Establishing a Quality Hunting Lease

Establishing a Quality Hunting Lease

C.D. Denmon

As more and more land is lost to urban sprawl and growing industry, hunting land is becoming increasingly hard to find. Whatever farmland and forest that is not split up into a cookie cutter of parcels and made into another upscale development for people to get the “so-called country life” is becoming threatened to become next with the increasing cost of living, increasing taxes and poor crop prices that hard working farmers get for their crops. It is now becoming an increasingly popular practice across the country to lease property to allow access for outdoors' activities.

Property owners of large tracts of land, primarily farmers, are using this practice to help offset their expenses. The folks leasing these properties are also doing it for either commercial purposes, like guide operations, or to create a quality hunting experience for themselves and others that are a part of the lease. Ten years ago, while on a hunt in Wyoming, this practice was becoming more popular and I was told then that the writing is on the wall and that the entire country would be going to lease programs. They were right; in the last few years, private hunting leases have gown by leaps and bounds in the eastern part of the United States. The only way to combat this growing epidemic is to become a part of it - at least if you choose not to hunt public lands.

These signs are becoming more and more prominent- the only way to beat them is to join them by creating your own lease.

Obtaining a property to lease can be a difficult task and quite frankly, there is no easy way to get one either; unless you are lucky enough to know a farmer who is easily approachable. Otherwise it resorts back to the old method of knocking on doors and introducing oneself. Many farmers I know can be difficult to approach because they have been hardened by years of people disturbing their dinner seeking places to hunt. If you come across to them as a professional outdoorsman and can speak rather plainly but intelligently, you can at least get your foot in the door. Then once you discuss with them a little about what you have in mind and a dollar figure, the negotiation process may begin.

The amount of money you can expect to spend will vary from property to property. Such things to consider: the amount of acreage, presence of water, available crops, amount of mast-producing trees, surrounding properties, amount of game on the property and the overall quality of the habitat. That's a lot of things to consider, and even then you must know what you are willing to spend for a place to hunt. On average you can expect to pay between $4-$6 dollars per acre.

Being selective and only choosing members for your lease that have the same thoughts and philosophies as you do is important for a successful lease.

All the time I see clubs with low cost hunting dues for their memberships. Unfortunately, there is a downside to this low cost - a high number of members in the club. If you don’t mind a lot of company while attempting to harvest game, this may be fine, but if I wanted to be crowded with fellow hunters, I’d just as soon save my money and hunt public ground. So with that in mind, you should keep the amount of members to the minimum amount of members that you can without being financially burdened yourself. For me, a good rule of thumb is 50-75 acres per member.

Before taking on any members, be sure to include a full list of rules for people to adhere to and be sure that the lease holder and the landowner go over these rules as the landowner may want them amended. Each applicant should see the list of rules before continuing with the selection process so no time is wasted between parties. If you don’t have sufficient people in your circle of friends to fill the roster, place an ad in a magazine or newspaper and take applications and then go through an interview process. Don’t take just anyone just to fill the membership. Be selective because it only takes one idiot to ruin it for everyone.

On my leases I allow only paid members on the property unless they have a child that is less than 16 years of age. Guests that are brought on the property are not allowed to hunt any species of game other than for management doe hunts which are set for specific areas or dates. In addition, all members are encouraged to only harvest bucks 8 points or better with a minimum of 14” spreads. All game harvested must also be reported so accurate records of weights and ages can be recorded.

Putting an aerial photo near the entrance to your lease can help the members have a quality hunting experience by avoiding other members already afield and possibly spooking game away from those members.

I also keep a laminated aerial photograph with a grease pencil on the property so that each member can mark their intended hunting location for that day. This insures that members arriving later don’t enter the same area and ruin either of those members' hunts. You should also keep a tight poster line marked for all other property owners to recognize. The planting of food plots is also extremely important for attracting and holding game on your lease.

Being able to establish food plots on a property you manage helps create quality game and a quality lease.

Due to the space limitations for articles I can’t list everything that I do on my leases or the rules that I incorporate on them, but my email address can be found in the front of this publication and I can be made available to help establish your own hunting leases or provide you with further information about how I run my own.