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Hunting Lease Thread

Cousin Strawberry

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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Posted
11 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

We high fenced.  Because a neighbor on 30 acres shaped like an airplane runway next to us had 9 blinds and feeders set up on our mutual fenceline and would shoot anything they saw.  Most deer on a place our size never see a fence.  But it keeps dickheads who think it's cool to shoot 50 deer a year on their 30 acre parcel from doing so.

I am not a fan of deer breeding either.  We do net a nice buck every year and put him in a 100 acre trap, most of which is cover, with 20 doe we net.  And then open the gate to let them out after the rut.  

Yep.  Perfect example of the 'Prisoner's Dilemma' of the hunting market in Texas.  Almost all privately owned.  Being parceled down into smaller and smaller tracts of land.  Few neighbors even really know one another.  Not going to get any better.  My big fear, smaller fenced in areas - we get a few cases of CWD, and the state comes in with a heavy hammer and outlaws hunting over bait.  Would completely flip the script on how we hunt here (maybe for the better....)

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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12 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

We have a small place near Hempstead.  I am going to plant millett and sunflower this year on 20 acres and see if draws in dove.  I can go out there and get 5-10 on an average afternoon with no food source for birds.  Hoping I can get some decent hunts on planted fields.  Honestly, a good dove hunt for me is one of the most fun things to do outdoors.

Water?  If you have that, plus a food source = good times.  

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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4 minutes ago, Johnny Sack said:

We have an 8 acre lake fed by a creek.  Plenty of water.  And a few stock tanks.

Small boat - or do you have knucklehead friends that become dead-eye shots ONLY when the doves are directly over the nearest body of water....and can't hit a damn thing anywhere else....

 

DUDE....How are we going to get my bird.....

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Johnny Sack

Johnny Sack 8397

Posted
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1 hour ago, BabaYaga said:

Small boat - or do you have knucklehead friends that become dead-eye shots ONLY when the doves are directly over the nearest body of water....and can't hit a damn thing anywhere else....

 

DUDE....How are we going to get my bird.....

I actually hunt in a field near a stock tank.  It is small.  Birds will float to one side or the other.

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Llano Estacado

Llano Estacado 1257

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Posted
We have a small place near Hempstead.  I am going to plant millett and sunflower this year on 20 acres and see if draws in dove.  I can go out there and get 5-10 on an average afternoon with no food source for birds.  Hoping I can get some decent hunts on planted fields.  Honestly, a good dove hunt for me is one of the most fun things to do outdoors.

 

I remember from TOS. It came up on a hunting thread or cafe thread as I frequently drive that stretch of 6 from Hempstead to Navasota. My folks live on the Navasota River before it dumps into the Brazos. We always talk about planting sesame, millet or sunflowers along a fence line or under our power line easement close to a tank, but never make it happen.

 

Looked like a few fairly large landowners listed as it became more evident the landfill was going to come to fruition. That affect you?

 

How about the tornados that passed through a few years back?

 

 

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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On 5/17/2019 at 8:06 PM, Llano Estacado said:

How about the tornados that passed through a few years back?

Ballinger more/less took a direct hit.  Scary.  Bunch of homes destroyed.  One of out hunters, has a friend on the north side of 67 near where we are (Talpa).  Said a tornado hit their barn last week.  Took it out completely, sent shards through the metal walls of the house and blew out most of their windows.  We're just a few miles from there.  

Video of twister

Tornado slams into Ballinger

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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Well, I’ve taken the first real step and established a solid group. Working on ironing out the final cost/area/etc considerations, but at least we’ll be able to put our name in the hat if anything comes up this year (full ranch). I’ve been trying to get this going for years, and it took the potential/likely ending of a lease to get my last 3 guys in.   But it’s hard to make a commitment if you don’t know you can bring any guns to split it up. Llano, get your shit together and quit skipping bar nights so you can catch up.  

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ZB'Tejas

ZB'Tejas 593

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What are you guys generally seeing in terms of lease costs for hunting here in Texas(Deer/Quail). $5 an acre each year? I'm considering leasing something out in the next few years and need to find a good way to keep hunting going but with way less maintenance than taking people out each weekend including feeders and stands.

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Johnny Sack

Johnny Sack 8397

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1 hour ago, ZB'Tejas said:

What are you guys generally seeing in terms of lease costs for hunting here in Texas(Deer/Quail). $5 an acre each year? I'm considering leasing something out in the next few years and need to find a good way to keep hunting going but with way less maintenance than taking people out each weekend including feeders and stands.

