ORIGINAL: kevin1
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 .
Kevin1 that idea
soundsgreat except for the fact that if you say "hell no" there is a line of people behind you saying"hell yes" because of the shortage of land. Trust me Indiana and the area I hunt inSoutheast, Va/Northeast, NCmight as well be different worlds when it comes to land and hunting. Most leases are not landowners they are corporations (timber companies) and we all know what drives them. So if you are fortunate enogh to get a good lease and they raise the rates onyou upon renewal you have no power, it is pay or give up the land. And as hard as it is to find land most simply pay. There is no smart shopping usually because of the limited land and # of people looking.Kevin1 you areabsolutely right about the public lands and it is surprisingly easy to find some prime honey holes.As I find more and more public land I plan on eventually phasing out my club memberships except for my Eastern Shore honeyhole(giant deer) and an occasional guest visit at friends clubs.