I manage a deer lease in San Augustine county 1800 acres 15 people at $775.00 a spot.Here's my problem, can't get anybody to do any thing,I do not want to start a fine for not showing up,I keep telling every one your lease will give back what you put in it.I think the problem is most hunters don't realize the work it takes to make a good lease.I think the reason I'm writing this, is for all the hunters that show up on opening weekend then start complaining about not seeing anything, they can blame them self and not the least.I could go on and on ,but why,if the shoe fits wear it

15 people on 1800 acres could be another issue. Good gosh, but y'all like to pack 'em on thick over there in the piney woods.

I'd cut the number of hunters in half and double the price. See who's committed and who ain't. Your smaller, core group would probably be inclined to accomplish something.

Besides you cannot convince me that the 1800 acres holds enough deer for everyone to take a trophy and few does. But that just my opinion.

X2 what LP said.

Cut group in half double price and tell them why.

Holly cow that's alot of hunters, get rid of some slackers and pay a little more.

HERE IN EAST TEXAS 15 HUNTERS ON 1800 ACRES IS BY FAR ALOT LOWER THAN MOST,BUT REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT DROPING THE NUMBERS.

And ya'll blame AR's???

Have y'all done any surveys? Do you know what size herd y'all have or what the land will support?

If you truly want to manage the place then start there. Then figure out how many hunters the place can reasonably support.

I have very little experience hunting E. Tx. The two places that I did hunt didn't have very many deer. I cannot imagine a place that size being able to support that many hunters.

Deer populations are much higher in the Hill Country and South Texas. You would be hard pressed to find a place with a legitimate management plan in place running those kind of hunter numbers. That's just insane.

On my last S. Texas lease we had one hunter per section (640 acres) and we had gobs of deer.

Maybe, but 15 hunter/ 15 feeders/ 1800ac=not good odds in my book

I knew it would turn in to this,if ya'll would go to leasehunter.com ya'll would see that 15 people on 1800 acres at $775.00 is alot better than anything on there, I make, not one red cent off the place, this is not a shootem up lease, and for AR's go, every lease I've ever manage I've had a 15" 3 1/2 year old minmum.I've been doing this sence the seventies,and yes all hunters know this before they get on and when they shoot their deer more times than not it's the deer of their life time.Once again this is east texas not west texas,south texas,central texas,or north texas. I just thought maybe some of the other hunters in east texas could relate.

Not trying to get cross ways with you. Sorry but some of us cannot relate. I'm not saying that you're doing it wrong. I'm simply giving my personal opinion. The way y'all do it just seems very foreign to me and probably a lot of others.

Also, my grandfather always forbade us from shooting does. Said there wouldn't be any deer if we did. At one time I'm sure that was true. We see now that shooting does is a good thing. Times change.

15 hunters on 1800 acres in ETX is much better than you'll find in most places. This isn't WTX or STX where you can see forever. Keep in mind that unless you are hunting a pasture or powerline you may only be able to see 100 yards at the most (and probably not that far). Look online and you will find that most MLD (low fenced) places in the ETX area average around 100-115 acres per hunting spot. By my math you are averaging 120 acres per hunter.

I don't want to make this an ETX vs. WTX topic but if you weren't seeing deer in east texas its probably because you were staring at a feeder all day, that was put up on labor day, while sitting in a stand that stuck out like a sore thumb. These aren't goats we hunt, they're wild deer. Hunting trails and thickets will gain you more success than 55 gallon drums.

Back to the topic... I think the number of hunters and acreage you have is fine for ETX. Sounds like the quality of hunters you have is the problem. Try to run off the lazy ones and replace them with more committed hunters. Make mandatory work days into the by-laws of the lease agreement.

I've hunted in E. Texas all my life. I think lots of guys would be willing to pay double. Sounds like good advice.

What a lot of hunters from mid to south to west Texas don't understand is that there is more natural groceries in 10 acres of good East Texas land (and far north texas/oklahama) than there is in 640 acres of desert. Now, that doesn't mean there is 100 deer per acre either. When ever you get the herd over poplulated like on many high fences and mid/south texas leases, you start getting disease and such. I am not trying to open a can of worms, just trying to help you relate.

And, big bucks come to natural groceries more often than feeders.

LandPirate here's the deal,I've hunted all over TEXAS,I've hunted on leases in west Texas,south Texas,and the hill country and it is differnt here in east Texas.But what I have a problem with is that people that never been hunting in east Texas wants to pass jugement, I'm not saying that's what you're doing, and don't think it is.The only reason I got the forum this morning was to vent and let the other hunters know their not the only ones, that goes through this every year.

On the leases in East Texas you also get those who show up on opening morning and never see them again. Not necessarily a bad thing, betters the odds for you and those who take it seriously. I personally wouldn't mind having a few of those so called hunters on my lease. You get their money and don't have to worry about them 'til next years payment.

Some pass judgement that do have experience...

I will stay off the subject of food sources, deer densities, pressure and everything else that has to do with that many hunters on that amount of land, no matter what part of the state you are in...

Back to topic: It really does suck when you have a group of guys that will not contribute. IMO, anytime you get 15 people together, someone is always going to do more than others and it seems there are a few that will do nothing.

Out with the bad, in with the good. As you said, that is a good deal compared to alot of other East Texas leases and hunters shouldn't be hard to find.

Not sure I like the idea of a fine though. What would you do with the money? Does it get split between all the people that help? Does it go to buy camp supplies? Heck, there are some folks that just assume pay a little cash so they don't have to work...

Yep. Had this situation for 30 years on an east TX lease. 1000 acres,10 members and about 3 actual hunters. The rest worked hard but were mostly there for the fellowship. It was wonderful.

Understand the venting. If you could find ya a good core group of hunters for 1K per hunter and drop the trash you should be able to get more done. But as others have stated. Write in mandatory work days into the lease contract. JMO and I understand your frustration. The last thing anyone wants is someone who mooches off of others work.

Ya'll all make a good piont, I do not like the ideal of a fine,what am I going to with the money that's fair,and yes I have found that it's always better to be the hardest hunter on any lease.But here's the deal any improvememt a hunter does to his hunting spot helps the whole lease.All I'm asking is put up a gap and a posted sign going in to hunting area, dig a hole and put some minerals in it. Once again I posting this because it might wake somebody up.And one more thing,people need to realize how hard it is to fine a good place to hunt and how many people are looking.

Look me up when this season is over. I'm looking for a lease here in East Texas and I am familiar with the concept that you have to make your place more appealing than those around you in order to pull deer in and hold them. I enjoy working on a place in the off season dreaming about what might be walking out in front of me in November!

My two cents on how to solve your problem: I like the idea of dropping the deadbeats and raising the lease rates. I'd easily pay twice the fee. Another option could be to pay someone to fill the feeders, maintain the trails, cabin, etc. then split the bill among everyone equally. Another thought is to make everyone buy their own equipment, stands, etc. If they want it maintained, they'll do it themselves. If not, no loss to anyone else.

I know how you feel about improving the place. Most of the guys made a good suggestion about dropping the number of hunters and raising the price. If you cant afford to do that then you may have to make it part of the lease agreement or find new members that want to help.

For the record, I wasn't formulating judgment. Just trying to wrap my head around the concept. Like I said, that many hunters on that amount of land is foreign to me.

Back on topic:

Set X number of mandatory work days. Put it in the contract that you have the option of coming to the workday or paying X amount of money to cover the costs for materials, feed, protein, minerals, etc. Then they know up front to show up or write a check.

Also, having put on numerous charity fund raisers over the years I've learned that 90% of the work will be done by 10% of the people in any organization.