Hunting lease drama

Just curious how you guys handle your hunting lease agreements. Im on a lease with 3 other guys, one of which whos family owns the land. He is my best friend of many years and I am wanting to learn some tips from yall on how to best handle the lease so we all get along.

I am afraid to show anyone my game camera pics because we have all established where we are hunting and setup feeder pens among other things. In-fact, i was the last one on the lease and didn't even really get to choose my spot, although im very happy with where im setup at. So far no one else has really seen any big bucks but I have 2 or 3 really nice 8 points coming. Im afraid if i tell them, they will want to move their spots to where im at...hah. I know it sounds trivial but im not really sure how to handle the situation. We've all payed our money up-front to hunt, even my friend who's parents own the land. But, im also afraid he will begin to treat the lease like its his, since his parents own it, even though we all payed the same amount to hunt there and signed the same agreement. He also has a tendency to get jealous over things and im afraid if he doesn't see any deer he will get butt-hurt over it and it will create friction. BTW, he is NOT an experienced hunter, which is why im concerned.

How do yall quell any drama on your lease and have you ever run into problems where people get jealous over deer?

Again, i know this may sound trivial to some, but i don't want this to ruin our friendship

Just don't show the pics!!! Pretty simple.

It's just deer hunting. No reason to have any drama. The only time I get upset at deer camp is when someone drinks my camp whiskey and doesn't replace it or at least tell me I need to restock.

I agree! But my friend takes things kinda personal and tends to get jealous over stupid stuff. He's the kind of friend who would wake up at 2am to bail you out of jail though, and has been with me through thick and thin. I'm hoping its not an issue, but im curious if any of you have run into similar circumstances

This. I am pretty stingy about showing trail camera photos. And I own the place. You don't have to share everything you know. Just part of hunting and fishing - always has been.....

My main concern would be having a friend whose own parents charge him to hunt on their land. It sounds like his own folks don't like him.

They have had the land leased to hunters for 16 years, he requested they terminate the lease a few months ago so himself and friends could hunt there. We pay the taxes on the land, thats it. So its not like they are making money off us. Im all for parents making kids work for stuff

Don't show any photos of big bucks. I you feel you have to show some photos, delete the big buck ones and just show the normal does and little bucks. Then when you kill a big one, just say, man..I have never seen that buck before.
I was in your spot once where we all had our own area to hunt and feed. I showed photos of a buck coming in, all kinds of people started hunting my stand when I was not there even though we had an agreement not to. Needless to say the big buck was killed and not by me. But I was told it was shot at another stand on the other side of the lease. Maybe...but most likely it was shot out of my stand.
I got off the lease after two years.

Been a while since I lease hunted but we had a lot of the same kinda drama. Follow the rules is all I can say. If he is a good friend and you enjoy hunting on the place don't get to bent out of shape yourself because it will just escalate things even more. Every one who paid their dues on the lease has every bit as much right as the next guy to do whatever they want, within the rules of the lease and the law. A lot of things were done by other lease members on our last lease that I didn't agree with, things stayed civil and happy because we kept our mouth shut. All in all its deer hunting, go have fun and don't sweat the small stuff.

Everybody is equal but he's gonna be just a little more equal. Thats just the way it is. If I had to deal with drama, I just wouldn't deer hunt. It aint worth it. Just be quiet and maybe put out another camera looking at your stand. Just for clarification on whats really going on.

What do the rules state- does everyone hunt their own area or is everywhere open to everybody. If everyone has their own spot then the worst thing anyone can do is set up next to your "boundary" and hope to see one before you do. How much land are we talking about anyway. Bucks are going to roam, especially during the rut so just because you see him on camera now doesn't mean you will see him during the season- he may show up in someone else's hunting area. Sounds to me like there are some maturity problems involved here also. Is it worth losing a friendship over a deer? You said he was the type of friend that you can call at 2am to bail you out of jail. If he was a real good friend he would be in the cell along with you....

