montana hunt lease
 

i am lookinng to lease the hunting rights for 2009 in montana. i have family there and friends i hunt with but we really want one place that we can go and take our kids. if you know of or are a land owner looking to make some money for hunting rights please let me know

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Keep your leasing crap out east, we despise that junk out here. Typical out of stater.[:@][:@][:@]

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Muley699,
loved the response and yes its true that it is killing the sport, hobby, way of life or what ever it means to you. I am from theEast and I will be the first to admitthat it islike adisease. Especiallywhen you think about certain areas of the mid west that don't have the local income to counter offerthat some of these guys from out of state have. Not to mention when they come bangin on farmers doors withthousands of dollars in hand. Don't blame the farmers though they need to make the extra $$. I have some friends that goout of state and hunt a leased farm that a localfamily used to hunt and when they starthaving to buy new tires for their trucksthey are supprised. Would you be?

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Muley
I am not one of those guys with a lot of money and i have family in Hardin. all i want is a place for me and my family to hunt on and if i find some i would gladly invite that owner to come south and hunt with me for Boar,Deer and Black bear.
I have hunted in montana for 5 years and had friends come south for beach vacations and hunting . a true sportsman wouldnt mind.
i understand yourcomment with the out of towners that buy up everything and you loose hunting land but i also know that montana has some great hunting and super people and outdoorsmanship abounds
that being said i will be there bow season--------------

RE: montana hunt lease
 

"typical out of stater". I really hope you were kidding when you said that. I have hunted in eastern Mt for the last five or so years, and have noticed that almost all of the private land is already leased. It is, however not leased by out of staters, but local hunting outfitters. It is very easy to blame someone from far away forsomething you don't approve of, but if you honestly look at it, you will see that the problem comes right from your own neighborhood. I'm not trying to start something here, but lets be realistic.

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Your damn right they have, even to the point where we now have to limit antelope tags. Why do you assume that the outfitters are from Montana? Dude, many outfitters live out of state and have a outfit here, I know several. Leasing is a freaking scurge, and folks coming from out of state and leasing lands where locals have grown up hunting is disgusting. I have no problem slipping a land owner a 100 bucks after an antelope hunt, however, leasing is designed to keep others OUT. The writing is on the wall here, and many Montanans are getting sick of it. [:@]

RE: montana hunt lease
 

So will I gunny--------

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Gunny97,

My family owns several ranches in central and southcentral Montana that have great big game and bird hunting. That said, I'd rather slam my d!ck in the front door than help you lease a square inch of that land to use as your own private hunting reserve. Allowing people reasonable access to hunting areas is far too important to piss away for a few measly bucks. Montana, like most western states, has millions of acres of public land and MT also has the Block Management program which obtains public access to private lands. Believe it or not there are still plenty of landowners that will let you hunt if you just ask nicely. You might have to help fix some fence or feed a few cows for the privelege, but at least you've legitimately earned it instead of just slapped some cash down. I honestly see leasing as a larger threat to our hunting future than the lunatic anti-hunting crowd is. Everybody wants less competition in the field, but that has gotten so successful that we're just going to squeeze the next generation right out of the picture due to our own selfishness. Please don't be part of the problem. There's tons of places you can hunt in Montana without leasing any land.

AK Jeff

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Lighten up, guys...my lord...the dude is curious about a lease...he didn't ask for your personal feelings on the matter...give him a break.

Far too many people on this board that take an emotional, knee-jerk approach to things...it's sad, really

RE: montana hunt lease
 

All I got to say, I live in the eastern part ofMontana and every year it gets harder and harder to find land to hunt. Still lots of public and lots of Block Management areas but seems like every year 1 or 2 private ranches that would allow hunting but not in block managementI could access to hunt gets cut off by either leases or high rollers justwanting to own a ranch and have the theory, No Hunting.

I agree with AK Jeff, esp if a person is willing to help a rancher to some work on the ranch, your able to get permission on alot of land otherwise they would say no too. Even for out of staters, a weekend before or after your hunt offering to lend a hand goes a long ways when asking for permission.

RE: montana hunt lease
 

So we're not allowed to have an opinionabout an awful andfar too widespreadpractice Raghorn? Leasing hunting lands is a disease and I'm going to speak out against it plain and simple. There's plenty of other options that don't involve buying others out of their legitimate opportunity to hunt.

AK Jeff

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Look, Jeff, I understand leases are a hot-button issue. I live in the west and hunt in the west. I get it.

In fact, I've seen it first hand back home. My family and I have (had) hunted the same 900 acres back in Wisconsin since my dad was a boy. We lost that ability in 2003 when the landowner leased all 900 to some NR guys.

