Asking permission to hunt

Okay, so I have a bit of an ethical-esque location in regards to how y'all ask permission to hunt. We own some property, about 40-45 miles north of where we actually live and some guy used the OnX app to figure out who owned the property, found our residential address (which is again 40-45 miles south of our property), and proceeded to actually come to our house and ask us to hunt on the property. Is this how y'all would actually go about asking for permission? It seems off-putting to me and really me turned me off even more than someone would actually go through the process of finding out where I live, coming all the way over here, and asking me at my home (which again is a fair distance away from the property) for permission to hunt. I can understand if someone lives on the property and you just drive up the driveway to their home, which would be on the property itself, to ask for permission, but to go through such a process seems to me to be going too far. What do y'all think of this? Am I just overreacting or are my concerns valid and well-placed?

All you have to do is say no.

"No sir, I'm sorry, it's not available."

You don't know this guy from Adam and/or how he will treat your property or what condition in which he will leave it.

That's precisely what I said too. It just seemed to me to be a little excessive to essentially track me down like he did.

How else would he have asked you? Put up a Missed Connection post on Craig's List and hope you see it and respond?

He used public information. If it's that big of a deal simply saying no then put your properties in a trust and people won't be able to track you down like that. But I wouldn't have answered the door to begin with.

Well, there is that. If you don't answer the knock at the door, you can't be served with papers.

Some people are really wanting a lease.

Some people are creeps.

The 2 are not mutually exclusive.

The guy asked you if he could hunt on your property,,, your info is public, the county tax cad has it for anyone to see. What is the big deal???? You said 'NO" and he said "OK" -------------- For your sake I hope this is the worst problem you have this year.

i guess i see your point. Not perfect, i guess maybe a little creepy. Alternative would have been to put nice letter in ur mailbox, asking about hunting the property and offering to meet/discuss over phone prior to this, etc if it was something you might entertain. things nowadays always risk having folks do x/y/z on ur property, risk, legal, etc.

I would trust this man much more than the people who just hop the fence and hunt.

There was a time when people used to do that. Actually ask for permission to hunt your property. My guess is that they guy who is going to put in the effort to track down a property owner, then physically show up, face to face, like a man to ask permission is probably going to be trustworthy. No, I don't find it creepy or off-putting at all to do face to face transactions.

You mean poachers? That’s not much of a choice. I’d trust anyone before a poacher.

I don’t understand people who think they should drive past a private gate, onto private property, & ask about hunting.

People who live in the country usually do so for a reason; it’s not so city people can pester them on their own place.

I don’t go to Dallas & start knocking on doors & asking questions.

Have to agree some with Maximus here as much as it pains me, lol. What may have been standard practice in 1970s doesn't generally apply now relative to hunting solicitation. Most and especially hunters know that private property leases are secured via classifieds, website listings, chamber of commerce listings, feedstore listings or even still kicking the tires at the CO-OP or.local donut shop or word of mouth friends. The unsolicited visitation to ask about hunting private property though ballsy is probably a little much in most landowner's purview.

... after thinking about it a couple of minutes ... I can see both sides, 1. creepy and 2. making an effort.

Technology has shrunk the world and anonymity is an illusion.

Luke 11:9

In the past I've knocked on doors many times and gotten permission more often than not. Last time was some land near Hagermann with a small lake that was covered up with ducks and geese every time I drove past. Knocked on the door, introduced myself, and he said yes, any time. I spent time chatting with the fella after hunting and I got the impression he didnt get out much and enjoyed the company. Nowdays, with covid and all the other nonsense going on, I wouldnt feel comfortable putting someone in that position. There's seems to be a lot of fear and anxiety among people.

My folks get asked a lot by strangers and they say no for reasons of liability. I've had cows shot and I stopped letting folks hunt my land for the same reasons. No one will treat your property with the same respect that they would if they owned it.

Exactly this.

If you went to all of that effort and have all of my information, send me a polite letter and you might get a polite response or phone call depending on the tone of the letter. Showing up unannounced is a no go. This is exactly why there is an electric gate on every ranch around our area. The good old days of driving onto some one's property and visiting with the landowner are over. It's sad but necessary. In the old days, I didn't mind visiting with people looking for a lease and help them find one if I determined they were good guys. Those days are sadly gone.

I think the person in his situtation asking for permission in person shows right off the bat his willingness to show he makes efforts and wants to deal in person with landowner. However, perhaps a phone call and/or nice intro letter first asking for a call and meeting to discuss would have been better. Landowner has right to say no and right not to answer the door. I bet person seeking permission felt his chances of success would be better if meet landowner in person and hopefully strike a meaningful relationship.

My , the gentleman has the ability to read, interpret either a map or aerial photo to determine land ownership, the intelligence to access information available to the entire world at the push of a button, and enough balls to be a man walk up to your front door, look you in the eye, shake your hand, introduce himself and ask you a question. Sad day when what use to pass as courtesy and gentlemanly behavior is so off putting to human beings. He could have lied about how he got your information and said an adjoining land owner gave it to him....but again he was honest about the situation.

Was there anything that should have stopped him from approaching your home, gate, no trespassing signs, beware of dog, no solicitors, did he act crazy when you told him no, throw a fit, curse you out, or did he just say, ok, thank you and leave?

Also, what did he do in any way that was unethical?

Sounds reasonable to me and that is how I used to gain permission to several tracts (before all the apps, google earth, etc) by using county office to look at plat/ownership maps and tax office for owners/contact information. Also spoke with the locals at tire shop, coffee shop, feed store etc (whatever was in the area) about hunting and how to locate owners. Made some great friends that turned in to additional opportunities including getting full access to a house on lake for fishing year round from a local and had nothing to do with hunting. Worked out very well and was all about honesty and integrity.

I think he went through all that trouble cuz he has seen something on your place he wants to hunt (mature buck, 600 doves cutting across the corner in the evenings.. who knows). But my experience tells me he knows something, and he could be asking for a specific reason ..... but thats me. Hope everyone has a great season !

I saw an older man back in the early 90's working on a fence and looked to be struggling. My brother and I stopped and helped him finish. Only took a couple of hours. He invited us to the house and dove hunting came up. We were allowed to hunt on him for free until he passed. This was back at Graford when hunting was good there. Miss days like that and when I was growing up in Archer and Wichita County. Never had to pay anywhere until we got a 600 acre lease for deer between Bryson and Jacksboro. It wasn't much back then. Good times.

That is the way of the world of public information & unlisted phone numbers or cell phones. I have both but rarely use my land line anymore. I've had notes left on my gate before. I've been sent letters in the mail as well. I think your visitor wanted to meet you in person to show his sincerity but didn't go about it properly. A note on your gate or a letter with his contact info where you could respond with a polite "no thanks" should have been the route for him to pursue.

Used to be that way, especially for dove hunting, now it is big money and treated as a business venture.

I don't think that what he did is unreasonable. Until hunting land became a high dollar business, pretty much everyone looking to hunt private land would just knock on the landowner's door. If he didn't live on the property, we'd use public domain information to find the address. I don't bother doing it now because these days the answer is always either "No" or "Sure - that will by $5K a season," not because I think it's unethical. Ethically, it's not any worse (and is probably less annoying) than somebody knocking on your door to sell you something or convert you to their religion.