bigchaz

Myself, I got tired of hunting public land, and begging invites to friend and family leases.When I got ready to lease and looked at it long term I decided instead of spending a thousand a year for a good one I was going to buy. Rich? Nope.I think the note is 130 a month. For a hunting nut like me its a steal.Not that big a parcel but its mine. Do I have to tell you about the friends who want to show up opening weekend without doing any of the chores?

SwampTHING

Nope dont have too tell me about it!

Last night I got a call from a buddy.. It went something like this..
Hey when you leaving for deer camp?
Sometime tomorrow,, why?
Well I just got layed off today,, im free all next week... got room for one more?
Truck is full... were bringing my 12 year old nephew and his buddy.Theywere allowed too takethe week off school,, hope too get them theyre first deer next week!!!
Ahh man,, tell the nephewsbuddy you cant take him,, and Ill go!
No, thats just not right they helped build theboathouse and deer coops this past summer...
ahhh man,,, WTF I thought we were buddies?
We are,, but when I asked if you wanted to go?? you said... Why doI want tootake a week off work,,, just to go up there?
I asked the nephews buddy if he wanted to go with us this year... he said I sure do! I cleared it with his parents, and he made the necessary grades to be allowed to go,, he is going!
Well,, Ill bet he wont have gas money!!
I dont expect him too have money for gas, or food, or anything really... I just expect him to be safe,, and have a good time!

Well alright, if thats how you want too treat your buddies....

Now if he had originally said,, I just got layed off, got room in camp for one more next week? I would have said,,, sure do...but your going too have too take your own vehicle up... he would be deer hunting next week!

Germ

Now there is a new ex-buddy in my book.

I get ask all the time, you know I would love to take some folks, but as soon as you take 1 the flood gates open. I just have a standard no to everyone. Youth hunters are a different, I take 1 or 2 every year.

Arthur P

Climb down off'n your high horse there, buckaroo. I'm not looking for a free ride. I don't mind paying a REASONABLE lease fee. Paying enough for a deer lease that I could pay cash money for a brand new Browning Citori shotgun AND a dove hunting trip to Mexico or a caribou trip to Alaskaevery year is NOT reasonable.

Icould pay $500 a year to hunt. It'd hurt badly, but I could do it. $2000-3000? Nopossible way. I'll need a new truck in another few years myself, so why would I want to buy one forthat landowner? I know lease prices aren't that high everywhere... at least, not yet.

But eventually, if so many hunters keep ignoring the issue, thinkingit's not a problem because itdoesn't affect them personally, or that 'hunting is my only hobby and I don't mind spending money on it'... these guys will eventually find out there will be a price for a place to hunt that they simply CAN NOT PAY.

Or they will find out, as so many of my friends have in the last few years, that the lease they've held for many years and the friendship they've developed with the landowner will completely dissolve when someone comes along andoffers double or triple the cashyou've been paying for the lease.

30 days notice to get your stuff off the property doesn't leave you much time to find a new place to hunt when it comes 30 days from opening day. Nor does it pay for all the work you did, planting your own food plots and clearing shooting lanes from your stands.

Frankly, if you are leasing and doing improvements to the property with the goal of increasing the quality of the deer, you're a dam* fool. As soon as you start seeing the results of your hard work and word gets out about the size of deer you've been taking, you will be outbid for the lease. The landowner gets more money, the new leasee gets the deer (and food plots and carefully prepared stand locations)and you get screwed over. Sounds like fun, don't it.

SwampTHING

No, I actually called him this morning and told him if hed like too come up he'd have too drive himself up there. If he wanted too he could bring someone along with him(9 hour drive). Weve got plenty of room in the cabin,, and more than enough land too hunt. But the kids get the 2 swamp coops for monday. Have the truck and trailer loaded up,, pick the kids up at school for 3pm, and on the road!

nodog

It's the way it is, yep.

