Not trying to get anyone stirred up here because i know how some feel about leasing land. I try and see both ends of the spectrum from the Leaser and the Lease'e. just wondering why you think they even got so trendy these days. Do you think it was Greed $$ on the Leaser's end, Greed to have land to themselves on the Lease'es end, Both, Or kinda,, but not fullproof for the land owner to know who is on his land and be covered by a contract and insurance??? I have been on one now for about 6 years and just picked up another yesterday. IMO you are not going to get enough people to say Heck no im not paying to hunt your land because believe me people are going to pay anyway. My first lease is 800 acres and starts at my back door. Its owed by a mega land owner and overseen by other individules. Im sure the money was the strong factor in them deciding to lease the properties. My neighbor does some reclaim work for them on some of there old strip mine ground, and he got first shot at it because he neighbors it to, and the Leaser wanted people close by to police it.( 4 of us border its boundries) The list of other people was huge, that wanted it to if we didnt. SO if we didnt, we would have been on the edge looking in on something we had been hunting for awhile in our back yards. Yeah there is public ground, and it gets pounded every year especially in gun season. Its on old strip mine ground with rolly hills all over and accessing the back burner is a killer to get where other wont hunt. Public ground is a good thing so dont get me wrong and there is nothing wrong with choosing it over leasing, cheaper on the wallet for sure Dont get me wrong ill likely hunt public someday just to try and get a mature buck where most wont. IMO some other reasons other than money, land owners are leasing is guarding themselves from lawsuites. I personally know of people who had tresspassed, got hurt, sued the land owner and collected money and damit they were not supposed to be there. I know farmers who are now leasing there land because of people messing with there equipment, and driving through there crops. I HATED when it first started in my area and believe me its all over my area now. Some of the things that i LOVE about it are the fact that we now have BIG bucks on it, because we are able to manage it a bit. When it was free range you were lucky to see anything over 1 1/2 years old. I can remember one year opening day of gun season, when it was free range, counting 50 vehicles parked on the one old haul road I feel for the guys that used to hunt it, but now cant, i see there side of the story and sometimes feel guilty for being on it. like i said, not trying to get people riled up, but how do you feel about leasing??? ON BOTH ENDS??/ Keep it civil guys!
The problem with hunting is that too many people are doing it. As long as the acreage continues to deplete, and the number of hunters, nationwide, stays static, we will keep seeing increasing competition for a deteriorating resource. Leasing is the natural outflow of "getting new people into hunting." As long as this trend continues, expect to see leases and land prices continue to grow.
Well said Fran,,,agreed!! I see no shortage of hunters in the future either. Some newer hunters( just a phrase ) are raised with Leases right off the bat, and really dont know Hunting the way it was before them. So its just what it is.
I think land prices are going to continue to grow no matter what, it used to be cheap, and they aren't making any more of it. I will NEVER tell a farmer/landowner that he is greedy for making money off of his land/investment. In fact that would be greed on my part for want of accessing his land. I hope it doesn't turn into EVERYTHING being leased, but I can certainly understand a landowners likes of leasing...and the dislikes. I know a LOT of landowners who despise leasing, which is understandable as well. They feel like a contract over rights to THEIR land is too restrictive. For now in my area, only the PRIMO huge tracts are being leased, but I am starting to notice a trickle down effect.
The leasing that I don't like is leasing with no intention of hunting it. For example, one guy owns 40 acres yet leases his neighbors 80 acres just to keep others from shooting "his deer". In the process, 2 other guys are now SOL due to the 80 being leased. That is definition of hunter greed, which is far more common IMO.
I guess I am not one to say I am against it...the way I look at it is like this, I have a interest in protecting my right to hunt, therefore to further maintain that right I would want to own a tract of land to do so. If I am not able to do so, then leasing would be my next best option. Then from there is public land, which will always be a resource available to us....to some degree. I do not envy those who lease nor do I look down upon the landowner for leasing it out. Heck the landowner has to pay the taxes and maintaince, so why should I expect to utilize it for nothing ? Farmers have a tough time making a living and they have found a way to make additional income off recreational leasing....we all know the price of milk at $10.00 per hundred doesn't quite cut it. my2cents
