Question: Expensive Leases

I just want to know what all you guys do for a living that are paying $1500 plus for leases. I want to get into your career field so I can play with the big boys. My leasing days will be over before I know it. I thought the economy was doing bad, so why have the lease prices gone up even more? Sorry if I offended any lease brokers or landowners.

Jskin you didn't offend me, but here are my .02:
Price of land and places getting chopped up are two things that keeps making leases more expensive. I know the place we bought 5 years ago was around 500.00 dollars per acre now it is around 1000.00 dollars per acre. More places are being bought now are for recreation so that takes more leases off the table. If you notice in the other sections you hear all the time landowner sold the place so we lost our lease. Another thing is some of the hunters bring it on them selves. Notice I did say some, not all. Landowners get tired of messing with leasers and if they are going to lease, they are going to make it worth their while. Plus some landowners are management minded and don't want four or five people on 200 acres with all shooting up their tags or just having that many people having access to their property. Here is an example. We had a place we put up for lease just last year. It was a 1000 acres for four families 2500.00 each and each family could shoot off one tag. First off we asked for insurance policy and it took 5 months to get it done, next was the electricity was to be put in their name that took 5-6 months as well. They started leasing and sure enough the whole place caught on fire. We did give 5000.00 back last year to help them out. Now this year they wanted the same deal give some an inch they take a mile well we told them to hit the road and they will be refunded their money. There complaints were that the deer have all moved, but what they don't understand is this fire happened over a year ago and nothing is better deer food than a freshly burnt pasture with all of the rains and snow we have had this year. So mark it up here is another 1000 acres off the table, just not worth messing with the leasers to find the right one unless you just absolutely have to. As far as what I do for a living, I am a meat salesman. When I used to lease four years ago I would pay 2000.00 per year with 10 other guys on 6000 acres. It was worth the extra money for me for a bigger place and less people and knowing the place couldn't get shot up and you could pass up a big buck that was immature. Hope this helps and is stated above just my opinion.

Since I do a little of both I will give my answer and I am not offended.

1. I am a retired accountant and between my retirement and my wifes retirement and investments I make 100K + - per year. Everything I own is paid for and I am more than 60 years old and I have hunted on lease land since I was 6 years old.

2. In 1956 my dad made about 3000 dollars per year and paid about 100 per year for a lease in llano county.

3. The numbers of people hunting has grown like the population.
4. Expendable income has grown likewise. So a 2k hunting lease is less in their budget then a 100 dollar lease was in my dads budget.
5. Huntable land has decreased.
6. Anybody brokering lease must make at least 20% to break even.
7. So much of the land is owned by absentee land owners who do not want hunting, or reserve the hunting for the family, or want top dollar to lease.
8. Texas does not have hardly any state owned land.
9. Fear of lawsuit makes some very hesitant to lease.
Example You hunter starts a fire that does 200k in damage to neighbor property. You could be liable.
10. Most land keeps getting divided by the family or sold off to people who buy it for recreational use only and therefore it is taken out of the lease pool.

The absolute bottom line is hunting has become a business and it is strictly a matter of supply and demand. Look and number of high dollar gun store is the cities.

One of the big reasons the prices continue to go up because OUT OF STATE hunters with lots of cash continue to snatch up land. The last 25 years of hunting shows detailing the great hunting in Texas has not helped. 7 years ago I could get on a 5000 acre lease for 1000 dollars today that SAME lease is 3500 dollars a gun!!! Because Texas is almost 96% privately owned land the people that own the property know they have us by the BALLS!!! I used to love hunting here in Texas NOW I can't wait to get back to New York State where I can just walk out my back door hike up the hill behind the house and deer hunt for FREE!!!!

better get to walking.......


landowners have to make money too, its not all about how they can help the hunter.

I'm sorry, I cannot feel bad for someone who lives in a 250k house, drives a 50k truck with 15k worth of accesories on it complain about having to pay $1500-$2000 a year to lease.

If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to pay for it

Work in IT then.

Just blame the lease prices on the internet...

Isn't more land now deer hunted than it was 20-30 years ago though? There are plenty of deer in places that hardly had a deer for miles. Sure land gets bought and chopped but how much to make that big of difference overall? All the places I have hunted have been in the families for a very long time. Several have gotten bigger as they have added to their acreage.

