Tired of the griping

Anyone ever come close to losing a lease because the land owner got tired of the BS. I've basically had the same bunch of guys for years but I'm getting tired of the drama. Thinking seriously about locking the hunting gate permanently.

Probably should think about shutting down everything. Not sure how much longer I can operate the ranch with my health problems. Like most ranchers I've got $39.28 in the bank and several million in real estate. Cash out and take a little vacation? In fact, it was only last week that my wife suggested that I go to Brussels for a few days to relax. She would take care of the ranch!



Anyone been there? If so, what was the outcome? How did you work it out?

I would never lease my place for any price. This is one of the primary reasons.

P.S. I pray you have done some detailed and good estate planning.

Not on the end you're on Aeb, but as a lessee (is that a word>), who got to know the rancher well. ( I leased my land 1 year, didn't last a season)

Rancher I knew had about 40k acres, he ended up running 12 off, yet offered my buddy and I to stay on. We let it go because we couldn't find enough good fellas. He ended up raising the price, said if he had to tolerate AH, he would get paid for his aggravation. Don't know why he offered to us, could be because we often helped him or his hands IDK

Pretty tough decision letting land go, at least it would be for me if it was of good size.

Good luck sir

Appoint a "Lease Boss". Let them handle all the soap opera drama. Let it be known that you will only talk about leasing issues through the appointed lease boss, and he better have a darn good reason to talk to you.

that's because you don't have rules and agreements

I kicked several guys off of mine - grown a s s men with childlike mentality and full of drama

there is a direct correlation between drama queens and money

they're tight with money and will always look for ways to save a buck
or turn the total benefits toward them

Speaking for myself I would have fewer hunters and definitely one would be in charge of the group. One individual to handle all including collecting all lease fee's. All hunters are not bad.

I would not put up with it. Get them all together and lay it out plain and simple in YOUR terms. If anyone says a word other than agreeing...show them the gate. There are plenty of good lease hunters out there to have to put up with BS from the group you have now.

Familiarity breeds contempt, I've seen it happen way too many times. No matter how good both sides have it, time wounds all heels. You might be better off with a new group.

I have a couple of good sunflower fields I lease to a guy who runs hunts. I make as much as I would if I leased for deer and he is only on my land for two months, has to leave it as clean as he finds it and has to carry the insurance.
The other 10 months it is mine with no worries. Except of course the poachers.

I've hunted in that area for a long time. The reason I bought the little piece of land i now have is due to all the whining that went on. on one lease I was the lease boss. I had to kick a very good friend of mine off due to his constant complaining and almost fist fighting with one other guy. I never saw the other guy do anything to warrant any of it. The last lease, I wouldn't take the job. Had 14 guys on it. It was worse than having a machine shop (but not by much), nothing but "he drove right past my feeder" (feeder just off main road), to he's parking too close to my camper. I'll never be involved in anther lease.

sounds like the drama queens I had

Ridiculous is what it was. I can be a licensed day care worker anywhere. 50 yr old men waiting on me to get back to camp so I could take care of it. Daddy told me "if you have a problem with a man, you talk to him about, don't go crying to his momma"

Anyway AEB, I do feel your pain!

I guess I have been lucky with my 50+ years of hunting. Everyone was a grown man and owned up to doing their fare share without much gripping. I can only recall a couple of times that people were kicked off of our leases and we always had very good and close relationships with the land owners as they knew we would take good care of his property, watch over his livestock, handle mending fences, pulling calves, maintaining roads and gaps ... treating it like it was our own really. My current lease if the first where there was a dedicated lease boss and that seems to work fine and everyone follows his lead. If you are tired of handling whiny and unruly hunters, force them to have a lease boss that handles all that cr@p. Likewise, they are responsible for the actions of the group, they will force the rest to walk the line one way or another.

and ... I find it be a true privilege to be one someone else's land enjoying one of my passions, so I am darn well going to treat it and the LO with respect and do what I need to do to keep them happy with a good working relationship & friendship.

Sometimes customers have to be fired! I'm sure there are some awesome individuals that would love to hunt your land and not only put some change in your pocket but actually help around your place.

This.

I dont own any property, but I am the "Lease Boss" on our place. In my eyes, if the property owner isnt happy, I'm not happy. To be able to have access to so much property and do what I love to do, when I want, is a privilege, not a Right just because I pay for it.

When ever there is an opening on the lease, I approach the interested parties as if it is a job interview. By no means do I have the amount of experience as most of the folks on here, but I am confident in my ability to weed out the "troublesome" ones.

aeb, I think you just have the wrong group, with the wrong mindset. Do some interviews, get a good "Lease Boss," and let them deal with griping.

We leased a few pastures for 6 years. Had a good crew and a great lease boss. We had one neighbor back then that was a real pain in the butt. Seems our hunters were always doing something to give him a gripe. Just wasn't worth the hassle to us. That was 25 years ago.

aeb... I sent you a PM

Thanks for all the comments. Have had a contract and lease boss on the ranch for several years and, as age has slowed me down, I've devoted more time and money to the game aspect but the fun is disappearing. I've received a couple of PM's about the property but I am not interested in leasing to a new group.

