Below is a post I posted last week. The responses we very negative, and I understand why. I'm truly not trying to mooch, and I apologize if my post read that way. Since I can't reply to the post at this point, I would like to clarify a few things.

1.) I am not trying to mooch off of you
2.) I do not want free reign / un-escorted reign of your property
3.) If you would like to hunt with me, that would be awesome.
4.) If you don't have property, and you would like to hunt public land with me.... that would be awesome.
5.) If you're new to hunting, and you would like me to show you around the land I know... that would be awesome.
6.) It was a wish list for the perfect arrangement, not a requirements list. I'm in not position to have requirements and I recognize that.
7.) This post originated in the hog hunting forum, I wrote it because I thought there were enough people in Texas that wanted hogs removed that I might find someone on here. I added the part about the deer, well because I'm clearly ignorant about Texas culture, I had no idea it would be such a sensative subject.

I appreciate those of you that seemed to understand my post as I intended it. Thank you for taking the time to defend me on the forum.

** I do recognize that it was worded poorly, Most likely because it was a cut and paste job with random paragraphs instered/deleted from an earlier post. If you have noticed, I'm a free form thinker and often overly verbose :P

The post:

I am a very ethical, extremely safe marksman and I LOVE to hunt. Unfortunately, I have never had the money to hunt private property so I've been confined to public land for the last 10 years. I've always loved the sport, but I've never really been engaged enough to become particularly good at scouting or acctually seeing game.

I'm also a friendly guy and would be happy to meet someone that would like to hunt their property with me. I don't have enough sportsmen as friends, and I would love to meet some new people.

Also..

I'm looking for someone who wouldn't mind letting me take a few hogs of their hands. Preferably I would be allowed to hunt at night and I would be allowed to bring a friend (I don't like to hunt alone.) I am an excellent marksman with a rifle, shotgun or crossbow; So whichever meathod you prefer I will use.

In exchange I would be happy to help with property management, put in some manual labor or share some of my guided fishing trips. (I do a website for an awesome guide and in return I get the pleasure of a free trip once every two months.) Any trade or other ideas would definately be considered.

And being the stretch that it is, I might as well ask.... If you could put me on Deer, I would grin from ear to ear and be willing to trade whatever I've got.



Possible services:

Web design / Hosting
Lawn Care
Property Maintenance
Excel Programming
Some Day Labor
Manual Heavy Lifting
Home Networks
.... I'm a smart guy, I'm sure you can use me for something

End Post

hey highroller what area are you in?

Plano Texas, But I am more than willing to drive quite a ways.

You mentioned deer and instead of hunting all people saw was "their" science project dissapearing. I've been fortunate to hunt an older guy's place the last few years and he was genuinely happy I got to kill the buck he was hoping to see this year. Called me a jerk in a humorous way but didn't get all upset like some would.

Just a thought, but if your in Plano and willing to drive why dont you find a MLD doe/hog hunt close and use your gas money to hunt?

I understand, but at the same time, if it's not your cup of tea... don't respond?

Lesson Learned

I've been a long time user of Texasfishingforum, but I'm new to THF. Nice to meet you.

~Dan

That's a good idea, but I don't think that my gas money costs nearly what a 'hunt' costs. I will look into it though.

Part of the idea was to meet someone new.

I know that there are places that will sell doe hunts for a couple hundred dollars. Some do hog hunts for even less than that. It is a good idea to look in to it.

I think what a lot of native Texans don't understand is that it is a culture shock. I have some land in Missouri and it boarders a WMA that is open to the public. Some good deer and turkey hunting there. Many states have extensive public hunting opportunities and when you come here and find it all posted, and access is expensive it is a shock. Many folks who have hunted all their lives for free or for a hand shake and some chores are suddenly out in the cold. And even "a couple of hundred bucks" is a lot of cash for the little bit of meat you get off of a Texas doe. Especially with the economy where it is and not everyone having a $60k/year job. So give the guy a break and be nice explaining it. You natives should know Texas is supposed to be the "friendly" state too.

Welocome back! Don't take anything too seriously on here. Just having some fun. But good luck in your search, Wish I had something to offer, because I would definitely take u up on the fishing!

