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Would you do it?

So I posted about wanting to do a early season trip to the Midwest in the main forum and I got a message from a guy that lives in Missouri. It was an extremely generous offer. He said that if I wanted, me and my buddy could come hunt his land out in Missouri at no cost. He has about 500 acres that he owns and 600 the he leases. The 1,100 acres is made up of timber, hay fields, crops, river bottoms. He sent me pictures of the last 3 bucks he's shot and they're all real nice, all around 140-150". Said we can either camp on the land while we're there or stay at a motel near by. Also said he is currently the only one hunting this land.

Soooo, would you go? I guess 2 main things here. For starters, this seems extremely generous and out of no where too. It really does seem too good to be true. But, its not costing us anything so its not like its a scam for money or something. I did look back through the Missouri forums and found posts from him from the past several years so he seems like he's a regular and he seems like a pretty hardcore hunter and not some random new person. I even saw a post from 2 years ago where he mentioned to another guy that he could come hunt his land as long as he was a good shot and practiced scent control. Maybe people really are this generous for no reason? The second thing... would you do this and save yourself the $800-$1,000 or would it be worth going to some sort of outfitter for that extra money? Interested to get everyone thoughts. Too sketchy? Not worth it? Just go for it cause it seems like a great offer?

Wow .I woulnt say sketchy ,but mom always says if it sounds to good to b true well u know the rest .Having said that what do u have to loose its a big buck state worse case situation your there hunt public may be I don't know just a thought . Could b a hunt of a life time and a place to go back to year after year . Do some homework . Just trying to help u stay positive . Best of luck! Can I go

Very true, and he did say theres 11,000 acres of state land only 18 miles away that gets very little pressure. And that the state land they actually plant crops on too. Said the state land is as good as his land because of this.

Ah, I can hear the banjos playing now. Lol, just kidding. I've run into a lot of generous guys since I've started hunting, and I'm really starting to get it now. Hunters just want to share the experience with fellow hunters. Honestly getting involved in hunting and meeting so many great people has strengthened my faith in humanity to a certain extent. My only advice if you take him up on his generous offer is to obviously keep your radar up early on, best to avoid squealing if at all possible! ;-)

Back last year there was a list of a guy who came into the mass forum asking if anyone wanted to go out there. He caught a lot of slack people saying he was sketchy and this is bogus. I am pretty sure it ended up being legit and he was just a great guy. Do some research back before the season started and you can find this thread. Might be the same guy. Sounds about the same I am pretty sure some guy did go out there

I would take him up on it and if it was bogus, you got public land close by. Either way, sounds like little investment except time. I would fly out for a weekend to meet him and scout, just to confirm things. Might give you some more comfort after actually meeting him. Just dont get in his truck when he says he wants to show you his “secret spot” Lol

Yeah I would go with a plan B in mind. I would also be carrying hahaha

X2 what Taz said. My "Little" brother who is the serious buck hunter in the family has a bunch of contacts in the Mid-West that started like this. But as stated he investigated it up front in the off season. Side note, any Turkey season offers, great time to walk it and look around.

Sounds like an adventure to me I would go for it.

I guess I’m a sucker because I would just show up and say thanks.

I'd go the hotel route with your buddy. Meet the guy for coffee to talk about the area etc (pre season like Taz noted ideally, but day one of your trip could work). If it seems bogus, bail. If not, this could be great.

Hard not to have your uncertainty dial up in today's day and age... but a great situation potentially.

Check other social media for the guy and look back over his posts or even Google search his name to see if any legal issues come up.

Yeah I would tell the guy he’s awesome and thanks and you’re interested. Then contact outfitters and onx public land. Plan a scouting trip where you meet the guy, call the local police inquire, meet him, etc... some people are genuinely nice. If you score offer him meat. It could turn into a great tradition. What about turkeys? Lol cover every angle.

I remember the same thing last year as dth. That was the first thing I thought of when you said Missouri, that's where that guy said he had land. Not sure if he ended up being legit but I remember originally thinking he wasn't and then starting to rethink it as it went on. I bet money this is the same guy.

Not sure if this guy is the real deal or not but here's my story. More than 25 years ago I was in PA with my family on vacation. I couldn't believe the amount of deer I was seeing just driving around. When we got home I called the PA Game Commission to ask about outfitters, public land, etc. They gave me a guys name to call and said he could tell me anything I wanted to know about bowhunting PA.

So I called this guy and explained that I was looking for info on where to hunt in PA. Out of the blue he said why don't you just come down and hunt with us. Couldn't believe it. Didn't know him, never met him, first time we ever spoke. Well I hunted with him that year and every year since. We've bowhunted together all over the country, our families have shared times together and we've been to each other's kid's weddings. A friend for life.

You never know. I'd give it a try. If it doesn't work out, you'll still have a bowhunting adventure. Good luck.

I'd go... but just be prepared for something to be off.. If you go with low expectations, it can only be better?! Having said that, it would be nice to see that someone is just truly a nice person and wants to help fellow hunters out and make friends... I've brought people out bear hunting before that asked... no banjo's here... hahaha. AND... they killed bears ;) And I asked nothing in return.

