cowman
New member
I have a close friend in South Dakota whos a farmer and traditionally he has always granted hunting access to anyone who asks permission. He grew up hunting with his father and those are some of his fondest memories so to uphold a longstanding tradition he allows hunting on his place.
Last night I spoke to him on the phone and was surprised to hear what had happened on his land. Heres the scenario; He owns a 320 acre piece of ground adjacent to National Grasslands. This piece of ground is one of the only heavily wooded areas within 30 miles and is used only to graze cattle for 2 months out of the year. Naturally, all of the wildlife flock to this area not only for cover but also for the water which comes from a natural spring. Its truly a hunters paradise. His permission makes it an access point for hunters to the grasslands. The neighboring farms and ranches dont allow access to the grasslands through their land and the nearest access to the grasslands is many miles away. On this little piece of ground there is a private road which leads to a water tank. No public road runs through the property.
3 years ago, a fella from an unnamed southern state ( hint: they think everythings bigger down there) stopped by and asked permission to hunt that piece of ground, naturally, my friend said "sure go ahead." That was the last time my friend heard from the fella until this past weekend.
My friend drove by his place, which is about 40 miles from where he lives so he doesnt get down there all that often, and he found NO HUNTING signs posted every couple hundred yards along the perimeter. He pulled in and found a camper with plates from said unnamed southern state. He drove in a little further and found the owner, the same fella who asked permission three years earlier, erecting a corn feeder.
He approached the guy and asked him what he thought he was doing. The guy said " whats it look like Im doing" so my buddy informed him that he would have to remove the feeder. My friend then asked him if he put up the NO HUNTING signs and the fella said he had. He was informed he had to remove the signs immediately and the "Southern Gentleman" got angry telling my friend that 3 years ago they had made a deal. My friend informed him that he had only been granted permission to hunt that year and it did not include restricting access to any other hunters. Well after an expectedly heated " discussion" the " Southern Gentleman" told my friend that while he would vacate the private ground, but my friend couldnt prevent him from accessing the National Grasslands which he referred to as " His land" because there was a road there.
After the " encounter", my friend spoke to the neighbors about this fella and was informed that since the day he asked permission to hunt there, this fella had been guiding other Southern unnamed state hunters and charging them a substantial fee to do so. Noone ever questioned it because this fella told the neighbors he had my friends permission to do it and in that country people take you at your word. Further research into this fella even yielded a website where he was advertising hunting on my friends land complete with pictures.
This Southern Gentleman was originally only granted permission to hunt for that one year, not to set up a business and certainly not deny access to the public. So my friend asked me what I would do. He doesnt want to disallow hunting access to respectful hunters but he does feel violated and taken advantage of. He would also prefer not getting South Dakota Game and Fish involved due to prior disagreements with them ( not disputes over broken laws but rather their inappropriate behavior towards guest hunters of his).
If it were me I know what I would do but Im curious as to what other hunters think, perhaps one of you might have a suggestion that either of us hasnt thought of.
Last night I spoke to him on the phone and was surprised to hear what had happened on his land. Heres the scenario; He owns a 320 acre piece of ground adjacent to National Grasslands. This piece of ground is one of the only heavily wooded areas within 30 miles and is used only to graze cattle for 2 months out of the year. Naturally, all of the wildlife flock to this area not only for cover but also for the water which comes from a natural spring. Its truly a hunters paradise. His permission makes it an access point for hunters to the grasslands. The neighboring farms and ranches dont allow access to the grasslands through their land and the nearest access to the grasslands is many miles away. On this little piece of ground there is a private road which leads to a water tank. No public road runs through the property.
3 years ago, a fella from an unnamed southern state ( hint: they think everythings bigger down there) stopped by and asked permission to hunt that piece of ground, naturally, my friend said "sure go ahead." That was the last time my friend heard from the fella until this past weekend.
My friend drove by his place, which is about 40 miles from where he lives so he doesnt get down there all that often, and he found NO HUNTING signs posted every couple hundred yards along the perimeter. He pulled in and found a camper with plates from said unnamed southern state. He drove in a little further and found the owner, the same fella who asked permission three years earlier, erecting a corn feeder.
He approached the guy and asked him what he thought he was doing. The guy said " whats it look like Im doing" so my buddy informed him that he would have to remove the feeder. My friend then asked him if he put up the NO HUNTING signs and the fella said he had. He was informed he had to remove the signs immediately and the "Southern Gentleman" got angry telling my friend that 3 years ago they had made a deal. My friend informed him that he had only been granted permission to hunt that year and it did not include restricting access to any other hunters. Well after an expectedly heated " discussion" the " Southern Gentleman" told my friend that while he would vacate the private ground, but my friend couldnt prevent him from accessing the National Grasslands which he referred to as " His land" because there was a road there.
After the " encounter", my friend spoke to the neighbors about this fella and was informed that since the day he asked permission to hunt there, this fella had been guiding other Southern unnamed state hunters and charging them a substantial fee to do so. Noone ever questioned it because this fella told the neighbors he had my friends permission to do it and in that country people take you at your word. Further research into this fella even yielded a website where he was advertising hunting on my friends land complete with pictures.
This Southern Gentleman was originally only granted permission to hunt for that one year, not to set up a business and certainly not deny access to the public. So my friend asked me what I would do. He doesnt want to disallow hunting access to respectful hunters but he does feel violated and taken advantage of. He would also prefer not getting South Dakota Game and Fish involved due to prior disagreements with them ( not disputes over broken laws but rather their inappropriate behavior towards guest hunters of his).
If it were me I know what I would do but Im curious as to what other hunters think, perhaps one of you might have a suggestion that either of us hasnt thought of.
Last edited:
