Gun Dog Forum

Howdy,

I'm working on an article for Pointing Dog Journal on how to best utilize private land open to sportsmen ... PLOTS, WIHA, etc. I can't promise I'll use it, but if you have a bit of advice for your fellow hunters (practical, philosophical or metaphysical) and are willing to share it, you might get quoted in the finished piece. You will also likely help out a few of the members who see your advice right here. You can put it here, or PM me if you prefer.

Not looking for secret spots or lat-long, just generic tips on taking advantage of the program.

Thanks,
S

1) Park away from the candy wrappers and walk against the bent grass.

2) Don't trust any absense of signs which are used to indicate the parcel is enrolled in one of the programs...they can be removed by locals.
Trust the booklets, etc....call, if necessary, to check current enrollment.

3) Best to not judge a parcel only as far as you can see.

4) Watch for traps of various descriptions.

5) If someone is already hunting the parcel, move on.

Couldn't PDJ just ask for suggestions themselves to put together in an article?
Save on the middle man.

Minnesota has the Walk In Area (WIA) program. Although difficult to find the actual landowners, when possible a tip of the hat to these fine folks is appropriate. Also, a contribution on your license is required to hunt these lands. However, there are various levels of contributions. Nothing says you have to contribute the minimum. The more funds available, hopefully, the more land that will find its way onto the program. My brothers and I (and uncle when he still could hunt) have benefited from this program and hope our contributions have proved beneficial to the acquiring of more private land to hunt.

Mountaineer wrote:1) Park away from the candy wrappers and walk against the bent grass.

2) Don't trust any absense of signs which are used to indicate the parcel is enrolled in one of the programs...they can be removed by locals.
Trust the booklets, etc....call, if necessary, to check current enrollment.

3) Best to not judge a parcel only as far as you can see.

4) Watch for traps of various descriptions.

5) If someone is already hunting the parcel, move on.

Couldn't PDJ just ask for suggestions themselves to put together in an article?
Save on the middle man.

Good ideas, except for the last one. A magazine can't write an article ... a human does. And they asked me.

I suspect a magazine did not contact you....an employee of the magazine contacted you.
Most employee's can multi-task.
Especially if it involves collating suggestions gathered by request.
I do believe the name attached to an article can lend credence to the article so, the decision is somewhat understandable.
Simply posing an idea during a time of ever-increasing costs of doing business.

Re the WIHA-type parcels....6) While it would appear obvious, i have seen it occur....do not block entrances to fields, oil facilities or livestock equipment. Good to be a good neighbor/guest.

Mountaineer wrote:I suspect a magazine did not contact you....an employee of the magazine contacted you.
Most employee's can multi-task.
Especially if it involves collating suggestions gathered by request.
I do believe the name attached to an article can lend credence to the article so, the decision is somewhat understandable.
Simply posing an idea during a time of ever-increasing costs of doing business.

Re the WIHA-type parcels....6) While it would appear obvious, i have seen it occur....do not block entrances to fields, oil facilities or livestock equipment. Good to be a good neighbor/guest.

Thanks for the ideas - most were already incorporated in my draft but it's good to have others confirm my own experiences. Most of the state folks I talked to echoed your-my thoughts as well.

Forgot to mention - I came up with the story idea too. Names aren't attached to lend credence - they are hard-earned bylines by the folks who actually do the work.

I contacted them, as most writers do, and pitched the story. That's how it works in most magazines. There is no "staff" of writers standing around waiting for ideas or assignments except at the big players like Time, National Geographic, and People (and even there, much material is written by freelancers. Magazines have a skeleton staff of a couple editors who indeed multi-task (page layout, story assignments, some writing, ad sales, etc. ... often for several magazines). But most of the actual writing is done by freelancers like me. True for everyone in our world from Field & Stream to NAVHDA.

Right.........I look forward to reading of your confirmed experiences on WIHA-type hunting opportunities in a PDJ article.

Your sarcasm is noted. Easy to do when you use an alias.

Goes to the editor next week.

Your critique of the quite normal "alias" process on message boards has been noted in your posts before.
IF you believe that alone is the basis for comments of which you may disagree, etc. then you would be mistaken.
However, raising the alias flag is always good as distraction....much like a magican's assistant's costume.
At some point tho, one does understand that the elephant never really disappears.

Editor away!

Mountaineer wrote:Your critique of the quite normal "alias" process on message boards has been noted in your posts before.
IF you believe that alone is the basis for comments of which you may disagree, etc. then you would be mistaken.
However, raising the alias flag is always good as distraction....much like a magican's assistant's costume.
At some point tho, one does understand that the elephant never really disappears.

Editor away!

Ain't afraid of elephants but when discussion gets heated one should own one's words. En garde, unless you are afraid to identify yourself.

7) I have found that some WIHAs are often centered around an old homestead and ground that is less than optimum for crops or pasture. As such, the detritus of a life lived hard can deposit all sorts of things that can poke and cut and trap a birddog following their nose.
Good to have a heads up around such areas....even as they can be good areas around midday for loafing ringnecks.

IF you require the comfort of setting out who is and who is not afraid, as schoolyard as that is, then you can always use the "alias" gambit to that end on a message board.
Most understand that tack goes nowhere....it just seems to, for those in need.

IF you believe comments in this thread equate to "heated" then that is....funny, intended to be or not.

As to "en garde".... , I'm afraid I have no wish to be defined by any butterknife opposite me.

Now, I must don a sweater for the thread's chill and leave you to your aspirations of saber.

Scott
I would recommend presenting the article on a state by state basis. The private land programs are extraordinarily different by state. I would hate to see a beginning hunter get into trouble in SD because he/she thought the program was the same as WI or MT or wherever. More than anything, it would be good if the states publicized their programs and many of them do.
I would like to see more articles published that contain the legal niceties. An article was published in a popular dog mag this past winter from a new hunter that made a trip to the ND badlands. The article described the location as Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is illegal to hunt. I'm hoping the new hunter was actually hunting the federal grasslands adjacent to the park. In any case, it would be good if our upland and gun dog magazines would clean it up before they publish stuff like this and edit the article to reflect legal places to hunt.

Thanks for all that you do for the new hunters out there and educate them right!

Leeza wrote:Scott
I would recommend presenting the article on a state by state basis. The private land programs are extraordinarily different by state. I would hate to see a beginning hunter get into trouble in SD because he/she thought the program was the same as WI or MT or wherever. More than anything, it would be good if the states publicized their programs and many of them do.
I would like to see more articles published that contain the legal niceties. An article was published in a popular dog mag this past winter from a new hunter that made a trip to the ND badlands. The article described the location as Theodore Roosevelt National Park, which is illegal to hunt. I'm hoping the new hunter was actually hunting the federal grasslands adjacent to the park. In any case, it would be good if our upland and gun dog magazines would clean it up before they publish stuff like this and edit the article to reflect legal places to hunt.

Thanks for all that you do for the new hunters out there and educate them right!

Yes.

For example, (and I know this only from TV about Montana) in Montana you usually have to sign in at a mailbox or whatever before accessing private land open to public. Other states might have different rules.

Leeza wrote:I would recommend presenting the article on a state by state basis. The private land programs are extraordinarily different by state.

That's also my point of view. When I prepare my hunting "road trips", I spend a lot of time studying the differents programs developped by each State. Some States are very easy, other ones very complex.

IN California you need written permission to hunt on private ground.

Get the On X app. Shows public, private, district boundaries.