There's been a 14 point buck apparently sighted by a multitude of people on my 10.347 acre farm. It seems like I can't walk outside or sit down inside without somebody stopping by asking for permission to hunt. I had 2 people come by last weekend, 3 people come by yesterday and 2 today.

I like to kill deer to eat, but have no interest in trophy hunting. I shoot the first decent sized deer that show up and small deer if the big ones don't show up.

The first year i lived here, I gave permission to 14 people to hunt. I gave permission to everybody who asked, except for one guy who told me he had already scouted my property, that I had also seen spotlighting deer at night. He even had the spotlight on his seat when he pulled up.

A couple of years in, 1 of the guys I gave permission to shot my neighbor's house with shotgun slugs 5 times. Since than I've been more hesitant to grant permission.

I keep having people sneak in and poach deer on my place. I caught the neighbor's, whose house had been shot, brother poaching here last gun season. I have had somebody use and leave cigarettes in a ground blind a friend of mine, who hunts here, put up. People have thrown trash on the ground by a stand I have up. People took out and wiped the memory card on a trail camera of mine at least 3 times.

A couple of years ago, somebody cut a trail onto my property, through my fence, from a neighbor's 1 acre property to access my property. A few weeks ago, a kid asked to work here, worked one day and asked for permission to hunt here with his dad. I said that would be fine and the next day he told me he got another job. I talked to my neighbor and found out that the kid's dad got permission a couple of years ago to hunt a 10 foot by 40 foot section of woods, on his 1 acre, along my woods. I have no doubt that's who cut into my property from the same piece. They came by to get permission forms signed and I told them i changed my mind.

4 of the 7 guys, that recently asked me for permission, told me I can have all the meat from the deer they kill here. They all said they don't hunt just bucks, which makes me wonder why they are bothering to hunt.

Most of them told me they would treat my property like their own. It's my property and I don't want people to think it's theirs.

6 of the 7 told me they don't like other people hunting where they hunt, yet none offered to help on the farm or any recompense, besides deer meat.

7 of the 7 mentioned seeing large bucks here and 4 mentioned the 14 point buck.

All of them knew features of my property, that they either learned from walking it or a very good aerial view.

I didn't give any of them permission, but did say that I might give them permission after other people hunting here tagged out. The whole lot of them just seems like a bunch of worthless users. I'm feeling discouraged about the future of deer hunting.

Keith

14 people hunting 10 acres? That sounds dangerous!

I've got a little 40 ac. piece. Folks ask, I tell them I would maybe let them hunt, but.... I have it LEASED ... for money to a group and they prohibit non members of the group from hunting at all.
And they enforce it to the fullest extent of the law.
Post the boundary and don't hesitate to call the law when you see, or know someone is in there.

We have a long archery season, over 4 months and I insist that the hunters notify me the day before they go hunting. I only let 2 singles or father/child pairs hunt here at a time and they hunt different areas. Only 1 other guy, besides me, gun hunts here anymore. The meat hunters usually fill their tags in 2 or 3 trips out. It's easy hunting.

Keith

Keith, I feel your pain. I have a 120 acre farm, it’s divided into pasture, woodland and hay fields. My motto is just say no. I’ve never had anything but problems from letting people hunt my property. Had a guy a few years ago poach a very nice buck on my property and the neighbor drove his tractor on me to retrieve it. Needless to say there was problems for those guys. My wife and I have worked very hard for what we have and I have no desire to let anyone harvest from my land. Eric

Way things are here if someone gets permission it's almost certain that they are the only person on that property all season for that species. 10 acres would definitely only be 1 person a season. I'd just limit the # of people allowed. Chat with them for a while and see what they do for a living. Lots of honest professions that people cant trash someone else's land without professional repercussions.

10 Acres? . . . max group of 3 hunters. If you have that many deer, . . . hunting rights go to the highest bidder(s), with them having insurance, ethics, and do a (DNR) background check for hunting or other pertinent violations.

My yard is 12 acres lol
Couldn't imagine giving any more permission than maybe one other person on a parcel that small.
I'm with you Kieth I'm a meat hunter; big one walks in front of me I shoot him, same with big doe, little doe, or smaller buck. Racks don't do much for me. Have shot plenty of them though.
To be honest with you sounds like a bunch of jerks asking you for permission and I'd tell most of them to pound salt

10 acres is not very big. I’m assuming you live on that 10 acres too and have all your animals and barns and what not on there too.

Big difference where and how I hunt compared to the majority of others. If I saw a guy bbq’ing to the right and a dude doing backstrokes in his pool to the left and chickens and goats straight in front of me it wouldn’t feel right hunting in there lol.

