mr who? Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) For what its worth , Id thought Id offer a few tips on what Ive found to be helpful on gaining a new permission . (1) Try asking everyone you know if they have any land that would be suitable for shooting over , You would be surprised at who owns what . And after you have asked everyone you know , get them to ask everyone they know , and so on . (2) Think about sending letters or emails to a few landowners , Nothing too long winded , Just a single page outlineing your requirments and what you can offer them (Ill cover this more further on) However , Ill be honest here , Ive sent out dozens of letters over the years , And never gained a permission out of any of them . Hopefuly , you guys will have better luck? (3) The dreaded cold calling! Personally , Ive had most of my permissions this way , knocking on doors and talking to people . Id guess that 90% of the 6'000 acres that Ive got to shoot over have come from doing this . And its taken me around 10 years (Yeah , 10 years) To build this up . A few tips would be to not wear camo during the first visit , Leave your rifle at home , Be polite , Even if you get a "No thanks" (Expect a few) Explain that you are only trying to help them control the vermin , offer to split anything worth eating with them , Offer to report back on any flytipping , Damage to fences etc...Or , you maybe better off asking for your permission in steps , Ask for permission for sub 12ftlbs to start with , give it 6 months then ask for FAC rated air rifles , Another 6 months and ask for Rfs and shotguns.... Also offer to help out with beating during the season , Or anything else they or the Gamekeeper may need a hand with . Mention about any memberships you may have with local gun clubs , And talk about insurance if you have it . (4) Dont Just think of farms,Think garden centres , stables or golf courses. Work out roughly what your going to say before you start to talking to people , And talior your sale patter accordingly I.E. For a Golf course Id mention that I would try to thin out the amount of rabbits they have . (5) The chances are , If someone has got some land thats in fact suitable for shooting over , someone before you will have asked about it already . So , What can you do to make yourself stand out from everyone else? Ill give you an example here , Im involed in the security industry , I offer to provide mobile patrols that are in the area , to keep an eye on their land , I also state that all the time Im shooting , Ill try to keep an eye on things to, reporting back on anything I feel he would like to be imformed about . I can also offer key holding , alarm response/monitoring etc... A security audit of their proceders (If any are in place) Its human nature that everyone loves a freebie , All of the above are chargeable services , But something I can provide FOC without too much bother . (6) In the event of a "No thanks" (Like I said , expect a few!) Always remain polite , End things by saying "Do you know of anyone else it would be worth me asking?" And "Would you mind if I called back in 6 months time , Just to see if things have changed at all by then?" (7) In the happy event of a "Yes , ok then" A few things to sort out would be are there any limits on when and where you can shoot? Is it at all possible for someone to walk the land boarders with you , So you cn see exactly where the permission starts/ends? (Explain this is a one off , And for your own peace of mind , If nothing else , its shows you are trying to be professional) Are there Public foot paths to think about? Wheres best for you to park your car? So you not in anyones way , Would the landowner sign a "Permission slip"? (8) Also , I make an effort to drop a bottle of something off to each and every one of the landowners that I deal with every Christmas , Costs me a small fortune , But money well spent,And a small price to pay for another years hunting . I still say theres land out there, Its just a question of asking for it in the right way (And a little luck maybe!) If permissions were easy to come by , We would all have loads of land , All the time I suppose? And once you have really had to work for a permission , You tend to really look after keeping it , Its so easy to lose , Just takes one silly mistake . I always say the hardest thing about hunting is finding somewhere to do it , pulling the trigger is the easy bit! Anyway , Hope this is of some help to someone? All the very best fellas . Andy . Edited March 9, 2012 by mr who? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckaroo23 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Il be outing some of that into practice, good info. Now let's just hope it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colster Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 Just a tip that has helped me in the past... Make your opening gambit a more honest request about what you want rather than saying it as an "offering of a service". Farmers (maybe Norfolk farmers in particular) are wary about a "free lunch". What I mean is rather than saying how would they like their pests controlled for free, try just telling them that you are looking for land to shoot rabbits/deer/fox etc. Sounds like a small difference but it means the farmer feels he is doing you a favour, the benefit to him is of his own discovery and some seem happier with that rather than your sales pitch of the deal of the century. Nothing works everytime with everyone but its a worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimlet Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 A good place to start is the ground next door to your existing permission. With rabbit control in particular it makes sense to be able to operate beyond the fence line. Your current landowner can provide a reference, and may be able to obtain the permission on your behalf. This happened with me. Next door was being shot but mostly a bit of roost shooting and then only rarely. Provided I keep to the brief there is no conflict and the new landowner is glad to have rabbit control done by someone his neighbour trusts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpshooter.123 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm stupidly lucky to have worked for every farmer in stowmarket and my grandad is a combine/tractor/bailer mechanic for John deer so iv got basically whatever I want to shoot because of that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JR1960 Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm stupidly lucky to have worked for every farmer in stowmarket and my grandad is a combine/tractor/bailer mechanic for John deer so iv got basically whatever I want to shoot because of that! Yeah, lucky you.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprackles Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'm stupidly lucky to have worked for every farmer in stowmarket and my grandad is a combine/tractor/bailer mechanic for John deer so iv got basically whatever I want to shoot because of that! Nothing like rubbing salt in some peoples wounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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