Why does anyone lease hunting land

[Fordguy]

Old thread, but I haven't seen my reason for considering a lease so I'll contribute. I'm thinking about leasing an adjoining property the next time it's available just to keep the current leaseholders out. I'm on good terms with all of my other neighbors, the leaseholders, not so much. They do things like driving the property lines in a side by side or a truck to try to push deer back into the center of the lease during gun season. Actually there's a long list of things they do, that arent polite, or even legal (though in many cases you'd have to prove intent). I'm just weighing the cost of a more peaceful deer season in my mind. Most years I do manage to find a pretty decent deer on my own property, but the number of hunts each year that are ruined by the leaseholders is probably equal to the number of good hunting experiences.

 

[SteveCNJ]

Some people just suck

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[FLATHEAD]

Most leases here in the SE involve multiple people. I've been in them
with 12-40 people. Drama has always been the reason I didnt renew.
I havent joined one in prolly 25+ years. It just got real old and wasnt
worth it anymore. And I'm guessing there may be more pressure on
deer on a lease than on much public land.
That said, I recently moved to a different part of the state and I'm stuck
with hunting State Lands as opposed to the NF I grew up hunting.
The State Lands are check in/out, thicker than I can explain, mostly pines,
and over hunted for small gulf coast deer. Just not a quality hunt.
So I dont know which is worse; a lease with the obligatory drama or
poorly managed, highly pressured public land.
I've been fishing a lot lately.

 

[bowieknife50]

Ok I am trying to rationalize this. Just using numbers for leases around me. 500 acres will have 8 people each paying roughly 1,200. On that 500 acres there are probably 30 deer (estimate around me is 40 deer per 660 acres). If everyone kills( does or bucks) 1st couple of years, then your heard is practically gone...and the leases that join up to your lease is doing the same, there are no future for the herds. What am I missing, the hunting lease is the biggest Ponzi scheme ever...

I didn't read through all the other replies but your deer number logic is faulty. You have to account for deer flowing through the area (unless it's high fence). You also have to account for recruitment. Deer are mostly pretty good at being pregnant and having babies. So let's say it is a high fence and you have a balanced sex ratio, 15 bucks and 15 does. Even if you kill 8 bucks in a year, the remaining 7 will still be able to easily get every doe pregnant. For simplicity half are buck fawns (7.5 ) and half does. Taking a stab at 75% survival you're going to add 5 bucks every year. So now you have 12 bucks. You also have 5 more does to have fawns next year. Just a little thought experiment.

As far as hunting 500 acres with 8 people goes, I wouldn't do it for free. I have no idea why some people would pay that much. I'm lucky enough to never have had to pay for a spot to hunt deer, but I would never go in with more than 1 person on any amount of ground. Even then probably only 1 friend that I've known since I could know people.

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk

 

[Pocoloco]

In north Florida around 20,000 acres timberland had around 12 guys on lease and ten years ago that was at around 2k per. I didn’t join as too many rules and I dont like just sitting in a stand

 

[*zap*]

One reason people lease land for hunting is it is easier to have success on land that you control access to.

 

[FLATHEAD]

In north Florida around 20,000 acres timberland had around 12 guys on lease and ten years ago that was at around 2k per. I didn’t join as too many rules and I dont like just sitting in a stand

No lie about the rules.
I've inquired on some openings and they sent me the 17 pages of rules.
NO Thanks!!