No grasshoppa, I told you to save your money! Mouch off of friends and family and hunt public until you save enough to buy

T Rex's don't mooch.... that take what they can with their short lil stubby arms

I have no friends and I would get lost in the high grass on public

Will, I guess leasing it will be

For what I get for my money, not a bad decision. One day I will have my own land, until then, I will borrow others

Before the backstabbing days of today, in the good old days leasing was the way to hunt. Landowners were like family, they even hunted with us and we wanted them to. They took care of us and we took care of them. That started changing in the 70's with people coming in and offering more money of the leases, then lease managers emerged and some were not quite "honorable", things went downhill in a hurry.

Been on the same place for 20 years and the ranch foreman was my college roommate. Been on plenty of hunts with him and hope to have more. Money is the way of the world, it is greed that gets in the way

Pfffffttttt.....You could get lost in the grass on a freshly mowed putting green on a golf course....

One wrong turn and I would be stuck in the hole like baby Jessica

I won't lie, I am very fortunate. I still have access to over 7 sections of great river bottom land in SE Kansas to hunt anytime I want. I did work my buns off for those farmers back in the 80's when farming was a tough living. Most of them remember and continue to give me exclusive hunting rights for free. It seems you get in life what you put into it more times than not.

That's so true. The old men who owned our leases were like our family. When they died, the land was quickly divided and sold. One was one of the most beautiful tracts in east TX-1000 acres of native hardwood bottom and upland pine. Literally looked like the Garden of Eden. Old man died, stepson sold it to an Arkansas furniture company for the hardwood and-poof-land that had not changed since the last Ice Age was ruined.

We went through that cycle years ago before I moved back to the ranch. My mother and brother had been dealing with a lease manager who was robbing both them and the hunters. The biggest loser though was the wildlife. It was being decimated. Eventually, I sent everyone packing and started over. It has been a steep learning process and most of the hunting income has been re-invested back into the hunting enterprise. Now some on this thread would crucify me as being a greedy ^^^^^ for charging more in 2013 then we were charging in 1990 or 2001. My position is that I am providing a heck of a better hunt in 2013 then we did ten or twenty years ago.

Now if you want a cheap lease, you need just to look around. I have a neighbor that gets $3/acre for his half-section. Last I heard, there were “only” five hunters on the place but they might take another hunter or two. It was shot out years ago but occasionally a deer from my place wanders over for a little snack of corn. To me, that is an “out of control” situation but hunters seem to think different then landowners.

There are some good ones out there yet!

The people who own the last property we leased came to my wdding 3 years after we quit leasing from them and my dads 50th and uncles 60th b-day. They were and are great people. I however do not believe I have a snowballs chance in hell of finding more like the.

Not to even mention that a dollar today isn't worth anything close to a dollar 20 years ago as far as buying power.

Inflation alone should have doubled lease prices over the past 20 years.

I think the greed in the hunters have more to do with it the changes than the landowners. They keep wanting more and more, better facilities, bigger deer, more antler score, more deer, more this more that and are pushy about getting it. They will spend themselves into the poor house looking for a "trophy" that will hang on the wall.

I agree with that 100%. We respected our places, were perfectly happy with the deer that were available, and didn't wear out our welcome.

We all wanted a big buck of course but it was not the "be-all-end-all" it seems it is today.

I'm lucky that my dad purchased some land when me and my brother were young. He took us and showed us what he knew about hunting, shooting, and just being in the woods in general. Today me and my brother are lucky enough to take our kids and pass on knowledge that we were given. It warms my heart when my dad shows my son the same things he taught me back in the day.

I understand the business side of deer leases, but the youth is the future of our sport and if their fathers and mothers cannot afford to pass their knowledge on it will slowly slip away. Sadly I have a few friends that have just given up the last few years, not because they cant afford a place, mostly because it has become such a pain in the arse.