Lanse couche couche

Its amazing what you can afford if you are content to drive an old used car and avoid blowing a lot of money on expensive hunting toys, etc.

bryant1

Your right Lanse, I don't think most guys from the North realize just how much hunting land we have in the South. I only hunt timber company-owned land, which is about 3-4 dollars an acre and we killed alot of bucks. I couldn't imagine paying over 5-6 dollars an acre down here

HuntAway

Coming from one who has 1000's of acres of Crown (public) to hunt on, I can only say OMG!!!! You are nuts!!!

If I were hunting for a trophy I'd pay more and head to an outfitters.

If it were a meat deer, no way would I pay that kind of coin. I'd hunt public land and be happy with a nice little 6 point, doe or whatever comes my way.



Here's a thought.

You said this was a cash deal???? Chances are the farmer isn't declaring this as income. Ask for a receipt. Declare it as a business expense on your taxes and after a few years turn Farmer Joe in to the IRS. They foreclose on the farm for back taxes not declared. You buy up the farm for a song and rent it out.

Lanse couche couche

timbercruiser

I had rather see land owners that will lease land over those that absolutely will not allow hunting on their land. I have 3 first cousins that own several hundred acres of prime hunting land and they won't let anybody under any circumstances legally hunt it.

G2 Shooter

I'm with bigcountry on this one. Land in Maryland is getting scarce. Lots of development, lots of law suits, lots of money to be made leasing it out. I'm still hunting public and federal land and I see the occasional big one, probably between 130-140. He's always just out of range. But places are overrun with hunters. And a lot of STUPID hunters. Whether they walk all over the place leaving their scent, leave their trash or I feel like I'm risking my life with them in the same woods. My problem is I don't have extra money to throw at a lease. So I just compete with every other hunter in this state for my time in the woods. Either you are calling the DNR at 7:30AM 8 days in advance or waiting in line at 5:30AM for someone to open a gate to the hunting area.

The Eastern Shore grows some brutes out there. If you can get one, it might be worth the money, especially seeing how much guides charge to hunt their leased properties.

BC, have you looked into the Meade Heritage area to hunt? I have been having luck out there the past couple of years.

And yes, after all that, I still think you are crazy! [8D]

davidmil

BigCountry ole buddy, that's a rediculous amount to pay for a chunk of land on the Eastern Shore. That's just insane. $30 an acre is about 3 times the most I've heard. On top of that you only have about 60 acres a man. Anyone that pays that kind of money to shoot a deer that they could shoot on available state land is probably going to hunt. That's just too much. I don't care if it has land for geese and all that. That takes away from woods and trees for stands which further crowds the 10 hunters into small parcels. You boys better draft up some rules of engagement, stand placement, how many you can reserve, how close, etc etc etc. You're going to be stepping on each other. YUP, you're crazy. Make that 3 times crazy. Let me guess, one of the members is the land owner... he gets first choice. LOL Seriously, I'd rather hunt Liberty or Prettyboy resevoirs or Hugg Thomas or Patapsco Park. That's insane for what's there. ANd G2, you throw 10 hunters on 600 acres of some woods, a lot of swamp and fields, there'll be too many of them. There is just too much free land to hunt to pay that for so so land.

pigiron

...Schroder Plantation, or another?

That must be the going rate in Maryland Bigcountry. My best friend just leased 600 acres from Schroder. They have12 men, and paid 18,000.00. I wasinvited to be on that train, but felt it was far toocrowded....besides, myself and two of my cousins currently lease 350 acres on the eastern shorefor muzzeloader and rifleseason. The landowner takes 500.00 from each of us for the two seasons. I have yet to kill there(only my 2nd time there), but my cousins have been gunningthere for 25 years and have some amazing heads to show for it. The Eastern Shore produces some absolute monsters.

..ever see this guy?

















Giant from Maryland
Poster: dano (see this users gallery)

[align=center]
Hunter shatters state buck record


'Stunning' total antler score exceeds 1987 mark by 40 inches


BY CANDUS THOMSON SUN REPORTER ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 30, 2006


Last year, Bill Crutchfield Sr. made a run at the big bucks in Maryland's "Diamond Jim" $1 million fishing tournament.


