[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/preserving-hunting-permission-earn-your-keep\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/preserving-hunting-permission-earn-your-keep\/","headline":"Preserving Hunting Permission: Earn Your Keep","name":"Preserving Hunting Permission: Earn Your Keep","description":"Securing permission is by far one of the biggest hurdles we as hunters may face. Getting an edge on a...","datePublished":"2018-09-06","dateModified":"2018-09-06","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Hunter-talking-to-farmer.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Hunter-talking-to-farmer.jpg","height":1783,"width":2625},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/preserving-hunting-permission-earn-your-keep\/","about":["Blog","Hunting"],"wordCount":646,"articleBody":"Securing permission is by far one of the biggest hurdles we as hunters may face. Getting an edge on a target buck you\u2019re after is a challenge, but for guys still trying to acquire a place to hunt \u2013 the struggle is real. Sure, you get lucky now and then, but the same can be said with killing a big buck or catching a big fish. Once you land yourself permission to hunt a solid piece of private, consider yourself lucky, but far from comfortable.One of the most common feelings to come over me whenever I score permission to hunt good private is – worry. With hunting pressure at an all-time high, and with me living within proximity to largely populated cities, most private along the main roadways already have hunters. When I finally get the nod of approval to hunt a chunk all to myself, the reality is I just got lucky. Without a written check and a contract, your permission is at-will and can be revoked at any time and without reason. So, preserve it.Life is hectic, for some more than others, but make time to write the landowner expressing gratitude for their permission granted and be sure to reinforce your intention is to earn their trust and demonstrate good faith.One of the easiest patterns to get on as a by permission only private land hunter is dropping by and delivering a care package for most major holidays, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Memorial Day. Remember, if you only exist during hunting season to someone who hardly knows you from \u201cAdam\u201d, you might find out the hard way how easy it is to be forgotten. Stopping by and delivering a basket of goodies near major holidays for all four seasons will demonstrate your friendly nature, appreciation, and the in-person presence will hit home that much more than something dropped in a mailbox or left on a doorstep.A lesson my father taught me when I was still in my single digits was to always leave a place looking cleaner than when you got there. I can\u2019t tell you how many bags of trash I\u2019ve cleaned up along the roadways bordering lands I\u2019ve been fortunate to hunt through the years, but it\u2019s too many to count. It\u2019s gross, it\u2019s annoying, and it\u2019s sad that garbage adds up the way it does, but when you\u2019re hunting good land for free it\u2019s the least you can do as a favor to the landowner.I don\u2019t recommend calling the landowner to brag about your good deed, but I definitely like to let them know in less gregarious ways. For example, you might take a quick picture of the trash you collected on your phone and include a recognizable background scene of the land in the image, then text it to your landowner with a short indirect caption, like \u201cCan you believe the amount of trash people throw out of their windows?\u201d This way you\u2019re demonstrating one way you\u2019re adding value to your presence on their land by the picture, and the caption is friendly and personable.Probably the most important tip of all is to always live up to your word. If you say you\u2019ll avoid driving on the fields, don\u2019t drive on the fields. If you say you\u2019ll avoid putting nails in their trees, simply don\u2019t put nails in the trees. It\u2019s amazing how many times I\u2019ve heard landowners tell me stories about past tenants of the land who abandoned their word and took advantage of their permission.Remember, everyone knows someone who hunts. It could be family, or a friend, or someone willing to pull out the checkbook to take over rights to hunt the land you\u2019re hunting for free. Preserve it."},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/preserving-hunting-permission-earn-your-keep\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Preserving Hunting Permission: Earn Your Keep"}}]}]