Grew up in Missouri, and I remember having a stranger walk up to the house and ask to hunt quail. We told him there were very few quail around, but knock yourself out. When I wanted to hunt rabbit on the place down the road in high school, I called the guy on the phone. Not only had he never met me, our families had never met. Still, he told me that as long as I didn't shoot his cows, I was welcome to hunt rabbit. Years later, I'm in school in South Dakota. Not only are multiple public hunting areas available in every county, but landowners rarely turned you down for squirrel, rabbit, dove, and duck. I actually had landowners ask me to hunt deer on their place. The only problem was getting pheasant hunts on opening weekend, but later in the season could be gotten if you asked around.

No worry about not knowing a person for years. No need to walk beside the hunter and monitor them the entire time they are on the property. No asking for money. No worry about insurance or liability. This is considered normal in other states.

Then I moved to Austin, and the culture shock took years to get over. The Hill Country has too many deer, and landowners there want special permission to shoot all the does and culls, rather than letting the public do it. God forbid someone come on your place without paying huge amounts of money. I can live on filet mignon cheaper than hunting deer! If the deer are a problem, why are you charging to get rid of them? And let's not even start on wild pigs...Culture shock. Why do Texans assume everyone else is some sort of inbred moron with no hunting ability, while landowners in other states assume you are competent? Culture shock. Wildlife no longer belongs to the public, it belongs to the person who controls the access to it. Culture shock.

Fast forward 13 years. I've accepted the Texas way and deal with it, although I'll never think it is the right way. I've gotten to know a local farmer, and I can sometimes hunt a limited selection of critters on his place, if he doesn't plan to hunt that week. I've gotten a couple free deer hunts over the years from coworkers that vouched for me to landowners they knew.

If you get out, make friends and contacts, and take your time, I find you can get permission to hunt free in Texas. Not going to be easy, and probably will never get a trophy, but you'll burn some gunpowder and maybe put something in the freezer every year or two. If you just want meat, it's really hard to justify.

There are always a couple of people who put an advertisement about needing a helper at their lease. Just stick around long enough and you will find someone who needs some work done.

I don't mind letting people hunt my land, and I often take people that I have come to know through the forum on hog hunts. I do take offense to the idea that I'm some sort of soulless pirate for not letting random people hunt my land, or, God forbid, leasing it and supplementing my income.


Do you have any idea how expensive land is in Texas, even "cheap" land that isn't good for anything? Find a patch east of 35 with deer on it for less than $2K an acre and I'll eat your hat.

My family worked hard to buy the land we have, and we don't have much. It's ours and we use it for our enjoyment and to supplement our income when we see fit. Forgive me if I sound unsympathetic to those who think for some reason they "deserve" to hunt the land that my family and I have worked to buy and keep.

This post is NOT directed at the OP, he is going about it the right way. Ask permission. I have never had a problem finding land to hunt coyotes or pigs on. The worst a landowner can do is say no.

It's also a myth that there are no public lands to hunt deer on in Texas. There's a LOT of land in the Cooper WMA, a TON around Lavon, Lake Meredith is HUGE, you just have to put in the legwork. It ain't easy but it is free. Texas is a big arse state, we have lots of public land, you just have to drive a way to get there.

Dan- Stick around on the forum for a while and once people get to know you better, you'll find it easier to get invited to hunt.

Man, some of you guys are pretty rude.

I actually trade off work for hunting rights at my place already. He shoots does, hogs, spikes, dove, ducks, and quail. I get my feeders filled up, foodplots planted, a new tank dug, roads are kept up, fences mended, etc. I do some of the work myself, but it's nice to have someone help.

When I was in college out in Lubbock, we used to go knock on ranchers doors to hunt dove, pheasant, and quail. We'd always offer to pay, but most wouldn't accept it. In many ways, it's sad how commercial hunting has become.

Good luck to the OP.

Land isn't cheap any where, not just in Texas. And there is nothing wrong with charging for access. Heck, if someone will pay it's supply and demand. The problem comes with the attitude of "go pay, it's just a couple hundred bucks". I have the funds to hunt now. When I was younger it was public land or nothing. I duck hunted on public lakes for years, and enjoyed it, before I could afford to lease. Even hunted the public access land by permit the state has. Worked the drawings and so forth. I killed several deer that way. There are opportunities out there but they are limited. Make no mistake though, many people are excluded. Those without "discretionary funds" are limited in their ops.

