What is this sport coming to?
 

Though some of you thought a bid of $10 per acre for 3000 acres ($30,000) was way too high for hunting land in Florida, I submitted it anyway. Turns out, I lost to another bidder who paid $15 or $45,000. With a max allowable membership of 6, that is $7500 each, plus insur, utilities, food plots, etc.

There were 9 bidders and half were higher than me and half were lower. This sport really is becoming one for only the wealthy, at least in some areas.

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

tealboy, I agree. It is really too bad.

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My dad started telling me about it several years ago........and I laughed !! But fella's .......you better get ready !! I have been around several folks in the last 4-5 years that are pushing things in that direction..........taking $5-6 an acre leases for $12 ! And I mean going straight in at $12.....no negotiating......no trying to get it for $8 an acre or anything......walking in at $12...getting the land and walking out !! An average guy just can't compete and a landowner sure isn't going to pash it up.........especially if the wealthy guys are making great land improvements !

Man.....I am joining a small club this year with some of the best deer hunting to be found within several hundred miles and it is going to cost me $2500 to join with 5-6 other guys ..........for a whopping 365 acres !!

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

I agree. The sport is getting high priced, but so are all the other ones. You can't fish, golf, fly, etc heavily without spending more than you used to.

I guess it just motivates us all to make what we do have last a little longer. In relation to land, we better treat the land owners better than ever to keep them from looking elswhere for hunters.

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Thats why my family and I just made a HUGE financial sacrifice and bought our own land. I want to ensure my kids and grandkids a place to hunt.

BTW, last time I checked there was some really good public land around the country.

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

BTW, last time I checked there was some really good public land around the country.
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That is true. I hunt one of the national forests in Wisconsin and I see that most guys just hunt the easy access places instead of treking into more virgin territory. With some extra effort you can have the best hunting of your life for free.

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

Yeah it's a shame. And IMO thats too much for any land to hunt on. For $7500/year per person, you can BUY land to hunt on. You won't get 3000 acres, but at least you'll own it.

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At my family's ranch in west Texas we charge 750.00 a family to hunt year round. We know its too cheap but weve had the same group of hunters since 1978, we have good working people that really cant afford much more. I think we have lost and added two families since 1990. It never turns over, we never have trouble with our hunters. They treat the place like it is their own, and I guess after hunting it that long in a sort it is theirs..

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DC, We just did the same thing. It is NOT 3000 acres, it is 80 acres and it is ours. We put a lot of work into it with building a cabin and food plots but now we have a place for family as long as we own it. Next I want to work on some improvements in the woods. It is about 55 acres woods and 35 field. A great mix for both bow and gun hunting. We also have turkey, rabbits, squirrels, grouse and even pheasants. Kind of my dream come true.:D

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I used to hunt in 277,500 acres, but only used a 30-yard diameter when I set up. :D

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I don't know what to tell you teal except that just 5 mins ago my UPS man offered a lease to me here in NC for $5/ac. I doubt that I'll do it since residential areas are free.:)

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in illinois it is bout 1250-1500$ per acre for good hunting property

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I've seen prime hunting land in Illinois get leased up for $50.00 per acre.

I'd better stop there before I comment on people engaging in land leasing, but then complaining when someone else outbids them. [:'(]

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

JRW,

Too late, your rudness prevailed. By the way, it wasn't a complaint but a simple realization. Leasing really is becoming a sport for the wealthy. I don't like paying $5-6k a year for a place to hunt but I will. I refuse to pay $8500 and find it amazing that demand is getting that strong. Also, I suspect your $50 per acre is for small parcels like 100 acres, not 3000.

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I've been hunting for 20 years and I've pretty much had to pay the whole time. Here in Texas for prime hunting areas, 1 spot on a multi member lease can go for over $3000.00 per hunter.

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

LOL, $10 an acre aint nothing, neither is $50.