Taz nailed it. No pun intended

Proline... BAHHH HA HA HA! Agreed though. Hoping this works out for you Dan!

Slingnsticks rings a bell. Would that be the guy ???

DFA, just went on the Missouri forum and looked for him. That's definitely the guy, remembered his name as soon as I saw it.

Not a lot of activity on that forum but he was still there last September so, who knows, maybe he was legit.

Bruce I think I remember someone taking him up on his offer and said he was just a great guy !!!! He had come onto this forum to ask if anyone wanted to come out there, said it was the busiest of all the others. Just wanted to share his hunting areas with someone who liked it as much as he does. I remember seeing pics of the property. Cut cornfields and woodlines if it is him I remember he got a lot of crap here from a few members saying he was fake and a weirdo. Lol

I was just nosing around your thread and had a story to share. We were hunting public land in South Dakota when we ran into a couple at a fast food restaurant and started talking. Long story short they invited us to come and hunt there 800 private acres in the black hills. It was the best whitetail hunting I have ever had and on top of that they fed us and set up blinds for us to hunt from. We bought him a case of beer and he didn’t want anything from us! It seemed too good to be true but it was true and we are invited back this year. Turns out there are people out there that aren’t looking for something in exchange for access. I say go for it with a plan b Incase it’s not what you expected. Good luck and now I will be back nosing around the Massachusetts forum to see how things work out for you.

MN that's super cool! Out there a couple years ago, I was amazed at the number of deer (both species) we saw between Rushmore and Wind Cave. Just beautiful country, and LOTS of deer. Had to be a fun place to hunt.

It was a ton of fun! We hunted the treeless coulees for muledeer and then it was whole different world hunting whitetail in the hills only an hour away. MN is ok but super flat where I hunt .

We took our kids there a few years ago, we drove out of Custer at dusk and there was deer everywhere in the ditches and on the roads.

Please let me know if you need help killing deer on private land in MO. Yes, I would go for it. The worst that can happen is that someone makes sweet sweet love to you against your will (sure it sucks, but when it's over it's not like you have to Instagram the event). The best is awesome deer hunts. I dunno, I kinda like those odds.

MN - where are you in MN. My we spend a week or two up on Gull lake in Lake Shore/Nisswa every summer - my wife grew up there :)

Great country... Also a lot of deer, at least compared to here in MA!

Have you spoken to this guy on the phone? Thats a good place to start if trying to qualify this. Also, when he gives you address, check the state GIS map to confirm he owns the land. Also, see if you can find out his line of work or what type of business he owns. Is he on LinkedIn? Facebook? You can learn a lot about people this way. Good luck. Sounds real to me. I get lots of offers from guys I just meet at conferences who offer to come hunt with them. I think hunters are generally welcoming to other hunters. Also, if he owns all that land, it is likley he is successful, maybe even high net worth, so you can safely assume that most banjo playing psychos planning to eat your backstraps arent usually successful guys (generally speaking)

"banjo playing psychos planning to eat your backstraps"

That conjures up some mental imagery that might just keep me from sleeping tonight...

Hahaha!

sNs, good to see you still have a sense of humor after all the crap you took a couple years ago. I think I was one of the ones questioning the sincerity of your offer, and for that I apologize. I guess I'm just too used to seeing selfishness from people and evidently I was still learning to give my fellow man the benefit of the doubt. Hopefully I've made some progress.

Anyway, welcome back to the MA site. We're not really as bad as we seemed a couple years back.

Good to see you in here sling !!!! You’re a good guy and hope all goes well with the Hunting this year. Mighty generous of you to put the offer out there for us mass folks

Wow that’s a great offer goes to show there are good people out there. Shoot if not I will take him up on it!!

Yes, very generous offer sling. I hunted MO a few times and had a blast. A lot different than hunting MA. I'd invite you to hunt out here but you'd probably be disappointed. Good luck in the deer woods.

I'm sure some folks are ready for spring turkey but it always seems to sneak up on me, even though I know it's coming. Life is just too busy...

I think I know who offered you the hunt and he’s a great guy who is a dedicated hunter and constantly improving habitat on his property. He offered me the same on a year I didn’t draw in KS and my brother did. We didn’t go to hunt with him but in retrospect I probably should have made the trip, definitely a genuin humble guy.

I used to work as a corrections officer. I have met.some really bad people. It put a really bad taste in my mouth, pun intended. I watch the news and same bad taste. I have to say, this forum and the people that hunt are awesome. All of you help me keep faith in people. I have had the great pleasure of meeting some of you on a few occasions and never a bad moment. Now I hear of this kind person offering his land to strangers and these other stories of kind people. It is heart warming. It gives me hope in humanity. This is why I push so hard for my kids to hunt. They love it and get so excited seeing deer. I just want to say to all of you, even though it isn't Thanksgiving yet, THANK YOU. Thank you for being the kind people we all should be. Keep at it and only good things will continue to come your way.

well said

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