Y'all are all probably seeing the same big bucks, but nobody is telling anybody else. Heck, they may be seeing better bucks than you are seeing and just not saying anything.

Agreed, this is not drama more like slight hysterics to me. If pastures are not HF'd, then deer are moving around a property/properties than most may think.

Don't share your pictures unless you are all hunting all the sets. Even then not a good idea.

If he is new to hunting help him all you can to not mess his set up or yours.

Keep the pics of the nice bucks to yourself and you can show them when they're DRT.

How big is the place? We rarely get consistent pics of the same buck at the same feeder. They will show up randomly at all of ours and the neighbors. We have over 1,000 acres and they move around a lot where we are. Some places are not like that but ours is so it is total luck for us and doesn't matter who knows what is on what camera. We have community blinds. Never liked or would ever be on a place that wasn't open blinds. That seems really weird you would even do that on a friends place. How old is this jealous friend?

Don't lie or be deceitful. Just hunt harder and longer than the other guys and the odds are in your favor. Pretty basic.

If something like this is a problem what does the future hold for you?

Deer lease issues arise less often when personal relationships between lease members become more important than deer. The challenge is finding guys and gals who care more about their friendships than they do about killing trophies.

When lease members see each other as little more than people sharing the cost of the lease, there will be drama.

jealous over deer ? have seen & heard of these so called drama's ing over who shot what... its a deer lease... As pappy once said: not everyone pays the same ... while each member may pay same price, not every ones paycheck (income) tis the same... This is were the biggest problem arises with the added restrictions on the trouphy racks... Tis easy for a richer person (high class) ta pass on a deer than a (lower class) hunter... this thread tis about showing game cam pic ... hate ta see a friendship get ruined over something as simple as that... Hope every thing works out okay, every one should have a say at the meetings then tis up ta the individual to decided...

It is only going to get worse and at some point end the friendship. I know this from experience. If you value the friendship get off the lease after this year.

Originally Posted By: deftsound

So far no one else has really seen any big bucks

I'd be willing to bet that's not the case. Follow their lead, don't discuss everything you have photos of.

Lots of needless "holier than thou" responses on this thread.

Real friends who understand hunting and fishing also respect the right everyone has either to tell or not tell everything they know.....

At my old lease the rule was no one could hunt in others blinds until 4 weekends had passed, or something like that. Someone had shot at a big buck and missed. Well I was out there later and told that we couldn't shoot it if we saw it because it was "his" buck

If discussing deer ages is important to you then it will be difficult when not sharing pics. Someone will shoot a young deer very soon if they're inexperienced as you say

If you cant tell people on your lease especially a friend then that's a tough spot... respect and friend is suppose to go together...


Now family is different... don't let them even get a wiff of it

I understand your concern and nobody wants to lose a friend. I suggest establishing some guidelines for the lease just so everyone can be on the same page. I would approach everyone in the group and just tell them first and foremost is the friendship but lets all sit down and hash out some simple rules. Nobody wants a lease with 10 pages of rules.

One of our lease rules is that all stands are open starting December 1st. We used this to encourage hunters to share the game cam photos because everyone enjoys seeing them. It allowed the hunter ample opportunity to kill a deer first if he was on camera. You could hunt other stands prior to that date with stand owner permission assuming you had a stand/feeder up and running

If you hunt with people you can't Trust and share experiences with then you need to find new people.
There are two kinds of Friends..
Ones you Trust and the others

Started using Ear Tags

He's a friend that has asked you to come in with him to lease his family property and he would crawl out of bed at 2:00 to get you out of jail, but you are afraid to show him pictures of some deer? In this day and age there are way too many other things to worry about. If he wants to use your stand when you are not there and possibly have the chance to kill a big buck, then you so be it. Friendships should be more important than shooting a deer. I'd be happy for one of my friends to kill a big deer, regardless of who saw it first.