Well I do well enough to be able to afford it per say but I just can't justify it.
You start with $1500 but thats not the end. If you are not careful you can spend that in corn, gas, and other expenses throughout the year.
IMO, it is greed driven. I think it all stems back to whoever has the most money. It becomes an auction, the lease goes to the highest bidder, forget the guy who has been leasing for the last 10 years with no problems whatsoever.
I mean are there that many landwoners out there that are truly dependent on the lease money to stay afloat. Most landowners I know that have enough land to lease are doing well enough. So I have a hard time believing some of the sob stories. They will sacrifice a good group of honest men to a group of city hunters that will pay more but will turnover year after year.
Now what.....

You can't stereotype. Most city hunters I know grew up in the sticks and left to make a living. If you hunt out west, the only hunters are from the city for the most part. All the towns are dying and there is plently of land to lease and not many hunters living there. Most of the locals work on ranches and could not give a crap about shooting a deer or turkey they see everyday. I don't hunt east Texas but it is different. But on my buddies place out west he manages, he has a had a group from East Texas lease from him though in the past two years. They rather drive 7 hours than hunt in their backyard I guess.

Sorry, by city folk I mean people that have more money than sense. You know what I mean.

Yeah, my neighbor. He is an attorney and only allowed as a guest with me to shoot does. His porsche would have a tough time anyway.

I am a career student and lucky.

I believe you mean people who spend their disposable income on things that you do not want to or do not have the disposable income to spend.

In my opinion the person who has more money then since is the guy that buys a new deer rife rather then pay for health insurance for his family.

Also the last time I checked my insurance did not stay the same or go down because I was a nice guy, the same way when I bought a car, filled up with gas, went out to eat, bought a suit. It is called free enterprise and supply and demand. The more bucks chasing an item cause the price to go up.

Well, if you are talking about the greed from the landowners perspective, the example I gave you on the 1000 acre place cost 1,000,000.00 to buy and was leased for 10,000.00. At making a mere 1% of you initial investment, it will not even pay the interest on the bank note. So the greed definitely doesn't lie with the landowner. For us it is better to not weed out the bad apples to find a good one.

again, it is not written anywhere that the landowner HAS to lease at all. be thankful that he is opening up his property to hunters in the first place.

80% of the landowners I know, don't lease there property what so ever.

as for the the greed part, gas prices go up, food prices go up, wages increase, but the lease has to stay the same???? how is tht fair?

there are exceptions to every rule, some landowners do chicken**** things to good leasers, but just as often hunters take full advantage of teh landowner "because they are paying for it". if they are going to get the short end of the stick, might as well make more money on it. not saying this is each and every group, but it is quite a few.

that is about all your going to make on a average place....

if i were gonna lease my land for hunting...the only way I'd do it is thru and outfitter that I know and trust...that way he can keep and eye on them

Its not about what one does for a living or what he drives or how much his house is..To me if u love the sport of hunting and the outdoors a man will do anything and a way to pay for lease dues... Especially if they have children we all Texans know we have to pay to play the game I wouldn"t hunt any where else but Tx..

I don't know of too many people who has seen their wages increase as of late. There are lots of people out of work and those who usually get raises have not been getting them. Y'all are all making good points and I appreciate the feedback. It just worries me because it seems the lease prices are rising at a much higher pace than the growth of the economy. The 1500 leases this year will be 2000 next year and so on. Bottom line is the tradition of hunting is soon to suffer for lots of hunters.

jskin, I agree with everything you say, but until it gets to where the lease brokers or land owners are left holding the bag the price will continue on an upwards trend. I know that 2 years ago I took a substantial hickey on a lease. I also know of a top end lease that is looking for hunters and the lease manager might have to give up the lease and then who knows what the land owner will do.

ARE YOU SERIOUS? I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, drive a 9000 dollar 2 wheel drive suburban and make 40k a year it is the person "YOU" described that is the problem!!! not us common folk that can no longer afford to pay these outrageous prices set by the GREEDY land owners......

If you look hard enough you will find one in your budget range. This forum should not be your only resourse. I used to play golf around once a week. At 50 bucks a round, 200 bucks a month, 2500 bucks a year average. I still suck at golf and haven't played for years. Now I have a lease, less expensive, and having fun.