I like the big bush for hunting!

Grant permission and charge them by the inches scored (agreed upon rate) on any buck they kill.

Keith,

Just my 2cents, I never ask permission without offering something in return. Some people just want the animals gone some want some wood cut or what not.

On that small piece of ground, I'd find One good person to let hunt.
If they fill their tags and you feel more deer should be taken, pick another person.
Having more then one at a time hunting that small of area will only created headaches.
But thanks for at least letting someone hunt

Everything has changed Keith. All these leasers are turning it into a rich mans game, there anti's but don't know it. They don't give a crap about the property owner, ethics, they just want the "big rack". When there not out screwing us all over, they're at home watching those stupid big buck videos on the Youtube.

I used to have 11 farms to hunt and trap. I lost 9 of them to leasers, 2 because the farmer retired and the sons said no. I did everything I could. I helped with hay, tending fence, milking when their hand called off etc. Didn't matter cause I didn't pay. Those 9 signed a lease that included no other person could hunt or trap period. Those knotheads would take 1, maybe 2 deer off their place and the critter population would escalate.

Then the farmers would file for insurance for crop damage and get it. They make money full circle and the pos leasers got to show pics of the buck they got online. Times are screwy!!

Simple solution Keith, just say you hunt it yourself. All folks can understand that. Catch, I feel your pain. Not a fan of leasing for all reasons you described. However, it can help a farmer decide to keep a woodlot around as opposed to clearing it out to farm.

Back before I had land of my own, people were always very kind and let me hunt and trap their land. I don't ever remember being turned down for permission. I had permission for more property than I could hunt and trap in a year. When I bought my farm, I thought the right thing to do was grant other people permission too.

I did always help the people who gave me permission and put in what one of my friends, who lets a lot of people hunt his farm, calls face time. Except for some friends I let hunt here, none of the others who hunted here gave me a thing or did a lick of work.

The first year i hunted here, I quickly tagged my legal 3 deer during gun season and could still for the rest of the Winter, more than a few times. count 46 deer in my lowest field, by late afternoon.

I live in a very good area for hunting and trapping. It's one of the main reasons I moved here. I live next to a glacial moraine called the Bellfountaine Ridge. I'm right at the break. From in front of my house out it is flat for miles. From behind my house Ohio is hilly and full of rough land. There is lots of woods surrounding small crop fields. Once the crops are down the game piles into the valley and ridgey woods I own, along with the adjoining properties.

People started leasing most of the land behind me. I've turned down 2 people who wanted to lease my land. I think leasing is bad for the future of hunting. I think hunting trophy bucks only is probably worse.

Of all the many people who have asked permission to hunt here, only a few falconers, who I know, have asked to hunt small game. It seems like big deer are all most people care to hunt anymore.

I have planted a lot of fruit and nut trees and bushes. The deer are hard on them and cost me current and future income. I would like their numbers reduced. I would like to let others have the opportunity to take the deer. I have a good friend who was the CEO for the Beretta Group's Optic Division. I'm starting to think a nuisance permit and $66,000.00 worth of the highest military grade optics mounted on a $8000.00 gun may be the way to go, rather than a bunch of jealous hunters, who only want big bucks.

Keith

I know several ranchers that have 20,000-50,000 acres and don’t let that many people hunt.
This buck must be impressive. Unfortunately someone will probably poach him.

There's a group of bucks that usually has 4 to 6 deer in it, that have been being a pain, eating my fruit, in my front yard. I've chased them off a lot. They have very little fear of me or the dogs. I think the smallest buck in the group was bottle fed by a neighbor. I'm sure a lot of people have seen them, but the 14 point excites them the most.

When I mow, the bucks barely leave the area. We had friends over and all 6 bucks were in sight in early evening of where we had a fire and were cooking pork chops. They were between us and the house.

I had 4 bucks by the blind, just down from my back barn, when I was mowing a couple of weeks ago. I yelled at them, parked the mower and took poor quality pictures of the 2 that stuck around. The buck on the left actually charged up at me and started stamping and snorting. I didn't get a picture of the 14 point.





There's a lot of very big deer in my area.

Keith

I was thinking the same thing, I mow that much yard.

That would be fruitful...Yes

As I have previously stated, only 2 single or father/child pairs are allowed to bow hunt at once. To hit someone in the other section with an arrow, because of the rise and fall of the land, would be pretty much impossible to do if you tried and they know the other hunters are there. In 10 years, I've only more than 1 hunter or a pair hunting at the same time a very few times. Most people very quickly tag out. I usually tag out hunting for less than 7 hours a year.

Keith