Go to the link that I provide below, this will take you to a webpage that talks about lease oppurtunities on the famous Kennedy ranch down here in s. Texas. The Kennedy ranch is a 440,000 acre block of land that is owned by one family, and a church. This ranch is between 2 of the king ranch divisons, and is an awsome place to hunt, but even I was amazed when I saw the prices.

http://www.lamansion.net/JaboncillosPackages.htm

My mom is friends with one of the family members of this ranch, but even she or her kids are not allowed to hunt the ranch, they only own the right to graze cattle in certain pastures of the ranch.


You can hunt an 8,000 acre pasture with 8 other hunters for a just $16,500. But of course this allows you 1 trophy buck, 1 cull buck, 2 does, 5 hogs, javelina, and some nailgi antelope.

Or you can get a "corporate" lease that will cost you $500,000 per year. Here you can kill 20 trophy bucks, 20 cull bucks, 40 does, more nailgi, hogs, javelina, and lucky you quail hunting is included in this package.

What really amazes me is that most of the lease openings are already taken, and the ranch has already sold 4 corporate leases. But of course the $500,000 corporate lease is a tax right off, so they get there money back.

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IMO, land prices are sky rocketing b/c more and more hunters want to practice QDM and sadly the masses do not want the same. Therefore, in order to ensure chances at nice bucks, you must lock up land and keep the average joe out of there.

I have no problems with that, it's exactly the way I like it.

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Keep in mind too, I am talking about Florida hunting whereby you get a chance to kill a "dog sized buck" topping the scales at 125 lbs and small 8 point racks. lol

The other interesting nuance is, of the 3000 acres, appx half is pasture since the primary use of florida land is cattle farming. In a sense, you are paying much more per huntable acre than $15 since this represents a blended rate to account for it being half pasture. My existing lease is 2/3 pasture, but at 5000 acres, there still nearly 2000 acres to hunt.

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It's outrageous... why just last year I had to buy a dozen arrows. And right now I mow a lawn to get rights to a 265 acre patch for Len, his kid, Will and myself to hunt on. They offered to pay me for mowing the lawn last year and again this year.... but I said I wouldn't do it if they tried to pay me. I mowed it today... 5 and a half hours wide open on a John Deere with a bushhog behind it. My brother got me rights on a 2,500 acre farm in NY. We have to come up with one turkey and deer meat on request to pay for that lease.;) Len an Will picked up 3 other little parcels that require a little deer meat. And then there's all the public land. I won't pay $1000 to hunt let alone several thousand. That's really rediculous. First thing you know on most of these places is someone will come along about the time you plant food plots, cull the herd and out bid you.[&:] I saw it in Georgia on a lease about 10 years ago. There was more land around.. but this club my buddy belonged to had set strict bag limits on a 1000 acre lease. They developed the herd for about 4 years and then some yahoos(group of deep pocket doctors) came up from Florida and joined a local doctor and doubled the price of the lease. When the boys ask the landlord to hold off so they could call a meeting he did. The doctors raised the anti again before they had their meeting. The boys left.

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I don't know where in Florida you are paying $10 acre but here in north west it runs about $3 to $5 an acre. My lease is 400 acres and cost me $550 a year.

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Agree 100%!

So I guess your saying...Hooray for you and screw the "average Joes"?

I hope your land stays in your family long enough for your grandkids and their kids to enjoy it! Especially if any of them turn out to be "average Joes".:(

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So what you are saying is screw the average guy and leave the hunting to the rich fat cats? Nice attitude that is. And one that I am sure will quaranty a bright future for our hunting heritage.

In my opinion the expense of leasing land and dwindling access to huntable land is the greatest threat to the future of hunting in America. Far more of a threat than the bunny loving anti's and the gun grabbers. The vast majority of old acquaintances I bump into that say they no longer hunt site either the cost of joining a club or simply the lack of somewhere to hunt as the primary reasons they gave it up.

