timbercruiser

I've been part of deer clubs and land leasing since the 60's also. Just 3 years ago the highest price land we had was about $6 an acre. Now it averages $9 and we have already been told it will go up another dollar next year. One club I'm in is $2000 + a year for 1450 acres and 5 members. Another club I am droping, but will pick up about a 260 acre private lease that is contiguous to my land so it works out well. Honestly if it wasn't for my grandsons I would consider quitting hunting. It is a real pain in the butt sometimes, and I'm just not as mad at the deer as I once was.

bucked off

In east Texas you can get a hunting lease for about $5.00-8.00 an acre. South and west Texas are MUCH more. Have some friends that own 1500 acres in Freer Tx. (south Texas) and have been leasing to the same guy for $75,000 per yr ($50.00acre)for deer and quail only. Last week he was offered $95,000 for it from someone else and he took it. Ranchers can make more money from deer hunters than raising cattle.

furgitter

Its about time farmers get a break.Id rather see it leased than sold for a housing developement.

DoctorDeath

I HAVE MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT HAVING TO PAY AT ALL (LICENSE INCLUDED) WHEN ITS A GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO HUNT ...HOWEVER WITH THAT BEING SAID MOST OF THIS IS DRIVEN BUY THE RAY SCOTTS ..JACKIE BUSHMANS ...JIM SHOCKLEYS OF THE HUNTING WORLD AND WHEN IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO IT WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELF BECAUSE WE PATRONIZE THESE GUYS WHICH ALLOW THEM TO FLOOD THE TV WITH ALL THE BIG TIME HUNTING AREA'S WHICH IN TURNFUELS THE SUPPLY AND DEMAND LAW ....SINCE THE MID 80'S HUNTING HAS EXPLODED PARTLYBECAUSE OF THESE TV SHOWS AND SOME SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO BUY UP OR LEASE THE BEST HUNTING AREA'S AND THEN SELL HUNTS ...AND WE (INCLUDING ME) HAVE PAID TO GO HUNT WITH THESE GUYS .... I THINK ITS JUST THE TIMES WE ARE LIVING IN .... BUT I THINK MOST OF US AS HUNTERS SHOLDER A LOT OF THE BLAME AS TO WHAT HAS HAPPENED JMHO

DD

bhunter50

DoctorDeath, So if it is all of our faults, HOW??? YOU are as to blame as anyone saying we shouldn't have patronized them and pay them to hunt, when you said yourself YOU pay them to hunt. I don't understand where it is my fault, when all I was doing was minding my own business trying to keep up with the climate of hunting while leasing my property, and then some first-time hunter (lawyer) comes and leases for more than3x what we were paying and puts7 guys out of hunting due to the $$$. So I am not sure the point of your post, once saying it isTHEIR fault, but then slowly sneaking in your supportforTHEM in a roundabout way! I have leased propertyfor hunting for years, but I am a college student and myfamily and friends that lease simply cannot compete withsomeof these folks that are willing to payastronomical pricesfor hunting land.I am talking about paying30-60 dollars/acreto lease for a year.Public property, again, is unheard of in central Illinois, so that isout of the question as it stands. I think something needs to be done to limit this fact, many locals have no ground to hunt anymore and their kids will never get to hunt,thatwasnotthe goal of our hunting heritagewas it?? The future of hunting is seemingly doomed for many. The sport of huntingis a way for the manyto get away from the struggles, phonecalls,traffic, and noises of development,and maybe get awarded with the sighting of a deer or two, and as a bonus take an animal or twoa year. Sorry to those that this applies to, but we are allgoing to be reminiscing of these days before long!! Furtherly, many locals in this area are being piled on top of each other due to pressures from outfitters and out of state leasing, and are ending what were lifelong friendships, I just had hopes that hunting would never make this TERRIBLE turn!

DoctorDeath

Yep its a bad rap ..but guess what BH ...thier aint no Santa Clause either .... like I said its the times were living in ....

dd

North Texan

Doc, why aren't you blaming those evil lawyers? Everyone else does.

But I think you are probably right. Hunting used to be free lots of places around here. Then it became the popular thing to do for a lot of city folks with money. And when money got involved, a market sprang up that didn't previously exist.

Now we are stuck in a vicious cycle. Hunters from the city come out and buy land. Their demand for land inflates the prices and removes land from production by local ag producers. This puts some producers out of business, and they are usually replaced by commercial hunting outfits. Others have to earn more from the hunting to stay in business, because their taxes are going up like crazy, and land many of them leased for years is being taken away from them and out of production. Then when prices go up on leases, more city folks come out and buy land, and the cycle continues.

Lanse couche couche

You know, there are things that you can do when faced with decreased access to private land. First, there may be more public access land in your general area than you know. For example, there are areas along the Mississippi River under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers where hunting is allowed. But many such areas are small and relatively unknown. I lived in the vicinity of some of these areas in norhtwestern Illinois and they didn't get much hunting pressure. If you look hard, you can likely find other examples of small tracts of public access that likely don't get the hunting pressure that many think that they do.

Also, if you are that concerned by this issue, then why not organize with other folks and try to get some state legislators behind you to increase the amount of public land open for hunting. Or, even better, try to get the state to adopt a program like they have in South Dakota where the state leases private lands and opens them to hunting.

bhunter50

dd, must've been nice to shoot a big deer and then make money off of it and spend it in outfitted hunting areas huh? nice deer, bad results! happens to the best of them so it seems. anyways, another negative aspect of this outfitting is the fact that it is going to be detrimental to the deer herd and management. if youdrive around the county I live in and hunt, you notice large quanities of deer on the properties that are leased and outfitted, why? due to the fact that all they shoot are bucks, and they only hunt the property about 3-5 weeks out of the year, and that does nothing to manage the herd, which is one of the main goals of hunting. after novemeber we rarely see anyone hunting these properties! Over time, any deer hunter knows, the more the doe population increases the the less competition for breeding there is and smallerbucks are allowed tobreed, leading to an unhealthy (not to mention less trophy deer) herd. I know that MOST of the outfitters do a decent job at taking only mature deer, but have seen MANY young deer harvested as well, just to keep their rich customers returning. Just hoped that posting this thread would open more hunters' eyes to what is actually happening in IL andif its not happening yet, will be happening to everyone unless you have a lot of $$$ to throw around, much likedd.

bawanajim

There is always going to be a problem with access but the solution is just as simple,buy a piece of land!

I does not have to be large it does not even need to be near but buy it .You can always sell for a profit and buy more or better or both. buy a house with some acreage and rent the home or sell the home .Get some friends and divide a 100 acer parcel into 4 - 25 acre pieces and go together and buy it.
It will always go up in value and just maybe your kids won't end up like you ,up turd run without a paddle!!!!!!!!!![]