How do leasing land work?

[GodGunAndCountry]

What is the minimum acres you need? 5 acres? 50 acres?

 

[Ski]

For me it would depend on the property. Habitat features and surrounding properties are key. A small 5 acre thick woodlot surrounded by hundreds of acres of ag that has nobody else hunting would be worth far more to me than 50 acres of open timber surrounded by properties with other other hunters. This is why very large acreage leases are so popular.

When somebody leases a property, it's largely because they want a piece of ground they can hunt without having to compete with other hunters. If it's a big enough lease there will likely be multiple people sharing the lease to offset cost, with a certain number of acres per hunter ratio. That in itself can become an issue because as lease membership grows, you edge closer & closer to negating the premise of having a lease in the first place. I'd rather hunt public land for free than to pay part of a 5000 acre lease I share with 9 other guys. But if I could singly lease a small acreage lot that had the right habitat features, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But those don't exist that I'm aware of. Most every lease I've ever seen was large acreage.

I've always thought that if small property owners offered their land up for lease, they'd do well. There are countless hunters who'd love to lease ground but either don't have the financial ability to pay for a large piece, don't have an in with a group to cooperatively lease a big place, or else aren't interested in sharing a property with other hunters. What the lease market lacks, IMO, is small property leases that would be affordable enough to market to individuals.

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

For me it would depend on the property. Habitat features and surrounding properties are key. A small 5 acre thick woodlot surrounded by hundreds of acres of ag that has nobody else hunting would be worth far more to me than 50 acres of open timber surrounded by properties with other other hunters. This is why very large acreage leases are so popular.

When somebody leases a property, it's largely because they want a piece of ground they can hunt without having to compete with other hunters. If it's a big enough lease there will likely be multiple people sharing the lease to offset cost, with a certain number of acres per hunter ratio. That in itself can become an issue because as lease membership grows, you edge closer & closer to negating the premise of having a lease in the first place. I'd rather hunt public land for free than to pay part of a 5000 acre lease I share with 9 other guys. But if I could singly lease a small acreage lot that had the right habitat features, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But those don't exist that I'm aware of. Most every lease I've ever seen was large acreage.

I've always thought that if small property owners offered their land up for lease, they'd do well. There are countless hunters who'd love to lease ground but either don't have the financial ability to pay for a large piece, don't have an in with a group to cooperatively lease a big place, or else aren't interested in sharing a property with other hunters. What the lease market lacks, IMO, is small property leases that would be affordable enough to market to individuals.

I see, thank you for you very helpful post. This got me to the right direction

 

[Ski]

I see, thank you for you very helpful post. This got me to the right direction

You're welcome. Mine is only one hunter's opinion, though. No doubt others on here will have other insight to offer. Interesting topic.

 

[hoghunter65]

I use to lease 80 acres from bowater, I was also on a 4000acre lease for 10 years, I enjoyed the smaller lease much more than I did the large one, only three of us hunted the small lease where there was 70 on the big one.I only hunt public now, too much good public land around you can hunt for free

 

[Omega]

For me it would depend on the property. Habitat features and surrounding properties are key. A small 5 acre thick woodlot surrounded by hundreds of acres of ag that has nobody else hunting would be worth far more to me than 50 acres of open timber surrounded by properties with other other hunters. This is why very large acreage leases are so popular.

When somebody leases a property, it's largely because they want a piece of ground they can hunt without having to compete with other hunters. If it's a big enough lease there will likely be multiple people sharing the lease to offset cost, with a certain number of acres per hunter ratio. That in itself can become an issue because as lease membership grows, you edge closer & closer to negating the premise of having a lease in the first place. I'd rather hunt public land for free than to pay part of a 5000 acre lease I share with 9 other guys. But if I could singly lease a small acreage lot that had the right habitat features, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But those don't exist that I'm aware of. Most every lease I've ever seen was large acreage.

I've always thought that if small property owners offered their land up for lease, they'd do well. There are countless hunters who'd love to lease ground but either don't have the financial ability to pay for a large piece, don't have an in with a group to cooperatively lease a big place, or else aren't interested in sharing a property with other hunters. What the lease market lacks, IMO, is small property leases that would be affordable enough to market to individuals.

My issue is that it seems many hunters want exclusivity, I hunt my little place and usually get the number of deer I want. I haven't got any bruisers, well at least haven't seen any in my scope, but have never measured a single deer, just weigh them on the hoof. I looked into the possibility of leasing but exclusivity , liability and a few other factors just didn't seem like it was something I wanted to fool with.

