Permission to collect on private property

Recently there has been a bit of discussion on whether or not to get permission beforehand to collect on private property, and how to get that permission.  I have alot of experience researching who owns various pieces of property and mines, because I believe the ethical thing to do is to get permission.  It's also a matter of safety (there's nothing out there worth getting shot over) and respect.
   I have mentioned previously in this blog about how the owners of the Joe Walker Mine ignored my letter requesting permission to collect there - that's what happens sometimes.  Recently though I had a weird experience in getting permission to a calcite mine I had been trying to get to for nearly three years.
   A property owner offered keys and lock combos to a rockhound friend of mine, who passed the offer to me.  My friend was too busy to use this offer, and I live closer to the location. I needed to get through this property to access the calcite mine.  For the keys to the gates, I had to look at a mine site on the owner's property and see if I could figure out what had been mined there.
  One key was to a gate not on the owner's property, but to property I had to drive through to get to his.  In speaking to a family member of the "drive thru" property, I found out the man who gave me the keys had been accused of taking advantage of an elderly member of the "drive thru" property to gain ownership of what was now his property.  Bringing this sore subject up caused the family member to get quite angry, but because I had shown them the respect of going to them first, they did not get mad at me, but simply warned me not to do business with him.
   On another occasion I had unknowingly wandered onto property I had not received permission to be on. As I went thru an unmarked gate I held it open for a truck with a cattle trailer who I had seen was a short distance behind me.  It was clear that when I spoke to the driver and found out my mistake he was okay with it because I had waited and held the gate open for him.  A little respect can go a long way.