I have pissed off a few bowhunters so why not some land owners.LOL This is a forum to get opinions so here we go. I just want to know what hunters really think of the high prices landowners are wanting for a lease. Heres MY OPINION Back in the day landowners would let a hunter hunt his land usually for free..These days these guys are getting rich off of people hunting an animal that is 100% wild. Do ya think its right. You hunters see what Im saying. My Dad hunted 630 acres for 13 years for free and all the man told him was bring him some meat and stop by the house a visit and have some coffee ever once in a while and the land is yours to hunt and fish. Its nothing like that anymore. I understand its their land and if there is money to be made make it. But I wish it was like it use to be. There is such a big $$$$ on every deers head anymore. I just want to see what the real hunters think about this. Real hunters I mean hunters that have a true passion for the deer.. a love for it. Let me know guys.. and sorry to any land owners I piss off. Not the point of this post, just was thinking and wanted some opinions.

There's your answer...times change

I regret that times have changed. When I was younger, many folks would let you hunt for free. I currently have the blessing of hunting without paying a fee. It is all based upon my father's relationship with the landowner.

I am completely aware that I am in the last of a dying breed and that times are changing.

Lease fees = a landowner can charge anything he wants. It's his property and by law, he/she has a right to charge a fee that they deem appropriate. I understand what you are saying about wild game but what about mineral rights under ground, etc. If it is on their land, it becomes their property.

I fear with land prices and lease fees, that many hunters are being forced out. The last option is public land.

So what your say'en is that you gonna let us come over to your place and hunt for free this year ? Just mess'en with ya . There are some people that will let you hunt for free . It all depends on what you have done for them . We are lucky enough to know a few ol ranchers that we help out all year , go and shoot the bull with them , and just be there when they need help . We never even asked if we could hunt there place , They asked us because they knew we yote hunted alot . Last year a buddy of mine killed the bigges deer i have ever seen in my life . 12 point with the G-3 broke at about half way up . The ol man and his wife took pics of it with my friend and on x-mas they sent him a big pic in a frame with a note , Thanking us for all the work we have done , and to come and hunt anytime we wanted . Several people have stopped and asked him if he would lease it out to deer hunt . He just tells them he has the best deer hunters he could ever find allready on it . That is how you have to do it nowdays . Nothing is for free , and it an't so bad to just get out there and work a little to get rewarded . My little boy thats 5 even goes out there and "" helps"" but at least he dont just sit in fornt of a video game all day . That ol man and his wife get a kick out of him and love him to death , Just sitten there watchen him try to pick up a t-post or what not . Oh yeah we hunt in Falls co. not much deer but there are some big ones there when you find them .

Redmist220,

Buddy, you have hit the nail on the head. A lot of folks are still looking for folks to be friendly and help out when needed. Seriously, when you have something like hunts to give out, you look around and see who has been helping you all year long and you give those folks first chance. It's all about relationship.

Period.

Luv2Hunt, the problem is not the hunters not doing this, its the landowners that WON'T do this. Too many of them see dollar signs, and I can't really blame them. I'd charge to hunt my place too. Times are tough, and leasing can bring in some much needed cash.

Really? Supplemental income maybe. But getting rich ? That is not the norm. Seems to be some confusion here with the deer breeder/trophy industry, vs. the average leasing of a pasture.

What is the poverty level now like 30k-40k per year? How much do you think it cost to run a ranch? Fuel, tractors & equipment, fencing, feed, etc. an extra +/-$10K a year (depending on average size of lease) doesn't make a rancher rich, In fact it probably help cover the shortages in other areas of his operation.

But hey, Capitalism is what makes this country Great.

We own our own land. I WOULD take guests to hunt our place, but we have voted time and time again not to take guests. I go to the ranch a few times each spring, then a bunch of times starting Labor Day weekend. Sometimes we invite friends to go during the off season, sometimes we don't. It never fails that people always want to go hunt, ride the ATV's, play, etc, but these folks are never available when I tell them to bring their work clothes and prepare to get dirty. Sure, they always SAY they want to help, but are never available. I went out and filled the feeders, put up 2 feeders, and did some general chores last weekend. I invited 9 (NINE) different guys. I worked alone, so I will hunt alone.