What part of the state?

you want lodging?

electric or Rv hookups?

blinds and feeders?

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Both Tacos

Both Tacos 1806

Posted
Posted
What are you guys generally seeing in terms of lease costs for hunting here in Texas(Deer/Quail). $5 an acre each year? I'm considering leasing something out in the next few years and need to find a good way to keep hunting going but with way less maintenance than taking people out each weekend including feeders and stands.
As you've seen above, it depends on amenities but $8-$10/acre is probably what you will ask for.
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Spaulding Smails

Spaulding Smails 1552

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, ZB'Tejas said:

What are you guys generally seeing in terms of lease costs for hunting here in Texas(Deer/Quail). $5 an acre each year? I'm considering leasing something out in the next few years and need to find a good way to keep hunting going but with way less maintenance than taking people out each weekend including feeders and stands.

For reference, I lost my lease of 10 years in 2011.  We had 1600 acres in Live Oak County.  In 2001, we were paying $5,000/yr total (five guns @ $1,000/ea).  In 2011, that had ballooned to $15,000/yr.  That included a small cabin with water and power.  Low fenced and we furnished all blinds, feeders, corn, etc.  We could bring guests, but were allotted one buck, one cull, and two does.  No quail, but turkey were good and you could shoot as many hogs as you wanted.

Deer population improved as we managed it.  We'd take no more than two "trophy" bucks annually.  Those were 150+ and had to be 4-1/2 or older.  Had a few in the 160+ range over the years.  We were somewhat a victim of our own management success, but also a byproduct of demand.  They ended up making more money doing day / week leases, so they kicked us to the curb.  I'd be shocked if you could get anything decent of that size for less than $10/acre.  And, I'd guess that place would go for $20/acre now.

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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Posted

I know a group of 4 (out of 7 guns) in Premont. They pay 21000 for 1000 acres with a major easement thru the middle of it. Very basic cabin with water and electric.  Sleeps 6 or so (not enough) Decent but nowhere near “good” deer population. Someone will shoot a 140-145 class deer every other year or so.  Quail are there, hit or miss. 

The son took over and it looks like he might be starting to push them off so we got a group together and started looking. They realized really quick they have a bargain. Shits expensive now. 

I found a sweet place up in the panhandle, but no one wants that drive (except me I guess). I would rather not just drop into a group of however many, but may have to. Would be nice if I could get 1-2 guys I knew to follow. Until then it’s vendor hunts and begging for a doe   If those don’t come.  Good luck on your search, there’s 10,000 of us looking at the same properties. 

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

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Posted

We are on a 2700 acre pasture of a 12K acre ranch.  $14 / acre.  5 members.  In addition, we pay for all utilities, corn, protein, feeders, blinds, shredding.  We built our own compound, septic, cantina and brought in our own mobile homes.  We pay for helicopter survey for MLD III program.  

We are actually pretty lucky to have the place. 

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deadshank

deadshank 24652

Posted
Posted (edited)
15 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

The only time is ever seems to dip or remain constant is when oil takes a major shit, and that’s exactly when I don’t need a deer lease.  

Was on 9K acres in McMullen County.  The Nueces was our southern border.  Place was gamey to the nth degree and pretty expensive.  Once the Eagle Ford play kicked in the LO told us to sack up our shit and beat it.  Money no longer needed.  

More acreage off the market.  More hunters looking acreage.  Prices go up.  

It wont get less expensive.   Make sure you have funds to immediately give to an LO.  One member in charge to make commitments. No committee review BS. Takes too much time and good properties are quickly gone.

Edited by deadshank
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ZB'Tejas

ZB'Tejas 593

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Posted (edited)

Thanks for the info. My place is just west of San Angelo and it's around 1200 acres. Good thing for it is that is surrounded on 3 sides by a massive ranch that does not hunt so we have always had a steady stream of deer there. There is a windmill (so animals have water access) and a cook shack with two additional bunk houses. We probably have 8 blinds and feeders setup on the property already but the trouble is I don't get out there very often as I have two little ones. Once they get a bit older I will go more but I just can't make the 4.5 hours out there every other weekend keep things up and feeders fed.

Considering finding a new solution versus letting groups come out by the weekend and instead find a group of folks that want to manage and hunt the property over many year that will take better care of the deer population.

 

Do you typically see number of people on the lease limited by acre or would you limit the number of weekends they could come? 

