Hello. I am new to deer hunting and have been looking for a lease for my son and I. I see that they charge per gun and that each gun has a limit. I've never had a lease or been hunting so excuse my ignorance. If each gun were allowed 2 buck, would it be against the rules to share my gun with my son and we each kill a buck? Or would each individual person have to purchase a gun? Thanks.

Every lease has different rules. Some allow you to share your limit with family, some do not. Generally each Hunter has to pay for their "spot" or "gun" on the lease. Just ask to be sure.

When we lease per gun...means per person...now with your son,--we have guys that have leased one of our places for 15 years...and they "manage" it...I know we say no more that 4 guns (1500 ac) 2 guys lease it...but their kids hunt too...I think that should be worked out with the land owner,and the other people in the group hunting...I would not have a problem with it...everywhere is a bit different... Welcome!

Ed

Any lease that I have ever been on has always allowed the lease holder, and his family or guest, to shoot the allowed animals. As long as the total number was within the lease agreement. The "per gun" may be better defined as "per lease spot." IME

All depends what the agreement is for the lease. Just make sure you fully understand the agreement upfront and have it in writing. Nothing will ruin a lease for you faster than when you thought you and all the lease members understood the agreement and then something happens which completely changes said agreed upon agreement.

Also, fully understand the concept of having your kids hunt under your tags. That means if you hunt a two buck/three doe county, then you and your kid should only take a total of five deer and the bucks should meet the requirements of the county being hunted. If you want to take additional deer than you should buy another full spot for your kid.

A good lease can be a special place for you and your son to share some quality time together, a 'situation' can change that quickly and make it pure hell from that moment on. I've been there and it is not a healthy situation (a lot of stress and animosity).

Great advice^^^^^

Totally depends. I have been on some where each member has their allocation and it does not matter who shoots them. Others say hunter only and no guests. Should be discussed with the land owner and captured clearly in the lease agreement.

Was on a lease for 11 years ,At first it was wide open. You paid your fee and so did the next guy. Problem was the "next guy" brought out his kids and there cousins etc etc.(were talking from cub scout age to full grown adults).
One guy shouldn't be shooting 5 deer to other members 1 for the same fee(especially when they hunted your areas)...so it was changed to X amount per gun, meaning the if you could shoot 1 buck and 2 doe...that was it no matter who did the shooting from your "family".
We did allow acceptations in the last week of the season and during youth hunt weekends. I don't know what they are doing there now...lease price quadrupled inside of 11 years and the camp became a nightly whiskey bar, happy hour,that was just more club than camp atmosphere ....I decided to move on! Sad it was a good lease.

You didn't state how old your son is, but assuming he's a teenager or under, you definitely want to sign him up here http://www.tyhp.org Great folks/organization and will be the cheapest deer hunt you'll ever go on.

Charlie

IMO if the two of you are hunting together in the same blind, and only taking a number of deer equal to one license or equal to the lease restriction, then you should only pay for one person. But if you intend to hunt separately, even if you limit the harvest number, you need to pay for a second hunter. But as pointed out above it will vary and depend on the lease in question.

Yes, the "per gun" was most likely in response to leases that allowed everyone in the paying member's family to hunt off his/her membership and each take the county bag limit of deer. For some, the term is taken more literally and means if you show up with a gun, you must be a full paying member. Others (as some have already commented) allow immediate family members to hunt off the paying family member's membership, so long as the total number of deer taken by the family does not exceed what each paying member is allowed.

IMO, the latter way is okay, so long as the paying member is present but not hunting whenever an immediate family member is hunting. Otherwise, I could see an issue when a guy has two or three teenagers and they all take turns hunting the lease, while the single guys cannot keep such a pace since there is only one of them. This situation may also point to the need for a rule that once a kid reaches the age where he/she can drive, they cannot hunt off their parent's membership, but must become a full paying member. Simply put, if the paying member can hunt every day, more power to him. But when his membership is being used routinely by every member of his family, he's hogging the lease, at least IMO.

Thanks for all the input. I went today and talked to the lease owner and he said that my son or guest could get a deer with my "gun" and it would just count towards my allowed limit. I signed up and am looking forward to getting started in hunting.

You don't have to use the same gun, the "per gun" means "per lease spot". Now using the same gun isn't an issue, but that's not what the "per gun" means