How I get Permission to Hunt Private Land
I am not an expert on killing big bucks. If you are looking for a whitetail hunting expert, find a different article. What I am good at is getting free access to hunt private land, and I’ve got some techniques and strategies that may help you get permission on a piece of great hunting ground.
I currently have access to four different private properties, totaling nearly 300 acres of phenomenal whitetail and turkey habitat, and I haven’t paid a dime in leasing or trespass fees. I’ve killed a couple giant whitetail bucks, some does, and a turkey in the last two seasons. Some creativity, and a lot of hard work has helped me figure out a great system to get free access to private ground.
The Low-Hanging Fruit
My first two private properties were what I consider “low-hanging fruit.” One property is owned by a coworker, and the other is owned by a friend from church. Both landowners had land in areas that I had seen deer before. One landowner lets me hunt in exchange for a hard day’s work on his farm every spring. I’ve hauled a wood chipper to his land and chipped wood, taken down a decrepit tower blind, taken out an old barbed wire fence, cut thistle out of his hay field, and more. The other landowner let me hunt in exchange for teaching him how to butcher a deer. Both are great guys, and all I had to do was ask them, show them my enthusiasm, and give them something in return.
In 2018 (my first year with permission) I killed a 186” non-typical on one of the properties. On the other property, I killed my first deer with a bow in 2018, and in 2019, I killed a 150-class bruiser.
Digging Deeper
After 2018, I realized I wanted a couple more private land options that would allow me to keep my hunting pressure distributed across more properties. I decided to step up my pursuit of new properties.
During the Spring of 2019, I spent hours scouring maps. I was looking for properties that I believed would hold deer, that were within a half hour of my home. I marked nearly 50 properties. Using OnX Maps and county resources, I found ownership information for all of the properties that I marked.
Then, I sent letters out to every owner, asking for permission to hunt. I got this idea from John Eberhart in his book Precision Bowhunting. I took the sample letter provided in John’s book, and modified it several times to fit my needs:
Landowner Name,
My name is ______. I have lived in ________ for __years, and I work at ___________. I am an avid outdoorsman, and my favorite outdoor activity is bowhunting for deer. I am seeking permission to bowhunt for deer in the fall of 2020 on your property located ___________________. I am committed to conservation, fair-chase hunting, and landowner rights. I would respect any wishes that you might have regarding where you prefer me to hunt and during which times. It would also be my pleasure, if successful, to share a portion of my deer meat with you and your family as a way of saying thank you.
If this request is something you are willing to consider, please get in touch with me and I can address any concerns you might have. Please feel free to contact me at 555-555-5555 or email me at sample@gmail.com. If I am unable to answer a phone call, please leave a message. I am an open book and I will provide honest answers to any of your questions.
Thank you for your time. It is greatly appreciated!
Sincerely,
Your Name
I typed each letter, but I addressed every envelope by hand. In every envelope, I included another document that I call an “about me” card that had photos of my truck, license plate, myself, and a list of my values & promises:
I sent out 40 of these letters, and I began to get responses. Most responses came via phone call, but some came via email and a few came back to me through the mail. Most responses were very positive, but ended with a “no.” Many landowners had family members that hunted the land, some were in the process of selling the land, and some leased the land to other hunters. One thing was certain though – I got overwhelmingly positive feedback about the way I asked for permission.
Then, it happened. I got a text message one day from a guy who said I could bowhunt on his land. He said that another guy had been hunting it for a few years, but that hunter had moved out of state. The best part was, the property was only a few minutes from my home! We met up and I told him what I wanted to do, and he gave me his blessing. He just asked that I sent him a text message letting him know when I was going to be out there.
I shed hunted it in the spring, and found a huge shed antler and a deadhead. Scouting revealed buck sign EVERYWHERE, and trail cams in the summer revealed some monster bucks.
The story almost had the perfect ending. I hit one of the huge bucks with an arrow during a morning rut hunt. Unfortunately, I hit him high. I saw him later that day, looking as healthy as could be.
About a month later, I opened up my mailbox to find a letter from a landowner that now lives in Florida. He gave me permission to hunt his 60 acre river-bottom property that included a couple of crop fields! I had several good hunts there in 2019, and harvested a turkey there in April 2020.
Acquiring permission to hunt these properties took a lot of thought, time, and work. It was worth the effort. I sent out 40 letters in the Spring of 2019. I got 18 responses. 16 of them were no, and 2 were yes (Side note – I did get permission to shed hunt on a few properties that said I could not hunt). My permission rate was only 5%, but the work led me to two additional properties. Gaining permission to hunt a new place feels almost as good as killing a buck!
Building & Maintaining the Relationship with Landowners
Here are some simple things I do to build and maintain my relationships with landowners:
Send thank you notes when I acquire permission, and every time I harvest an animal on their land.
Send Christmas cards.
Pick up trash. Haul trash piles off their land.
Send them trail cam photos from their land.
Offer to help with chores.
Talk to them about the hunt.
Attitude
I hear phrases like “It’s impossible to get free-permission to hunt these days” all the time. This is BS. I acknowledge that these opportunities may be easier to find in Kansas than other places, but opportunities are available to those who are willing to fight for them. Go find them. Grind to find new places to hunt just like you would grind during a hunt. Finding places to hunt is part of the game.
No-Off Season
I now have sole access on four properties totaling nearly 300 acres. They are all close to home which gives me more time to hunt. I have the luxury of being able to rotate properties so I don’t put too much hunting pressure on any one of them. I also have more stand options for various wind directions. Getting permission to hunt these properties has contributed more to my success and development as a bowhunter than any other factor.
Use my ideas and strategies as a guide to find new hunting ground this Spring. Put some time into finding new ground to hunt. It’s not easy, but the rewards are well worth the effort.
Resources I use to Get Free Permission to Hunt Private Land
OnX Maps – the app I use to find ownership information, and mark where I see animals.
Canva – the app I use to design letters, cards, and thank you notes.
Google Photos – the app I use to store trail cam photos, and to share photos and videos with landowners.