This year, his son got a different kind of big buck - a deer with antlers massive enough to put most chandeliers to shame and obliterate a state record almost two decades old.


He does the fishing, and I do the hunting," said Bill Crutchfield Jr., as he waited yesterday afternoon for state certification.


With a crowd of camera-phone-toting hunters and Department of Natural Resources officials watching, Crutchfield hauled the carcass from the refrigerator at Hitchcock Taxidermy in Severn for the tale of the tape.


The buck had 13 points on each 25-inch antler. The entire rack spanned slightly more than 21 inches tip to tip. After measuring all the antler tines and space between the prongs, Crutchfield's total score was 268 4/8 inches, breaking the mark set in 1987 of 228 4/8 inches (antlers are measured in 1/8th-inch increments).


"That's stunning. That's a beast," said Paul Peditto, the head of DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service.


For Crutchfield, Monday afternoon's hunt in southern Charles County was a waiting game that began just minutes after he settled into his tree stand and heard a sound behind him in a marsh.


"I turned around and seen him lay down about 100 yards away," recalled Crutchfield, 39, a Charles County native and a firefighter at the Indian Head Naval Surface Weapons Center. "I seen him shake his head and could see just a bit of his rack. I seen him last year and I knew he was big."


To calm his nerves, he called a hunting buddy, who reminded Crutchfield that he had plenty of daylight left and to take deep breaths.


About an hour passed as the hunter calculated the distance and thought about the shot. Suddenly, about 40 yards behind the big buck, an eight-point buck walked out.


Minutes later, "my deer stood up and it was over like that," said Crutchfield, who after looking at the buck called his friend again to alert him that the state record was in jeopardy.


To gain a spot in the national record books, Crutchfield will have to let the antlers air-dry for 60 days and then submit them for additional measurements to an official of the Boone and Crockett Club, the official record-keeping organization for North American big game.


Because some bucks develop racks that do not have an equal number of tines on each side, the club divides entries into "typical," or symmetrical, and "non-typical."


While the unsymmetrical antlers on Crutchfield's buck will never be mistaken for the world record of 333 7/8 inches, they easily made the 185-inch minimum to be included in the next edition of the Boone and Crockett award book.


Word of Crutchfield's accomplishment attracted a previous record holder, Walt Lachewitz of Gambrills, to Hitchcock's shop, to swap stories and snap pictures.


"Sad? No," said Lachewitz, who in 1998 bagged a white-tailed deer on the Eastern Shore that scored 185 7/8 inches. "I'm happy when someone gets a big one because it doesn't happen often. You could hunt for 10 lifetimes and not see a buck like that."


Now the AMAZING thing about this buck is that he only weighed 150 pounds field dressed. He was all antlers.. Well maybe 30% of him was...[/align]

Redclub

Look at it from the landowners part, $30 doesn't even cover half his taxes, A nice rifle/scope combo costs that much, not too mention clothes,license, I spent over $1000 for license this year ($800 for Co. non-resident alone). Hobbies are not cheap anymore, look at a nice golf glub. Now I own land in Central Wi. and don't charge anything, Brother -in law hunts rifle deason, I go up north on public land very few hunters but not near the deer.
If your $1800 cover deer Turkey (Spring and fall) ducks grouse rabbits etc. That is a lot of good times for your money. Good land here is going for that and more, There has to be some incentive for farmers/landowners to keep there land Taxes are just killing us,
Redclub

bigcountry

Dave,I know where you and the boys used to hunt. And have a feeling you havn't been to Paptasco or Liberty lately. Its overrun with people. Last year, on every piece of paptasco land, during the month of Nov. there was at least 6 hunters every day. And most are not over 150-200 acres. I have hunted all these lands since moving to MD. And can tell ya 12 years ago, it was a lot less crowded.

But yea, I am kinda tore about it. Thats alot of money to waste.