Edited by ZB'Tejas
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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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41 minutes ago, deadshank said:

Make sure you have funds to immediately give to an LO.  One member in charge to make commitments. No committee review BS. Takes too much time and good properties are quickly gone.

That’s what we did. Got a group together and determined what everyone wanted and what was the limit on cost, and travel.  Outliers of the group were put at the back of the list.  Having the $$ isn’t an issue with this group, getting them to let go of it maybe.  

Ideally I don’t want to plop into a group of 10 on an established lease, but it might come to that.  

ZB, so you are looking for a group to come placehold for you for a bit that will keep up your management, if I’m reading right?  

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ZB'Tejas

ZB'Tejas 593

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, HOOKEM4 said:

Smooth back door humble brag. Well played ZB.

Ha, backed into it for sure. Didn't really mean it that way; only to give a perspective on what it would look like. To FF's comment yes, I guess that's what I'm considering. Getting to a point that very few people will be hunting it and I won't be out there much so thinking about creating a group that can maintain population while that happens.

Edited by ZB'Tejas
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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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Lord, I feel like we're WAY under market.  

650+ acres, Coleman Country.  Low fence.  Spring fed creek, four tanks that rarely (if ever) go dry.  

Provided:  6 fiberglass blinds.  Protein feeder (Lamco).  7 corn feeders existing.  Hunters just need to replace batteries and keep them full.  Cousin's running corriente cattle, so they are out there (moved off to section of property during hunting season, but they do get through fences from time to time, get in trouble, etc)

We have a house out there (family use only or friends of they come with me) but hunters have their own site with electricity (putting in a converted ocean crate cabin with septic).

Year round.  Deer.  Turkey.  Dove.  Not quail (extra, leased to a dedicated group of upland bird hunters).  Fishing (tanks stocked with bass)

$2k per gun....four guys.  

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Johnny Sack

Johnny Sack 8397

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6 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

Lord, I feel like we're WAY under market.  

650+ acres, Coleman Country.  Low fence.  Spring fed creek, four tanks that rarely (if ever) go dry.  

Provided:  6 fiberglass blinds.  Protein feeder (Lamco).  7 corn feeders existing.  Hunters just need to replace batteries and keep them full.  Cousin's running corriente cattle, so they are out there (moved off to section of property during hunting season, but they do get through fences from time to time, get in trouble, etc)

We have a house out there (family use only or friends of they come with me) but hunters have their own site with electricity (putting in a converted ocean crate cabin with septic).

Year round.  Deer.  Turkey.  Dove.  Not quail (extra, leased to a dedicated group of upland bird hunters).  Fishing (tanks stocked with bass)

$2k per gun....four guys.  

There are deals to be found out there, and up around the Childress area, and in between Abilene and Lubbock.

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BabaYaga

BabaYaga 15286

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4 hours ago, deadshank said:

Was on 9K acres in McMullen County.  The Nueces was our southern border.  Place was gamey to the nth degree and pretty expensive.  Once the Eagle Ford play kicked in the LO told us to sack up our shit and beat it.  Money no longer needed.  

More acreage off the market.  More hunters looking acreage.  Prices go up.  

It wont get less expensive.   Make sure you have funds to immediately give to an LO.  One member in charge to make commitments. No committee review BS. Takes too much time and good properties are quickly gone.

That stinks.  For us, we're not trying to make a bunch of money other than cover the upkeep costs.  Taxes.  Fence repair.  Road work.  Etc.  I vetted this group for a ridiculous amount of time.  I wanted (and still want) long-term thinking hunters to manage and grow the population.  Not pop the first pair of antlers they see.  They are bow hunters as well, which is a plus.

They report back via all their game cam pics what's out there.  What's moving.  Ages.  Etc.  They also do a lot of work clearing mesquite (shooting lanes and the sort) and keeping the roads maintained.  I see it as a partnership and try to communicate that to them.  We had a problem with cattle getting through fences, so they scouted the area and found the downed water-gap.  Cousin was able to patch and all's well.  That sort of stuff.  

Years prior we went through quite a few groups of just asshole hunters.  Soured my dad for years on hunting leases at all.  When they moved out of state, I needed help keeping the place managed.  I know quite a few LO's around us that had a similar sentiment.  It's not always about the money if you find a really good group.  

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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33 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

It's not always about the money if you find a really good group. 

