Anyone have any information about Benavides in Duval County? Looking at leasing 800 acres on the Kingsville Hwy.
Deer population, hunting pressure, quality of deer, etc...

These types of questions come up quite often here. It's very doubtful that anybody can give you an answer unless they are a neighbor with the place you are thinking about leasing. In general Duval county does have some very good deer if the place is managed along with the neighbors places or is under high fence. Deer density could be anywhere between one per five acres to one per hundred acres. More than likely the place being only 800 acres is shot out but there is always a chance however slim of finding a honey hole. Most small places in South Texas get new people every year. How many guns does the lessor want to put on the place? One is good but you could probably hunt two. If he wants four or five keep your money and run.

A good place to start is with a call to the game warden or biologist from that region. The person leasing the property should have contact information for his neighbors. Give them a call.

I agree with M16, if it's 800 acres in south texas your going to have few deer,to many rules or just cost to much. Take a trip down south and scout your land.

Thanks for the input. He said the lease could hold 6 to 8 hunters. The lease has a cabin, water, electricity, low fence. He is asking $16,000 but negotiable...one year lease with 4 year option without price increase. I guess the best thing is just to take the 4 hour drive and look at the lease.

no

Run Forrest Run. You are fixin to get screwed. Ask him for the phone number of the people who had it last year and give them a call before you go. But I'm willing to bet it has only been hunted by family or it hasn't been leased in several years. Yea right!

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He said the lease could hold 6 to 8 hunters.

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I don't know if you've ever hunted South Texas before but there is no way you will have enough deer on 800 acres for six to eight hunters. At a minimum you need 400 acres per gun. If you are going to manage for trophy bucks one gun per 750 acres is okay with one gun per 1000 acres being better. Now if only one or two people are actually going to shoot a buck you might get by on 800 acres. You need a minimum of 5000 acres low fence to try to manage anything down south.

didnt he have a 400 acre one too for 8500

I'm on 1300 acres with a total of 6 hunters, this will be my first year on the lease, but I hunted it last year as a guest and shot a nice 8 as well as saw a ton of deer. It is in Duval county and I was seeing 15-20 deer everytime in the stand. I would atleast go and take a look at it, and definitely ask for references from the last group that hunted it. The place I'm on all that was shot last year was my 8 and 2 spikes, so there's 6 hunters, but not everybody pulls the trigger.

here goes probly gonna get arse all ripped up for this... go ahead and take a look at it but i think the price is a little steep... as for shot out u will have to find that out too.... i hear alot about u need 400-750-1000 acres per gun to see good deer on a low fence to hunt...... i think its a crock.... our family owned just an hundred acres in duval county all low fenced and the surrounding ranches where low fenced and family owned..... we planted food plots and also ran a few head of cattle on it for tax right off and we saw deer everytime we went and shot the old deer ,and spikes and never had a problem with running out of deer.... every place is different but until u do the reasearch your self and find out everything u can about a place u will never know what oppurtunity u missed or might of had....

WOW. If you lease it for that much please don't tell any of the locals. My parents place is just a stone's throw north of where you are talking and they may kick me and my brother off if they can get that kind of money. Heck I'll just leave if they can get that.

Texasd - you keep quiet too

yeah, our place is about half that for more acreage, so definitely agree with the price not being in line with others in the area

ssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

We decided NO on this lease. Tried to contact the land owner to get more information and ask some question about previous years but never got a reply back. I take it he didn't want to answer our questions. We did end up getting a lease closer to home, only $750 a gun. The lease is in a 2 buck county with antler restriction just like our family ranch. It will definately be a change from our last lease in coke county but a nice place to hunt and enjoy the outdoors.