ARE YOU SERIOUS? I live in a 1 bedroom apartment, drive a 9000 dollar 2 wheel drive suburban and make 40k a year it is the person "YOU" described that is the problem!!! not us common folk that can no longer afford to pay these outrageous prices set by the GREEDY land owners...... [/quote]

You kinda lumped all land owners that lease into one category. I don’t think that all land owners or even the majorities are greedy I feel like you pay for what you get plus its their land they don’t have to lease any of it. It’s up to you what you’re willing to pay and if you cant afford then there is always type 2.

you wanna act like that.....I'll tell it to you straight.

there is no such thing as a greedy landowner....they worked hard, or someone in there family did, and was able to afford to purchase land. no where is it written that they are obligated to lease land at what you deem a resonable rate, for you to hunt on.

I am blessed to have family that owns a place in south texas...and blessed to have friends that own land. I got to hunt a grand total of TWO days last year, I changed careers and have had my income cut almost in half, and spent the majority of the winter guiding hunts instead of hunting. I know how it feels to not be able to hunt.....this was the 2nd year in a row i didn't hunt and we own the damn ranch.

don't give me some sob story about greedy landowners....if you wanna hunt that bad, take up a side job, cut lawns, whatever...to pay for a lease, corn, etc. cut out cable t.v, eating out, movies,trips to the bar, etc, to pay for a lease.

its YOUR responsibility to be able to afford the lease, not the landowners

DUDE? whose fault is THAT? YOURS not Mine! YOU CHOSE to not to hunt even though you own land! The majority of the hunters on here don't have that luxury...

To respond to a post above; there is such a thing as a greedy land owner. The last place I leased had a land-owner selling day-hunts behind our backs which one of our hunters happened upon coincidently on the internet. He was also trapping some of the exotics on the place during hunting season to sell. He didn't ask us if we were alright with either and although it was his right to do whatever he liked to do with his own land, that is greed.

it is all market driven, if we want it we pay for it. Hunting is a Texas passion so we find a way to pay for it. My family gets far more use out of our lease all year long than we get out of a summer vacation. Thats just a choice we make.

That is not greed, that is illegal if you had a contract.
And as far as the exotics that could go either way depending what was written in the lease.

Will you sell me your suburban for $500??? I didn't think so. You would sell it for the maximum amount that the market would dictate. In this case, you believe that to be $9,000.

The same thing goes for leased land. You can't blame landowners for maximizing the price for their land. It is their property to do with as they choose. My family owns land and we don't lease out any of it. I still choose to hunt on a lease for most of my deer hunting for better opportunities at larger animals. If the landowner my group leases from increases the price to the point that I don't feel that I'm getting what I'm paying for then I'll go elsewhere.

The fact that alot of folks on here need to come to grips with is that THE MARKET DETERMINES THE PRICE OF LEASES. Just like that $9,000 suburban. To some people it isn't nice enough. To others it would be a luxury vehicle. It is the beauty of capitalism and the free market.

he should be shot at sunrise.

1000 acres will cost at absolute minimum $1,000,000 in most parts of the state these days. In the hill country, it's closer to $4-5mm.

How some of you can claim the landowner is "greedy" for charging $1500 or $2000 for full access to a $1-5mm asset is hilarious to me.

I'm also not going to apologize for getting a degree from A&M and working 11 hours a day so that I can afford my HOBBY. It's not a right to hunt nice, privately-owned land. It's a pass time. The landowner should absolutely charge the highest amount the market will sustain.

To put this another way:

Do any of you think that it's your right to rent a $1,000,000 lakehouse on LBJ or Possum Kingdom for an entire year for $500 or $1000? Are the owners of that lakehouse "greedy" because they charge (and easily get) $500/night when they rent it out?

How about when you go on vacation? Is it incredibly "greedy" that they "charge" $250/night for a hotel in Cabo or Breckenridge? Should they let you use that condo for an entire year for a few peanuts, even though they have no problem renting them out at those rates?

It's the exact same thing.

cameron00,

How dare you bring logic into this conversation!!!

For some reason I believe that the folks who are griping about greedy landowners are probably also in favor of the massive redistribution of wealth that certain folks in our country are pushing via increased entitlement programs. Entitled is a very good word and brings up a question that I would love to have answered.

For those of you who have a bee in your bonnet about lease prices, WHY DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE ENTITLED TO HUNT ON PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR A LEASE RATE LOWER THAN THE MARKET WOULD NATURALLY DICTATE? What makes you that special?

That's the funniest part about it. This isn't even remotely a necessity. This is a recreational activity that we're talking about.