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

I use to lease 80 acres from bowater, I was also on a 4000acre lease for 10 years, I enjoyed the smaller lease much more than I did the large one, only three of us hunted the small lease where there was 70 on the big one.I only hunt public now, too much good public land around you can hunt for free

It seems like Nashville area is harder, maybe around Johnson city is better where my in law is

 

[Boll Weevil]

If you don't have experience with leases, please know there can be some heartache involved if the landowner makes changes (after years of lessees investing in the property). Timber companies for example are in the business of making money and if that means clearcutting or selling holdings that's exactly what they do. Landowner deciding after a year of leasing to just let family hunt or selling the property...same thing. And look out for sub-leases; folks that lease for $5/ac and turn right around and lease it to you for $10/ac. You gotta do your homework or could be left with not-so-great a leasing experience. Ask lots of questions and GET IT IN WRITING.

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

If you don't have experience with leases, please know there can be some heartache involved if the landowner makes changes (after years of lessees investing in the property). Timber companies for example are in the business of making money and if that means clearcutting or selling holdings that's exactly what they do. Landowner deciding after a year of leasing to just let family hunt or selling the property...same thing. And look out for sub-leases; folks that lease for $5/ac and turn right around and lease it to you for $10/ac. You gotta do your homework or could be left with not-so-great a leasing experience. Ask lots of questions and GET IT IN WRITING.

That is fair take on this , I appreciated it

 

[killingtime 41]

It seems like Nashville area is harder, maybe around Johnson city is better where my in law is

Johnson city is non existent. Tons of farmland being gobbled up to make subdivisions for Yankees to move into. For prices locals couldn't begin to pay.

 

[Kirk]

I own 10.2 acres. I have killed 63 deer on it since I bought it in 1991. I have also been on leases with thousands of acres over the years and probably taken less than 10 off the leases. Small property in the right spot is a goldmine.

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

Johnson city is non existent. Tons of farmland being gobbled up to make subdivisions for Yankees to move into. For prices locals couldn't begin to pay.

That is true!! I was wonder why it is almost as expensive as nashville

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

I own 10.2 acres. I have killed 63 deer on it since I bought it in 1991. I have also been on leases with thousands of acres over the years and probably taken less than 10 off the leases. Small property in the right spot is a goldmine.

Do have a range or go shot on your land. I was wonder if active target shoot will scare away animal.

 

[Kirk]

Do have a range or go shot on your land. I was wonder if active target shoot will scare away animal.

I not only shoot on it, I have lived on it for 19 years. Have dogs and chickens too. I fenced and live on the front 1/3 of the property. The deer have the rest to roam on.

 

[Ski]

My issue is that it seems many hunters want exclusivity, I hunt my little place and usually get the number of deer I want. I haven't got any bruisers, well at least haven't seen any in my scope, but have never measured a single deer, just weigh them on the hoof. I looked into the possibility of leasing but exclusivity , liability and a few other factors just didn't seem like it was something I wanted to fool with.

Yeah there's expense involved for sure to have exclusivity. That's why people split the cost with others, which sacrifices the exclusivity. It's a conundrum. That's why I think there's room in the lease market for tiny, individual leases that would be affordable for one person. Lots of folks own small properties. I'd think if they knew they could make a little money from unused acreage, they'd do it.

 

[GodGunAndCountry]

Yeah there's expense involved for sure to have exclusivity. That's why people split the cost with others, which sacrifices the exclusivity. It's a conundrum. That's why I think there's room in the lease market for tiny, individual leases that would be affordable for one person. Lots of folks own small properties. I'd think if they knew they could make a little money from unused acreage, they'd do it.

Do you think you can hunt on 5 acres?

 

[scn]

Do you think you can hunt on 5 acres?

Of course you can hunt on 5 acres.

The question is whether or not you can do it safely and maybe legally.

If the terrain is such that you don't have an adequate backstop for bullets that could exit the property, then maybe not. Hunting from an elevated position where you are shooting down is a lot safer than from a ground blind on level ground. Only you can make that decision. But, you open yourself up for a charge of reckless endangerment if bullets don't stay on the property.

The other issue is whether surrounding landowners are OK with giving you permission to come onto their land and track/retrieve a deer that runs off of your property. With a gun, you can be very selective of your shots and often put the deer down in its tracks with certain types of shots. With a bow, they often are going to run, and very likely exit 5 acres. If the landowner you lease from has a good relationship with his/her neighbors, permission to retrieve may not be a big issue. Just remember that it is illegal to go onto the property of another to track or retrieve a deer without their permission.

