Spiderdude Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) OK, I am hoping I can get some thoughts on this, sensible or other!! I have over recent weeks sent out best part of 500+ letters, business cards and flyers. Plus spoken to a few farmers, but so far no joy. Most are telling me that they have shooters already. But, as I don't have a huge amount of tine to go knocking on doors all over the place I am thinking of making the farmers an offer. What are your thoughts and do you think it would make any difference if I was to offer a financial insentive to the farmer to give me permission? Say a cash sum of between £50 & £250 per year depending on farm size and type of land? I don't know whether this would interest them or such trivial amounts wouldn't matter. Has anyone done this sort of thing & been successful? Edited August 3, 2011 by Spiderdude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blunderbuss Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 I'm sure you'll get lots of replies from people saying they'd pay for pigeon shooting over their dead bodies, and saying that people who do will ruin it for everyone. I don't buy that. Pigeon shooting is more popular than ever and there is a finite amount available. I'm lucky as I have managed to find a couple of permissions for free, but I would pay if I had to. If I was though, I would want exclusive shooting and written agreement to that effect. I think I'd be quite choosy as the land, though I think you'd need to be at your upper limit for exclusive rights on a good sized piece of land with lots of pigeons. You might negotiate walked up.game in season if there is any. Good luck though whatever you decide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artschool Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 paying to shoot pests? plus when you pay once it will go up year after year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Offer to do some jobs,we let 1 lad shoot who helps feed cattle at weekends,1 who is a welder and we can call on any time if some thing breaks and another who is a sparkie who does odd jobs.Offers of help work better than cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead-Eyed Duck Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 Offer to do some jobs,we let 1 lad shoot who helps feed cattle at weekends,1 who is a welder and we can call on any time if some thing breaks and another who is a sparkie who does odd jobs.Offers of help work better than cash. Absolutely spot on In my time I've dug out ditches and helped with any amount of manual jobs. I shoot on several farms for nothing, but another where I have to pay. You do what you have to do, but the land owner has to trust you, and once you have got this the snowball starts rolling and you can get other land by personal reference. Would you trust an absolute stranger onto your land with a firearm? It's a difficult one. In my early days I got permissions on several farms by ferreting using the magic phrase 'No dogs and no guns!' Once a relationship and trust was established I invariably received shooting permission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cant hit rabbits 123 Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 My first (and only permission so far) is on the same farm as two of the work shops. Theres only two employees, myself and my boss, and the farmer knows us both well. He regularly pops down to see what our latest project is and how we're doing. We also do tractor maintainance, which is a little different to restoring sebrings and forgeyes I can tell you! Trust and favours got me not only permission to shoot, but to shoot pigeon, rabbit and whatever else is knocking about on the general licence thats roaming the farm. I have free range of the farm, with no restictions above common sence and if I asked nicely I could most probably shoot on his other two farms as well! He even has said my boss (a non certificate holder) can come too. Trust is everything, and when combined with a helping hand now and again, will get you almost anywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CZ550Kevlar Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 (edited) So what happens when the farmer accepts your money and decides to start charging everyone? then maybe the next year the price goes up? you are going to be as popular as a **** in a spacesuit. EDIT:- why is Passing wind in the swear blocker?? Edited August 3, 2011 by CZ550Kevlar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highseas Posted August 3, 2011 Report Share Posted August 3, 2011 a banksey quote... its easey`r to get forgiveness than permission Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dolphin Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) I'm sure you'll get lots of replies from people saying they'd pay for pigeon shooting over their dead bodies, and saying that people who do will ruin it for everyone. I don't buy that. Pigeon shooting is more popular than ever and there is a finite amount available. I'm lucky as I have managed to find a couple of permissions for free, but I would pay if I had to. If I was though, I would want exclusive shooting and written agreement to that effect. I think I'd be quite choosy as the land, though I think you'd need to be at your upper limit for exclusive rights on a good sized piece of land with lots of pigeons. You might negotiate walked up.game in season if there is any. Good luck though whatever you decide if pigeon days are that popular why dont you sell them on your free permissisions or walked up up game but at that price i think you would want to negotiate a sunaday lunch as well Edited August 4, 2011 by dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stace1g Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 Offer to do some jobs,we let 1 lad shoot who helps feed cattle at weekends,1 who is a welder and we can call on any time if some thing breaks and another who is a sparkie who does odd jobs.Offers of help work better than cash. This seems like a better way. I have only tried it once. I offered my engineering skills (including welding/electrics etc) from time to time in exchange for shooting opportunites. Didnt work on that occassion but it was an email enquiry so may have just been junked. Gaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catweazle Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 I offered a couple of sweet chestnut strainer posts to a farmer who had a hole in his fence, where motorbikes were getting in and riding across his wheat. Job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntsman Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 You are prbably better joining a syndicate for £500 per yr guaranteed shooting all season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadkill Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 if you don't have enough time to go door knocking then how will you find the time to shoot? the farmer would rather have people there for free who shoot most days than someone who pays them to shoot there for the year but is never about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderdude Posted August 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 if you don't have enough time to go door knocking then how will you find the time to shoot? Fully accept what you are saying there and it's a fair a valid point. I can't imagine there are many people on here who can shoot all the time though, ok, maybe the retired... But surely others work as well and still manage to shoot? Maybe I'll pick 50 farms out and send them an offer and follow it up with a call to see what reception I get. I also think the syndicate idea may also be the way to go down... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted August 4, 2011 Report Share Posted August 4, 2011 OK, I am hoping I can get some thoughts on this, sensible or other!! I have over recent weeks sent out best part of 500+ letters, business cards and flyers. Plus spoken to a few farmers, but so far no joy. Most are telling me that they have shooters already. But, as I don't have a huge amount of tine to go knocking on doors all over the place I am thinking of making the farmers an offer. What are your thoughts and do you think it would make any difference if I was to offer a financial insentive to the farmer to give me permission? Say a cash sum of between £50 & £250 per year depending on farm size and type of land? I don't know whether this would interest them or such trivial amounts wouldn't matter. Has anyone done this sort of thing & been successful? Better just booking days or gaining a syndicate place IMO. You might if you pay enough get the existing shooter turfed off, but your often looking at long term relationships of co-operation and trust. To be honest any landowner who would break this aint worth having permision from. Other than that all you need to do is become known and be in the right place at the right time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerSim Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 (edited) Offer to do some jobs,we let 1 lad shoot who helps feed cattle at weekends,1 who is a welder and we can call on any time if some thing breaks and another who is a sparkie who does odd jobs.Offers of help work better than cash. IMHO, AND as a farmer, Chuck has it nailed. This is a far better approach. Plus, and don't take this the wrong way, but most farms are run as a business, and £250 is not a lot of money to such a business - it'll just get lost in the accounts and the farmer won't see any direct benefit. HOWEVER, if you save him some TIME, fixing a fence, or whatever, ( you get the idea ), he is going to look at you in a much more favourable light - you might even be his first port of call at harvest time etc..... Only my opinion! ATB Sim Edited August 10, 2011 by FarmerSim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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