Everyone always wants something for free, but they don't seem to appreciate the hard work and expense the landowner goes through to make the place nice and make sure there is game there.

Back in the day we didn't have to have a million dollar liability policy. Back in the day corn was priced the same as it is today. Back in the day a new tractor didn't cost 200,000.00. Back in the day people didn't sue you for every little thing. Back in the day people didn't throw trash everywhere they went. Back in the day agriculture paid more than just the taxes.

I take a huge risk just allowing you to step foot on my property. Sure it cost money, but that is the price of maintaining this sport and deer herds nation wide.

I have to agree with you on this one, the price of deer leases today is ridiculous. But its a free market and they are that high because some idiots are paying that price.

I offered to let a guy deer hunt 215 acres I own in Burnet county. Not a lot of deer but some and turkey. I just ask that he work on clearing the cedar. He declined.

Just goes to show you, most folks don't get the "you have to pay to play" idea

ok, and to respond to the question of landowners getting rich off this deal... Have you priced land lately? Have you seen property tax rates? Have you seen the price of regular 5 or 6 strand barbed-wire fencing lately? Insurance costs? That guy with 630 acres could reasonably accommodate 4 hunters. Depending on the location, he might have $1 mil or more tied up in land and fences. If he gets $1,500 per hunter, that's $6,000. For some land owners, they decide how much it would be worth to them to have to deal with it, and that's what they ask. If no one pays it, then the land doesn't get hunted. $6,000 isn't worth a whole lot of hassle to that guy.

For Once PhishTX and I agree.

The truth be told there is actually less land for lease now days so chaulk some of it up to supply and demand.. Many ranches are being broken into smaller ranches and being saved for family only.

Farming and Ranching have one of the lowest returns on investment of any business out there. Not to mention there is a large number of hunters that don't mind paying more for a lease to provide a better experience..(less hunters per acre, and better game).

As far as getting rich off hunting... There is not one landowner that is getting rich off wild game.

Here is an idea... Look at how much you pay for your lease and the amount of acreage and then looks at what you payments would be on a place the same size. Leasing is cheap.

On the flip we could get back to the old days when farmers and ranches would let you hunt for free becuase they wanted the deer GONE.... They same farmers and ranchers that would shot them on sight.

Times have definitely changed. We used to hunt GP land and only paid $20.00 for a permit. This was so the office could keep track of how many hunters were on the land during season. No permit, go to jail for trespassing. Now they are wanting $400.00 per gun.

I don't think the landowners are getting rich but some sure do take advantage of the prices they can charge. Which is fine they have every right to do so. I was on a place that charged us $800.00 per hunter for 280 acres. We had 5 hunters which was too many I know. We had lost our place in the late spring and desperation set in so we took it. This place had to be the worse piece of land in west Texas. It was in a bottom covered in vines, milkweed and any other jungle scrub weed you could imagine. We literally had to clear roads with a machete to get around to set blinds. In some cases it was so thick that a feeder was only 25 yards away from the blind. The place was bad, real bad.
I never saw a deer on the place, in fact I would have had a better chance to see Sasquatch than a deer. So yeah the land owner raped us bad. I ended up getting off the place after one year but as far as I know they are still there paying through the nose for nothing. They have been on it for four years now and nothing has been killed, the landowners billfold is fatter because of it.

I have to agree with many of the posters here in that so many want something for nothing. There is also the constant problem with a lack of respect for your property.

For my wife and I the biggest issue is liability and we refuse to leave ourselves open to being sued by some moron.....and there are lots of morons out there. I have seen way too much in the last 50 years to ever believe that common sense would come into play if an accident ever happened our property.

