The best time to ask a landowner is when there is time to do work that the landowner needs to get done before or during the hunting season. I am a landowner and a hunter, but I have hundreds of fine deer/turkey acres more than I personally need for hunting in Rensselaer County, NY, and I have to pay taxes on it to support the nanny state, so I would consider leasing to those who would help me pay the taxes. The State of New York has established a feudal land system in which the deeded "owners" are just tenants/renters. If the nominal owner stops paying the rent/fealty (property taxes), the government simply takes the property title away without any compensation. That is the feudal system that people of New York tolerate now that the Georgists/Socialists have replaced the Allodial title system. Thus, "taxes" equals base "land rent". If the best use of the land is for hunting, then the value of the hunter's offer should be roughly equal to or greater than the value of the taxes. That should be the general rule of thumb. Most hunters don't even know how to ASK and negotiate for permission, and many think that the privilege of hunting on private land should be free just for asking. But consider the high cost of buying and owning land (taxes, road maintenance, the expense of POSTING signs on the boundaries) mainly for the purpose of private hunting without others poaching or intrusions, and then think whether the owner would want to share that land for free with everyone that covets it? There are many renegade hunters who simply ignore NO TRESPASSING signs and barbed wire. There are others who aggravate their trespasses by bringing ATVs that tear up the roads or crops, who leave trash behind, cut fences, put nails and flimsy treestands (pallets) in good trees. There are MANY landowners who have PROBLEMS with the trespassing types, who would be happy if someone showed up at their door and said: "We see that the deer have been eating your ....." or "We were wondering if you were having problems with trespassers hunting and shooting guns on your fine property, and if so we wanted to help you out by Buying signs and POSTING the property in your name this year, and by confronting and arresting violators. We just need you to sign this lease giving us exclusive rights to hunt this year, and the right to enter and occupy and to citizen-arrest the trespassers. We are happy to share the venison we take this year with you. If we do a good job and if we can keep the bad guys out this year, we would like the Option to lease the property for $$$$/barter next year." There are always opportunities like that for respectable hunters.