I hunt public land and prefer to do so. For those of you who wish to hunt private land (or at least have access to it), you might consider that the "disease"resides with the the landowners who agree to sell hunting rights, not with those who wish to buy them.

RE: montana hunt lease
 

I think some of the anti-leasers are part of the problem. So you used to be able to hunt on Joe's land when you were a kid, and now you think you own it! Joe may need to make a few $$ and let someone else hunt it. Don't be mad at Joe!! He does not own the property so you can have a place to hunt. Ever hear of property owner's rights? If I owned some land and someone who I let hunt for years for free was bitching because I leased my land, I would never let him back on my property. I would rather let the deer die of old age, then let him back on my land!!

If it was not for the out of state hunters who pay about 85% of the block management cost, you would have a lot less land to hunt.

Just my $0.02.

RE: montana hunt lease
 

I'm not crying because I lost some favorite hunting spot to leasing. On the contrary I have plenty of places that I have access to hunt in Montana, both public and private. I don't think non-residents are the problem either. If you noticed my location you'd see that I'm a non-resident of Montana, even though I was born and raised there.

The real problem I see with leasing is that it forces out the next generation of hunters and that's who we need to perpetuate our sport. Just look at the generational decline in hunters over the years and it is quite discouraging, and that's largely due to young people not being able to afford to hunt. If young hunters can't afford to hunt they're going to take to other past times and they won't necessarilly care about the future of hunting they way that myself and my predecessors did.

My family for instance owns some prime access to the lower Yellowstone River. They could lock it off for their own private hunting reserve or they could lease it out and make ita pay to play situation, but they don't. They allow anyone to huntthere provided they call ahead, close the gates, don't drive on the roads when they're muddy, and they pick up their empties. You wouldn't believe how greatful people are for that opportunity. My family isn't overly wealthy, we just understand that the opportunity for young people to hunt like we did does us all more good in the long run than any money generated from exlcusive access would. If you think differently more power to you...just don't ask me for any help.

AK Jeff

RE: montana hunt lease
 

Muley699: I would bet money you don't own any hunting land, work on a ranch or have any real idea what it takes to make one stay profitable today. I hear your point of view, but in many instances lease money is the ONLY thing standing between keeping it a hunting ranch and selling it to developers. THIS AIN'T YOUR GRANDAD'S WORLD. Making a ranch pay for itself today is a tough. So you can be like an ostrich and stick your head in the sand, or figure out ways to make the real world work for you.

I have a ranch that has been in my family for over 100 years in Texas. I could sell it tomorrow and make a fortune to a guy who would turn it into 25-50 acre "ranchetes". That is what would be criminal in my book. We do lease some spots on the ranch to help make it at least pay for itself. We also take relatives, personal friends, and swap friends (from Colorado, Montana, and Alaska). Every year we take at least 2-4 kids that have never killed a deer before.

You want to hunt some private land, YOU network, YOU develop relationships, YOU figure out what you have that a landowner might want to swap for. I don't even live there and I have hunted there twice (took two elk) on some private and public land through relationships I worked for over time.

And if you are really that anti-personal property rights, please send me the address of your house, so that I may set up a tent in your backyard the next time I visit your great state.

If there is anyone typical in this conversation, it is you.

RE: montana hunt lease
 

One of the beautiful things about America is having the Constitutional Right to own private property. As such, the landowner has the right to lease or not leasehunting rights to their landas they see fit. Ranchers and farmers may have "wealth" from the value of their land, but the one's I know do not make a whole lot of"income" doing what they love. If they need to lease land to make ends meet, make themortgagepayment, or send a kid to college,then they have every right to do so, and if they do, then good for them.

I can't tell you howmany times haveI talked tosomeone against leasing, or against the commercialization of hunting, while they are wearing a Mossy Oak shirt, some of Bill Jordan's Realtree camo, or have a truck full of "brand stickers" such as the Browning Buckmark, Matthew's Solocam, or a Cabelas or Bass Pro logo! When was the last time any of you anti-lease guys watched a TV hunting show? Jackie Bushman, Will Primos, Knight and Hale, Al Linder, The "Duck Commander" for goodness sakes? Those guys don't do that for free, and they are making A LOT more than the rancher leasing his land, all while you pay for those stickers to advertise for them to fatten their pockets -- and good for them -- they are living the American Dream too.

I hunt private land by helping the farmer every summer bail hay and doing some chores, and do not paythem adime. I guess that I quite simply made a friend, and show may appreciation by helping out and being part of the clan. But I am a Guest on THEIR LAND, and if they evermake the decision to lease the land instead, then that's their choice, and I must respect that.

I hope you find your lease, Gunny97, and have a good time hunting with your friends and family.