I don't lease land to hunt on, but the going price here is around $3-3.50 pre acre. I don't know if this price includes insurance or not. But having insurance would be a plus for the landowner. Since you said he was family, ask him what he is expecting and see if you can meet his expectations.

Eight guys on 450 acres could get crowded especially if you are going to move towards a management scheme to produce better bucks. You just can't figure that there are going to be bucks forever. Even if you give every member a buck of choice that is removing a lot of bucks for that size property. You might want to consider 4 or 5 guys and this will make control a bit easier and could still be putting a lot of pressure on it. Sounds like a great place.

<img>http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid4/p455db711fa56055b747425c940572fed/fe525999.jpg</img>
Managing Today for a Better Tomorrow
Let Him Go so He can Grow !
Shoot a Doe instead!