Well I knew this day would come since I don't own the farm I hunt and yesterday it was official.. I was on my way home from shed hunting and noticed a for sale sign up so I stopped by to see the landowner and he confirmed it's for sale and possibly sold already. I hate to think of trying to scramble to just get permission again and then the years of trying to figure a place out but that is part of the challenge. I think more so than killing a big buck I enjoy finding a piece of ground, scouting it and doing all the research that goes into it and just getting close to a big deer makes me feel like I know what I'm doing. sometimes.... :confused:
Man, I'm sorry to hear that. I Lost my hunting land a couple of years ago that I killed my first deer on. Happened all of a sudden. Keep your chin up, something will turn up, you may even find a new place that will hold something better in store. Or maybe the new owners will work with you. Good luck either way.
That sucks, I feel your pain. 'For sale' signs popping up where I've had permission for 25 years. But our government tells you our economy's recovering! Lost my job of 30 years due to outsourcing, but I'm one of the lucky ones at my age.... back as a contractor making less than half what I did. Our govt. also claims there is no age discrimination. It's going to get worse if we don't vote the idiots out of Washington.
Man, I'm sorry to hear that. long time until deer season though, who knows what may turn up? good luck...BeauJ
Been there done that several times but something else always seems to pop up to provide me a place to hunt.
Wow that is a bummer. Hopefully something better will come along. Good luck.
Unfortunatley the only guarantee in life is change....and that has never changed!
good luck, BIgJim
You can always look at it as it really wasn't yours to start with so you didn't really loose anything. Hunting someone else's land is just that, be grateful for what you had, not the other way around.
That has happened to lots of people, myself included. I have noticed the public ground gets more crowded every year.
Why didn't he offer it to you first?
I feel ur pain brother. Lost my lease at the end of deer season. Good hunting land is very hard to find.
I feel you're pain I lost my honey hole a few yrs ago. It was a piece of state land I saw the for sale sign. I went home looked up the price on the Internet and was thinking maybe there was a way I could make this work I planted the seed with my wife in hopes of buying it. I hunted it that next sat morning walked in the dark. And when I came out the for sale sign was gone and a no trespassing sign was in its place. So a had to walk back in and gather a few things I left in the tree. The whole time all I I felt like I was punched in the gut I was so let down and sad. The small hope of owning it was gone and the reality of not being able to hunt there again only compounded my grief. :(
I miss that spot. And have a lot of memories hunting there.
Bummer! I've been there more times than I can count. Good luck on your new search for hunting ground. For several years while I was without private land, I hunted public lands. Now there is a challenge!
I know that sad feeling.
Maybe introduce yourself to the new owners with a little gift, welcome to the area kind of thing.
Explain how you help out on the land with hunting it, etc.
Maybe they will let you on.
Talk to the new owners. They might just let you continue to hunt the same farm.
I think the day will come that unless we own or lease it will be mighty tough to find a place to hunt.
Join us who dwell amongst the lost...
Public hunting grounds!
It could be worse.. I feel fortunate to have had a great place to hunt and feel privileged to have killed some nice deer and Turks over the years. I plan on starting by doing things the old fashioned way by getting to know some new farmers by offering to help out and I also plan on checking out some public ground. I believe Stone Knife called it! I also think with all the interested in leasing that one day it might be tough to find a place to hunt.. What a minute, it already is! :knothead:
I guess be thankful for what you had. When you had it!! That's a bummer though. But you never know. The new owners. May just let you stay there. If they are hunters though. That might be tough.
Bummer! I lost my prime spot to logging... BLM sold the wood.
Yeah Joe, they really did a number on it. I think they're takin' even more!
NO!!!!!!!!!! :banghead:
Been there and I feel your pain. It's a bitter and helpless feeling.
For 25 years I hunted one section that was 5,000 acres owned by a furniture company. They decided to lease it to hunters and I don't pay to play. I had a great ground blind and it was also good still-hunting territory.
That was the primary driver for my wife and I to find a rural home with acreage. No regrets.
Joe, I don't know what your area is like, but if it is mature woods this is what I have observed : the years after logging, it became a magnet for deer in our area. The reason I think is the tremendous amount of new growth draws deer in, so I would not necessarily give up on it.
I lived the scenario of gaining permission to hunt some land over and over again. When my kids started hunting, I wanted a safe place to hunt without worrying about other hunters. I bought a 120 acres and paid for it over time. For about the price of a car, it hs been a great investment.
Perhaps you can not afford it now, but there are other ways. A couple of friends of mine got together with another guy and bought some hunting land together and then divided it up into smaller affordable parcels- 80 acre lots I think. They have enjoyed great deer, bear and grouse hunting for 15 years now.
Hope your able to talk to the new owners..... It might help if you do so with the former owner as that may carry some weight if he is there to vouch for you. Good luck!!
How's the public hunting in your area? I hunt public and private here, but some of the public is pretty good. It takes more work, but lots of critters live on public land.
QuoteOriginally posted by Todd Cook:
How's the public hunting in your area? I hunt public and private here, but some of the public is pretty good. It takes more work, but lots of critters live on public land.
