With just a handful of days left in the 2020 big-game season, it’s about time to count our outdoor blessings. As the thoughts of fall days swing from a tree overlooking a well-traveled trail or a crisp morning and the sound of the twig snapping in the distance turns into long winters nights, it’s time to take stock.

During the holiday season it is always a good idea to pay it forward by stopping in to your landowners and offering them some of which we have taken from their land. A hand-delivered Christmas is always a good idea. Keeping landowners happy, can make your favorite hunting spots more accessible in the future.

The days of just walking up to a farmer’s door and asking permission to hunt their land and get it on the spot are over. I ask for, and mostly generally receive, permission to hunt new ground each year. While it’s not as easy as it was a few years ago, hunters can still get permission to hunt private land.

Oftentimes it is how and when we ask for permission to hunt on another person’s property that is the difference.

Many people long to find a honey hole to hunt on private land. Many private landowners, whether they hunt or not, are most sick of folks, whether they hunt or not, walking on their property.

The first and most important thing we all must remember when we are looking to request permission to hunt a section of ground, is that the folks that own the land you are trying to gain access to have a connection with that land. They pay is taxes on the land — which in today’s world is a good chunk of cash, — they take care of the land and often the land has been in their family for generations.

The first thing I do before I stroll up to anybody’s door to ask permission, is think, ‘Would I let me hunt my land?’ Asking permission with that mind set is like asking permission to sit in their kitchen. If you want to bust that stereotype, embark on your quest to hunt private land knowing that you might have a long road to hoe.

The Lazy Hunter is what I call the hunter that has waited until just before the season to seek access. The surprise visitor showing up unannounced at the landowner’s residence is surely going to get you a big no.

These examples might be typical of the “hunters” that the landowner has met to date. The landowner might have never had contact with, well, people like us, who love hunting enough to do their homework.

Getting permission to hunt behind the “No Trespassing” posters isn’t going to be easy, and it could take time, sometimes a year or more. This past year I finally gained access to a piece of ground that I have wanted for several years. Now, this piece isn’t all that big, but is located in a great spot. Imagine my surprise when the landowner said that I was the first person to ask permission to hunt their property. Everybody else just hunted it and never asked permission. Now that isn’t a good thing.

Don’t be a lazy hunter, waiting until just before the season opens to ask for permission. Recognize that the effort to gain permission to hunt private land might mirror your toughest hunt, and as is common with many hunts, start at the beginning.

Your hunt begins in choosing a farm or piece of land to hunt and finding out who owns it. Don’t limit yourself to places which are already honey holes. Keep a mind set that should you gain access, you might be able to make improvements to the land. And don’t write off places where others have tried and failed. Your approach is going to be better than average.

Finding out who owns the land can be as simple as getting a name from a mailbox. If that’s not an option, your next step is to search for the owner using a computer, or by making a trip to the county courthouse if you don’t have a computer.

An office in the courthouse, usually the recorder of deeds, will have a list of all properties which can be searched using the owner’s name or the property’s physical address.

There are a few apps available now, that give us information about property boundaries and land owners’ names. These apps can be very useful when trying to get a new piece of hunting ground.

Some folks find that the first contact with a landowner is by writing a letter. While that may work for some folks, I prefer the personal approach.

It may take several attempts to find the proper time to make that first contact. Times to stay away from should be dinner time, holidays and early morning. I scout out the proper time. I have found midday on a weekday seems to work best. But for out of town owners, a letter can be a good approach.

Although a suit and tie aren’t expected, you should make an effort to make a great first impression by wearing clean clothes. Dress on the assumption that the landowner is a non-hunter, and might have had a bad experience with hunters. Stay away from the blaze orange and camouflage for that first meeting. Don’t smoke. Cover the tattoos. Shake hands, make eye contact, introduce yourself and immediately thank the landowner for taking time to speak with you.

If you’re meeting at the farm, keep your eyes peeled for incomplete projects and be quick to offer your help. If nothing catches your eye, ask questions such as, “What keeps you busy in the winter/spring/summer?”

Oftentimes I leave a business card, and sometimes a short intro letter/resume is in order. This doesn’t have to be the glittering gem you’d send to prospective employers, but it should include the same basic information. This should include your name, address, phone numbers and email address; your place of employment and its address, and the length of time you’ve worked there; any professional associations and memberships, and also hobbies — anything that proves you to be a good person and supports your effort to gain access to the land like Lifetime NRA member, veteran, member of No Gutters Bowling Team, etc.; and, finally, references and their contact information.

If you’re lucky enough to gain access to the land, keep the landowner updated with your season. Let him know what game you’ve seen and if you’ve been successful. And it goes without saying that you should offer to share the harvest. If the landowner doesn’t enjoy deer meat, he would certainly enjoy a thank you card with a gift certificate to a local restaurant or department store. It doesn’t have to be for some huge amount of money. As the saying goes, it’s the thought that counts.

Somewhere, there’s a piece of land you’d love to hunt, and on that piece of land, there’s a chore or project that no one wants to do or can’t do alone. This is your off-season hunt challenge, so find it. It may be the most rewarding scouting you ever do.

Over the years I have discovered it is often harder to keep good hunting ground, than it is to gain permission originally. The small things often mean more to a landowner than anything.