Hunting Permission basics?

[JDShapp]

Tonight I was lucky enough to get permission to hunt on some farmland that a neighbor of my grandparents has. I'm not the only person from my family that's been allowed to go into this area, but I have been given some general rules. Any pests I see fit to exterminate are open game, specifically rats if I find any near the grain bins. Any game animals are open game as well as long as I'm not within range of the subdivisions or local homes in the area. If I tackle anything bigger than a rat I'm responsible for removing the carcass.

In a few days I'm going to try and do a basic walk through and scout. What I'm wondering is how does everyone else scout out a new area? I ask simply because my hunting experience has been limited to the few miles where I grew up, and this new area is going to be around 150 acres.

 

[wyshadow]

Just like the movie, "American werewolf in London," stick to the roads. Don't go on to any area that has been cultivated until you know for sure it will be ok with the farmer. Even if the farmers says it's ok, wait until the second hunt. Make sure you have a good back stop. Try not to shoot around farm machinery or animals. If you notice any problems with a broken fence or gate, or damage to buildings, let the farmer know to keep on good terms. By letting the farmer know this, this will reassure the farmer the farm has another set of eyes to spot problems. If you see trash, pick up what you can

 

[JDShapp]

Managed a walkthrough on about a quarter of the farm today. Took note of where 4 deer stands were setup and ran into one of the hunters out there for deer. Once I identified myself I apologized for disturbing his hunt, retraced my previous route before finding a different path along an irrigation channel through the barren cornfield to another wooded section out of that hunters shooting lane. So far I have a decent idea of where rabbits are after spooking a few, and found several squirrel nests.

Any luck I'll be familiar enough with the area soon enough to do some real hunting.

 

[iride]

Be scary as hell to walk up on a deer stand with someone in it,, Someone should be able to tell you how many hunters are out there,,
If not I would walk around caring a white flag whistling Dixie or something,
Mike

 

[JDShapp]

I wasn't really scared considering I'd found that hunters ATV not far from where I was before that, and the path I was on was one the farmer's grandson uses from time to time. In this part of the state there are far worse things to encounter in the woods than a hunter in a deer stand.

 

[Alan]

I grew up in a sporting goods store, and have hunted since I was barely able to hold a rifle. I've learned a few lessons the hard way, I must admit. But most of my knowledge came from my dad, who had hunted on every continent but one. One of his adamant rules was never to scout hunting grounds during hunting season! It shouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why! 

 

[JDShapp]

Today I scouted out another section that is way more air rifle friendly position wise and wouldn't you know it a whole group of turkeys decides to come right through within 100yds. It's a shame we can't use air guns yet on them. After I took note of where most of the squirrel nests were in the area, and memorized where the solitary deer stand was. Oddly enough I didn't run across any signs of rabbits even though the field should be prime for them.