Hunting on someone else's land

I'm curious to see how many of yall hunt on someone else's land?
I don't mean hunting leases, just land owners that allowed yall to hunt on their property.

I'm always passing up farms & such when driving to the public hunting grounds, which most are at least an hour and a half drive.

I was thinking of maybe writing a few letters out and see if I can just hunt small game and hogs.

Then again, I feel like I'll be getting ticked off responses.
Me and my son went to public hunting ground yesterday evening, and we ended up picking up about 20 spent shells along with trash that was used a target practice. Some people...

I do but the LO has done business with my family for over 30 yrs so he kinda knows me . He liked how I always took care of our place, so now I do the same for him.

I do but they are very good friends

My experience was I knew a guy through my dad, and he owned some nice size tracts of land in Northeast TX. He brought my brother, father, and me out for a few hunts, then saw how good of young men my brothers and I were as far as good hunting morals and respecting his property. He had no sons only daughters and they weren't interested in hunting out there, so he enjoyed us riding up there every hunting season and even in the summer to visit and help out on his land. Worked out great for us. Eventually he passed, and family came in and started taking over land, and we respectively obeyed their decision to not hunt there anymore. Think they sold that property now.

I think writing some letters is a good idea. It use to be knocking on doors, but these days that might get you shot or bit.

If you convinced me that you would leave my property better than you found it and I liked the first impression you and your son made I would probably say yes to varmits and small game........if I was a farmer or rancher, which I currently am not. Offering to help with chores or mending fences etc....would be a positive as well.

face to face is what I have always done, there are tricks to doing it this way, its real easy for l/o to disregard letters, phone calls usually will get a no right off.

I hunt private land owned by someone else about 90% of the time, and hunt public land the remaining 10%.

Rule #1 is to never extend the rights and privileges you enjoy to anyone else, including family members, unless it feels completely right between you and the landowner. I've been hunting 200 acres of private land for almost 15 years now and it has never felt right to bring along a friend. I only hunt it with only family members, and there is no one else outside the family that hunts it.

The good news is that once you develop a good relationship with one landowner, it can lead to access with other tracts owned by others. Just follow the Golden Rule, don't bring in unknowns, and you'll be fine.

I want to see you and size you up. IMO skip the letters.

I hunt hogs and coyotes on all my neighbors land, equaling thousands of acres. They've told me to deer hunt if I wanted to, but our population is so low, I have no desire to deer hunt their places.

Go meet them in person. It goes much farther. Hat in hand, look them in the eye, yes sir, no sir still goes a long ways. You bringing up that you'll not litter, you'll leave gates the way you found them, you'll not harm crops or livestock also shows you know the rules of the range.

This ^^^ and, bring your son along when you stop to ask. Don't drive up into a fellow's "yard" in a big rig, camo'd out, ready to kill something. Offer to share any game you harvest (which, of course, you have already plucked, field dressed, etc.). Let them know that you know to close a gate or leave open, as you found it. Don't litter, including spent shotshells--haul it out. Stick to established roads/trails. Some landowners don't want you shooting certain game, for example, doves OK, but don't shoot my quail. Respect that. And, like Dan said above, don't start bringing all your buddies along. Bonus points: if your wife (or you) cooks up a great cake/pie/casserole (sp?) or whatever dish, bring that and offer as a token of thanks.

A friend of mine, not a good friend actually my wife's friends husband just text me today and said he and 2 friends are coming to TX to visit his brother and ask if I could take them all out for a hog hunt. I told him most the places I hunt are private property and I am a guest and can't just invite friends to come out with me. He responded with whatever. Now even if I could take him out there is no chance in hell I would. When you gain someones trust and they give you access to their property that means something atlas to me it does and I'm not doing anything to ruin that.

Smart on your part

I teach my boy "Nobody will ever remember how many birds you shot, but they will always remember how many spent shells you left"......