Watch out Match.com...THF is coming through!!!

Kidding...good luck highroller...hope you find a spot to squat...

It's all what you grow up with. My wife, being a native Texan, hates the idea of any stranger being on our place, and even gives the neighbor the evil eye on the rare occasion they actually come out to their place. Me, I used to think letting a stranger walk across my land was no big deal. Now after years of being in Texas, I'm getting closer and closer to her viewpoint. In Texas, charging for a lease is considered normal. I've lived other places where the average farmer would have thought it completely wrong to ever charge for access, but where road hunting was completely acceptable and only the lowest of the low would ever want to hunt over bait.

Caldwell County claimed mine was worth more than $6k/acre 2 years ago, but I won the appeal and got it reduced to $4500/acre. How a mess of heavy mesquite brush could ever get a value that high is beyond me.

But to be a devil's advocate, land is high in other states, and they have to pay taxes and make a living, same as Texans. If they can do it in all the other states, then why do Texas landowners have to charge hunters in order to make ends meet? I think the key is that because landowners don't charge in other states, the land price and taxes may be lower, and they can make it without charging. That, and they've never gotten the hunting fees, so have never come to depend on them.

Now if my place were big enough, I'd charge a silly fee to let people shoot the "good" bucks each year. Use that money to manage for more big bucks the next year in a sustained management plan. I'm not crazy enough to turn down easy money, and am a firm believer that a fool and his money should be parted. Trophy management takes money, and if that is a goal, someone has to pay for it. I wouldn't do it for myself, so someone else would need to pay if they wanted it. In Texas, plenty do, so it's a workable business plan. Does and pigs - they would go free to friends and coworkers that want meat rather than antlers. I just can't justify charging for them, or the small game.

Of course, talk is free, and if I suddenly came into a large spread, the reality of the situation may force a change in my values. I would hope it wouldn't, but can't say never.



I don't believe anyone thinks they deserve to hunt your land. Many may want to, but that's a completely different thing.

I agree with the advice - ask permission. Just like dating, you get turned down a lot, but you will eventually find one that says yes. I find it helps to ask about pigs first, and only after getting to know the landowner well do you even mention does and culls. If you like to predator hunt, offer to kill coyotes and nothing more. Once a landowner sees you are trustworthy at getting rid of stuff he doesn't like, he may allow you to take something he does value.

I just get tired of the pervasive mentality that it's somehow wrong to lease your land. It's YOUR land, do whatever you want with it. I've never had to lease my land to make ends meet, and I've taken lots of guys hunting and never asked for a dime. No, I wouldn't let somebody I don't know hunt my land alone, but if they asked I'd take them.

I don't HAVE to sell my calves to supplement my income, I could give the meat away and still make it on what I earn teaching, but it would be leaner for me. Most people who own land don't HAVE to lease it to live, but it does help make existence a little nicer. What does a landowner benefit from just letting a person hunt for free? Why should you expect anyone to do anything from which they derive no benefit?

Just a piece of advice- most farmers don't want to be "helped" building fence or fixing tractors. It takes longer to teach a person to do it the right way than it does just to do it yourself.

I love seeing guys that drive expensive vehicles and piss away money drinking in bars complaining that only rich people can hunt...


Priorities. Have 'em...

It's just supply and demand. There is more than ample supply to justify what is charged. A lot of states have tons of public land and there aren't enough people needing to hunt that will pay for leases.

I just made a suggestion to the guy. I know not everyone has "a couple hundred bucks" but maybe he does. I am just trying to offer this guy some options and not be a jerk about it. Obviously it struck a nerve with you and offended you. I don't think I was coming off with an attitude about it was I?

Obviously there is two major different opinions on this subject, I tend to lean to the side of not taking strangers on my place.

I have seen the horror story on here multiple times about people being nice and letting others come hunt their place and it ends in disaster. People only supposed to take a doe and they shoot the buck you have been letting walk for the last two years.

Just not worth it in my opinion.

Can I come hunt at your place ? I promise not to pee pee in your Wheaties...

Don't let him, that's exactly what he'll do!

He can only make that promise knowing you eat Cheerios.