I am fortunate to have family land to hunt but I know a lot of people who have to sweat being outbid for their lease every year. It sucks but I can't blame the land owners and I don't really know what can be done to help the average joe out.

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And there in lies my problem with most of the "QDM" folks. It's NOT about the health of the deer herd. I think it's an appendage thing-a-ma-gig. They therefore feel they're real manly if they can get the "BIGGEST" set of horns.. at least bigger than all their friends. They "want to "ensure chances at nice bucks" and to hell with the rest of the world. They spout all the QDM etc etc.... but then they do year round supplemental feeds etc etc. It's far from natural. They might as well lock them in the barnyard like we do cattle and see how many tons of hormones it takes to make a braggin size appendage. I venture to say that if you turned most of these "Shooting Tower" bound folks out in the middle of tha Adirondacks, away from their bait stations, they'd never find a deer. BUT HEY, here they are telling the world how they should hunt to become great white hunters like themselves. AND... if you don't do it this way and your venison doesn't cost $20,000 a year to produce a nice "RACK"... why you aren't a hunter or worthy of hunting at all. Give me a break. As far as keeping out the average JOE... the average Joe made hunting what it is. The average Joe is a usually a better hunter. The average Joe doesn't like to be spit on. When it comes time for the final vote you better hope you haven't ticked the average Joe off. Separate yourself from him and then see who's around when you need them. But hey, I know that doesn't bother you.... because you shot a big rack and are now the proud owner of a super-pseudo-appendage.

RE: What is this sport coming to?
 

Nicely put davidmil.

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If I had to spend 3 to 5 thousand bucks to hunt on someone elses land I'd be hopping a plane to Canada or Alaska and do some real hunting :) For that kind of money you could do an unguided caribou hunt to Alaska and be allowed to take two caribou...you'd probably have enough money left over for taxidermy work.

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Yes David, I like shooting big racks, who doesn't. And it just so happens I have enough money to buy land to "ensure a chance at a nice buck". Does that make me a bad guy? I don't think so, just the way of the world.

I'm sure up north the situation is different, but down here, land is still fairly easy to come by , you can join a lease for as little as a few hundred bucks a year. You probably won't kill a trophy, but you will see and harvest deer.

Personally, I like to trophy hunt, to do that your odds increase if you manage your own land. I'm doing and I have no regrets.

I do not feel sorry for the guy who doesn't own land, again, this is not a socialist society. There are other options, plenty of state lands and cheap leases.

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Stop patronizing the prices! iTS THAT SIMPLE. I luv venison, and I luv to hunt, But its not worth that kind of money to me.

Stop paying the prices and the prices will go DOWN. public land aint so bad:D

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Ricoace:
"Stop patronizing the prices! iTS THAT SIMPLE."
"Stop paying the prices and the prices will go DOWN."

The people who are paying the prices are not the ones who are complaining, they generally dont mind paying. The people who want the prices to go down are the guys who cant afford the current prices, so it does no good to tell guys to stop "patronizing the prices".

"Public land aint so bad"

I guess its not, as long as you dont mind all the frustrations that go along with it, and as long you dont mind the fact that you have to sit in a tree all season just to get the chance to see a few does and a 1 1/2 year old buck. If that stuff dosent bother you, then "public land aint so bad".

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Amen Dave, the average Joe ,which is me and most anyone else that I know,is taking it on the chin real bad these days.Doesn't matter which endeavor you talk about ,the few that have all the dough are really stomping on the little guy.People are buying our land up and locking us out more and more.They aren't good citizens or neighbors and they push their way around with their wallet.We got a person up here that just purchased something like 20-30,000 acres of wilderness shut it down for any activity be it hunting,fishing,snowsledding.There are a few remote camps and a lodge on the land and she is making it so difficult for them by raising their leases that they have but no choice to abandon with no option to sell or be reembersed for their investments.A real sad situation,and more of it coming.Ron

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RIGHT ON DAVIDMIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!