I had been planning the hunt for months. The hotel was booked, my rifle was sighted in and my gear was packed. Firearms deer season was only a week away.
That’s when I got the news. And over text messages no less. “Oh yeah, the landowner said he’s not letting anyone deer hunt now, his extended family wants to hunt,” said the caretaker of the property.
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The supposed hook-up I thought I had was long gone, as were my chances to take a big buck.
I’ve lived in Missouri for 25 years and still I have no place to hunt other than public access lands. This means that I get to share a piece of land with 100 close friends I’ve never met.
What Is A Diehard Hunter To Do?
Short of a rich uncle dying and leaving me millions, buying a piece of property is out of the question. The same goes for leasing a parcel. A hunting lease in an area known to have good deer can fetch more than $40 an acre.
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I’ve nearly worn out my keyboard searching on Google Earth for a secret hunting place.
I even tried a letter-writing campaign with the goal of convincing local farmers to allow me to hunt on their land.
Launching LandTrust
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But alternatives do exist. One of them is LandTrust, a company that works like “AirBNB” but for hunting. Nic De Castro, founder of LandTrust, found himself in a similar situation when living in Bozeman, Montana. “Public land is a great resource, but I found myself wanting to get out on private land–and let’s face it, door knocking isn’t as fruitful as it used to be.”
De Castro, who has been a host on Airbnb for years, decided to apply the basic short-term rental model to outdoor recreation related properties.
De Castro began selling his idea of a “land sharing marketplace” to area ranchers near Bozeman by using his experience in sales. This helped him secure a few ranches. Fast forward six years, and LandTrust currently counts on 1.4 million acres across 43 US states and Mexico.
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LandTrust & Landowners
Most of the landowners who list with LandTrust are multigenerational farmers and ranchers in production agriculture. Their land is literally their business. To generate income from outdoor recreation, landowners often lease their properties either annually or multi-year.
Doing so nets the landowner the entire amount at one time, and if the landowner has a hunter they like, the owner only has to deal with one person. De Castro elaborated that these arrangements were not too great for many landowners.
“They basically lost control of their land. If the land is leased out to a hunter or a group of hunters, the landowner has little say if a family member wants to hunt. Likewise, after receiving the payment for the lease many hunters begin feeling ownership that they should be able to dictate the farmer’s actions, or the farmers should spend time maintaining the hunter’s food plots.”
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“With LandTrust, the landowner keeps 100 percent control. If they have family or friends who occasionally want to hunt or fish, they can still monetize their land when they are not using it.”
“The landowner really appreciates this and finds it an attractive option.”
De Castro sees landowners as business partners and LandTrust only gets paid when a hunt is booked. A landowner does not pay to be on LandTrust, nor does LandTrust sell hunts. LandTrust just helps the landowners to generate extra income from their properties. LandTrust is the opposite of an outfitter who shells out cash for a lease and must sell hunts to recoup the outlay of money (and make a profit).
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Hunters & LandTrust
Outdoors people and hunters benefit from LandTrust because its listings offer opportunities on private grounds. Furthermore, the platform facilitates easier connections between hunters, anglers and landowners. This type of modern connectivity isn’t anything like door knocking or leasing hunting grounds.
When enrolling their property onto LandTrust, landowners are encouraged to be honest regarding opportunities available on their property. Just how you can see different rooms and amenities on AirBNB-style websites, most of the properties listed on LandTrust have game cameras throughout to show the game animals on that land.
“When you book a hunt, you are asked to review the property. This is the way we weed out any misrepresentations that may occur and serves as a check and balances,” added De Castro.
LandTrust’s Perks & Features
Membership to LandTrust is free. It does, however, offer a paid membership option. It includes additional perks such as early access to new properties and draw protection. If you book a property that requires a draw, and you do not get drawn you will receive a refund.
I routinely go onto LandTrust’s website and peruse Field Notes, one of LandTrust’s features. Field Notes includes updates from landowners that provide game-camera imagery of what’s happening on their lands.
Booking fees are determined by the listing landowners. A modest percentage also goes toward LandTrust too, in order to maintain their platform and services.
Some landowners offer lodging on-property that can be booked by hunters if so desired, usually for reasonable rates. It sure adds a layer of convenience during your trip and beats the headache of finding a nearby motel to then have to drive an hour to your hunting spot.
A search bar on LandTrust’s site allows a hunter to choose the state they wish to hunt or the species they would like to pursue. The site also makes it easier to contact listening landowners directly. While it’s possible to book many of these properties for a single day, oftentimes landowners offer multi-day packages.
I’ve already dropped several pins on maps to get an idea of where I want to be on a few of these farms. If you find yourself without a place to hunt and are tired of a full parking lot at your closest public hunting area, give LandTrust a try.
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