This is absolutely true. I used to hunt on a vendors ranch 2-3 times a year.  When oil first dipped, this company immediately chose to cut the lease (per clause, all legit).  That ranch owner was trying so hard to work a deal (Free until oil rebounds, etc) but the board wouldn’t go for it.  LO just didn’t want to deal with a new group.  Guy had 38k acres fwiw (20k & 18k), and some major O&G $$$ as well. He saw the need to have a group of hunters to help manage. But it wasn’t about the $$$.  I really really miss that place, and land owner. Great guy. Great place.  I haz a sad now. 

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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Posted
Just now, BabaYaga said:

I can't even imagine...our place used to be 2,100+ acres and my dumb ass got lost all the time as a kid.  

Out near Sterling City/Robert Lee.  I think he has something like 1 cow for every 50 acres or something. 

My first year to hunt it was when all the wildfires were affecting Bastrop etc.  His entire place burned.  A man across the highway was welding on some well casing, fire started and jumped the road.  They fought it for several days but mostly lost.  Imagine 20k acres of black hills.  Millions of dollars in X fencing gone.   But, I got to see it flourish over the next several years, and it was beautiful when it came back “green” (tan).  

I only shot one deer off that place, even though they were everywhere.  I passed on a HUGE swayback 6 because they following weekend they were having the “kids” hunt, and I had a high fence affair set up thru a friend. Some little girl shot it the following week, almost 130”. The one I ended up taking off that place was an old swaybacked thing that was 13 points, but about 125”, the last year they had it.  Buck had no teeth left.  They were really good about taking people who don’t really hunt much so I usually just let them shoot. I always had other hunts set up, I just really enjoyed that place.  

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ZB'Tejas

ZB'Tejas 593

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31 minutes ago, fattyflattie said:

Out near Sterling City/Robert Lee.  I think he has something like 1 cow for every 50 acres or something. 

My first year to hunt it was when all the wildfires were affecting Bastrop etc.  His entire place burned.  A man across the highway was welding on some well casing, fire started and jumped the road.  They fought it for several days but mostly lost.  Imagine 20k acres of black hills.  Millions of dollars in X fencing gone.   But, I got to see it flourish over the next several years, and it was beautiful when it came back “green” (tan).  

I only shot one deer off that place, even though they were everywhere.  I passed on a HUGE swayback 6 because they following weekend they were having the “kids” hunt, and I had a high fence affair set up thru a friend. Some little girl shot it the following week, almost 130”. The one I ended up taking off that place was an old swaybacked thing that was 13 points, but about 125”, the last year they had it.  Buck had no teeth left.  They were really good about taking people who don’t really hunt much so I usually just let them shoot. I always had other hunts set up, I just really enjoyed that place.  

What year was this fire? We are more in between Sterling City and Mertzon but had a blaze that took out hundreds of thousands of acres all over that area probably 12-15 years ago. That's what burned up the whole place including the new house we had just built. :(

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fattyflattie

fattyflattie 4639

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Posted
1 hour ago, williemackgarza said:

Any leads in mexico leases.. lol
Or good south texas leases that arent $10k?

If you find one, let me know. There’s a small chance I can get in on that place in Premont up thread this season, but I don’t think that would be what you are looking for. It’s not a done deal so officially, I’m still hunting a place myself.  

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williemackgarza

williemackgarza 1826

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If you find one, let me know. There’s a small chance I can get in on that place in Premont up thread this season, but I don’t think that would be what you are looking for. It’s not a done deal so officially, I’m still hunting a place myself.  

If u do need anyone in premont let me know. Id like to at least have somewhere to take my kid if the price is ok. Used to hunt a buddys place 15 miles west of premont at cruz calle, south of gonzalitos. Also was on 500 ac with 4 guys in freer. Small but was good to just get away to.
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williemackgarza

williemackgarza 1826

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Posted
Saw one on TBH for old Mexico at a steal of $12,500.

Saw that. I know those guys. They grow some great deer for sure. Alot more restrictive than I want and too rich for me for what you get. Its an amazing ranch though. Theyre doing it right. Feed over 100 tons of cottonseed a year I think.

Maybe ill just go Shoot a big desert muley in sonora next year,
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jet black

jet black 203

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Posted

I’d love a family oriented hill country lease if anyone has any leads. Would be me and my two boys aged 8 & 10. I prefer bow but with the kids would need rifle opportunities too. Deer size not important, in it for the experiences. Fine with solid set of rules but would prefer places that don’t take it way too seriously (been there - it takes the fun out of it).

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