Access is a Challenge if You Don't Have Indefinite Cash Stream

Todd Decker Testimonial

Reflecting back on the spring turkey season, we can all agree it was more successful and enjoyable than the 2020 season. With fewer unknowns in the world and the ability to control more variables, we saw many of our LandTrust sportsmen have great trips! Among them, was Todd Decker, a Denver resident who is always facing a challenge when it comes to land access in Colorado. 

Todd enjoying a hunting trip in Colorado.

“Access is a challenge especially if you don’t have an indefinite cash stream to pay for long-term, high-end leases. You either know somebody or you’re willing to pay exclusivity.”

Todd spent his spring turkey trip out on Horsecreek Ranch. He explains to the LandTrust team the difficulties that come along with trying to hunt around Denver. Originally a fly fisherman, his outdoor friends explored camping, backpacking, and eventually came across hunting. While some of his friends are big game hunters, Todd likes to tag along for the bird hunting trips. In the past 6-7 years, Todd has had to travel into Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Montana to find great upland bird hunting. “our struggle is always access, especially with bird hunting always on private land.” Todd says that he’s had some experience hunting on private lands in the past simply because of relationships, otherwise was pretty used to public land.

A few weeks ago, Todd made a visit to the remote LandTrust listing, Horsecreek Ranch, and further back at the beginning of the year went out to the Brown Home Farm in Kansas. Todd claims that both landowners were very easy to communicate with; gave clear directions in terms of access, rules, parking, passing through gates, as well as answered any questions that Todd had leading up to the trip. The Landowners sought out Todd and his group to engage with them and give advice as to what had been seen and experienced on various parts of the property. 

“The Landowner at the Brown Home Farm went out of his way to make sure we were going to have the best possible experience while we were there!”

Likewise, the Landowner at the Horsecreek Ranch was very accommodating through rearrangements in the hunt. Todd and his group had a date change and added a person to the group last minute, which seemed to be no problem for either party. Communication was always easy.

“In comparison to other websites, it’s good your conversations are tracked and organized by the site and the property owner. Other sites are tracked by email and they get lost. This is better for when making reservations you might not access for a couple of months. Very reliable and easy to use.”

Furthermore, Todd goes on to explain the other benefits of being a sportsman with LandTrust. He really enjoys how much the network can expand one’s range when searching for a great place to hunt. Todd admits that it can be tricky to jump into a new place without any hunting familiarity such as understanding territory and habitats.

"That being said, the listings have been pretty good at explaining what you’re getting when you’re going there and the Landowner at Horsecreek Ranch even let me stop by the evening before the hunt to take a quick look around."

Todd explains how hunting has quite a few challenging variables and when starting on a section of land early in the morning, that is pretty large, it’s hard to know where to go right away. He acknowledges that this added obstacle was not something he had anticipated until the first time it happened. “Part of that is the fun and the challenge in it!”

We are pleased to share Todd's positive experience when booking with LandTrust. The team hopes to carry this energy into the next season and we are looking forward to many more bookings to come. If you're interested in learning more about booking a turkey hunt in the future, here is a list of some of our top turkey listings: The W Ranch, Cider Mountain, Sunhillow Farm, Starry Hill, or Storey Ranch. 

If you have questions or comments about our operation, we invite you to start a conversation with us in the comments section of this post or contact us directly. If you know of other sportsmen or landowners who might consider working with LandTrust, we'd like you to consider sharing our story with them.