How to hunt private land in NC?

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Mhael

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Hi all,

I moved to Statesville last year from Texas and didn’t get a chance to hunt last year and am wanting to get things set up to hunt this year. In Texas I got very lucky and had a friend with a large ranch so I had an amazing setup, I was spoiled. So I’m trying to figure out how I find a place to hunt, do you do deer leases here, or are there small private hunting clubs? Obviously I will need to pay, but I think I probably most need to try to learn about hunting in NC and the surrounding area works.

One other question, from the little research I’ve done, it seems like there is some awesome black bear hunting here, if I was wanting to pay for a special spot and stalk bear hunt any suggestions for operations/areas you can recommend.

‘thanks in advance for the help!
Trevor
 
Lots of small/medium sized clubs all over NC but might not be the acreage you are used to in Texas. Lots of people pay a lease for private land and hunt it by their self or with a couple other folks depending on acreage and expense. Ive never belonged to a club but I've heard some great stories and some bad ones depending on how its ran. Lots of public land in NC also depending the area.
 
As far as area as I said I’m in Statesville, I’ll drive at least 3 hrs for the right set up. Yah I figured it would be a smaller place, there is a little less space here than Texas;)
 
Unless you directly own the land you will need to have this filled out (or of similar language) if the game warden stops you on private land. Even if you have been hunting for decades on your uncles/grandpappy's/cousin's land, they can give you a ticket and I have yet to meet a nice friendly game warden. I don't mind the Coastie stops at all Downeast, they joke around and have a good time during inspections but NCWRC wardens are just jerks. I will preface that I haven't had any tickets nor reasons for them to think I'm suspicious, just multiple encounters over the years.

Short news article on it and the landowner protection act. https://www.ncwildlife.org/Blog/written-permission-required-to-hunt-and-fish-on-private-lands
Landowner protection act https://www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H762v6.pdf

Here is an example form the NCWRC provides
https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/...owner_Permission_Form_Wallet_Size_07-2011.pdf
https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/...ndowner_Permission_Form_Full_Size_07-2011.pdf
 
I have my own property to hunt but once was a member of a club that had a bunch of land leased. There are lots of Game Lands spread out that can offer good hunting. There are National Forests and military reservations that offer hunting. There is a lot more public land here than in Texas.

edit: Land must be posted in most of NC in order to keep hunters out. The purple paint is a way to post land more easily and at lower cost. Do not go through a boundary marked by purple paint of posted signs. I have been told by several people including a game warden or two that a person can be on your unposted land without being charged with trespassing unless you confront him/her on it and tell him/her to leave and not come back and they come back anyway. The purple paint is good for the landowner because it also is harder to remove than are posted signs. I had a real jerk who wanted to hunt one of my fields who would tear down my signs so he could claim the land was not posted. He would also cut down my trees to make shooting lanes out into his bait pile in my field. It is this type of person who causes many landowners to post their land.
 
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Welcome to NC!
I step on the back porch :p
My son has landed several very good private land spots in Raleigh, Cary and at Kerr lake. He's done so by scouting via Google Earth, searching the land owners by knocking on he door or the county's GIS records. Offer to be helpful, show respect and ask permission. More folks will allow bow hunting, it's a good way to get in and earn trust if you want to use a rifle later.
 
Thanks for the heads up on the land owner permission form, I have that saved now. New state laws for firearms and hunting are always fun to try to learn when I move, hopefully I’m sticking around for a while so I won’t have to learn another new set after I learn more about NC.

Haha, well I do get small game off my back porch but looking for more meat for my freezer:) I’m not a bow hunter currently, I have some disabilities that make it problematic to fire a bow. I know in other states that if you have a substantiated disability that you can use a crossbow guess I’ll have to check out the regulations here. I do always hunt suppressed at least:)

Dumb question, I know there are hunting clubs, how do I find them? Do they have websites and I just need to search more fore, is there a particular business license they have to get or register with the state in some way? Just trying to see how creative I can be.
 
Mhael said:
I know in other states that if you have a substantiated disability that you can use a crossbow guess I’ll have to check out the regulations here. I do always hunt suppressed at least:)
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Not sure anything is needed to use a crossbow in NC. Anyone?
 
