My grandfather is leasing one of his places in Haskell county and I think he's being taken advantage of. It's 250 acres and has very, very, nice deer. Besides the fact that he's leasing it way too cheap, I found out that the guys are bringing a bunch of other people out there to hunt. As yall can probably understand it upsets me that hunters take advantage of landowners this way, thats not what our sport is about. Anyways I am going to try to get him to raise the lease or lease it out to new hunters and was wondering what yall think it's worth. Thanks in advance.

Not quit sure what cost advantages you are talking about, but leasing ranges from $1000 to $1,500 a gun or $6 to $10 a acre. Depends on any accommodation as well. But some hunters will pay ungodly amount to hunt. Should be a max of about 3 hunters as well.

Welcome to the THF. Lots of really good folks on here with lots of great advice, hope you stick around and jopin us at the campfire every chance you get.

As to your question, beside there being 250 acres and some good deer, what else can you tell us about the place.

What is the make up of the 250 acres?

All pasture, is it all mesquites, does it border any agricultural fields, wheat/oats?

What type of a water source does it have, tanks, live creek, river frontage.

What type of places surround the 250 and what kind of hunting takes place on those?

Do the neighbors have a management plan in place?

How far out side of Haskell is the place?

Is there electricity on the place for a camp?

How many folks are in the group leasing the place at this time?

What restrictions if any did your Grand Dad place on the lease?

Is there a lease agreement in force on the place?

How long have the present leasees been on the property?

Sorry for all the questions, but leasing property for hunting is fastly becoming a deal where if you do not have a lawyer at least look over the contract before all parties sign it, someone or everyone concerned can end up in a world of hurt. AJMO.

OK, I'll try to answer as many of those questions as I know the answer to.

210 acres of pasture, feilds planted in oats

seasonal creek, 4 tanks

large managed hunting ranch to the south and east, no hunting on north or west.

20 miles from Haskell

camp w/ electricity

3 people leasing, husband/wife and there brother been leasing for about 3-4 years

only restrictions were that if any other people were going to hunt my grandfather was to be notified so they could be approved.

no current management plan, but thats somthing I would like to put in to action

Don't have any idea what you are getting now, and depending on just how many and the quality of the deer, I am gonna say for 3 people $1200.00 to 1500.00 per hunter, 3 hunter max.

Now that is just my opinion. I could be too high or too low, depending on what all the lease agreement would entail.

Also will this be a year round lease, fishing, camping, bird hunting/including turkey if there are any, feral hog if there are any.

I am sure someone will come along here that will have a better idea, maybe Txcornhusker as he has a place in Haskell county.

Just keep monitoring your post as some people will have some idea different to or better than mine.

Good Luck.

I agree with crazyhorse consulting at a price of 1200 to 1500/gun but as I am someone looking for a lease I have seen some in that area at $1800/gun as well with that being said if he decides to lease to someone new shoot me a pm. I am looking to lease something for me to take my two sons hunting and willing to pay more than one spot.

dhalcom, if somthing should happen I'll pm you first. I'm sure I'll also list it on here. I am going to try to talk him into letting me run his leases, if so there will be a management plan put in place.

Hunters taking advantage of landowners???? From where I sit..they're the ones screwing hunters to high heaven! Kick the lousy bums off and sell it to the highest bidder...it's the Texas way. And then come on here and complain about high lease prices..Jeeeez.

well I'm on the other side of the fence from you... I'm leasing from a family that can't decide what they want to do. Elderly parents no longer make the decisions and the next generation thinks they can make a better deal. I'm guessing that the group prior to ours (10+ years on the lease dealing with the old man) had a better relationship with the owner and both parties were happy with the deal. Don't assume your grandfather doesn't know what he is doing. Perhaps your heart is in the right place, but are you out for the best deal for your grandfather or yourself? You told us all the details except what the current lease rate is, but sounds like your grandfather is in control (assuming they notify him and he approves the guests). 250 acres is pretty small to be thinking of a management plan.

And that's what I was getting at. My Grandad rented a farmhouse to a couple for 35 years..and the highest rent was $40 a month. They worshipped the ground he walked on..and that was fine with him. As long as I know which end is up...my grandkids better hang back. There's things more important than "getting a better return".

First off I wasn't referring to the price when I said ha was being taken advantage of. Its not like someone who is wanting to lease a place is going to hear the price then say wait a minute I dont think your asking for enough of my money, let me throw some more at you. I was referring to them bringing guests without running it buy my grandfather first. Second off the only benefit I would see from my grandfather getting more money from the lease is that I would know a 65 year old farmer who keeps seeing the price of diesel, seed, chemicals and equipment go up would have a little more money to help make ends meet. And why is 250 acres too small to think of a management plan?

Let them bring all the guests they want but make them hunt off the paid leasors tags (use their own of course.) If you want three paid hunters, then that is 3 bucks and 6 does total if you think the place can sustain each year. Limit turkey to how many you think they can take and sustain it each year.