I consider myself lucky a few years ago I gained access to run dogs in a mans property. When I sold my dogs he told me I'm more then welcome to come shoot hogs. I took him up one it, that was oh three years ago. I call him every time before I head out to make sure it's ok. He tells me I don't have to ask I do anyways out of respect. I have a feeder out there along with a blind. He allows me to bring a buddy to hog hunt but I only have a hand full of buddies I take. Most the time it's me alone or with my kids. I always offer to help with any work on the place or if something isn't right while I'm there I fix it.

I remember reading an article either here or another place where a guy noticed a piece of property where people were using as to dump various things, he looked up the owner who lived in NY, sent her a letter with pictures and asked if he cleaned it up could he hunt it for small game and birds She gave him permission to hunt what whatever he wanted and he shot a huge buck that year

The wife made up some rum cakes around Christmas time; an old newspaper recipe that my mom used to use. We took them around to the neighbors' places. They made quite the impression. That, and a case of Lone Star for the old boys goes a long ways.

I hunt exclusively on someone else's property.....my wife's! All of our hunting properties were family land that got passed down to her

I think it depends where you are. I've been in south Texas and was allowed to hunt hogs. In east Texas the man said shoot a deer if you can find one but kill all the hogs you see. In my area in central Texas Expect to hear 'No' or 'Hell No'. These people have old land grants and don't want any one on there place unless they can get money out of it. The guy to the south of me will sometimes trade hunts for work or things he can use (cool). the guy to the west of doesn't want you to look that way(not cool). The guy north west of me will forget he said you could hunt and call the law.(can be cool) One guy lets us hog hunt but no deer.(friendly but peculiar) They can only tell you "no" but you'll never know if you don't ask.

Had it work out one time and one time only. We were on our way home and drove past a field filled with hogs on a back road so we stopped and looked. A car came out of a driveway and asked us what was up and we said we were just looking at the hogs. He said he hated them and that was his property. We offered we had a hog trap we would set and see if we could catch them and he said go for it if you want. We never did catch a hog though.

I hunt on my buddy's places and they hunt on mine, but I wouldn't trust a stranger. And it's a shame because all of my friends' places are in the hill country and they all have plenty of deer that need to be taken.

Too many people are too lazy, selfish, slobbish, and generally lousy these days. The good apples are outnumbered by the bad apples.

Making friends with landowners is the best thing that you can do. That may be easier said than done depending on where you live though.

I sent out letters to land owners a few year ago. I probably sent out 30-40 and I actually got about 15-20 replies back be it a phone call or email.. What I got out of them mostly was either " it was already leased, it is family land or some other excuses.. Everyone was nice and not rude. I did get some good news too.. One lady said the hunting was leased but I was more than welcome to come fish with my kids in the spring and summer on one of her big tanks, .. another old man that I talked to on the phone for 30 minutes said he would let me know when his current hunters left and I would have first chance at his place.. and another lady said I could come shoot all the hogs we wanted after deer season was over too.. So letters certainly cant hurt. I will do it again too..

When I was young I used to hunt other people's land

some years back, I used to "sneak" onto my own property at
odd hours to see if I could catch those who were used to
trespassing at their leisure since it had been vacant before
I'd bought it, and it was used as "public" land by all the
neighbors. early one morning, 2 young boys came to the door
and asked if I had any .22 shells because they were going to
shoot at the back of my property. they couldn't get any shells
because dad and his girlfriend were still asleep. yes, we
know that we aren't supposed to be here. dad told us not to
come on this property while anyone was here, and to only
come here while the owners were away.

I agree with the others when they say if you get permission to hunt a place for free don't extend that invitation to your buddies. I own land and let a friend of mine set up a stand and hunt my place for free. I figured it would be nice to have someone else to hunt with and hang out with. During dove season he brings other people out to hunt and during the winter he brings out other people to sit and hunt hogs in his stand with him. I can't ever remember him asking if I need any help on the farm.

