Getting permission

[nichard 4]

Hi, new to the forum and hoping to get back into shooting, a hobby I loved for years. What would be the best approach to a farmer or land owner when asking permission to shoot vermin there? Also I used to shoot rats at a local land fill site which is now closed, what would be a good site for rats???

[shepp 2,285]

Get some cards made up and leave them with the local farm supplier.

[Ideation 8,216]

Dress sexy.

[fellpack 7]

do what you say you will do

[bob.243 9,108]

You can get business cards printed from the address below at a good price, they make excellent cards, makes you look more professional like, hand it to the farmer when you meet him, saves him writing your Tel. No. down if he shows any interest, if he's out just pop it through his letter box.

 

http://shootingcards.co.uk/index.html

 

Best of luck.

[nichard 4]

Cards look quite good but which do you think is the biggest pest, rabbit or woody?

[secretagentmole 1,701]

Rabbits, woodies are bad enough and can really damage crops, rabbits can damage land and buildings! On my permission the rabbits are causing subsidence of the access tracks, the warrens are collapsing and the track is sinking!

Edited June 11, 2011 by secretagentmole

[fry 209]

ask politely not camo'd up insurance in hand i have found one leads to another! but i am 49 this year and think its probably tougher for younger people. i also try and not be seen by folks using public footpath's to minimise the chance of complaints as most landowners dont want any grief whether your fault or not! if you dont ask you dont get and if you get a no i allways say "ok no worrys" but try and leave a number just in case they have a change of heart if there is a population explosion and they start getting there gardens invaded good luck.

[Rake aboot 4,936]

Get yer glad rags on and knock doors. Don`t go all camo`d up. Be polite,, offer your services and let him know you will be reliable, and insured and safe.

If you can get someone to vouch for you all the better.

Leave a card and be polite even when some twat farmer chases you off with a gruff answer (make a note of these types so you can go back at night with a lurcher and exact revenge ) hahaha

 

ATB

[ryan666 64]

just keep knockin on doors,stables are always a good one to try,just been out myself this afternoon and landed 2 more permissions including a 10 archer woodland,just keep at it and try to get a conversation goin it works well

[secretagentmole 1,701]

I googled local farmers and also checked on yell, I phoned and asked politely, now got major rabbit permission, minor rabbit permission and a pigeon one as well. Tip write down what you want to say, keep it in front of you so you do not get stuck whilst on the phone.

[Buster321c 1,010]

Permission – The Promised Land

 

The emotional subject of acquiring permission to shoot on private land is a subject that crops up in air-gunning circles, time and time again.

 

Just think about it. If a total stranger knocked your door and asked if they could play in your back garden from time to time (‘cos they haven’t got a back garden of their own), how would you react? And that’s exactly what you’re doing when you approach a farmer or landowner for permission.

 

Add to that the fact that you want to creep around their land with a weapon capable of wounding farmhands or livestock and you have to understand why permission is sometimes hard to come by.

 

I’ve only been living in my area for six years. When I went in search of the Golden Fleece of Permission I expected it to be difficult, particularly as my native work colleagues warned me that the local farmers were feisty, insular and very wary of “outsidersâ€. What a lot of nonsense that proved to be. I now enjoy around 3000 acres of excellent arable and wooded land and the landowners are amiable, approachable and co-operative.

 

The very first farm I gained followed an enjoyable “interview†and guided tour of the permission by the young farmer. There was an embarrassing moment when my lurcher pup followed his older collie-x bitch through a barbed wire fence. The pup punctured it’s flank and by the time we got back to my car it had opened up into two inch gash. I think Olly, the farmer, felt sorry for us .. and sent me away with a signed permission note, which more than compensated for the vets bill I was given an hour later! But the call for an “interview†was not an accident. It was the fruit harvested from an intensive cultivation months earlier.

 

So how did I do it ? I used a sales campaign.

 

But before I start. Important. Don’t even think about using your airgun without first buying public liability insurance. BASA or BASC membership will give you cover for just a few pence a day. The price of a few pellets.

