Greener pastures

With the season winding down. Who's looking for a new place to hunt? I'm happy with my places.

For once, I am not

I am. Its hard to give up on our lease. This is the 6th season and the first 3 were first class. The last 3 have been terrible. The first three we took 6 deer all over 130 inches. 2 barely hitting that mark, 2 close to 140, 1 143 and a 152.

There were plenty if big deer on camera but that changed last year. Our numbers dropped drastically and this year we struggled to even see deer. Not certain if the drought finally took its toll but i am having a hard time convincing myself to stick it out.

I am moving on to a place a lot closer to home and FREE Been on my current lease for 3 years and this year will be the last. We ended up finding quite a few of the LO "family" hunting there when we weren't there, and a couple of times when we were there.(Once they saw us they high tailed it outta there) There have been gates left open that we have been blamed for. LO has recently been fairly combative as well. This season has been a dud all together. Glad to be moving on.

I'm thinking it is time for a change. I want a place with some rules.

I am in the mood for a switch too. I have had some good deer I would be really happy to shoot if they came around, but they have been pretty nocturnal this year. That's not saying that during the rut they all went into hiding mode, or hole-up mode, because my lease has no cover for deer it is just a travel to get some food kind of place. IN the past it wasn't as big a deal, we saw deer the first year on a semi-regular basis, sometimes it was out a ways and there was no shot but at least we saw stuff. Second year was all excited since summer was full of deer but they never really showed much. Last year we took three deer off the place but after opener we saw nothing, and I mean nothing. this year, had warm weather during bow season that kept all the deer nocturnal and then the typical departure during November, but they came back in December but just at night, despite cooler weather. Had some perfect days I hunted weatherwise and still didnt' see a dang thing. Don't understand it. I am not going to just move, but if the right place comes available I will be moving.

No plans to leave but if the right spot opened up I would. Great place I'm on so it would definitely have to be something special. Or mine.

Then you need to go change your vote on that rule poll thread!

I'm looking to change. The guy who runs it make up rules as he goes and changes them to suit him and his brother. I'm looking for a lease with firm but fair rules and it starts with no hunting anyone else's stand or stand area without permission. And then I'd like management rules. I'd love to be on a lease where getting a 140+ each year with the opportunity to get a 150 every so often is legitimate.

Some of the things you folks are talking about are the reason I prefer to have a lease to myself (and ideally would deal direct with the land owner). Though I haven't had good luck finding "good", 1 or 2 person leases.

Myself and a friend had a place in Putnam, 1000 acres, set up for 5 guns. We leased the entire place between the two of us so needless to say it was a little pricey and it turned out to be a bit disappointing. Found a "400" acre place set up for two guns after that. Leased it by myself. Saved money vs the Putnam place but was a complete bust - only saw a couple deer (either no shot opportunity or not legal (antler restrictions)), land owner family hunting, lease broker guiding day hunts, and the broker (when he lost the deal with the land owner took two of my cameras).

On the hunt... for a place to hunt.

What county were you in? We only took one mature buck on our place this year while last year we got 3 and saw many on camera ready for this year. Buddy up the road on a high $ lease had many nice bucks taken last year. This year nothing. Did not have a good year. I sat in a blind last weekend with no phone to look at and watched two very nice bucks walk 180 yards past feeder. They don't care for corn. Only could see them for seconds but they were very nice legal bucks. Same bucks in S. Tex. would have shown up at food plot at same distance but you could watch them.

Sounds like most want a 10k acre S Tex ranch fully managed for them.

"I saw good deer, they went nocturnal, etc" it has taken many of us many many years to shoot good deer. If you want a lease to shoot 140 inch deer year after year, it does not exist unless you put in the work to make it that. And very hard expensive work. It is not cheap or easy.

Even very good leases go bad for a variety of reasons:
1.Owner dies and kids take over
2.New neighbors shoot anything that walks
3.Price escalates too much, too fast
4.Owners friends/family begin to use your blinds and feeders when you are away.
5.Neighboring property sells and owner finds out price and decides to sell.
I have had all of the above happen to me. I bought my own place 17 years ago and have not looked back.
When you are the owner, YOU make the rules...nuf said!

Those pesky details

Not really if you live off of your neighbors management plan. You can just show up and shoot a buck in the right location. It can really be that easy, if you can find that place. Finding that place will take some work though.
I am very happy with all of the places I hunt.

Probably see how our new place is a second year at least. The owner does have that common tendency though of wanting your money (and in this, case plenty of money), but doesn't want you to actually shoot anything. We were way under what the state biologist recommended to take off, according to the count, but the owner still frets. But, I think he's just one of those guys that life in general frustrates the hell out of him.

how sweet it is...blood, sweat, and tears

Happy with mine. But always looking for a better place.

