I want to lease a big enough place to manage but would have to fill some more spots to make my money back.

On about 1500 acres in South Texas I thought of puting 7 guns total @ $2,500 each. From what I've been seeing I shouldn't have a problem filling that up. That's less acres per gun than I'd like to see and I'd hate to charge any more.

I'm not going to try to make any money off the place. I'm just trying to figure out a maximum that I should pay for a lease of that size. I don't want to overpay and end up not being able to fill it.

What do y'all think about that price and 7 guns on 1500 acres?

No matter what, your hunters who pay probably won't be happy with that setup unless you tell them upfront about it and they approve it. What are you going to do to manage it? Just telling them what to shoot won't cut it. If you plant plots and fill feeders with your money then it might work. 7 guns on 1,500 acres in S. Texas is too much to manage it though unless only a couple big bucks are kills and rest does and mature culls. For $2,500 a gun they will expect to each kill a big deer. JMO here...

Why wouldn't they be happy? I'd be paying just as much as them. I realize that you can't manage a place that size as well as you might be able to manage a bigger place that is your own but might as well try huh?

Not gonna go into detail about the plan, It's pretty much what every good plan does. I don't plan to rip anyone off though, just wanted to make that clear.

I'm not an outfitter or anything like that. Just a good ole South Central Texas raised boy who's always loved raising good animals.

Cool. I understand what you mean now. When you said fill some more spots to make your money back I thought you meant recoup all of your money so you were out nothing (costs $10,000 so you charge $2,000 each for 5 guys and you have a free spot being the 6th - they don't know what you pay the rancher). That's what quite a few middlemen on leases do so they pay nothing and hunt the best spots. I was on one of them.

About the only way I see that working is if everyone is totally committed to the project and you all get along very well with each other. It would be difficult to crowd 7 strangers onto 1500 acres and not have some problems. You might have to work out some type of rotation so that only 3 or 4 people are hunting at the same time.

When you speak of "manage" you have to consider your neighbors too;they could be shooting everything on four legs.But having 7 strangers on the lease gives me the willies;been there.I had to give up two S.Texas leases near Hebbronville because a few of the members didn't kill a Muy Grande even though they only hunted about 4-6 days (missed their wives,TV,or whatever) and I just couldn't fill the slots.After those disappoints I switched to smaller acreage,fewer hunters and mainly hunters I'd known for years.And after 10 years on the same place (and same hunters) I think it was a good decision. Kix

where is this at?

The across the board recommendation for mature buck (5 1/2 year olds) kill in South Texas on low fence is no more than 1 buck per 500 acres.

Don't think I'm going to lease the place after all. The rancher wants way more money than I can afford and we can't reach an agreement.

I'll probably end up going with smaller acreage and friends I know as Kix suggested.

you never know, in the current economy the rancher may come back to you with a better price once he learns he can not get his asking price. most land owners want people they can trust and not a bunch of outlaws on their property.
just a thought.

If this is South Texas, 7 guns on 1500 acres is way too many. As stated above 1 per 500 acres is recommended.