Approaching Landowners

[rmmonty32]

I have never attempted to ask a landowner for hunting permission that i didnt know however i keep driving by this field to and from work and at least once a week see 7 to 8 deer sometimes in the morning and sometimes at night. So do you and how do you cold call a landowner for permission and what r your experiences?

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[Bone Collector]

you can stop by and talk to them if they live on the land, if not use the property assessors web site for TN. Note,that if your county is not listed, on the states site, then it most likely has a county specific site.

 

[losthunter]

I would ask in person, whole lot easier to say no over the phone. If they say no, thank them for their time and move on. No harm in it and dont take it personnal. If they do say no, go back late at night and burn their property down. Just kidding, dont do that, you might end up in jail.

 

[Ski]

I introduce myself and get right to the point, and always let them know I will respect their place as if it were my own, and that I do not expect something for nothing. One property I hunt, the old fellow likes deer meat so I keep his freezer packed with it. I harvest, butcher, and vac-pac a deer for him every year. One year I bought him a pressure cooker so he could make quick roasts. I also go clean up limbs & such from his yard every time there's high wind. We even go out on the bass boat time to time.

Another fellow was hesitant to allow me to hunt but didn't want to say no, either. He has a large property & already has two other guys hunting it. He is worried about safety & doesn't want his hunters overlapping, so I printed a large image of the property & outlined in red the area I was interested in, ensuring him I would not stray out of the outlined area or disturb the other hunters. With it I included my contact info and $100 gift certificate to a local eatery he mentioned liking. My taking the time to lay it all out for him plus sit with him awhile to listen to his stories made all the difference. I also promised I would mend any fence damage I come across and pick up any trash. His big concern was coyotes. He wants them dead, so this year I killed 3 coyotes and only one deer.

Another farmer I have been working on has yet to give me permission because he's paranoid about somebody shooting his cattle, plus he likes to hunt a weekend or two in gun season. To my surprise he sent word through a mutual acquaintance just a couple weeks ago that he'd like to have me come out & clear some does off his place this coming fall because they're wrecking the place and competing with his cows. I'm hoping it pans out & I can get my feet in the door because it is a huge property along a river bottom & he keeps everybody chased away.

Long story short, people are people. Land owners don't know you from Adam so it's on you to present yourself as a solid. If they're comfortable with you then you have a chance. Just be genuine and don't be afraid to grease the wheels. Chances are good they'll say no. Chances are also good they might say yes. Either way treat them with respect & dignity. I've even had one guy give me the PETA speech, lecturing me on why hunting is cruel. I let him say tell his tale, then politely thanked him for the consideration.

 

[bigbonner]

I have hunters stopping by all the time asking me to let them deer or turkey hunt . I politely say no and that I hunt myself and may lease out for hunting.
I had a young boy stop by two days ago asking if I would let him hunt turkeys . He saw all the turkeys next to my road like everyone else does . It was hard to say no the the polite little young man .
I know where he lives and when I kill my birds or if I don't lease it out , I may find this young man and let him hunt a day or two.

 

[Ski]

It was hard to say no the the polite little young man . I know where he lives and when I kill my birds or if I don't lease it out , I may find this young man and let him hunt a day or two.

That would be mighty kind of you. It'll get him off of video games & out of the streets.

 

[huvrman]

I have a hard time asking anyone I do not know. It may take me years to build relationships, but it is only after doing that that I feel comfortable asking. By that time they know me well enough that if/when I ask, they usually say yes. And I usually know them well enough that I know what they will say, so I won't even ask if the answer is going to be no.

 

[JeepKuntry]

Quite a few times and 99% of the time it is instant rejection. I would be rich if I received money everytime somebody made the excuse about cattle being shot. I honestly think it has more to do with the area than anything else. That's the reason I mainly lease now.

 

[Planking]

I would just offer some money for it or offer to mow their yard for a year if I wanted it. I think that would up you chances of gaining access significantly in that situation.

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"
-Vito Corleone

 

[catman529]

Don't BS with them, just introduce yourself briefly and ask if you could deer hunt on their land.


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[easy45]

As others have said, just be respectful and thankful no matter what they say. When I transferred to my current park I probably asked 50-60 landowners for permission to hunt and landed 4 places. One told me know but called me back a week later and gave me permission simply because he said he was impressed with how respectful I was to him and nice even though he turned me down, I believe I stayed and visited with him for a hour after being turned down. Just remember the worst they can do is say no.

I did have one lady completely go off on me for having the nerve to ask her to go onto her property, I mean cussing me and all. It took me by surprise to the point where I just said well alright then and walked off.


