I have been on a good pineywoods deer lease near Huntsville for around 14 years. It has a decent population of deer and hogs. Like most pineywoods leases seeing animals is a hit or miss thing.

Recently we've been paying around $5 per acre. The land was just purchased by a timber company out of Florida. We were told this coming year we would be charged $6 per acre, the year after $8 per acre, and the year after $10 per acre. At this meeting most of us responded by saying heck for $8 to $10 per acre we can go out south or west and see plentiful deer regularly. Is this an accurate assumption?

I live 40 miles north of Houston so this lease is convenient for me. However, I just can't see paying $8 to hunt the pineywoods. Maybe I'm just out of touch with the market.

Comments appreciated.

Gonehuntin I paid $4.00 to the same timber company that sold out a couple years ago, now they want $6.00 and ect. like you said. The trouble is they are not going to lease half as much as the old owner did, this will drive up the cost for the rest of us. You need to answer your own question based on convenients, as far as going south or west, there is a lot more cost, then what meets the eye there as well, gas being 2.75 again and going up, corn prices going up, lease prices going up, has put some of us right out of the market. JMHO

I hunt in Nacogdoches and we are paying about $4 an acre and it is managed. This will all change next year as both Temple Inland and IP are selling the timberland. And like you I expect prices to go up. We have 13 paying members on the lease of somewhere around 2700- 2800 acres. I think they are trying to make money off people that live in Houston that would pay that to go hunting. I would ask them if they are planning on planting food plots, assign a biologist, and fill feeders at that price.

Team Hillbilly and Buck_N_Hook,
The new owners told us real quick that if we did not want to pay they felt there are plenty of hunters in The Woodlands and north Houston that would. That might be so but they will encounter extreme turnover as people won't see all the game that is seen west and south.
The new owners did promise to plant some food plots but we not too concrete on how they'd do it. Also, of the 11000 acres they purchased they are consolidating the leases from 6 or 7 down to 3 or 4. Each lease has its own rules so I don't know how this will pan out.
I've got a camp over on Sam Rayburn. I might ought to look in that area. Does anybody hunt over that way?

Yep I do some here, I live on Sam Rayburn full time. Nat Forest is okay some of the time, but your going to have hunts ruined by people walking in on you and feeders or not legal on public land.

Are good there leases out that way? And are hogs over there?

We've been paying close to $10/acre for an East Texas lease for several years now. I've always felt like that was a descent price. I may be wrong, but I doubt you'll find a South Texas lease for $10/acre. I would expect a minimum of $20-$25/acre.

I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but that's the way hunting in Texas goes. If your on productive lease, I would probably stay there until I had something better because I know how hard they are to come by.

i am paying $7 an acre in houston county

I would say that $8-$10 an acre is too high for pineywoods.You can find leases in central Tx with a way better population for $10 an acre.
Thats my .10.

This thread just made my day. I am paying $2.80/acre. I'm just hoping it doesn't get sold out from under us.

One thing to remember about some of the western leases is that some of the terrain may be great but some can be pretty much barren. You need to check it out in person. Otherwise you can be paying for a section of greasewood flats or just plain rocks. And some of that brush country is so thick it's pretty much impenetrable.

11 bucks and acre..leon county....It will keep rising buddy! We will pay, but we see alot of deer, hogs, ducks. Also great cabin and cleaning station. Also there is great fishing!