How do you go about finding private land to hunt?

[teej89]

Now that I'm living in Ohio full time I am looking at getting some land to hunt on other than the public land my dad and I have been hunting for a couple years now. A couple summers ago I did a loop around the public land we hunt and got permission to hunt 2 farms, however they were just crop fields but lining their property was a river separating the hard woods public land from the fields. So I only really used them as access to the back side of the game lands we were hunting which was great cuz other wise it'd be a mile plus hike.

Now I'm living in columbus and I'm going to start doing a search but being brand new to the area I have no idea how to start searching for property. I was thinking about after work just taking a drive an hour or so outside the city and glass fields looking for deer and then using the auditors site to find who owns that property. I used that last time when I had to find out owners address's. I'm not in a rush for finding land for this fall cuz I have a lil 50 acre wooded plot, and potentially 60 more acres of woods above cinci. And we have had some decent luck on public ground too.

Does this sound like a decent start? I know I sound like such a newbie lol but back in PA this was never a concern cuz we had a hunt club we belonged to so I never had to go around knocking on doors. Honestly I'd even be willing to pay for a lease but I've been on basecampleasing.com and there really isn't anything reasonable that's open. Good land at a reasonable price gets swooped up fast there.

 

[Mike]

When I meet somebody new I ALWAYS ask if they have huntable land. My two best properties were gained this way.

 

[RedCloud]

County Auditors web page. Find some property you want to hunt and go to that counties auditor page and see who owns it and make a trip to do a face to face. You will find out just driving and looking for property will end in a lot of wasted gas since most houses do not own the woods that sit right behind it. Using the auditors page will give you the mailing address of the landowner and you will find out that some property owners live out of state or even a few houses down from the property. Save yourself some time and gas by checking the website and getting the correct address for the correct property you want to hunt.

 

[Gordo]

When I meet somebody new I ALWAYS ask if they have huntable land. My two best properties were gained this way.

That's the way to do it.

I rarely ever ask to hunt right off the bat. I'll usually start by asking to set up a trail camera to see what's living out on their property.

 

[teej89]

I guess my thing is how do you go about picking and area to start, not having set foot in it before. Would you do what I did look around public that I've hunted before and keep going further away from it looking at the auditors maps and seeing what has potential for a decent spot? I guess I was talking about driving and grassing to see what's in the area and then go back and search for the land owners. And property lines.

Anyone out their lease land?

 

[Rutin]

In regards to your question above ^...... in OH if you can gain private access you better do it.... Worry about scouting later! Its not like WI where you can shine and truly see what's on these properties. Glassing will give you some idea but doesn't guarantee what your seeing is going to live there year round. So places may only be good during the rut. I don't rule out ANY property, each property has its ups & downs so don't count a property out your not seeing deer on yet. I would look for property with waterways running through it but if you can get access to ANY private land DO IT! If you have to pay a little bit or offer helps to do chores.... DO IT! Hunting has become a rich mans sport so if you can get free access do it and worry about how good it is later IMO

 

[Gordo]

What he said TOO. Any land is good land. Cant be picky until you have access to more then you have the resources for. Ive yet to lease, but am very fortunate to know tons of folks from living in this area for 10+ years. I will always volunteer time/work to land owners. It doesn't take muck to keep them happy

 

[RedCloud]

Would agree as well. If you can get some property worry about the caliber of deer later. Get to know some of the people that might also be hunting those properties and you might end up gaining access to other properties that way as well.

Ask Dante how he got to hunt just over 1k acres. He started off hunting a small 5-10 acres his first year and then I got him slips for other property I hunted and he ended up with just over 1k acres to hunt now. Just takes time and talking to others that hunt those areas to gain some friends and other hunting grounds. No need to pay for something that might have the same quality deer a place that you could hunt for free. One thing about Ohio is you can't get a lot of ground right off the bat, just takes time imho.

 

[Johnch]

I own land , but still I look for more places to hunt

Knock on a lot of doors , 100 times better than a phone call
And not at supper time or when the framer is working the feild
No radio on , dressed decent but not to dressed up

One thing
Talk the the Game Warden
Some people have problems with crop damage
He could point you to farmers that need the herd thinned , but those will mainly be doe's
As if the deer are doing to much damage , land owners and farmers can get crop damage permits to shoot deer starting shortly
Yep we get them some years and I use the 308 rifle , at night with a spot light
We just can't shoot bucks with the crop damage permits

Good luck
John

OH 1 trick
Get a local seed company hat ( probely have to spend $10 or less for it )
Wear it when you ask
It helps a lot

 

[bowhunter1023]

I would agree that getting permission on any piece of ground here in Ohio is worth the effort. Also burning up gas and putting miles on the truck is a great way to find places as well. This is how I find most of my waterfowl spots. I use the county auditor's page all the time as well. I am fortunate that I have lived in the same county virtually all my life, so I know what areas are worth exploring and which ones are not. As a new guy, I just drive around and find an area that looks good, then start knocking on doors. Use Google Earth TOO.

I posted this up a while back in regards to actually asking for permission. Some of this may be helpful to you...

http://www.theohiooutdoors.com/showthread.php?11902-Getting-Permission

 

[hickslawns]

Sounds like some good advice to get you started. Some areas are easier than others. In the Columbus area I would imagine there is stiffer competition for hunting land. Personally, I would try to find areas closer to home. That is just me though. Not always a viable option for many.

 

[bigten05]

i do alot of knocking on doors, just the other night i was driving by a farm that i have stopped at a few times always got told no hunting because his grandson hunts it. well i seen the old man up on his barn rolling tar on the roof i went home and changed went back to his house and climbed up there with him after a few minutes i convinced him to take a break and i finished the side of the roof. when i got down he thanked me for helping i told him no problem and that i couldnt of just sat at the house knowing that a 80 year old man was out rolling on tar by himself when it was 90 degrees out. as i was getting into the truck he asked if i still wanted to hunt i said it was totaly up to him, he handed me a slip already signed and said here you go, and told me just to check in before i go out anytime so he could tell me where his grandson was or if he was even there. ive picked up alot of land just giving a helping hand every once in awhile. i use the auditors site as well just to get the name of the owners i would rather talk to them in person then call them on the phone.

 

[MK111]

I own land also. But this year I asked 2 neighbors who in the past anti-hunting. And a big surprise to me both said yes to me hunting there. So after 22 yrs. I guess it's never too late to try again. I think the deer damage finally got to them in changing their minds.

 

[teej89]

Thanks for the feedback guys! I have another question. The one farmer I talked to owns land adjacent to the public and wooded area. I talked to him and he was real impressed I had my topo and aerial all marked up with property lines and who owns what. And the fact I drove from central PA to ohio just to scout for deer lol Well he said he wish he could give me permission but years ago a guy he let hunt it was rude to another family member of his who was hunting it also so he stopped letting people hunt it.

I went on to ask him if I could have permission to track deer onto his property if I were to shoot one and it ran there and he said he had no problem with that. He even went on to saying that he didn't mind if I hunted on his land if I didn't see any cars in his driveway other than his truck.

So my question is should I stop by his farm again this summer and just talk to him and see how everything is going and if he's been seeing any good deer?(he's not a hunter himself) I feel weird going back cuz it's way back an old dirt road so it's not like I'm just "passing thru". I'm obviously going out of my way to go to his house lol

 

[bowhunter1023]

Working to establish a relationship is always a good idea. Trust me, I drive back old dirt driveways to meet strangers for a living. The more trips you make, the stronger the relationship and the more likely you are to get what you are after...

 

[teej89]

Working to establish a relationship is always a good idea. Trust me, I drive back old dirt driveways to meet strangers for a living. The more trips you make, the stronger the relationship and the more likely you are to get what you are after...

I think last time it was nice cuz it was on a friday and when I drove up he was just walking outside. However I would only be able to go on saturday, I know not to on sundays, but I feel like me knocking on their door on a saturday is bothersome to them.

 

[bowhunter1023]

To be honest, a feller like him is probably happy to have some company. The hardest people for me to get away from are older folks that live in the boonies. They enjoy talking to folks most of the time...

 

[RedCloud]

To be honest, a feller like him is probably happy to have some company. The hardest people for me to get away from are older folks that live in the boonies. They enjoy talking to folks most of the time...

Very true. I talk to all kinds of people during the work day and the older fellas once ya start talkin hunting won't stop talkin lol. Spent an hour talking to a guy the other day because I seen a good size buck in a box that had been drying out since last fall. Had a guy before that talk to me for about the same amount of time a few days earlier because I seen some printed trailcam pics of some good bucks. Before I left he even told me the property he hunted and about the 16pt buck he has pics of from that property.

Just have to find something that you can get them started on talking about. Find something that sparks their interrest and you can go a long way in a short time of shooting the breeze.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

It's mid-July and I'm dragging my ass in this area again...

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

Has anyone ever had luck getting permission for properties that are currently on the housing market?