Permission To Hunt.....

[GoVidGo]

I have a few friends who I hunt with that have had some trouble getting permission to hunt properties. I am not the 'expert' in tactics and secrets to get permission, but some of the things they told me... the 'mundane' details... I can tell led to their failure.

Here is a list of things that I have found successful to me for getting permission to hunt a property. I am 44 years and have spent the last 20+ years in sales, some tough sales, and have applied some of that experience to asking permission to hunt.....

• Don't be afraid to ask. The worst thing they can say is 'NO!'. You humbly thank them for their time and maybe ask them 'do you know of any places that I maybe able too?' Again, you might get a stern 'NO!' and be on your way, thanking them again. I have, on a few occasions, have them give me some other spots to go try and ask, AND have had them chat about some other probably spots, and then change their mind after they get to know you are more comfortable and let me hunt their yard!
  
• Don't go to the door all geared up in dark clothes, gear belt on, knee pads looking like the SWAT team. Take off the mirrored sunglasses, as you don't want them to look out the window and think the Unibomber is on their front porch. Take your detector in hand, you look less like a salesman or debt collector. I had people answer the door because they saw my detector and thought I was with the 'gas company' and 'there was a problem'. It got them to the door! Take a step back after you knock, and don't invade 'their space'. Never carry a shovel with you to the door, as there might be the perception that you will be digging pits in their yard. Perception is reality. Introduce yourself by name and state you are 'local'. Familiarity builds trust.
  
• Welcome them to initially come along and watch and tell them 'they might be surprised at what you will find!'. The clouds of mystery will be lifted about what you are really doing and curiosity is a powerful tool! I had a guy, reluctantly, give me permission to hunt around his old farmhouse. He followed and watched as I hit a few caps and can slaw in the front yard and then hit an old silver spoon. He started laughing hysterically, and then told me that he was born and grew up in the farm house and had lost that spoon when he was a kid digging with it in the front yard and got his butt 'wooped' for it! I gave him the spoon. He took it in the house to show his wife, then came back out later and gave me the location s of an old barn in the woods, a miner's shack, and a log cabin that had burned down on his property.
  
• Offer to 'split' anything you find with them, IF they hesitate to give you permission, and you can tell there is a slight chance of an 'OK'. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing!
  
• Compliments go a long way, and so does being humble. Bragging about your gear, telling them about discrimination, pinpointing, and TDI displays do about as much for them as me confusing you with the next bullet point about 'a Unix program developed for fast conversions between binary and decimal integers when there are other programs by other Matlab-users, dealing with fractions, so they can be useful when the binary numbers are in vector form instead of strings.' Get it?
  
  
• If they are hesitant about who, when, where, what, ask for a 'One Shot Deal'. You only want a few hours on their property and that is it. A one day pass! I had a guy who owned a piece of property that an old train station was on. He gave Tylerope, from on here, and me, permission to hunt that day only! I can tell he didn't want to take the chance to find us there every day, a crowd there another day, or us there when he was not home.

Anyone have anything to add?...... please do. I am sure I'd also like to get some tips and up my 'permission percentage'

 

[Billium]

Love his approach. I find being "easy going" get the best results everytime.