I do, we talked on line in a hunting site. Great guy! Couple bucks on his place

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Been at this game for along time. Certainly all points here hold merit and sound wisdom. I can honestly say 90% of the landowners decision is already made before you ever show up based on thier previous experiences with other hunters. In my neck of the woods DFW yuppies have burned ALOT of bridges I will probably never get to mend. It is very very very unfortunate. Respect is everything in life and there is a fine line between fear and respect. I know for every 25 doors I knock on with sole purpose of requesting to hunt I pick up one. Very discerning. I have designated entire Saturdays to driving the back roads to only go home empty handed. Alot of times someone else owned the property that does not even live in the county. On the other hand every property owner I have built a repore with before ever popping the question I can say I'm probably batting 90%. Even in the day of land agreements, leases and contracts, I
can honestly say every door I knocked on was based on a good ole fashion handshake. You came in the same way you can go, at the drop of a hat.

I will say this too, in life we meet alot of personalities and we use this bases to judge others. The old saying is not too judge a book by its cover but it's human nature. While I get proven wrong I will admit at times I have made a decision on what kind of a person you are before you ever open your mouth. Now I am a very humble individual and fully believe in giving everyone a chance in life to show thier true colors but this judgement is what I default to until you prove me otherwise. Pretty sure most others do the same. This is why first impressions is everything. I know from my travels to different parts of the country hold different values and clicks if you will. Furthermore if your not a local you will spotted a mile away. I also know we have alotta guys and gals here on the forum from other parts of the world but here in Texas we have our own way of doing.... Well everything! Some areas are a bit different like Austin but out here in the sticks most still value a smile and a hand shake. Just remember in the future your actions WILL have consequences on not only yourself but others. Be respectful and honest!

Unless you have a check to send with those letters, I wouldn't bother. The odds of you finding that one last honey hole by knocking on some old farmers door are all but over. The key now is to find a good paid lease and being able to keep it.

I just gave a guy permission to hunt last week for free. Super nice kid.

Thank yall for the responses.

Yes, I was going to offer myself and my truck for some Saturdays a year in exchange for permission to hunt.
Its actually how I acquired a number of tools, good furniture, and such over the past few years (by Bartering services).


I have a coworker/friend that owns property, but with the morale of the company, I'm not sure if its a good time to ask.
With the downturn of the upstream O/G industry, it doesn't look like we'll survive any longer.

From what I have seen as a landowner, people love to take a mile when offered an inch.

If i was a landowner, I probably would not let anyone I did not know hunt my land.

I know POS that own land and hunt on their neighbors property even after he told them no

Why we don't lease any more, but we are also not in a premium area. In general I feel like the "permission" guys take a lot better care then the "I paid my money" guys. Disclaimer I also lease hunting acreage in other states. So I'm not against myself for say just making a general statement.

Not much you can tear up on our place, but we have one strict rule because it can cost a lot of money, If the grass is over 8" don't drive through it.

I used to lease our farm in Illinois for deer hunting to one big family. I had it in the lease that only immediate family members (parents,kids, grandkids) could hunt and I needed the names of everyone in writing before season each year. I would get a list of about 10 people ranging from adults to little kids in the family. We knew this was the case before leasing so we agreed on having 4 hunters on the property at a time for safety sake. We ended up catching them with all the people on the property at once but only 4 had guns. The rest were pushing the farm out for the shooters. They found a way to work around my safety rules. The juice was not worth the squeeze for me so they don't hunt there any more. Last thing I or my insurance needs is a kid getting shot while doing a deer drive on my farm. This was just a symptom of a bigger problem in my eyes and its not worth the hassle to me.

I hunt on my buddies private land. He's a great guy and will always top off our feeders or turn on my SHL Exterminator II feeder light so it is charged before I come up to hog hunt. He is a good friend and lives on the property.

My attitude has changed quite a bit. If there are inexperienced hunters on my place, each one of them requires a full time experienced hunter with them all the time, no exceptions.... Also, if you want to bring your child or teenager to learn to hunt, buy them a rifle or shotgun and take them to the range before they show up..... Not being stingy, but accidents can happen when a new hunter is given a weapon they are not familiar with....