You can look at this a couple of ways. If you're getting to hunt cheap, then you can expect a cheap hunt. You may have to tolerate somebody else shooting larger deer, etc. You are not an equal partner in this situation. So, you can lock your stand, spy on the other guys, and get bent out of shape or you can do none of that, fill your freezer accordingly, and know that in the end the venison in your freezer is going to taste about the same as what's in your buddy's and you didn't pay an arm and a leg for it. I would just see how it plays out this year before you decide to stay or go.

Ye who chums the most wins


Add 4 more feed pens and chum 300 pounds a day if it's that big of a deal...

I have so much fun with guys that are worried with what you're doing...we have all hunted with them..where are you going, what are you doing, why did you put that up, etc etc...Beat them at their on game...Out Hunt them

Ignore them and go be concerned on your AREA if it's not a community lease and enjoy yourself. Otherwise you are just going to make yourself miserable.

Have fun and go enjoy the Lease and the fellowship, you always have a "Sneaky" just avoid them and do your on gig.
Good Luck on your new lease

If that's the case, why did you go into a lease with him?

If I have issues like that with someone who has jealous issues, last thing I would do is involve money with the friendship. To me it just rings an alarm of warning.

friend can turn into stupid drama queen and enemy real quick

I've dealt with a few myself

my advice to you

1. stay neutral on sharing info
2. having a piece of lease to hunt on is more important than seeing bucks at your feeder
3. when in doubt , ask for an agreement that you and everyone signed/dated

Wait....... unless your really not in your area....

I hunt with my best friend of many years along with a couple members of my family. I manage the lease. For the most part we all get along and have some general rules that are mostly followed. However, I am a little more particular about how I hunt, how the property is kept up, who can come and go, etc and so they tend to get under my skin pretty regularly.

I decided the 2nd year into it that friends and family were more important than inside spread on whatever deer I happened to shoot. If you can't learn to let things roll off your skin or don't have the kind of relationship where you guys can get along on the lease I'd find a new place to hunt or a new best friend.

That's why I hunt Tues-Thurs now

Silence is golden.

Thanks. Nothing has happened yet, i was just asking for advice from you who have been in similar situations. I don't care what size deer i shoot, im a meat hunter. But im just curious how everyone agrees upon the lease rules and if anyone has found themselves in lease drama

Trust has nothing to do with it. I would trust said friend with a chest full of gold, i was the best man at his wedding. I just wanted advice on how to avoid possible problems in the future.

"I just wanted advice on how to avoid possible problems in the future."
Talk to him now to avoid possible problems in the future. Be willing to compromise on rules of who gets to hunt where.

You let him get married?????

Well in my Book those two go hand in hand but Duly Noted and will take that under advisement. I assume you you have a written or (unwritten and agreed upon) set of Rules.

There are some people I hunt with that I share info with and others I don't...Good Luck on your endeavor

We have a very basic lease agreement but nothing about specific rules on who hunts where. We have had a talk with everyone and we all agreed we could each pick 2 spots to hunt. Its around 700 acres btw, I guess i'll just pull my game cameras off to avoid the situation all together.

Does anyone here wish to offer basic guidelines to follow or a document we can all agree to?

Hunting can bring out the best in some and the worst in others! My brother will let most anybody that ask to hunt our land....if they just want deer meat he will load them up and get a doe! Problem is nephew sets couple cameras and feeders in attempt to monitor and selective harvest, his father finds them and lets everyone know where and to hunt it! Nephews attempt at some kind of control goes right out window. So basicly family can hose you just fast as friends sometimes.

How old are you and your friends?

Why does it matter? We are adults.

Damn guys! Lol. I asked for some simple advice not a life lesson. I have invested considerable amount of money into this venture so far, I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly and avoid any potential conflicts in the future.

our lease rules...IT is a freaking DEER..... Everyone has certain stands they tend to hunt more than others and that is fine....Just dont act like it is yours...Deer eat EVERYONES feed so it doesnt matter where he shows up..Most likely he will be seen at other feeders once the rut has started...Too many times we see leases and friendships go to hell because of a animal...We are pretty hard core hunters, BUT enjoy the company at the campfire more...Just a different perspective...