You're not entitled to use the land at all. Much less complain and moan about what a landowner wants in exchange for letting you conduct your completely unnecessary, completely recreational activity on THEIR property. Especially given that even if you're not willing to pay it, plenty of others are.

It's ridiculous.

It's the old "Supply and Demand" game. Just as with anything else, when you have a whole bunch of something and so does everyone else, it isnt worth much to anyone. But when something is getting scarce, such as lease land in which to hunt, the price goes up. You also "get what you pay for" in most cases. If you want a lease that has "potential", youre going to pay in the upper end of the scale. If you want to lease a place that is "established", youre going to pay top dollar no matter where it is the state you decide to hunt. Lots of landowners spend a lot of THEIR time and money improving the habbitat on their properties, just so WE the "perspective" hunters will want to lease their land. Land and habbitat improvements arent cheap nor are they easy, especially in the western counties where rainfall is substantially less than other parts of the state. Each and every little thing that makes a perspective lease more attractive adds to the price. Whether its food plots, good cover, or a water source, someone will place a value on that. Bottom line... If you want to hunt in the state of Texas, youre going to "pay the Piper" and not complain about it. Or, you can continue to complain about the pricing and miss out on the whole thing all together. At the end of the day, if YOU dont pay it, someone else like me, Quailhunter, and a host of numerous folks will.

Do like i did and get together and go to kansas for a week on there public land with some buds and have a great time on less than a grand. Thats gas, food and lodging and tags. Dont blame the land owners just go and take your money some where else if ya dont like what they are asking. By the way we all took good deer on public land with a bow. Hope i get drawn again this year.

cameron and quail hunter.....


Nice to see some other people in this place have common sense

Common sense....have plenty of it! I guess I am just concerned about the future. If you do not see a problem with the way things are heading then I guess you are blind.

Just like Hoytman said, Texas will lose some hunters and tons of money. I agree landowners are doing us a favor by leasing their land, but we should keep the market value at a realistic level.

If you are paying big $$$$ to lease and are ok with it, then this thread is not for you. It was aimed at those of us who used to be able to afford and enjoy leases at a fair price.

let me ask you one question......What exactly is "market price" and who sets it?

Supply and Demand keep it at a realistic level.

If there aren't people willing to pay it, prices won't rise. Period.

Benjamin Franklin

I don't set it. I ain't paying those high prices. Its all those people who take a lease sight unseen over the phone who offer more money. Clearly guys we can agree to disagree. I have come to figure out on this forum that most of the hunters are on different pay grade than me when it comes to leases. Thats OK!!

Your signature states that you are a Republican. Typically a Republican is also a believer in free market capitalism. Price controls are incongruous with free market capitalism. So are you a social conservative and yet believe in market socialism? I'm truly wondering because your signature runs in contrast with some of your stated beliefs.

I am a firm believer in free market capitalism just not not when it comes to hunting leases, lol. Clearly I am defeated here, you guys win.

lease prices didn't start going up until texas began farming deer and selling weekend hunts for trophy bucks. In order to turn a profit on a game managed weekend trophy hunt they had to charge premium prices.

Once landowners saw what weekend type hunters were willing to pay for a farmed deer than they started to market their property as "game-managed" and adjusted the prices accordingly.

Quite frankly I would lay the blame on the success of the King Ranch for the high prices.

Blame the government. When they stop subsidizing brush control, the deer population took way off. Unfortunately some big deer came with it.

This thread started off by asking what kind of a job does someone have that they can afford $1500 for a lease and deteriorated into a back and forth over what a landowner should be able to charge for someone else to hunt. It comes down to what are you willing to pay and how do you budget your money to pay for your hobby/sport. I personally set aside my income tax refund to pay for my lease. I live pay day to pay day, will be the first to say that I don't manage my money very well, so if I had to come up with $1500 to pay for a lease I would be doing what I did for lots of years- hunt Type 2. It also depends on what you want out of hunting. If you are the type that has to put something on the wall every year or feel unfulfilled then get ready to pay. If you just like to go hunting, kill something for meat, and maybe every now and then have a chance at something that can go on the wall then there are lots of places that are cheap- they just require a little more work.

