Obtaining Hunting Permission in SW ON: A Comprehensive Study.

ABSTRACT
In this study three methods were used over the course of 3 years. Letter by mailbox, door-to-door, and by phone. The results? Nada, zero, zip. Don't even try it. You'll have more luck winning the lottery and buying a property.

METHODS
All properties were pre-selected by surveying property lines using the iHunter app. Admission criteria included properties that housed >3 acres of bush and/or an agriculture field neighbouring a favourable bush. Properties selected were in WMUs 94A, 94B, 93B, and 92B, but mostly in 94A. Permissions asked were mostly for Archery Spring Turkey but also Archery Deer.
Attachment 41642

By letter. The Letter method consisted of a typed out one page letter that gave contact information, address, my reasons for hunting, what I can offer in exchange, photo identification, and a promise to respect their property (picture below).
Attachment 41641
By phone. The phone method consisted of locating phone numbers available for properties using reverse-address search via Yellow Pages. And double checking the property on iHunter. In the conversation, I mentioned my reason for calling, my method for hunting, and what I can offer.
Door-to-door. Door to door methods were executed before the Covid-19 lockdowns in 2019. Methods for door-to-door were similar to conversation by phone.

RESULTS
By Letter. A total of 100 letters were handed out. Responses totalled at 15, permission was denied in all responses. 0/100, 0% success rate.

By phone. A total of 212 properties were called. All properties that did not answer the phone, a voicemail was left. A total of 124 properties answered the phone or responded to a voicemail. A total of 1 property owners granted permission. 1/212, 0.47% success rate.

Door-to-door. A total of 61 properties were approached. Out of these 61 properties, a total of 40 answered the door or were present on the property. Out of those 40, no permission was granted. 0/40, 0% success rate.

CONCLUSION
In total, 342 property owners were inquired about permission to archery hunt, a total of 1 property owner provided permission to hunt. This leaves a considerably low success rate at 0.29%. It appears the statistical chances of obtaining permission to hunt are either 0% or negligible at best. In the chances you do obtain hunting permission, there is an extreme likelyhood that there are several other hunters already utilizing the property as well.

This is very interesting, thanks for posting. But I can say 1 thing because I do hunt in sw ontario on private land. 1 big thing is alot of people have had the same group of hunters hunting on their properties for decades and have become more close friends than just someone hunting on their land they've become someone who they've gained a amazing amount of trust towards over the years. which has sometimes gained us access to neighboring properties or properties the land owner knows of (friends of the land owner), It almost seems like he likes when we go to hunt because we keep an eye on his land while he's not around. again this is my look at it tho and my experience.


If I owned land and already had people hunting on it who knew eachother, I would be skeptical of allowing others on the land as well, whenever our group goes we text eachother to know who's going when and if we are going the same day everyone knows exactly where others are hunting.


None the less this is really a interesting post and statistics.

Wish you luck on finding some land to bow hunt on :)

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Originally Posted by Bowjob

This is very interesting, thanks for posting. But I can say 1 thing because I do hunt in sw ontario on private land. 1 big thing is alot of people have had the same group of hunters hunting on their properties for decades and have become more close friends than just someone hunting on their land they've become someone who they've gained a amazing amount of trust towards over the years. which has sometimes gained us access to neighboring properties or properties the land owner knows of (friends of the land owner), It almost seems like he likes when we go to hunt because we keep an eye on his land while he's not around. again this is my look at it tho and my experience.


If I owned land and already had people hunting on it who knew eachother, I would be skeptical of allowing others on the land as well, whenever our group goes we text eachother to know who's going when and if we are going the same day everyone knows exactly where others are hunting.


None the less this is really a interesting post and statistics.

Wish you luck on finding some land to bow hunt on :)

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

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Thanks for the story and wishes! I can totally understand someone denying permission because they or someone else is hunting. I don't even see that as a loss for me, because I'm happy knowing someone is using and appreciating that land. But SW Ontario is just full of people that own forests that don't hunt, sell it for lumber, or even bird watch. As well as people that own waterfront property that don't fish, swim, or do boating.

People down here have a very scrooge like mentality, they own something for the pure purpose of someone else not using it. Bush in SW Ontario is some of the most useless property you can own monetarily speaking. Pretty much useless for lumber (nothing but a few maples or an oak if you're lucky), it's always never maintained so even the good hardwoods you do find are dead, rotting, or stunted. The foliage is super thick and dead, and it'd cost a fortune to clear just a couple acres. Plus it's usually on low ground so it'd be useless for farming even if you do clear it.

People would rather shoot themselves in the foot than give a hunter (that can get rid of nuissance animals and tresspassers) the time of day. I've literally had some sad people take their time to angrily call me in response to the respectful letter attached in my post lmao.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Thanks for the story and wishes! I can totally understand someone denying permission because they or someone else is hunting. I don't even see that as a loss for me, because I'm happy knowing someone is using and appreciating that land. But SW Ontario is just full of people that own forests that don't hunt, sell it for lumber, or even bird watch. As well as people that own waterfront property that don't fish, swim, or do boating.

People down here have a very scrooge like mentality, they own something for the pure purpose of someone else not using it. Bush in SW Ontario is some of the most useless property you can own monetarily speaking. Pretty much useless for lumber (nothing but a few maples or an oak if you're lucky), it's always never maintained so even the good hardwoods you do find are dead, rotting, or stunted. The foliage is super thick and dead, and it'd cost a fortune to clear just a couple acres. Plus it's usually on low ground so it'd be useless for farming even if you do clear it.

