One of the toughest decisions a hunter can make

One of the toughest decisions a hunter can make has nothing to do with pulling a trigger. No, one of the toughest decisions is when it's time to walk away from a lease or relationship with a fellow hunter, with the two often being closely linked. Like any relationship, there are times when things become unhealthy to the individual as a result of behaviors and attitudes that are simply not compatible. And walking away can be extremely difficult when you fear you'll be left with no place to hunt and having to start from scratch.

Having been there, I can say without hesitation that it's worth any inconvience or hardship when you find yourself having to make such a decision. And I'm sure there are others here who would quickly agree.

You gotta' do what's best for you, your family, and your health. Take a deep breathe, and follow 'ur gut feelings. Tomorrow will be a brighter day!!

yep, that can be a tough one! Best wishes and hopefully you can keep the friendship even while not hunting together.

I hear you man. Got off my in-laws place last year which was free (aside from my feed) to seek better deer and hunting practices. There are some hard feelings between us and I don't think the wife will ever understand why I did it. 15+ years of seeing 90% does without having permission to shoot took it's toll, but I never argued as they were the OWNERS.

Moving on to bigger and better things with a group I can work with to improve our hunting and deer herd.

people are easy to ignore. Keep hunting be happy

My most recent experience was with a lease that broke apart and left the relationship with the landowners dang near destroyed. Thankfully, I had other roots in the area and have since been able to restablish a good relationship with them.

Should I ever write a book about hunting, the title of the first chapter will be "Relationships".

You hit the nail on the head - biggest factor on a deer lease can be the relationships - good or bad - with other hunters, with the land owners, game wardens, etc. I serve as lease boss for our group of 12 hunters. I spend a lot of time trying to find the right people to fit our group. Also lots of communication and very clear guidelines. At the end of the day it is like everything else in life - mutual respect. Hope you land on a good place

Thanks.

I have two small private tracts, plus access to public land that I've been hunting for years. The lease will be for some relatives who want to get into hunting. Of course, I also want to mend the relationship that suffered when the earlier lease collapsed.

Hunted a place in Lampassas for 2 years. The two guys that ran the place ran it like a couple of Nazis. No matter what you did you could bet it was the wrong thing to do and they would let you know it too. One night everyone but one of the Nazis were eating outside at the dinner table. One of the lease members went inside the house to do something and the unsociable Nazi started ripping him about something stupid and that lease member smarted off back to him and the unsociable Nazi told him he was kicked off the lease. The guy comes outside and told us what happened and that was the straw that broke the camels back. We all stormed the house and tore into the unsociable Nazi to the point it dang near became a brawl! We all had the unsociable Nazi so scared he was literally in tears (no joke)! That was our last year on the lease and they never found anyone else to join their cult so they had to leave as well.

None of us ever regretted what we did that night. It had to be done and as far as I know everyone is far happier on the places they hunt now.

Truer words haven't been said in a long time

I understand - our goal at our lease is "No Drama" - I have all the drama at work and in life I want - when I go to the deer lease that is the last thing needed

Dan a hunting lease is a hard thing to find and to give up. Piece of mind shouldn't be hard at all.

Every deer camp would most likely benefit from a sign posted with those two words.

I agree - at our place it is pretty simple - you bring drama and you are gone. Got a problem? Then let's discuss it face to face and work it out.

It must be difficult to have conflict with family or friends on a hunting lease that should be a place of mental peace with nature. I am lucky to hav a good group of hunters that get along. We have our own hunting area and our own living quarters. We take care of our own situation, feed, work, etc and hang around the camp fire at night and talk about hunting. Alcohol consumption is in moderation and at night only. It works and is enjoyable to my fellow hunters and our wives. Good luck with your future hunting.

I have always said that openings at good leases are hard to find because their members usually stay until they die or move away, and the remaining members are very suspect of any newcomers, as they probably should be.

Thankfully, things are back together again for me and these landowners. Still, it will take several seasons to ensure the wounds are completely healed. My original post was directed more at those who may be struggling with their own decision to walk away from a lease and the relationships that go with it. While it may be a tough one and may even result in you having to miss a season, it will most likely be a decision you will not regret.

I am about to lose one of my hunting places for a lot of reasons.

1. Crazy people
2. Crazy alcohol consumption
3. Dangerous gun handling
4. Children affected by reasons 1-3

Sad thing is we are all family. But its gotten completely out of hand. I have hunted there for ten years. In fact I shot my first five or six deer there. I learned how to field dress/skin/bone deer there. Its an hour from my house. But its got to end. Fortunately I have at least two other places on a different side of the family that are available to me at least one weekend each.

I need to get my own place.

Sometimes distance from family isn't necessarily a bad thing.

I was on a lease close by from when I was 17 until I turned 42. Family, then our family company lease, then we sold the company and it was going to go back to just my brother, who'd been my boss for 18 years, and a couple of friends. I have tons of memories of my dad from there, memories of friends, and it's a beautiful, rugged place, but it was time for a clean break. I've bounced around, gone on package hunts, have my own small place and tried a lease or two. I've met a lot of great guys that I probably never would have if I'd stayed on that lease and been the "step and fetch it". Trying a place this year with friends from church. Hopefully it will turn into another very long-term thing.

Make your own life, don't let family make it for you.

Relationships and Respect are key for all members on a lease.
I have been very fortunate to be on good leases. Wish you well
Dan.

Thanks. Closed the deal this weekend. Three of us will be hunting 200 acres that borders another 300 acres of public land. If all goes well, we'll add three more hunters and pick up another 200 acres next year.

As I mentioned earlier, I got this lease more for my SIL, with the third person being his dad

That aint a hard decision. A sharp knife cuts the quickest. Get to cuttin and get her done. Go down the road and never look back. If you can't be around them, then there aint no reason to stay.