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Nope..... nothing spcial required for a crossbow.
Most hunting clubs around are just that...... clubs. Nothing to do with the state unless they are so big they form a LLC. Look on the local websites that are more hunting oriented. Also, club openings show up on Craigslist sometimes. It is not going to be an easy task. Start locating and scouting game lands near you while you are looking for other options. That way you won't be going in cold when the season rolls around if nothing else has materalized.
 
I had the same trouble moving here from Washington State. I purchased the OnX app and have found many public honey holes, near subdivisions, easements and everything in between. It will also show you landowners information. I’ve knocked on doors, written emails and have been fairly successful dealing with strangers or neighbors on getting access to hunt land. Get the app and see what’s around you. Also is a great E scouting tool.
 
I have a buddy who looks for big farms and offers to help with big projects in exchange for being able to hunt there. Sometimes it works out, sometimes a lot of other friends and family already hunt there. A lot of public land out there too.
 
Clubs in NC can be hit or miss. Some (like the one beside my house) are so tight knit that you just about have to be born in to it. Others are pretty open to most anyone with the $ and not a complete AHole. But even they can have a pecking order. The best are run more like a business- elect officers, draw for hunting spots, have "work days", have on-site cabin/ camping area...

Public land is just that -PUBLIC. It can be great or a pain in the butt. I have had some great hunts messed up by another hunter, a hiker, stray dogs,... Most don't have a lot of access control. Some are better- the permit draw hunts have less pressure but you are stuck with the day that you draw- 10 inch of rain or 90 degree- it all you got. Most public land is hit hard near the edges- folks are lazy and don't want to a deer out and a lot don't allow 4x4.

If you are the outgoing type and willing to get some doors slammed in your face, some good hunting can be found on smaller tracts of land 20-30 farms. My uncle would get all his hunt land this way- he would ride by a little run down farm, stop and ask if he could hunt in trade for working on things that need fixing. Biggest deer he ever killed was on a little farm in Moncue that the old man that owned need a ramp built to push his wife in her wheelchair into the house. About 12 hrs of work and $300 in lumber later, he hunt that place for 5 years till the old guy died.

Also check out https://nchuntandfish.com/forums/index.php They are a lot more hunting less shooting. Some of same folks here and there
 
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Charlie said:
I have my own property to hunt but once was a member of a club that had a bunch of land leased. There are lots of Game Lands spread out that can offer good hunting. There are National Forests and military reservations that offer hunting. There is a lot more public land here than in Texas.

edit: Land must be posted in most of NC in order to keep hunters out. The purple paint is a way to post land more easily and at lower cost. Do not go through a boundary marked by purple paint of posted signs. I have been told by several people including a game warden or two that a person can be on your unposted land without being charged with trespassing unless you confront him/her on it and tell him/her to leave and not come back and they come back anyway. The purple paint is good for the landowner because it also is harder to remove than are posted signs. I had a real jerk who wanted to hunt one of my fields who would tear down my signs so he could claim the land was not posted. He would also cut down my trees to make shooting lanes out into his bait pile in my field. It is this type of person who causes many landowners to post their land.
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Correct, it must be posted to be able to be enforced. Right after I bought my mountain property, the game warden stopped by and told me to go ahead and get it posted if I wanted to keep people off of it. He said if it is not posted, he can't do anything, if its posted they are trespassing. The next weekend, I painted nearly every tree at the road and also put up signs. It can't be missed.

There are also some NC counties that require written landowner permission whether the land is posted or not. It tells in the regulation book.

As a side note, written permission from a landowner is required to ride "motorized all terrain vehicles" on any private property in NC.
 
beamernc said:
Correct, it must be posted to be able to be enforced. Right after I bought my mountain property, the game warden stopped by and told me to go ahead and get it posted if I wanted to keep people off of it. He said if it is not posted, he can't do anything, if its posted they are trespassing. The next weekend, I painted nearly every tree at the road and also put up signs. It can't be missed.

There are also some NC counties that require written landowner permission whether the land is posted or not. It tells in the regulation book.

As a side note, written permission from a landowner is required to ride "motorized all terrain vehicles" on any private property in NC.
Click to expand...

Yeah, in NC it’s a patchwork of county laws. Read the book, look for your country, if on game lands, look for game land laws


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