The max I pay is 1500. That's just me, it's really a trespass fee anyway, unless other services are provided. I'd prolly ask for the max dollar I could get if it was my land, however, I don't think I'd lease my land, just me and my buds would hunt the land alone.
I'm going this Saturday to look at my next lease this Saturday. They are paying $920 a gun for Llano county with a cabin, with water and electric. Year round access with Deer, Turkey and Hogs. 100 acres per person. Five guns on 500 acres with guest priveleges. Two bucks / two doe / four turkey and all the hogs you can kill.
These guys have been on the same lease for 29 years and I'm only ask on due to one guy died and a spot opened up.
I think I'm really lucky to find this place.
My last lease was at San Angelo and we were paying 810 a gun with a house. Shoot whatever you wanted past 1.5 years old.
A friend is pushing hard to join his group at 3000 / gun outside Brady without a cabin. I am not going to pay it, I don't want to have the mind set of "I gotta kill something" to get my money's worth. Just my 2 cents......

What a great find pmnitro. Good luck to ya!

you know up until 2007 I was hunting on a lease that was 42 members on 11,000 acres w/ a lodge, camphouse and bunkhouse...w/ trailer hook-ups...water....MLD3 (could shoot a total of 6 deer in any combination just so you didn't exceed 2 mgmt bucks & 1 cull and there are always permits left for both sexes @ the end of Feb)...could have as many guests you want in camp, but could only hunt 2 @ a time and they shot off your tags. 1000 acres of marsh/lakes w/ 9 miles of river frontage. And you could put your name in a hat for 1 of the 8 alligator permits (even though only 6 ever did it)... all for the whopping fee of $280/yr (at the end of '06). Now it is sitting at $1350.

Cool setup, sorry for the increase.

I won't tell you what I do to afford a lease, but I can tell you what I had to do to get in the position to afford a lease.

I busted my hump in school from 2nd grade on. Graduated at the top of my class in high school. Went to college, working jobs to meet tuition, room, board, books, etc.

Then I graduated college, took a job working 80-90 hour weeks. Moved out and up to other jobs.

Now I make enough to afford the $2000/year deer lease and all the accessories that come along with it.

That was expected when the land changed hands. I'm not too worried about it, I hunted the place more as a guest than I did as a member. That was just a place for me to entertain guests and keep them away from the main places we hunt.

Sounds like it was pretty clearly underpriced, rifleman.

Sounds like it still might be, so just be glad to have it.

That place isn't going anywhere, unless the Fed Govt offers up the right $. Looks like it will peak at $1500 next year and hold for 5.

Amen to that.....I get sick of hearin people piss and moan about lease prices when all they'd have to do is get rid of one of their credit card bills and that would more than pay for a NICE lease.

Well I have only 1 car payment and a cheap mortgage. I havent't used credit cards in almost 2 years, tore them up. I still can't justify the high priced leases. If you are content then I am happy for you. Thanks

Well, I can give up Smoking. I can give up Drinking. I can give up Big Macs 2X per day. And I can give up Krispy Creme Donuts.

But I can not give up the local Gentlemen's Club.

So is it a deer lease for only 4 months per year, ... or the club all year. Sorry, the club wins. I prefer does to bucks.

If you only spend $1500 at a gentlemen's club in a year, you're going to the lowest of the low.

I spend that in a weekend if I end up at those places.

its a hottly debateble topic here, This will will never ever change there will always be high priced leases or hunts, just think about it ??? m buddy is on a 2500 acer lease it only has 6 guns on the lease they have Trophy deer, hogg, java, turkey, Neilgi, critters the ranch also shares a low fence with the King Ranch..they have a ranch house with satalite and also 2 trailers they will hold 5 people each. and the ranch is 45 mins from his house.... so to him its worth every penny he dosnt have to go out there and feed or bring corn or anything its all taken care of, but thats what 4500 bucks gets you...

You said 1500 bucks if i could find a place that had deer, wild hoggs, on it and i could bow and gun hunt it i whould be down considering the acers and amount of hunters..

you gotta realize there will always be guys with tons of money willing to outbid there are very few owners that are loyal now..

its a buissnes and it takes money to run these places and a lot of it..this is why i will only lease with friends or go on day or weekend hunts..

now you ask about money ect.. im only 26, my bills are truck and rent and cell phone, i have no debt except a truck, and i dont own credit cards. I live with my GF we have no children. i dont make alot of cash im a Firefighter/EMT.. so im not rich i just manage money well i guess.. and save and use my tax returns and overtime money to pay for new guns or bows or hunts..

Where can we find 3 spots on a 1.5K per year lease Central/West Texas?

BTW what I do is done... kids out of school!

hey dude bow hunt its cheaper !!!

