, so he never knew. We had to give it a temp fix just to be able to close it and keep the cows in, the ranch hand will have to finish the modification later and re do the tensioning wires and probably rebuild the gate. Will take longer to fix than to have done it right. Sooooo, just make sure you know how to build fence and how that ranch likes it built or you will forgever have a gate named after you, like this guy does. It is now known as the Canadian gate. Guy was from Canada... Still makes me chuckle.
Miss Jordan- I have pondered this very much. I have never paid to hunt. I don't like the thought or principle of it. I bought the $300 cow tag because I wanted to explore a new place, hunt a new species, and put some elk meat in the freezer. I thought I could find at least one cow on National Forest or state land, or landowners would be more likely to let a person on to hunt a cow in late season. But the reality is the elk are all bunched up in winter groups on private land, and landowners want to keep elk for themselves and friends. I can't afford to pay gate fees, because most ranches don't have elk and I will go broke looking for the right landowner. I could, however, pay a modest harvest fee (pay them if I get one). Having my pregnant, cute blonde wife with me to ask permission didn't seem to help. So I guess paying a harvest fee would be my next option. The question is, how much will it take? I can't wait until my son is old enough to get a tag. I will send him up to knock on the door with his hat in his hand and see if any landowner is cold hearted enough to say no to those big, chocolate, puppy dog eyes.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
LOL, the kid dressed up in orange way to big is pretty hard to turn down.
The fence story made me chuckle too. I have closed the gate with myself on the wrong side more than once. Sometimes I have run into gates like that wouldn't open like that. I wonder if something like that has happened. Not a fencing guy myself, so I wouldn't know. I am terrible about making the calls and knocking on doors, I really hate it, so I don't even if it means tag soup, so no useful advise here, but maybe my kid will be able to use some of this stuff next year. I agree with talking to them early also. I do know that about June when the tags start coming in, they get pretty sick of the calls. I would too. I also wouldn't mind kiddo learning fencing and that kind of stuff, so good advise above.
The fence story made me chuckle too. I have closed the gate with myself on the wrong side more than once. Sometimes I have run into gates like that wouldn't open like that. I wonder if something like that has happened. Not a fencing guy myself, so I wouldn't know. I am terrible about making the calls and knocking on doors, I really hate it, so I don't even if it means tag soup, so no useful advise here, but maybe my kid will be able to use some of this stuff next year. I agree with talking to them early also. I do know that about June when the tags start coming in, they get pretty sick of the calls. I would too. I also wouldn't mind kiddo learning fencing and that kind of stuff, so good advise above.
missjordan
Veteran member
Thanks for the tips, I have thought about the idea of offering to help fix fences and such. The piece of property I would love to gain access too has out of state owners and nobody hunts it or runs cattle. It sits vacant year round. Might be worth a phone call to offer to babysit it for them in exchange for hunting.
I tried the kid trick with one landowner trying to fill our neighbors daughters deer tag. Didn't work but was worth a shot!
A relative of mine is married into a family of ranchers out of eastern mt. They started charging a small fee because of trust issues like you stated. The people who kept causing the problems weren't the non residents hunting the area, but the locals who failed to respect their property and vandalized some stuff. It was really sad to them that they couldn't trust people and thus started charging a trespass fee
I tried the kid trick with one landowner trying to fill our neighbors daughters deer tag. Didn't work but was worth a shot!
A relative of mine is married into a family of ranchers out of eastern mt. They started charging a small fee because of trust issues like you stated. The people who kept causing the problems weren't the non residents hunting the area, but the locals who failed to respect their property and vandalized some stuff. It was really sad to them that they couldn't trust people and thus started charging a trespass fee