Consolidating from 2 leases to one - if I can find one. I have one with great people, but no rules, no plan and rapidly declining in quality of hunting. The second lease has great hunting but not a good fit with the other hunters. Can't explain it. Good guys and no friction, just not meshing. I was surprised at how many times I opted for poor hunting with an enjoyable group of guys over the opposite.

Its all how the owner is for me. Leased for 20 years from the same person, an 80 summod year old woman it was her place and she would tell you that frequently, but she was honest and fair and her word was good as gold. After she passed her son took the place over and momma must have done something right because the son was also good as gold. Gave up the lease when we bought our own property to hunt, never regretted it, but do miss the people sometimes.

we are staying unless we can find a place a little bigger...if not, not a huge deal...happy so far..this year was slow for us too but in talking to folks all over it seemed like a weird year all around...

Happy with lease and landowner.

got so tired of the bs that i bought 47acres 27yrs ago and i kill a decent buck every year. wont ever go back to leasing.

my lease is great, close to home, big deer, great neighbors. my own land....well, my lease is great.

I could be happy for most all reasons considered on our lease. The exception is the people who have the grazing rights on the property. We are at the end of a county road. There is a gate and cattle guard. We try to keep the gate locked at all times but the rancher leaves it unlocked most of the time. We want it locked in order to keep people out and protect our trailers etc. the man is just hard headed I guess....we have notified him when there is a sick animal, fence problem and problems with water for his cattle. Feel the frustration.

Our LO four kids took over our property this year. Two of them want to keep the property and the other two want to sell it. As of now our property is on the market so keeping an eye out for a new place.

Aghh, greener pastures... The beginning of fencing, not the French word ing... The English word for pudding one post in at a time, stretching wire, for boundry ta keep ones livestock from graising greener pastures .... History of the range wars...

We're looking for a place closer to home. At my age 4 1/2 to 5 hours of windshield time gets old.

Or it's just plain shot out, that seems to be the biggest reason I've seen. When you have multiple people hunting one place and everybody wanting to put venison in the freezer it don't take long.

I would too! Don't know about that area but around here I can't find one ranch where the states done a headcount. The only person from the state that's been on my place or the big ranch has been the game warden and that's pretty rare. The stated doesn't have a clue as to what the real population is around here so any recommendation they gave I'd throw out the window. The deer density on my place is pretty high for several reasons. I feed the hell out of it. I control what get's taken off and when it;s hunted. To the east of me is 1200 acres that has 4 people hunting it (I'll leave out the fenceline complaints). They took 8 bucks and 9 does this year. We took 3 bucks and 2 does off of 1920 acres. They'll have it shot out by next year. Hell if it wasn't for my place all the surround area would be shot out. Around here the serious land owners and hunters look at 1 buck per section and maybe 2 does. That seems to keep a very healthy sustainable population.

As usual my posts ain't worth As pappy once said: i gotta be me, no one else wants the job... The 25+ years in Smith county it was a 1buck county no doe tags, except archery... Foundry work tis what payed the bills... Enjoy the outdoors... Helped fix fence, pull up new, & put up bails, brush hog, just piddlen out doors... Leasing was new ta me, tis how its done here in so when heard the chance ta hunt hogs 24-7-365 for en & chillen every one else was doing it... One lease was a 4deer county just before we got on it, rules came out, 1 buck or two does, doe was couple days only... People hunted with were basicaly family & friends... Basicay BBT ... i walked to & fro to stands... Scraps, rubs, tracks, bedding, droppings & such...
Blessed when the WMA opened up down the road... Took less than a minute ta fill out info card... Hunters eyes & ears , tis sure some will disagree, last few years they gone high-tech just like hunting leases, & as i twas doing at my set-up, cams ...
Around 2010 it went 4deer county... Leases,on 4 deer county were way out of price, even during the best low income years .... Yet seen HF hmmm, hunting form , see if some one wants ta do some hog hunten on WMA most can aford the $48.00 permit ... Tis not for every one though... i got cheap posts, going threw, hunting withdrawls

Hey Hwy_Man My place is not far from your place. We have three hunters, Only took 2 5.5 years bucks off the place. We have about 1/1 ratio if not more bucks. Now if the deer get over by Tod Road everything is legal

Greener pastures... Great thread... Been singing the blues this year ... My ta-go-to place for hunten been pretty much flooded this year... can't complain, $48.00 permit opens the doors ta many acres... lot of the lakes & ponds around needed the rain... Surrounding land owners with higher ground benefit, & after the water resides, the grass tis always greener... Till fall rolled around, the trees take on the rainbow affect with the many colors of the leaves.... Spring tis just around the corner once again, people be checking thar cam's for next years hunt... Every one be going the stress of every day life... Times tis tough enough... See a lot of debaits between HF & LF tis a lowfer here.... so far no walls been pud up, a fence ya can always see threw...