Gaining permission

[mickyatch 37]

alright lads after a busy season picking up with the labrador and shooting pheasants the spring is hear and the summer only round the corner ive had my air arms s200 6 months now and am very pleased with it taking it on my friends permission for rats and the odd rabbit.

 

i wanted to ask you lot for some constructive adivce on gaining airgun permission .... now theres a few areas i am ontop with such as ferals messing on expensive machinery and defficating in the feed stores and rabbits causing crop dammages and digging holes in livestock fields etc .... i am just after some tips and hints on how you go about approaching a farmer as i always seem to get the same two answers .... either "no" or "we already have somebody doing it " any tips and hints would be much appreicated lads thankyou .... micky !

[Elmer_Fudd 28]

I made this very same post few months back mate, There is a thread on here about approaching farmers its all in there... Plus there are some letters for permission pinned in one of the three headings in this section mate, should help you out. When I raised this question ( very popular one it seems) I gathered it is basically this formula... Right place right time, Who you Know or knocking door after door!!! Then providing you do a good job then you will usually start to gain momentum.....

 

Regards

 

Gareth

[77 si 21]

Hello mate,

 

I personally wrote a detailed letter explaining who I was and what I can offer the land owner in exchange for being allowed to shoot on there land eg, an extra pair of hands on the farm if needed and an extra pair of eyes when walking the land checking the cattle and fences are ok, and put all my contact details on there then printed ten copies off. I Then went on google earth and had a look at some farms close to where I live and went around to them. I simply knocked on the farmers door, introduced myself and explained briefly what I was doing there and asked them if they if they would mind taking the time to read the letter when they get chance. Out of the ten farms I went too, two of them granted me permission to shoot. I am not saying that this is the best way to go about gaining permission but I am pleased with how it worked out for me. Hope this helps you.

 

ATB Si

Edited March 6, 2012 by 77 si

[mickyatch 37]

thanks for the replies lads i just feel uncomfortable asking farmers via nocking on there door i know its the best way though as you wouldnt let people wander around your back garden who you didnt know i am a full shotgun certificate holder and have been using air guns and shotguns for around 14 years and am safe maybes a view of the basic lay out of the letter you printed out to help me get started mate thanks

[Mooch. 177]

Hi mate, I'm in exactly the same position as you! I spent all winter picking up on the local shoot and now want to do some air rifle hunting. What I plan on doing is approaching the gamekeeper who I picked up for and ask if he'd mind if I sat out near his pheasant feeders and shoot the squirrels.

[Elmer_Fudd 28]

Business cards work well ...leave them in horse shops, farmer markets, village post officers/ Pubs... leave 15 at a time and sit and wait if you are not to good at approaching people about shooting rights mate. I am very much the same I feel bad going on there land without knowing them haha.

 

Gaz

[77 si 21]

thanks for the replies lads i just feel uncomfortable asking farmers via nocking on there door i know its the best way though as you wouldnt let people wander around your back garden who you didnt know i am a full shotgun certificate holder and have been using air guns and shotguns for around 14 years and am safe maybes a view of the basic lay out of the letter you printed out to help me get started mate thanks

 

Unfortunately I have not got a copy of this letter saved on my computer and don't have access to a scanner.

 

But I got the letter of this site in the first place then just tweaked it a bit to make it a bit more personal.

 

Sorry I couldn't be any more helpful.

[rossi_j 99]

Look for obvious pest problems i.e an abundance of rabbits grazing or featherd freinds all around the out buildings ect ect, the if they say no then its a no, but if they say someone else is doing it, offer to help him with the specific problem you have noticed, it will make him or her think

 

having said that, i have no permision but i can talk a good game

 

Remember, if you feel you were treated rudely when you were polite and they told you no and to f**k off, that means YES ! But only between 1 and 5 am (joking)

[mickyatch 37]

haha like your style pal and i know the keepered place i was picking up on as i look after it but as for shooting with the airgun theres literally no rabbits no grey squirrels and pigeons and crows i decoy with the shotgun there very very warey ..... im looking for some nice summer spots that i can get to and stalk rabbits and ive had several farmers close to home ive approached with a huge feral pigeon problem i got out the car and introduced my self politley and without me even getting to the point i got a "no" it just seems that hard that farmers can't trust anyone

[Giro 2,648]

Be prepared to put the miles in and look further a feild. Go out into the wilds, look at maps and look at remote farms miles from the road sides these farms should not get hit with permission hunters and poachers..

 

Ask in known hot spots and around shoots.. Most say no but if you get on its golden ground..

 

Go in june, july and August when rabbits are at there hight and running all over the parish ask then, Thats when farmers physically see the problem..

 

Be polite and take the "no's" on the chin, Go back next year they think your keen then..

 

Be pleasant and polite take paper and pen So you can exchange details..

 

Best of luck.

[77 si 21]

Farmers do tend to be very straight to the point. Sometimes though you can just get the timing all wrong and catch the farmer when he is busy and doesn't have time to properly consider what your asking. So well worth leaving your details just incase something comes up in the future, or they could pass your number on to someone else.

[Marvin 193]

Look for obvious pest problems i.e an abundance of rabbits grazing or featherd freinds all around the out buildings ect ect, the if they say no then its a no, but if they say someone else is doing it, offer to help him with the specific problem you have noticed, it will make him or her think

 

Was talking to a farmer the other day and told no, as he has lads from the local village who have permission, he then said they could do a bit better because the bunnies are in the hedges on his driveway ............................. BOSH straight in there with "I could come along on the weekend to do the drive hedges for you", he thought a little while and then agreed simple as that

 

Somewhere local for me and me little lad to ferret, well chuffed

[Scott the hunter 2]

It helps allot if you are extreamly pollite about it and allso if you say to the farmer anything you shoot you won't leave lying arround in plain sight

[Elmer_Fudd 28]

Business cards are good...Got a call back yesterday from a small horse yard, friends of one I shoot at the minute so hopefully I will get more. .. Keep going, I like you are young and sometimes this goes against I think, as long as your knowledge is there and can do what you say you can you will be ok.

 

Happy permission hunting...

 

ATB

 

Gaz

[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 .

 

The search button is your friend

 

An old post I made last year sometime