I grew up in southwest Arkansas and spent most of my young adult life in south central Arkansas. We moved our family to East Tennessee a little over 4 years ago and I've struggled to find good, SAFE, places to consistently hunt and trap with my kids. We've done the public land thing some and always have a good time (though mostly unproductive), but have had a run in or two with folks not being safe or just ugly.

I guess I say all that to say this, sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Growing up and young adult life had plenty of places to go and run all through the woods. Miss it now that I'm older and have kids that want to do that.

Hate to say this, but you need to lease hunting rights from a few farmers, and post the land.

Leasing hunting rights does absolutely NOTHING to change peoples attitudes. I will never lease anything to hunt. Has ruined much more than helped anything. I am the opposite. Go out and speak with people and get to know them, work for them, help them and gain hunting permissions. Grow relationships and harvest hunting permissions. Take your kids out and make them ask for permissions. Make them get to know who they are hunting on and trapping on. Make them talk to adults.

Northern Maine is still like that.

… I would say slip into some yankee transplants place…. But that’s tough with all the cameras these days lol

I’ll tell you best thing to do. Had worked for me my entire life. Knock on doors and talk like you have walking around sense. Be mannerly. If you kid had a nose ring or face tattoos leave him home. Purple hair does not help to get hunting permission. Keep at it. Remember you didn’t have permission before you stopped so hearing no changes nothing. Only takes one stop to open up a great property
I got permission from a tree hugger only because I helped them pic out a good cell cam at Walmart. Peopl where sneaking onto them and all most want is to know who is around

Up here in northern Maine its a whole diffrent attitude.People could care less if you hunt on their land.The few who don't want you on their land post it.Between that and all the timber land and North Maine woods you have hundreds of miles of land to trap,hunt,and fish on.

offer to clean out some gutters of a ranchers house. offer to fix fence for a weekend. remember when your asking permission to access and hunt someone's land you are offering them nothing an they are taking all the risk an liability of you being there. showing you would like to earn the permission by offering your time/labor gives land owners a better feeling about who they are dealing with.

Hey Bubba check your PMs

Just make sure they know why you are doing the work, I know a fella who worked helping out a farmer most of a summer, as it get close to hunting season he asks about hunting the property and the farmer looks at him and says I would like to let you but a group has the farm leased to hunt. Which was the guys fault for not letting the farmer know up front why he was offering to help him with all this work.