 

Well, I started with the OS map. I checked out the farm names, drove around looking at the type of agriculture and noted all those I wanted to contact. I then used a Royal Mail Postal Address Book to get the postcodes. Where possible, I found out the farmers names. Next I put together a postcard (using MS Publisher) to advertise free vermin control services.

 

The card was important. It had to have visual impact and enough information to show a responsible approach. It had to show I was insured and how to contact me.

 

I sent a polite approach letter and a copy of the card to all the farms. Then sat back and waited.. and waited.. and waited. A month later, I sent it again. I also started to place the card around local nurseries, garden centres and pet-food suppliers. Places where “country†people go.

 

Just when I thought I may have to change my approach, I got three phone calls in a week. The first not from a farmer, but his daughter who lived on different land. She wanted her horse paddocks cleared. The horses were turning fetlocks in rabbit holes. The second was from Oliver. The third was from an elderly gent who wanted pigeons cleared from his huge garden. I was off and away.

 

Further land came from referrals and through simply tapping the knowledge of each landowner. Farmers network well, they have to .. and there isn’t anything happening locally that escapes their attention.

 

So when you get the call, what happens next?

 

First, arrange to visit. Dress country-casual (not full cammo yet .. save that for later!) but make sure you’re equipped for a tour, boots etc. Don’t take a dog unless agreed with the landowner. If you do, take a lead and a bag to clear up in case it fouls the farmyard. Most farmers won’t care but they will appreciate your respect for their “gardenâ€. Take and show proof of liability insurance. By all means take a gun, suitably covered, in case the farmer wants to see it. They might, as happened to me once, ask you demonstrate your accuracy (I had to shoot a small potato off a fence post 40 yds away)… so make sure it’s zeroed! And if you can’t do that confidently, you shouldn’t be there! Others have just been fascinated to see the gun I use now and, hearing it blank-fired, surprised at the low volume.

Ask lots of questions. Not just about your interests .. what quarry or boundaries?

Ask about family .. are there children around? Neighbours? Public footpaths? Stock, farm dogs, chickens, ducks? Talk about crops and crop rotation? Planting times? Harvesting? Access times? Do you need to phone before visiting? Can you lamp? Make sure you are clear what can be culled. One of my farmers, thankfully, told me he enjoys watching the jackdaws around his yard! Don’t take anything for granted.

 

The visit is a two-way exchange. As a responsible shooter, this is also your “risk-assessmentâ€. Don’t be afraid to decline land if you think it unsuitable. The elderly gent I mentioned above? His large garden was urban and surrounded on two sides by houses and at the end was a school. Shooting his pigeons would prove too risky, but I did recommend he place a Deben falcon decoy at one end of the garden, which quite tickled him. Now he gets mobbed by rooks instead!

 

If all goes well and permission is agreed, discuss your need for a written permission note. This is very important nowadays and protects both parties. Keep this simple. I’ve seen some very complicated permission notes drawn up but in my experience, farmers dislike them. You want a few lines that the landowner can read and understand immediately and sign on the spot. If you give him something that looks like a double-glazing contract he will treat it like one. He’ll want to take it away, read it and call you back. You’ll never hear from him again.

 

So now you’ve got some permission, how do you make sure you keep it?

Visit regularly. Show the landowner that your getting results. Remember to offer the odd rabbit or pigeon for the table (my favourite permission is a beef farm, so Oliver & Hannah decline the rabbits .. often sending me home with a huge joint of beef!). Always stop and spare time for a chat. Many farmers will work all day without seeing another soul, so they will appreciate a yarn. Keep up to date with what’s going on around the farm. Get to know the family. If you plan any unusual hunting (lamping, hide decoying) let the owner know beforehand. I always park where my car is visible so it’s known that I’m on the land. If you a run a dog with you, ensure it’s under close control and stock-steady. Never bring guests onto the land without permission. I’m lucky in that all my permission allows both my dog and my son. Report anything unusual (fly-tipping, trespassers). An extra pair of eyes on a large acreage is always welcome. And don’t forget that the odd bottle, as a thank-you, is normally welcome.

 

Above all … remember that permission is a tremendous privilege. Treat it as such.

 

 

Thought this would be a good read for some of the newer members .

 

 

This is posted thanks to `Scrapbooker ` on AAOC

 

Buster .

 

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