I have just never been around a grown man that would be jealous of a deer that someone else killed.

Thanks

First, congratulations on the learning experience that is your first lease!

There's always drama. Even the guys on here that say "No drama allowed" are talking out their behind. The best you can hope for is a group of men that try to minimize it. Some guy's gonna piss the landowner off. Someone's kid's gonna get his feelings hurt. Someone's wife isn't gonna believe they're at the lease.

You yourself came up with the best solution. Take the cameras down and hunt the old fashioned way.

We have cameras. I donated a couple and we all chipped in on the rest (community blinds). First few nights out there everyone else crowds around the laptop and stares at the pictures 'til late. I go to bed. There's alcohol involved, so it's a tad foggy the next morning regarding which deer is where. Just collecting the camera cards can be a cluster.

Wait until mid-season when everyone tires of looking at game cam pictures. That's when you put out your camera, then, when everyone else has left to go home, in the peace and quiet, look them over and plan your attack. I'm a bit "sneaky" that way. 'Keeps life interesting.

I way overthink retirement and how to get there, not hunting..That's probably just me though and I'm ok with that..

Simple solution... Implement the "thunder dome"...two men enter one man leaves.


I chased a really big deer this year. I even told everyone about him and where his home area was. I wanted him dead even if it wasn't me. Several of us hunted him and he won...this last season

Even put a buddy on a 150... Buddy passed on him. He underscored him. So put my dad on him and he killed him with 5 bullets(literally, lol). Score right at 150. My buddy and everyone at camp was pumped for pops. That's true friends.

If you are owned by the size of a deer over friendship book a hunt. If you love being outside amongst like minded friends... Then hunt with them and be happy and humble. Life's short, enjoy the time you can with those friends. They and we don't live forever.

That is EXACTLY why we have open stands on our place. Everyone worked together to figure out placement of stands and we all work together too keep them going. Most of them Have cameras and we all look at them together and decide which are shooters and which are not. When it comes to who hunts where it's a lottery system, unless there is only one person that wants to hunt a particular stand. Were a pretty much drama free group anyway, and that just makes it even easier. Unless you hide the whiskey, then there will be immediate drama.

Silence is golden
Relax and enjoy
Don't worry about the small stuff.

It's OK whether you share or not. Or do sometimes and not others.

I am competitive. So are many of my friends. It's all part of the fun sometimes. It doesn't affect our friendship. I don't fold winning poker hands, or miss putts, or throw back big fish because I might hurt their feelings ether. If they did those things for me it would hurt to know they felt like I was so thinned-skinned that they needed to......

After all, it's only deer hunting, right? (See, that little argument works both ways.)

your friend or any other members on the lease on HF ? tis always good ta get one or more opinions... Mines not worth since not a paying member... what's the rules say about showing pic's taken with your cam at your feeders ?

I will share my pics with anyone if they want to see them. Some of us on the lease even text and PM pics to each other. Some of us on the lease even send pics while we are in our stands on our phones with what we have in front of us. Its fun to see how far these deer travel and how their patterns change from Summer to Fall to Winter. Best of all its a great management tool that allows us to get different opinions from other lease members on the age of certain deer that may be on the chopping block.

Sharing only works if you can trust who you share with though. Over the years I have only ran into 3 or 4 who broke that trust. Once that trust is broken I refuse to share pics with them anymore.

Great advice Thanks!

My only problem with that is I invested a good chunk of change into my setup, others...not so much. So i dont really think it's fair for someone else to hunt my nice setup and I have to settle for their piece of crap blind...See what im getting at? I guess we should have all pooled out money together from the get-go, but it didn't happen so it is what it is.

I am similar to this but the break of trust doesn't bother me as bad.

Sharing the pictures, videos and stories is part of what I enjoy. I have had a few deer over the years get killed because I sent the pictures to someone and I am ok with that. It is a deer, there will be another. As long as the hunter truly appreciates the animal and is proud of it, don't care.

