It's not too late to rebel fellas(well , maybe it is in Texas) , dig your heels in and say "Hell no , I refuse to pay that !" .

If you go to enough doors and keep knocking you'll eventually find somewhere . Refuse to be ripped off , it works . If you absolutely "must" lease then at least be a smarter shopper . If one place is too much go to another until you find what you're looking for . Once you find a good spot that isn't currently locked up ask the landowner for a long term lease instead of an annual one . Think 20 years down the road and be prepared to pay for it or become a public land specialist . Publics can be surprising if you're wiling to do what it takes to get the most from them . Do like me , study topo maps at sites like TerraServer and find the smaller overlooked publics that others don't use , monster deer hide in amazingly small areas . Bigger publics can also yield great hunting if you just go deeper than the weekend warriors , most get very little traffic during weekdays for example . I personally love blind hunts , and doing some cyber scouting can put you where others don't or won't go . Buy a deer cart and a lightweight climber and get out there , the worst you'll lose is some weight .