How to tell a property owner Thank You!

capitol

capitol

Active member
A lil back round. A guy I know got booted from a choice property for doing things he was asked not to do

Now I up. I'm in.

I want to shoot this property for as long as possible. Introduced myself today and asked for permission. I'm in. It's mine
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The problem is the land owner is very much stand off ish. He doesn't really want to talk or have anything to do with you, but is ok with a person shooting on his land.

Any ideas on how to get the land owner to understand how much "I" value this opportunity without looking like a complete suck up
 
If anything just leave him a thank you note in his mail box or on his door with your number saying exactly that and if he ever need help aroumd the property to not hesitate to call.
 
If he seems like he does not want to be bothered I would try not to bother him. Landowners can be and are very busy dealing with a lot of things on their plate. I would try and leave him alone for awhile and then if you see him around the place maybe stop and show him your days take of varmints and let him know you very much appreciate his allowing access. maybe casually try to find out if he likes to drink a beer or some whiskey once in a while and see if you can find out his flavor and bring him some beers or a bottle the next time out. If he is not a drinker then maybe he likes a cold mt dew or iced tea, maybe some deer sausage, jerky, fresh walley fillets, etc.

One other thing I frequently do is pickup any garbage or debri that may be littered about and throw it away. Another thing you could possibly do is offer him some help with something around the place. If you see him working on something that looks like he could use a hand.

Sometimes though, they just don't want to be bothered and that is fine. If you keep getting the feeling you are "bugging" him just leave it alone and be respectful to his property. If your not sure if he will like you doing such and such activity then you probably should not do it until you can talk with him and get his permission. For example I have some land owners that tell me to drive all over through pasture land or dug/harvested fields to retrieve kills or setup tree stands etc. Others absolutely want no driving through their fields no matter if there is a trail or not.
 
My uncle used to be a small farmer with several farms for different purposes...While he was outgoing and friendly in most situations, when it came to doing various things around the farm, he only would allow others, myself included, to be of limited help when he had chores to do..

Not that he didn't appreciate the offer, but he was always worried that a 'newbie' would get hurt due to not understanding the equipment, or would not do it exactly as he wanted it done and he was a stickler for 'his way' being the only right way...After a few years of following him around and being allowed to do little things, he finally let me graduate to some larger chores, but that was only because I was family...

He had a neighbor's son that just slightly older than me and that was the only young person I ever knew that he really trusted on the property unsupervised since the neighbor and he had been next to each other for over 40 years and done a lot of cooperative stuff together...Even though I was 'family' the neighbor kid had been the every day, working with his father...
 
i would bring him parts of any game deer,hogs,etc for him if he wants it otherwise just don't bother him.
 
It would not hurt to leave him a gift at Christmas time - bottle of wine of other imbibements, chocolates for his wife... but I can't go with the "nothing" philosophy.

He gave you a lot, you can give him something.
 
The best way I find is to kill coyotes!!! Stop in every time you score. A truck load of dead coyotes is a very good ,thanks!!! PS
I find it easer to secure permission If you have several dead doge already in your truck.
 
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Ive bought many of fall hunts with fresh spring caught catfish. (Makes ur mouth water just thinking about it ...huh?) Also a nice thankyou.
 
Originally Posted By: HardwickNIf anything just leave him a thank you note in his mail box or on his door with your number saying exactly that and if he ever need help aroumd the property to not hesitate to call.
X2
 
Offer to help out with crop damage.

I take mine a small gift bag at Christmas - couple of beef sticks, some cheese maybe, a gift card, and a couple of cell phone pics of my kills printed out to show I'm getting the job done.

I've had some farmers let me use their gators, so I'll show up with a can of gas at some point along the way to more than repay whatever little bit I used.

Picking up trash is another great one, as mentioned earlier. We have a real problem with trashy people any more it seems and anyone who loves the land, well - it kills them (and me) to see McDonalds sandwich wrappers and empty soda cups and other CRAP blowing around over the fields.
 
I do a big gift bag the includes fancy coffee, cookies, treats, and other goodies that everyone likes. For my A-list properties, I give spiral cut hams right before Christmas.

Another good idea is to give a gift certificate to a local steak place or to the grocery store. Nobody will see this as anything but a great gesture and even the smallest towns have a place that does a Friday night steak fry.

I would avoid gifts of alcohol at all costs unless you KNOW the person drinks by actually seeing him take a drink. Just too many ways to go wrong with this and many other better options.

Grouse
 
I've been lucky enough to have a large boat. We catch a lot of fish and crab and generally in September the crabbing is outstanding so I will break and cook a bunch of fresh crab and drop by with it. All of the property owners that have given me permission love to have the crab mostly because they don't have the time or ability to get it themselves and a single crab can cost upwards of $20. If they like salmon or ling cod I will bring them butchered fish pre-wrapped ready to cook or freeze.

In return I get to hunt ducks, geese, quail, pheasants, doves and coyotes. Even though I haven't hunted the properties in some time I stop in to say hello and if I have anything I will drop it off.

Some property owners really don't want any game but I always ask. They tell me that if they wanted something they'd get it themselves.
 
When I moved to iowa I didn't have any place to hunt. A guy from work who also farms about 800 acres and has 150 head of cattle was nice enough to let me deer hunt some very good ground. To repay him I started with beer...and lots of it. Every time I would come out I would stop and have a beer with him and his brother if they weren't too busy and leave a 12 pack or so in their shop fridge. Once I got to know him better I offered to help on the farm. You wouldn't believe how a guys opinion will change of you when you help haul hay a few times or give up a weekend of hunting because he needs help working ground or cattle. He had a problem with a coyote that was bothering his calves so I dropped everything I was doing and hunted it all weekend until I finally killed it on a Sunday morning (he knew it was the same one cause it was very blonde which made him very happy). I also do his "dirty work" now when it comes to cattle. He will call me when they have sick or injured cattle and tell me where he wants it buried. I will come out, put it down, grab the tractor and bury it so he doesn't have to take time out of his schedule for it. Another thing I like to do is throw some pork butts on the smoker every couple of months and hand deli ever them to him and his brother. Now my buddy and I are the only ones that have permission to hunt his ground. When people he has let hunt for years that has never gave him anything in return come and ask him to hunt, he gives them mine or my buddy's number and says if they say it's ok then you are good to go. I have made a few enemies this way but all they would have to do is pitch in every now and then and they could hunt but they don't want to do any work.

Moral of the story: Like many have said, something small like a thank you note, good cut of meat or stopping to give them a cold bottle of water, beer or soda while they are out working can help them form a good opinion of you. Sorry for the lengthy post! Good luck!

Shelton

Shelton
 
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Sounds great and reflects well upon your charector.

I have at times, done the same thing.. One of the things that i have been doing for a while is carrying a large can of Fix a flat, and when i am talking to them, i ask if they have one in their truck, and if they say no, i give them one..

I usually customize something for them, watching and working with them, you start to see things that might be useful they never knew of or thought of. I have made some porch chairs from wood, and given a gift certificate to get their boots resoled in the local town. This spread word and gets you more access.

But, showing up to help, has always been the best thing..
 
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