My feeling is if you live where there is no government land to hunt on, then you too can have guaranteed hunting.....just get off your arse like I did and so many others have and make a huge investment in land and infrastructure and equipment. Failing that, be prepared to pick up and move to another location where there is a lot of government land available to hunt on.

If you are not capable or willing to completely change your life style so that you can hunt, then be prepared to pay a lease fee that helps supplement the ever increasing costs of the rancher/farmer and helps them afford the liability insurance he/she should have before putting their families well being on the line by letting you on their property.

+1 Don't think they are getting rich. Maybe a couple out there, but not the majority I can assure you.

Beleave me we really just lucked into this deal , The ol man and his wife moved here from out of state .The ol man allways hunted when he was young . It all started out by him asking around about doing some plumbing work . It really wasen't nothing to hard to even charge . So we just did it and left , and got to the point that everytime he needed something he would call me or my buddy to help . Witch is not a big deal at all . He would allways offer to pay , Hell he even got made at us for not taking any money , but i was raised different than most were for my age . We just got to be really good friends with them and there family . Could he get around 1000 to 1500 bucks a gun for his place in a heart beat . He really has alot of deer on his place . But we dont kill anything too young , dont rut up his land , or trash it out. Does he have bills, well of corse he does , he does this out of the goodness of his heart and we do anything for them . Hell we have even took him to the hospital one day when his blood pressure got way high , well we made him go because it was worrying his wife . Good friends come along once in a lifetime ,and thats just what they are .

I absolutely believe that lease prices are outrageous, I also believe the price of gasoline is too. The reason they are so high? People will pay it. Hunting is going to become a rich man's sport, like it is all over Europe, which is sad. It is just the way of the world, if someone who has more money than you wants the same thing you do, he's going to outbid you for it. I do not blame landowners, they are just playing the game like everyone else.

The real culprit for the "lease system" and the corresponding prices is the state. As much as we love our state, it is not set up well for affordable hunting. If I go up to where my wife's family lives on the Iowa/Illinois border deer hunting is much cheaper. Are there people that pay for a lease? Yes, but there are much fewer people and they are much cheaper. Why? Abundant state owned land. That keeps prices of the leases in check, if they are too high people will just go to the public land down the road.

I wish a lot of thing were like it used to be but it's not. I am lucky because I own my little place and I have taken people to hunt for differant reasons. But so many want to take advantage. Last year my BL wanted to shoot a deer and asked my wife about it. So it was getting late in the year and I said yeah go shoot a doe because I won't be in town that weekend. Found out from the cedar choppers working there that he brought someone with him, they wounded a deer and it ran off, they told the workers not to come back until Monday, both of them shot a deer that evening, one was a 2 year old 5 point under 13 inches.
No more free passes if I am not there.

It has gotten to be a pay to play sort of thing (or a future of carrying the p-bucket..depending on route taken)... beats the heck out of spending money on bad habits.

Maybe someday UniCef or ACORN will get into the deer leasing business. Then we can pay for leases off of our own tax dollars.

That says it all!

People who think ranchers are getting rich need to get a grip!

That would lead to banishment in my book. You only kill what the landowner gives permission to kill. As far as I'm concerned, an unrecovered deer counts as a kill. If you were allowed one doe and you left one bleeding all over the countryside, you either find it or you go home with an empty cooler.

Lease prices are too high? Really? Landowners are getting rich? Really? Those that complain about lease prices being too high are those that have no idea of the operating cost associated with running a ranch. Property taxes, fencing, tractors, pickups, fuel, feed, seed, fetilizer, insurance and the list goes on and on. I will never lease my ranch to hunters. Is this selfish? Perhaps, but I have paid, literally, for the right to be selfish. I will not lease for the simple fact that I would be giving up a great deal of freedom on my property with very little financial gain and a great deal to lose due to liability issues. For those that complain about high lease prices - you have three choices. 1) Pay the so-called high lease price: 2) Buy your own ranch: 3) Hunt public land. If you choose option #2, you will soon change your perspective on what is considered a "high" lease price.