Message #23590

[Bryant]

Just like in business, word-of-mouth advertising can be your greatest asset or your worst enemy.

If you can somehow get in with the big farmers / land owners in your particular area, then prove your worth (not by words, but by your actions) you'll find more places to hunt than you can shake a stick at.

My family's been leasing land to deer hunters for years, and I've been hunting on other's places for years.  I've seen both sides to the equation.  What gets people in trouble is when they get a little too comfortable and start failing to realize that the owner is STILL the owner.  Every time you set foot on a piece of earth that doesn't belong to you, it should be considered a privilege to be there.

When dealing with owners of prospective tracts of land, I don't personally represent myself as anything but a sport hunter who can *HELP* with a potential problem they might be having.  I feel if you gain access to a property by representing yourself as depredation control, then you are at the mercy of the owner.  He calls...been seeing hogs and has corn knocked down, you better jump or he might take away your privileges.  The understanding that I have with the owners I hunt for, is if they are having a problem they call me.  99% of the time I AM able to jump, but fact of it is that my business and family comes first and sometimes I have other obligations and just can't come running.

What they (and really anyone you have business dealings with in life) appreciate most is honesty and integrity.  I was raised under the premise that the only thing a man really has in this world is his word.