A word of advise to the lease bosses. Don't put yourself in an adversarial relationship with an elderly owner, unless you are prepared to explain to the other ten guys why they need to look for another lease.

In that case Aeb, sell everything, but what would keep you content, load up the wife and go do some fun stuff.

THIS - I am lease boss on one hell of a lease - told our rancher from day one that I would treat it as though it was mine. Been there 8 years and just signed a new long term lease. I had to remind him our current lease was up and he said "Really? Guess we need to do a new one." Rancher has figured out I only do things the right way and if we screw up I tell him first thing. He also knows that if one of our hunters intentionally breaks the rules I boot them - pure and simple.
Many good folks out there looking to lease a good place and if you find the right lease boss with guidelines and rules in place they will take the load off of you.

Well said sir.

I'm the lease foreman on my lease. I've been with the same landowner 16 years now, and he's never gone up in price. I just gave him his "walking around money" last weekend. We've had our ups and downs with lease members, but none of it ever made it to him.

Seems like you just need to find a good foreman, and let them deal with the drama. My landowner doesn't even know the names of the other guys on the lease, let alone be forced to take their calls. If something comes up it comes to me, I make a decision, and that's it. Don't like it, well there's the gate. You find you a guy like that, and it's a much more pleasant process.

The landowner next door cleaned house last year. Booted everyone except for one guy, and let him be responsible for finding replacements. Same type of deal, bunch of grown men acting like teenaged girls, got them all kicked off. Sometimes scorched earth is the only way to promote growth.

This thread reminds me that I haven't actually seen my landowner in about 6 years. He's not exactly what you would call chatty. I check in with him a few times a year by phone but that's about it.

I'm very thankful to be allowed access and treat it accordingly.

This is how I handled it the past. Worked pretty well. Except for me... I was the lease boss and had to deal with the drama.

Agree on "good" lease boss. I was one for to many years to remember. If the landowner dropped by he would get out of his truck walk passed every hunter in a camp and shake mine hand. We would talk and he would leave.

The only time he ever spoke to a lease member was when one tried to go around me and make another deal with the owner. I then received a short call from landowner and the lease member was no more.
We had many more happy years ahead.

Good luck Sir.

I agree with with the one man in charge and that man being the one guy that deals with the owner. My brother took over our lease and the change was dramatic. No more crap. The land owner is actually a happy guy again and the lease is nice.
Our lease is also set up so that the lease boss is responsible for the entire cost of the lease. He brings on others to divvy up the cost with, according to the owners requirements. When your name is on the bottom line, you get real responsible, real quick.

I have a good lease. And a good land owner and his son in law who manages it. Most of what goes on and how the place is appreciated by the paid hunters is pretty good. Would I like to see some of the other guys do a little more on the place to make it better? Sure. Is it a perfect situation? Not really. But they don't do things that are very detrimental. No rule breaking I've seen and they care about the management rules. Most of all they respect the land and the rules.

So I know you can get a good group. Unfortunately there are too many "hunters" who feel that they paid their money and they will enjoy it as they please. That is the attitude we all can do without.

aeb: You took their money, YOU make the rules. If they don't like it, hit the road Jack and don't come back no more, no more.

Mr. AEB, this is how I see it too. I don't own land but when I lease I treat it like my own. You're the one that put your financial butox on the line. It is your rules.

"If anyone says a word other than agreeing...show them the gate" I'll add to this by saying that any rule someone cant live with that's worth salt won't have to be shown the gate. They will thank you for your time and tell you respectfully that this is not the direction they want to go.

There are so many folks that are good lessees (yep, it's officially a word) that these current guys can be replaced if pretty darned quick.

...no more, NO More*

No, never had the desire to visit Europe. I suspect given the timing of your wife's suggestion that your visit would not been the usual tourist experience but probably what any visitor could expect from this point forward.

On a more serious note, I hope your health issues can be resolved but it actually might be time to serious and realistically look at your options. I'm a landowner and understand the dilemma you face. I've been trying to learn from my neighbors over the years, either through their experiences or observation, and it seems that we all need some type of "exit plan", just as you would with any occupation. Having watched others, I know that I won't be able to stay and take care of my land forever, I realize that I will eventually sell this place rather than hand the title over to a nursing home or hospital (they are very good at accepting them in lieu of payment).

I have a pretty good batch of children but they have all moved on and enjoy other interests. They appreciate their upbring and were included in discussions on this subject. They want what is best for mom & dad to have a healthy and happy life and if "Rancho Cost'a Plenty" gets in the way of that, they too say get rid of it and move on.

The funny thing about hunters is that they can make you an anti-hunter real quick. I say that somewhat in jest as I've leased to some very good individuals but a bad apple can really leave a sour taste for a long time.