Hunting laws on your own property

[anderson5]

My question is Does anyone know the law about hunting on your own property? If I owned lots of land, would I have to still get hunting license to hunt? I live in California.

[MustangGal]

Here in Arkansas, yes. But, you might also be eligible for some additional animals to be taken from your property if they numerous enough to cause crop damage. Some friends of ours have extensive acreage. If I remember correctly, they were able to harvest an extra 15 deer (either sex) from their property.

[qrprat77]

Hunting laws vary so much state by state, that all I can tell you is read the fine manual on hunting laws for your location :) I know here in FL you can hunt non-game species on your own property year round. You still have to follow hunting regs about approved/non-approved methods of taking the animal (no poison, exploding darts, etc), but the special rules that you have to follow in WMA's don't necessarily apply. Here in FL, hogs are a non-game specie. If you have private property, and a large hog population, you could load a 30 round mag, take your WASR-10, and TCB all night long. On a WMA, you may only use 5 round magazines, and if The Man even catches you with an empty >5 round magazine, or non-approved ammunition, you are in deep kimchi.
This is only for FL, though, so your mileage will vary.

[Grinnan Barrett]

I would say that every state requires a license no matter whose land it is on. Remember the license fees are little more than another tax. You really need to contact Ca.gov Dept of Fish and Game on the web and the regulations will be there. GB

[SeldomSeenSlim]

Hunting laws are almost entirely run on the state level. There are states where landowners or family can hunt some game species without a license requirement. CA is not one of them. All licenses, tags, stamps, etc apply whether you own the land or not. You might own the land, but the state claims ownership of the wildlife.

There are some states where a number of big game tags come with property ownership. This can even be specific to a unit inside of a state, so you'll just have to research.

[rice paddy daddy]

Hunting laws vary so much state by state, that all I can tell you is read the fine manual on hunting laws for your location :) I know here in FL you can hunt non-game species on your own property year round. You still have to follow hunting regs about approved/non-approved methods of taking the animal (no poison, exploding darts, etc), but the special rules that you have to follow in WMA's don't necessarily apply. Here in FL, hogs are a non-game specie. If you have private property, and a large hog population, you could load a 30 round mag, take your WASR-10, and TCB all night long. On a WMA, you may only use 5 round magazines, and if The Man even catches you with an empty >5 round magazine, or non-approved ammunition, you are in deep kimchi.
This is only for FL, though, so your mileage will vary.

To add: in Florida no license is needed to hunt on your own homestead. But all other rules and regulations do apply regarding game animals: seasons, bag limits, shooting hours, methods for taking, etc. In Florida there are different rules for game animals, non game animals, fur bearers.
As a hobby farmer with livestock I have become aquainted with many rules in an attempt to keep a safe happy barnyard without running afoul of the law.

[All Talk]

I think the question you may be asking has more to do with limits than with the license itself. As someone said above, the license is 1) a way to tax you and 2) in some, but not all cases, control the number of animal of a particular species you can take.

In some sates, the limit, but not the license requirment, changes from your own property vs. elsewhere. Also, some species have no limits. In illinois, i think you can get a license to shoot coyote for $5, and can shoot as many as you like, all year long. Deer, on the other hand, have limits no matter whose land you are on.

[BioG8r]

Go to the local China Mart and pick up a copy of the hunting rules and regs, should spell it all out for you and let you know who you need to contact for land owner permits or "Block Permits".

[anderson5]

Thanks for all the info. I'm going to investigate further.