We ALL hunt on someone else's Land.

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Gods Land.

Since moving to Texas from Virginia, I hunted public land for 2 years. However, after the 2d year realized that was not a good option. Got on a lease friends in East Texas and deer are not there in a goodly number. Leastwise where our property was located. Next I signed up with a group lease in Central Texas. Much better hunting as the deer are there in a good number. Now I am the only original hunter on that lease. The owner is a very fine individual. Sure the cost of the lease, some people would consider pricy. However, I certainly do not expect land owner to pay taxes on the property I hunt on. I follow the Lease Agree, to the letter. Right now I have a piece of Texas with some very nice bucks and a camp site away from the crowd. Off a Country Road that has very little traffic. I feel blessed that the Owner leases the property to me.

My buddy in Columbia, TN hunts several small farms. All his contacts came because he attended a small country church and avoided the big ones in Columbia.

I should have clarified. 15-17 yo, used to duck hunt the Paluxy river in Glen rose. Parked on Big bend trail and walked down the hill to the river. Never knew who owned the access property. Knocked on a door of the closest house and it was a preacher in town. He said if anyone asked you who told you, you could hunt tell them preacher so and so said he told you. Sounded good to me. We hunted there for years. Killed hundreds of ducks and many quail. Saw deer a few times but never killed one. One time the river had flooded then gone down, trapping hundreds of "barndoor" crappie. Went to Glen Rose and bought minnows and a couple of 202 combos and pulled every fish we could see out of those clear, shallow holes. Probably kept 200 fish. No joke. Best day of fishing ever. Ended up buying our ranch 35 years later in the same area. Love it down here.

No limit on crappie back in the 70s

Hunted a place the last 3 years. Went and talked to the owner every couple weeks, always took him beer or steaks when I went to see him. And always picked up after myself. One day out of the blue last year he "forgot" he gave me permission and called the law. Good thing I had hundreds of texts for the LEO to read. People can be shady! I believe the law states you must have written permission from the land owner.

I only know that in Harris county you have to have written consent in your possession while hunting others land. Could be other places.

I used to own a property management company. I restored land with livestock tax exemptions to wildlife conservation approved exemptions . It's actually a common practice here in the hill country. The country folks are leaving and the non hunting California and Houston retirees are moving in. They are pretty clueless about that stuff. Most don't approve firearms either. I have 5000 acres to hunt in Wimberley TX. I know I'm blessed to have it even though it's 90 percent bow hunting. They can be tough to deal with at times but are still good people. I kill a few hogs and post pics and they bake me cookies...it's a great thing.
I've sold my management business to my employees who don't hunt. I kept the hunting rights. I've had many people try to go around me and get permission but the landowners only give me the rights which is really nice.

My advice: Get master naturalist certified....it will make you a better hunter anyways. You'll be able to teach them a thing or two when ever they ask.
When you hunt the land never park where the LO sees you or your truck. Honestly just stay out of sight and out of mind. Share TC pics with them and meat if they are interested. Follow their rules to a tee. Don't bring guests. Guests always mess things up for you, I've had the same property rights for over 15 years by following those guidelines

Yes Sir!!! Glory be to God!!! The best LO there is. My lease on life has been a great one. He sure has created amazing animals for us. Thank you Lord!!

Where and how would you get master naturalist certified?

UT offered it a long time ago. I helped a few people who found it offered at Cabelas here in Austin.
The one at UT was great cause they also had just amazing Tax exemption classes there.

I do. 55 acres adjacent to ours wasn't being used. When we got our place the 55 acres was 50% pasture the rest forested. Within 5 years mostly trees. Found the owner by asking the locals. Called him up. Heck of a guy. The 55 acres is land locked. He used to access it from our place. I told him he still can. But I dont think he cares too much. I asked if I could hunt it. No problem. I call him yearly just to keep a line open. wouldnt say its free though, because I spent as azzful of money on it. But its fun.