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[Hunter 257W]

In addition to what has been said above, I think the time of year you ask matters. Start going now and wear nice clothes rather than waiting until right before deer season and showing up wearing camo and muddy boots. A lot of questionable characters hunt deer and the landowner has to decide real fast whether or not you are one of them before answering your request to hunt. And show some personality. These guys who stand staring at you like the Duck Men( or whatever they called themselves on TV) and try to look tough and hide all emotion behind a beard while staying stone faced sure wouldn't get far with me if I were of a mind to let somebody hunt my land. What Ski said about helping out with some work on the farm would go a long way towards convincing somebody that you are not trustworthy and deserving. The attitudes that some hunters have towards land owners is one reason it's so hard to get permission to hunt. They'll act so arrogant as if the land owner is just a nuisance they have to deal with rather than considering the fact that the landowner paid a train load of money for that land and is the boss in the relationship. Sort of makes my blood boil to read about somebody who "picked up 2 new farms" last week rather than saying they got real lucky and got permission to hunt somebody's land.

I have people ask about hunting my land often but give them a flat "NO" under any circumstances because I myself and family hunt. Why would I let a total stranger hunt and use up the limited resources I have on my land when they probably have other areas they can hunt anyhow? Now for whoever put the nice tripod stand up on my land the week of Thanksgiving, I tied a log chain to it and drug it over a mile behind my truck. I figure that gets the "NO" answer across without saying a word.

As a final thought regarding helping out to get permission. If you see some kind of work being done on a piece of property that you really want to hunt, such as building a fence or whatever it might be wise to show up and ask permission while they are working. Then don't just offer to help but just start holding something, handing things to them, offering to dig the next post hole. A farmer always has about 2 years of back labor that needs to get done and this is going to speak a lot louder than any words you can say.

 

[Ladys man]

How do you go about finding the land owner of a certain property? I no you can look up on certain apps and websites.

 

[TN Larry]

How do you go about finding the land owner of a certain property? I no you can look up on certain apps and websites.

Most are on this website. https://assessment.cot.tn.gov/RE_Assessment/

 

[rmmonty32]

How do you go about finding the land owner of a certain property? I no you can look up on certain apps and websites.

I use onX

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[DaveB]

this is what I use.

https://tnmap.tn.gov/assessment/

Read the help screen if your county is not one of the participants.

 

[Bgoodman30]

I have never been much for door knocking but I saw a nice group of birds Sunday and went for it.. I talked to the landowner and 2 other nice gentleman on adjacent tracts but no dice.. My buddy said you got to ask to lease these days. He's probably right.. Money talks..

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Did this the other day. Found the address online and pulled up to the house.

Made contact and introduced myself. I lead with the " I wanted to meet you in person instead of calling about a piece of property you own. I decided to stop by, hope I didnt catch you at a bad time. (Farmer: No not at all). I was wondering if you had anyone hunting the property on "such and such rd and if not I was hoping to get permission to hunt it. (Farmer: yea i hunt and my grandfather hunts it) I understand, do yall shed hunt it? (Farmer: no we do not and I dont see a problem if you want to shed hunt it)

My main goal was to get a different point of access to public land so it was successful door knock. I left the farmer and asked him to let me know if he needed anything and I would do my best to help him. He thanked me and I had a new point of access with bonus permission to shed hunt several hundred acres.

 

[Ski]

Did this the other day. Found the address online and pulled up to the house.

Made contact and introduced myself. I lead with the " I wanted to meet you in person instead of calling about a piece of property you own. I decided to stop by, hope I didnt catch you at a bad time. (Farmer: No not at all). I was wondering if you had anyone hunting the property on "such and such rd and if not I was hoping to get permission to hunt it. (Farmer: yea i hunt and my grandfather hunts it) I understand, do yall shed hunt it? (Farmer: no we do not and I dont see a problem if you want to shed hunt it)

My main goal was to get a different point of access to public land so it was successful door knock. I left the farmer and asked him to let me know if he needed anything and I would do my best to help him. He thanked me and I had a new point of access with bonus permission to shed hunt several hundred acres.

That's awesome. Handled like a gentleman and rewarded in kind. Congrats!

 

[BackwoodsBoy]

Direct is absolutely best

Think of how we feel when someone knocks on our door selling meat out of freezer on a truck or trying to sell some vacuum cleaner scam or jehovas witness trying to spread their cult

Be direct and offer something in return... I ended up mowing an elderly woman's yard for the summer in exchange for me deer hunting her property... good deal for me and her.

 

[Ski]

Be direct and offer something in return... I ended up mowing an elderly woman's yard for the summer in exchange for me deer hunting her property... good deal for me and her.

Bingo! Perfect arrangement.