Not much cheaper! LOL. Go to kansas, bigger deer and cheaper.

well us quail hunters have it worse. our birds are dying off.
the experts cant figure out why. most bird leases have to wait half the season to start because of deer hunters. and our prices are still going up.

and there is a very strong opinion that the deer corn is killing our quail. we are losing that battle cause deer is king here.

Huh ?

I am on a new lease this year, 6500 acres in central Texas.
Just south of Seguin
It's 4200 bucks!
OUCH
Here's how I rationalize it:
Year round access
1.5 hrs from my house
Level 3 MLD
children and guests are ok
160 class deer
hogs
turkey
dove
several stocked lakes
cabins
walk in cooler
turn key, show up and hunt
blinds, corn and protein are taken care of

It's a LOT of money, and I have access to friend's places but I am on their schedule. It's very important to me to be able to take my kids hunting, fishing, exploring the outdoors, etc..
And my brother got on the lease, and it's 45 minutes from my parent's house, so, dad cam come out and join us.

I paid 1500 for a crappy small lease last year and we got one deer and put in stands, corn, work.
When you factor in putting corn out, gas, etc.. it adds up quickly.

I have a good job in the computer industry and can barely afford the place.. but, we started a side business (www.tacticalhuntingreview.com) to help offset it and hopefully pay for it by selling ads, affiliate programs, etc..

If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to pay for it.

Where I frankly think land owners are short sighted is what is seeming to be the trend on lease ads: NO CHILDREN
If they don't get the bug early on by hunting with dad, they won't be paying for leases 20 - 30 years from now...

comes down to whether or not its worth it to you.. personally I've always done what I had to to get on a place to hunt.. been on cheap leases as well as expensive ones all were worth it to me because hunting is somthing I love to do.. but now that my parents have been fortunate enough to aquire their own place I dont have to worry about it, nor will it be offered because we have seen the crybaby, sense of entitlement side of people first hand with fellow hunters on past leases... if its not worth it you dont want it bad enough.. YOU PAY TO PLAY

Heck if I could just get my two girls out of Daycare I could afford any lease in Texas. 2 more years to go, comeon kindergarten.

my suggestino to people that dont want to pay big money on a lease is do a good package hunt with a repitul outfitter and get what you want yes youll pay around 5000 but you just hunt. you dont work, you dont feed, you dont have to spend alot of time off work you dont cook , Heck you dont even have to gut your deer! outfitters have management hunts for bucks scoring fro 135 to 150 that are much less than you would spend on a do it yourself lease, and most likeley kill a better deer.

We have been in the deer busniness for about 12 years now, having hunted for about 30 years. I have done it all from Type 2, state draw hunts, cheap leases, hunting with friends, nicer leases, guided and semi-guided........

I prefer leasing my own, to everyting except buying my own, which I work on daily.

I got into the management side 12 years ago. Came about as our then current landowner was fed up with the other hunters he leased to, and we took over. We actually saved that place from never being hunted again. Which is common by the way.

Here's my suggesstion. Buy into a nice lease, decent area, work hard on upkeep, maintenance, management, and just being a sportsman. I have yet to see a landowner run someone off just on price. Sure it happens. But if things are going well, they aren't picking up trash, closing gates behind you, etc. most we deal with won't take the chance of having to change.

Are there commercial places that deer hunting is the business... yes. Can they be greedy, I am sure. Our landowners GROSS about 20-30k a year from deer hunting. They ain't getting rich off that. Nice supplement, you bet... but not getting rich.

I have places available right now for $10 an acre. With electricity, established and managed very conservatively the last few years... they are out there. Just have to do your homework and treat them with respect.

We try to give the landowner a 3% inflation rasise every year. They did not ask for it, we just do it to keep things good for everyone involved. Just trying to match the inflation rate and keep the lease we like.
Coop

this is the most loaded question on thf..i have been off this site for six months now I can see each side of the argument..and have come to the conclusion that if u cant afford to hunt then quit ..like i have..i have hunted all my life and didnt pay a dime..then in the last ten years i have been on paid leases...There is ALWAYS somebody that is willing to pay and the unfortunate thing is that those of us that have hunting in our blood cant keep up with the higher prices..I had been neglecting things for years to juggle the price of a lease..no more!,,Again i agree with both sides..but..boy i sure do miss the commaraderie..and all the good stuff around the campfire..Peace deer huntin brethren!

well said ggunn, I am trying to hang on as long as I can. However I do have limits!