woody7

Easy solution. Move to Texas and get a lease for $1500.00 a year. Sorry, just kidding. Try the hunting shows and ask lots of questions of the guides. Some have a lot of property under lease and can't hunt it all. Maybe a season lease could be found this way. If all else fails you can get 3-5 day hunts in Texas for as little as $500. Figure on around $800-1200 for a shot at a decent buck. That plus an out of state tag and airfare and it's probably cheaper to lease property in your home state.

VAhuntr

You could try posting an ad in the classifieds of the local newspapers. Most hunt clubs and leases in my area would not be listed in the phone book so you need to make contacts. Have you tried contacting real estate agents or timber companies? In my area a lot of hunting leases are leased from a real estate agent who owns property or logging company's. These people may not have land available for you to lease but they may could give you the names of some contacts.

ButchA

Hmmmm.... now I feel completely stupid.... [:-] I have never contacted real estate companies or timber companies! That's gotta be the ticket right there. They all know people who know people who have land, etc...etc... Why didn't I think of that before?

Thanks! [8D]

Butch A.

Trustee

Continue hunting on public land. Don't give a nickle to these guides ect. That's ruining hunting. They buy up all the land and make it their business.

Trustee

I rescind my last comments. I was mad!

VAhuntr

I feel like you will atleast get some contacts by talking to real estate agents and/or timber companies. Two other methods I have used that I just thought about.

1. Ride around and get the contact information off "No Trespassing" signs. Many times people put their name and phone number on the sign.

2. Have you tried using the Geographic Information Access System? Go to the official website of the particular county you want to hunt in and look for "GIS". I am not sure if every county in VA uses this system but the county I live in and an adjoining county use it. It is basically an interactive map of the county that allows you to pan, zoom and search all over the map. Once you zoom in so far, the map turns in to an aerial photo. I have found this system very useful in finding property lines and contact information.


Just a couple more ideas for you to think about. Unfortunately, hunting private land for free gets tougher every day. I would hate to see you go to an outfitter when you can probably find a lease within a couple of hours drive of where you live. Don't forget about George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, together they have over 1.5 million acres of land.