Germ

That is why you signed a Ten year agreement
Why you have a good relationship with the owner.

nodog

Good ideas, but 10 years isn't long in the whitetail world. Take 5 just to get things going. If a guy does do it the best advise is to keep quiet. Hard to do though.

There was a guy on here recently that wrote a book, I read it. He never learned and still hasn't as far as I know to not shoot his mouth off. If it wasn't for the fact that he owns his own property I think he would even loose that. He shot a big deer and almost lost it through legal battles. Still cost him 500 bucks.

Arthur's words are very true and can be applied to many things, not just deer hunting.

NEW61375

I almost don't knowwant to think about your posts. Are you serious? These ain't your granddaddy's deer woods anymore and it is not likely to revert back to whatever it is youwereused to (which sounds likehunting off of property you don't own or have rights to). I have yet to read where you offer up a realistic alternative to leasing. Open woods, free-roam hunting?? Do you really think that is an option? You keep saying "hunting as we've known it" What you really mean is hunting as you have known it, whichclearlydoes not apply to everyone else.What is clear is that you haveno real knowledge ofthe leasing issue as a whole (only your local area leasing issues). You stereotype people who lease andmake it seemthough as hunters we should be entitled to hunt wherever we want regardless ofwho owns it.I am neither "well to do" or "privaleged", and I certainly am not a "wanta be" pro hunter.All of your mindless babbling about "people that lease are onlyout for trophy deer", and don't "really" help the farmers or the herd, "90% of the timethose that lease are trophy pro wanta be's", and we are"ending our grandfathers traditions and hunting as "we" know it" make you sound ignorant.

WEBSTERS II--University Dictionary
Ignorant--adj.--1. Without knowledge or education. 2. Displaying lack
of knowledge or education. 3. Unaware or uninformed
: OBLIVIOUS.
Mainly number 3. I seriously mean no offense and I do not think you are stupid, just uninformed.

How many people do youknow that lease? I only ask because you are laying down some very broad statements that are simply incorrect and based on your own biased opinions rather a larger understanding of leasing as a whole.
Where do you hunt (state)? Do you thinkit might be possible that other people in other states might bedealing with different circumstances than you?
How did your granddad used to hunt and what traditionsof his (specifically) are being destroyed by leasing?
I hunt deer to feed my family and friends, I shoot does, I manage our herd, I take care of the land,andsome of that landis leased. Where does that put me?

Hunting is a public sport, you are correct. But most hunting land is private. Whether you are talking about a farmers land or land owned by a company, it does not matter, you stillmust have permission to hunt that land. And some companies and farmers make that easy by offering that land up for a contracted lease. What is wrong with that,nothing unless you don't want to pay to hunt, then it becomesa problem.So let me get this straight if you don't get to hunt someoneelse's property for free that is a problem? And I am selfish for leasing it because if I didn't lease it then the landowner may just let you hunt it for free again (like in the old days).

I can only speak for myself but I know thatthe farms we lease and the farmers we lease from aredoing well with this arrangement. We keep the farmers access roads right, we provide him and lots of others withtons of deer meat, we kill lots of deer which helps his crops, and we pay the land lease whichhelps him with taxes and other expenses. But I'm sure if you asked him to boot us off so you and your crowd could hunt itlike the"old days" he would jump all over the oppurtunity.

holler critter

Okay ! folks;

Lets end all the hard feelings, sorry if anyone feels their toes have been steped on a little; just trying to open a few eyes to the future of hunting for the masses. I enjoy hunting, and have all the acreage(180 plus acres)that my friends, family and neighbors will ever need to hunt without any need for leasing rights. So you see I am not a selfish man I know how to share with the locals,family and friends. All it took to hunt my land was a hand shake and some neighborly friendship.

Okay! I may have been a little harsh and stiff on some of my comments and statements,but if no one says anything and just sits by idle ,whats going to happen to public access to private land for hunting? I tell you whatwill happen; all those people with the swollen egos,toes , and bank accounts are going to ruin the future of hunting for the average folks.