People would rather shoot themselves in the foot than give a hunter (that can get rid of nuissance animals and tresspassers) the time of day. I've literally had some sad people take their time to angrily call me in response to the respectful letter attached in my post lmao.

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Oh jeehz totally get where your coming from then, alot of the land in the areas you posted have went up in value big time over the years, has become a big investment opportunity for alot of people. My father was going to purchase land when he was younger a bunch of years ago kicks himself everyday that he didn't. Prices have gone way way up. I wonder how many properties don't get hunted on or used at all and are just being sat on waiting to be flipped.



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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Thanks for the story and wishes! I can totally understand someone denying permission because they or someone else is hunting. I don't even see that as a loss for me, because I'm happy knowing someone is using and appreciating that land. But SW Ontario is just full of people that own forests that don't hunt, sell it for lumber, or even bird watch. As well as people that own waterfront property that don't fish, swim, or do boating.

People down here have a very scrooge like mentality, they own something for the pure purpose of someone else not using it. Bush in SW Ontario is some of the most useless property you can own monetarily speaking. Pretty much useless for lumber (nothing but a few maples or an oak if you're lucky), it's always never maintained so even the good hardwoods you do find are dead, rotting, or stunted. The foliage is super thick and dead, and it'd cost a fortune to clear just a couple acres. Plus it's usually on low ground so it'd be useless for farming even if you do clear it.

People would rather shoot themselves in the foot than give a hunter (that can get rid of nuissance animals and tresspassers) the time of day. I've literally had some sad people take their time to angrily call me in response to the respectful letter attached in my post lmao.

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I guess I'm one of those with a "scrooge mentality." We have owned 40 acres of bushlot in South Western Ontario for 23 years. I hunted it more frequently in the past although now perhaps once a year for turkey.

I did not save the money to buy the land, pay the taxes and keep it up to let complete strangers hunt on it. Over the years I have received letters, calls, even had hunters knock on the door to ask. I've had casual acquaintances ask too. All have been politely turned down.

Your post has not convinced me to change my approach. I'm hardly "shooting myself in the foot" by not letting you "get rid of nuisance animals and trespassers." I can quite capably look after them myself and don't need your help.

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Originally Posted by Badenoch

I guess I'm one of those with a "scrooge mentality." We have owned 40 acres of bushlot in South Western Ontario for 23 years. I hunted it more frequently in the past although now perhaps once a year for turkey.

I did not save the money to buy the land, pay the taxes and keep it up to let complete strangers hunt on it. Over the years I have received letters, calls, even had hunters knock on the door to ask. I've had casual acquaintances ask too. All have been politely turned down.

Your post has not convinced me to change my approach. I'm hardly "shooting myself in the foot" by not letting you "get rid of nuisance animals and trespassers." I can quite capably look after them myself and don't need your help.

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I have to agree 100% with this
Say I give you permission
how many people are going to roll out of your car or truck.
It’s the 13th bad day to talk to me.
But if your stuck we can talk

Thank you for sharing your experiences

I thought maybe people just don't like me.lol. I guess am not alone getting rejected
I am also driving around door knocking for turkey hunt permissions in Simcoe county.
Visited close to 30 properties and got all "No" except for 1 yes, but unfortunately the person who was kind enough to accept were renting the property thus technically not a legal permission (land owner permission is required, if I read the bylaws correctly). They would not share owners info (definitely understandable) and I did not want to be rude/pushy hence thanked them for their time and moved on.

I had a bit more success with getting geese hunt permission last year. Probably because geese are considered nuisance species in farmers eyes.

How are you finding the owners contract info for fields that have no houses on them ?

Thank you

"People down here have a very scrooge like mentality, they own something for the pure purpose of someone else not using it"

This statement doesn't sound right to me. Makes it sound like people who own property are obligated to allow you to use it. My brother informed me last week that he sold the 2 farms(300 acres total) that I grew up on and hunted for the last 40 years. He retained sole hunting rights to them for the next 50 years. But I fear my time hunting those farms has come to an end. I don't want to take an ATV across a stranger's farmland the 1000 or so yards to get to the bush to check cameras and mineral plots and my bad hips won't allow me to walk it. Technically I could still hunt the property but with no prep or scouting involved. Just show up to hunt once the crops are off. But maintaining mineral fountains and checking cameras is something I've grown to enjoy over the last decade or more.

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Originally Posted by js4fn

I have to agree 100% with this
Say I give you permission
how many people are going to roll out of your car or truck.
It’s the 13th bad day to talk to me.
But if your stuck we can talk

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Your opinion on it makes sense.
I guess in the past a lot of hunters took permissions for granted and got a bad rep; however nowdays they very hard to come by thus
a hunter who is responsible should discuss these things in advance with property owner. My personal check list for discussion usually is:

Describe everything that I will do
clearly state that I will be alone
where I am going to hunt
Text a day before arriving
Ask where the owner would like me to park
which route to walk to hunting spot (so I don't walk anywhere they would not want )
Find down any other details from the owner
Research the neighbors houses locations, to make sure if you not too close etc..

The overall idea is make no assumptions about anything that you can or cannot do while on someones property -ask first

What did you offer in return for permission to hunt?