$2,500 gross is what he should expect. That price is to be divided up among the hunters who are given access. Gun hunting, in my opinion, should be limited to 2, maybe 3, hunters, sharing the cost. If it is a bow only place (a great way to go) you can put more hunters on the property who will share the cost.

ok, you say he is being taken advantage of because they are bringing out too many guests. If they are not following the lease by notifying your grandfather as required, then that is a separate issue from how much the lease is worth. If you have proof of this, I'd deal with this issue first. When you bring up the value of the lease, that clouds the issue. If they are not following the terms of the lease with your grandfather, it would not matter what amount they are paying, they are not sticking to the agreement. Even if they paid more, that would not fix that problem. By talking about the money at the same time, others (like me, and maybe your grandfather) will assume you are after your share instead of trying to resolve the problem.

As far as the managment plan, it cannot hurt to try and set one up, but on 210 acres, your neighbors are the key.

Sorry for being unclear. I was killing two birds with one post, 1. the issue of the hunters bringing guests, and 2. trying to get opinions on what a lease like that is worth. You are right raising the lease doesn't change the fact that a lease agreement was broken. And once again I see none of the money from this lease, just trying to do whats best for my grandfather, and no I'm not trying to gouge other hunters with high lease prices I want it to be fair across the board. As far as the management plan, as stated before to the south and west we are bordered by a large managed game ranch. To the north and east there is no hunting pressure.

Congratulations on looking out for your Grandfather. Like most things, it all depends. Personally, I would immediately apply the brakes on them bringing friends and get in control of the situation. I would want to know exactly who was carrying a gun on my land and what kind of people they were. There is no way to manage a business situation without controlling it.

As far as the price, there may be other intangibles. Do they show up when he needs help with fencing or other chores? Are they old friends? You also haven't said just what $ amount he is now getting. If they and all of their friends are meat hunters, Grandpa won't have deer on his land for long.

Ok, heres what I found out from my grand father. There are two couples(brothers and there wives), they are paying $1000 per couple. One of the brothers is great, goes by the book and doesn't give my grandfather any trouble, even takes him out to eat when he's in town. The other brother is a complete a** always complaining about somthing, bringing out other hunters and telling my grandfather what he needs to do with the place. My grandfather doesn't want to kick him off though because he doesn't want to upset the other brother.

I think I would still have a talk about bringing anyone else along and stop it. Four people are plenty. That guy is making a decision as to how the land is managed and who should be tossing around bullets.

As far as the rude one goes, I guess I would either ignore the suggestions or tell him that the place suits me as it is. I expect the good brother knows about the other ones character problems.

I agree with Dave and I can see not wanting to make the one brother mad but what happens when the place gets shot up and all the deer stop showing up from all the friends that are brought out there? I'm sure they are not going to continue to lease it when that happens.

keep it affordable, and you will have a better chance of a long term relationship with your hunters, and they are your best and most direct tool when it comes to management. most hunters understand that the landowner needs to have the occasional increase to off-set inflation. i have seen landowners get greedy (not saying that's you) and try and push their prices up to see how much they can get, and all that happens is you have hunters that will pay big bucks (no pun intended) and then if they have an off year, they will go to the next place, and in a worst case scenario, they will shoot, just to fill their tags and get their money's worth. it's tough to find a balance, but sometimes, the extra $500 or $1000 per gun/year isnt worth the headache..........we hunt 300+/- acres and have 2 guns total, but we will allow some folks to assist in the harvesting/management of game....but like it was said, the biggest part of managing a place that size, is trying to coordinate your efforts with the efforts of the adjoining property(s).....i watched a young and distinct 8 point last sept, oct, and november last year, and then saw his pic (dead)posted on a website from one of our neighbors....go cowboys!!

sounds if one brother needs a little attitude adjustment... ive been on both ends as a leasee and leasor..... when we leased we like to help out on the ranch as much as possible cause we enjoyed it and we were brought up that way i guess.....we shot many of deer just for meat cause that is part of our diet but we tryed to do it right, shoot spikes, old does, lame a## just plain worthless bucks and as many hogs as we could(the rancher hated them and they do make good sausage)....the only reason we got off our best lease is cause the friend we leased with got to old to hunt so he turned his part over to his son.... his son was like the brother u described... brought friends, left beer cans everywhere, didnt help, never brought corn, did no repairs on stands and just plain shot everything and didnt give a sh@t about no one... so before it became a problem between his dad which is a dear friend and also the rancher who had become a good friend we bowed out of the lease.... dam good lease with a dam good price in some of the best south texas hunting land ever......now we leased our ranch in duval county for hunting for many of years and had some good success until one year.. we had a couple of guys that just didnt care about nothing..to make this story shorter lets just say my dad gave both of them a dam good whooping one night along with there refund pro rated of course..he was always an honest man.... the best thing to do is u, your grandpa, and the hunters go out for dinner and sit down and discuss this and let both brothers know exactly where u stand and im sure the one brother that is responible will straiten out the oher if there is a chance that they might loose there lease..... oh if they do leave pm me i might want to get in on another lease again...

sorry for the long read

tweeder I am looking for a place to take my family for hunts if it comes open let me know about the price