Quote:
"I feel your pain, really I do. So here is what I do, and I get a "yes, I don't care" 9 out of 10 times. Two days ago I knocked on 4 doors and got 4 yes answers. The best targets I found was a 1907 swedish 5 ore and a 1959 rosie, at these 4 properties. One house was a jewl of a house and property. The old man said he had owned the property for 62 years and that the house was built around 1911. He said it had never been detected before. After a while he was sitting out on a swing in the shade and he asked if I had found anything good, and I said a wheat penny, so I took a break and went and sat down and visited with this old man and his wife and they absolutely loved talking with me because I listened to his old stories about how he came to own this property and we exchanged stories. He was so delighted at the company that he devulged all the old history of the property, and told me where some other houses stood next to this old house and since had been torn down. This is what I say every time " Hello, my name is Reese Townes and I collect old coins and I wanted to ask for your permission to coin detect for coins on your property." now at this point I watch their facial expression and if they seem aprehensive I say "I would be happy to split what ever I find with you, if I find any jewelry or artifacts, you can have those, I just want the coins, for my collection." And most of the time they say yes. when my buddy is out detecting with me, I am always the one going up to knock on doors because he is a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to asking. In fact he won't even pull into the driveway, he waits down the road away from the property and waits for me to say yah or nay. Lol. The worste that can happen is they say no. No big deal. Their are over a 100 old homes that are 100 plus years old here in the flathead valley. So try these words I just wrote here in the qoutation marks and see if that works. Don't say metal detect! say coin detect. Make it sound as tho it is just a hobby for you and you just collect them. If you say anything that implies anything about the value of old coins can bring, they will tell you no. At this point the litebulb goes off in their head and they start thinking of buying a detector it seems and want to search their property themselves. That has happened to me once. Here is something else you can say. " Have you ever coin detected before?" If they say they tried before, ask them if they have a detector. Twice I asked the home owner this and they both said they have a detector but they don't know how to use it properly, so ask them to go get it and you will show them how to use it properly and ask them to join you on detecting their property. both times the home owners had such a good time that they said you just got me hooked on this detecting, after they find some coins. so give this a try and I would like to know if this helps you out."

 

[GKMan]

I have never up front offered to split my finds, the old "if you find bars of gold or a treasure chest" has come up now and again, but not by me and I agree we should split something like that. Only once in 29 years have I had to talk to the owner about sharing in the proceeds from selling a find worth thousands..

 

[Billium]

What I have found is a few minutes of Idle chit chat puts people at ease and they tend to warm up to you. What takes us 10 minutes to type on her takes 2-3 minutes to speak. Just stay friendly and respect full of people's space and property and generally things will work out.
You will still get a "NO" answer sometimes. Nothing you can do about that.

 

[GoVidGo]

Bill Hines ... right a 110%!
If you can warm up to them, and they trust you, you are golden!.
Thats why I try to come off as 'the local guy'... 'nice guy'....it is a hobby'.....
HOW can they give you permission to go on their land to do something they don't understand and to dig on it if they don't even trust you a little bit?????
you know?.....

 

[togamac]

Some of us are not salesmen. I found that out when I was in college and took a job selling pots and pans. My boss was breaking me in and I was tagging along on his sales calls. He said, "Never let anyone get behind you when you're doing your presentation." Well, wouldn't you know, the next house we went to there were three girls and one was leaning against the wall behind him while he's giving his spiel to two other girls sitting at the kitchen table with him and me. As he's giving the pitch, the girl behind him is mouthing "No" and shaking her head back and forth to the girls at the table. Long story short, he sold them pots and pans anyways!

I sold one set in two months of trying because the girl decided she wanted them before I showed up. I don't know how I ever got layed! But the moral of the story is that if you're selling pots and pans or asking permission to metal detect, it helps if you're a born salesman with the gift of gab.

That said, I appreciate the pointers and will try my darndest to put them to use. Thank you Bill Hines for the specific instructions on what to say. Us meek ones need to be told exactly what to say!

 

[fongu]

I get my best results with a short post card or letter. I identify myself, say what I want to do and offer to demonstrate my recovery methods and give a few local references. I am not the salesman type and my way works for me and it might not work for others. Most people appreciate me asking for permission and most people insist that I detect by myself and don't bring a crowd and that works for me. HH.

 

[ecoast]

all good info; thanks fellas!

 

[dr 4 leaf Clover]

EXCELLENT information! Thanks for sharing. I will use this information in the near future.

 

[Johnnyanglo]

Dress nice, look normal (your 'normal' shouldn't be backward/sideways gang banger ball cap, riped camo pants, a hoodie or tank top), talk softly, smile, don't push, be honest, and leave if you get resistance (be sure to say "thank you" or "yes ma'am" or "no sir"). It's like a job interview and you've only got one opportunity to get it right. Show any hint to the homeowner that you are an incompetent immature dope or weird inarticulate loner and you're a gonner.

Also, give them your business/personal card (you should have one). You should be ready to roll if they give you permission (give people time to think and they'll reconsider). If they say "no" ask if they know of anyone who might have a property you 'can' search.