Be aware that this is the time of year that finds leasing scams at their peak. There are annual scams where people that don't even own the property will "lease" it to an unknowing person. Or, they "lease" to multiple different groups of hunters while promising it is exclusive. Do your homework before turning over any money.

 

[Ski]

Do you think you can hunt on 5 acres?

Of course! If 5 acres is what I get, that's what I hunt, and I'm happy to have it! One of the properties I regularly hunt is 4.5 acres. I kill several deer and at least one buck on that tiny property every year. My wife killed the buck in the pic there within the first hour of the only day she hunted that season. Granted the place has a lot of habitat features packed in to its 4.5 acres. It's a long, narrow property that splits two 20 acre fields that alternate beans & corn, and the fence line that splits them is overgrown into a thicket. The back acre is wooded with a large creek running along the border. That creek runs for miles and deer use it as a freeway, especially during rut.

So yeah, if the property has some terrain or habitat features that deer utilize, you can hunt 5 acres quite effectively.

 

[Swampster]

Yeah there's expense involved for sure to have exclusivity. That's why people split the cost with others, which sacrifices the exclusivity. It's a conundrum. That's why I think there's room in the lease market for tiny, individual leases that would be affordable for one person. Lots of folks own small properties. I'd think if they knew they could make a little money from unused acreage, they'd do it.

That may be a good strategy for landowners who don't have the ability or desire to hunt anymore. Bring in a little income and give you a new audience to chew the fat with.

 

[Ski]

That may be a good strategy for landowners who don't have the ability or desire to hunt anymore. Bring in a little income and give you a new audience to chew the fat with.

I'd for sure be a consumer for a small lease that I could have all to myself. But I have no interest at all in sharing leases or being a paying member of a club/lease. If I had say $1000 to spend on a lease and had a choice between a couple hundred acres to myself or a couple thousand acres to share with a dozen other guys, I'm taking the small personal lease every time. Better yet I'd much prefer spend it on a small handful of 20-100 acre leases so I can have options on where to hunt. Problem is that I don't think it exists. I've never seen a small property lease.

 

[ROB]

My lease experience didn't have a good ending. I was invited to be part of a lease in Henry Co. 1000 acres. 8 guys. One never hunted. 2 only turkey hunted. A house trailer was on the property & it was in decent shape. I knew all 4 of the other guys that hunted & liked them. We all got along. The deer were plentiful but not huge. We all agreed that we would pass on all bucks younger than 3 1/2. Everyone kept their word. We all worked some to put in food plots, trim branches, etc. Some worked more. Those who couldn't work more paid more. About 90% of the land was crop land, always planted in corn. Biggest buck of the 4 years was an 8 pointer I shot that scored a bit over 130. He was the biggest buck I ever saw on that lease or had a chance to shoot.

Then, a dude came in & offered the owner 8 times what we were paying, with the stipulation that he could sublease. She took it. He then subleased for cheap to 40 guys. He told team they were getting the lease cheap so if he heard the first complaint, they were gone. I don't know why he stopped at 40 because he could have leased to 100 guys if he wanted. First year, guys were bumping into one another. When the sun would come up, one guy would find another guy had set up 20 yards away from him. There were a couple of fist fights. A couple of guys complained. He kicked them off the lease right in front of everyone else & told everyone else if they wanted to leave, go right now & don't let the gate hit them in the but on the way out.

Every small basket rack or wreck rack got a bullet because "If I don't shoot him, somebody else will!" It was a dumpster fire. Deer sightings were near zero, People started hating the other ppl they were in the lease with. I had a friend that was in on the lease for a time (Not one of the original guys.) He said if a deer stepped out, there migh be 4-5 guys shooting at it.

So, I got out & started looking for land to buy. I started saving money for a down payment. Took a sammich to work instead of ordering out for lunch. Ate at home most nights. Didn't take big vacations. Found a little farm & bought it. That was 15 years ago. Still driving the same truck I had then. Still making payments on the land. But I don't have to worry that someone else is going to snatch it away from me.

 

[recurve60#]

Small properties can be great hunting. Ive lived on 26 acres for 19 years and I have deer coming out my ears, so yes, leasing small properties that hold wildlife is very productive. Make sure you know the safe directions to shoot and enjoy.