We have some in my area but not real educated on it. A couple hours southeast is very good and I may end up checking it out here soon.
I know how you feel, lost my spot a year ago, and spent last year looking for a new one, and ended up selling my house and buying one that hooks up with some state land here. I spent this afternoon walking around, and found a couple spots that I think my Asbell wool will help me blend in good, plus a couple spots i can get a stand into. Just have to put the leg work in and spend the time looking for those out of the way spots everybody forgets about, or over looks.
Sorry to hear that .
The place I have hunted for 20 years is for sale also ;(
Hopefully the New owners will grant you permission !
been there done that. i just go look for another. i would ask the new owner he can only say NO!!! good luck i hope it works out for ya
It took me 10 years to pay for 15 acres of land surrounded by 200 plus acres that I am blessed to be able to hunt. Ten year mortgage lifetime of hunting privacy, started 20 years ago and nothing has changed. Very blessed. Just sayin it can be done.
Tough break Muzzy. Hope you can strike a new deal. It is getting to damn hard these days to find a reliable good piece,unless you own your own. Good luck,rat'
It's frustrating for sure. I grew up on a farm with close to 600 acres and had the run of it as the only grandchild then my grandfather passed away from Cancer and my uncle took over. He called me up one evening and said " he was running the farm now and no family was welcome there anymore" so after hunting the same place from 86-2001 I was forced to leave my own family farm. Then the current place I have hunted since has been sold so it's stinks to start over. I have a 2 year old and a 4 month old son so my motivation is to buy my own farm one day so they have a place to hunt.
Aaron, sorry you lost your spot. Sucks for sure. Not sure where in the state you are, but I'll try to keep my eyes open for you. I don't mess with private myself, but I know a lot of farmers down here in Athens and Meigs counties. And if you decide to try the public in southeastern Ohio I can help there too.
QuoteOriginally posted by BigJim:
Unfortunatley the only guarantee in life is change....and that has never changed!
good luck, BIgJim
well said
Find out who the new owner is and offer to pay his property taxes, or a large chunk of them, for exclusive hunting rights. Nobody should expect to be able to hunt private land owned by others, as a stranger basically unknown to the landowner, for free.
Being able to hunt private land is a quid pro quo. The landowner offers the hunter something and the hunter should offer something equal in value to the opportunity to access that land. In todays world, a case of beer, offering a few hours of labor or some venison doesn't cut it because it's not equal to what the landowner offers, when taxes and expenses far outweigh that small benefit to the landowner than many hunters offer.
This has happened to me many times. It's understandable when the land is sold as the new owners and me are strangers to each other. What hurts is when other family members take over and exclude you from there hunting fraternity.
QuoteOriginally posted by cmh:
Hope your able to talk to the new owners..... It might help if you do so with the former owner as that may carry some weight if he is there to vouch for you. Good luck!!
That would be my suggestion too. I'd ask the former owner whom you must know at least pretty well, to introduce me to the new owner. Maybe all is not lost?
My primarily spot is Government land and just hope to get drawn to hunt it each year.
:thumbsup:
The two main places i hunt are Federal land. It about drove me nuts this past season durning the 17 day shutdown.
I use to have a bunch of private lant to hunt on. i ended up not hunting it anymore due to having to run off tresspassers all the time.
If you ever hunt PA just let me know, you're always welcome on my property.
QuoteOriginally posted by Mojostick:
Find out who the new owner is and offer to pay his property taxes, or a large chunk of them, for exclusive hunting rights. Nobody should expect to be able to hunt private land owned by others, as a stranger basically unknown to the landowner, for free.
Being able to hunt private land is a quid pro quo. The landowner offers the hunter something and the hunter should offer something equal in value to the opportunity to access that land. In todays world, a case of beer, offering a few hours of labor or some venison doesn't cut it because it's not equal to what the landowner offers, when taxes and expenses far outweigh that small benefit to the landowner than many hunters offer.
Sad, but true. I long for the good 'ol days when I could hunt every piece of land for miles around. Everyone knew each other and everyone just hunted.
What is having access to privately owned land worth, in order to make a reasonable offer to someone? I guess its worth whatever the owner decides it is. And that's cool, it's his/her's land, they can do whatever they want. But I guess I'm just not use to the idea of having to get something of equal value (what's sitting in a tree stand from Oct thru Dec -mostly weekends equate to) in order to grant someone permission to hunt.
QuoteOriginally posted by longbowman:
If you ever hunt PA just let me know, you're always welcome on my property.
Thank you. I do like Pa. Hunted Lycoming, Franklin and Adams counties for several years when i was a young lad.
QuoteOriginally posted by Frank V:
QuoteOriginally posted by cmh:
Hope your able to talk to the new owners..... It might help if you do so with the former owner as that may carry some weight if he is there to vouch for you. Good luck!!
That would be my suggestion too. I'd ask the former owner whom you must know at least pretty well, to introduce me to the new owner. Maybe all is not lost? [/b]
I am working on that as we speak and might have a lead on a new farm here close to home. I will find something.