On the flip side, if someone sent me a picture of a deer they were hunting, I would never shoot that deer out of their stand. If it came into a different stand, it is free game or if another shooter came in I would shoot it. I like to get pictures sent to me.

There is always drama but I am not going to lose sleep over a deer I have on camera being shot by another hunter because I sent a picture to someone. There are people on our lease that won't show me pictures because they say I tell everyone everything. I get their pictures after the season

Pooling the money wouldn't help. Some stands will always be better and how a hunter hunts plays a major role in this. How they set up for the wind, ingress/egress, distance from the stand, how long they stay in the stand, what they will and won't do around their stand, etc.

There's always been jealous idiots. Even way before game cameras. We had a TP&L exec customer (probably not too many of you on here even remember Texas Power & Light) throw an absolute conniption fit when our GM came in with a decent hill country buck. The guy accused him of deliberately putting him in a crappy stand. I suppose "customer golf" rules should have applied, but come on. That guy was one strange old bird.

^ This

I can't stand that kind of crap. I say if you are hunting and you see it then you can shoot it.

Sorry to hear about all the lease drama as well. Enjoy it while you can, then be ready to move on when it gets uncomfortable. Don't let it ruin a friendship, just move on. Several years down the line you may have the opportunity to hunt with these guys again when feelings are more mature and for the better.

His future son in law was on the lease in a blind 300-500 yards away and could hear the bullet had hit the deer and not a tree from inside his blind... I was amazed

When I say they broke that trust I am not really talking about them shooting a deer I was after. It has happened to me before but its never happened because they shot the deer out of my stand. As far as I am concerned free range deer are fair game for everyone provided the rules of the ranch are not broken.

The one incident that really stands out in my mind happened several years ago on the place I hunt now. On our lease each hunter has a section of land to hunt and set up however they like and its theirs and only thiers unless they choose to allow another hunter to have access to it. To make a long story short I was sharing my pics with the guy hunting right next to me but his stand was about 1000k yards away. Guess he liked what he saw because the next year he put up a stand right on the border of his and my area and it was 150ish yards directly in line with my feeder and slightly down hill. Had I shot something at my feeder there would have been a very real chance of me hitting his stand and maybe even him. It pissed me off so bad because all he was trying to do was cut me off and in doing so I had to move my stand to a different angle so I wouldn't shoot in his direction. That was the end of a friendship because friends don't do friends that way. In my mind no deer is worth ending a friendship over and no deer is dang sure worth risking your life over. Me and him didn't see eye to eye on that though I guess.

That's just one example of trust being broken.

But if a "friend" chooses to do that over a deer, what happens when you really need a friend? Friend is an easy word to throw around but damned few really are one. I know lots of people but have only have 4 true friends. I feel blessed that I have 4.

Sad...

I wouldn't bother to borrow trouble and worry about the "what if's"... takes away the fun leading up to the season. A real friend pat's your back and truly enjoys the fact that you shot a big buck. Really hope that is your case this fall, and that if the others get a nice deer you do the same. If your buddy gets butt-hurt and wants your spot the following season, then you know what his true colors are and can decide your future hunting ventures accordingly. That's life on a shared hunting lease....

Not a very good friend.

EXACTLY!!!! Post the pics here and we will tell you if the deer are worth squabbling over.

I agree, and as far as im concerned we will Never fight over a deer. Here are the pics though, they aren't very good pics but they are both nice 8 points from what i can tell. I appreciate yalls advice, i think the best thing to do is just take the game cams down.

I apologize if I burst your bubble, but those deer aren't overwhelmingly spectacular. I thought we were talking something north of at least 125"; maybe its the camera angle. If those cause butt-hurt, your buddy has some thin skin. Those look like garden variety, dime-a-dozen, sub-120" 8s to me.

I'm not saying that out of spite or meanness; just giving my honest opinion. I don't know if I'd take the cameras down; I would still want to see if something bigger was out there. Hopefully you get surprised.

I do two things to protect my area from other hunters. I keep my blind locked and have two cheap cameras hidden to keep an extra eye on the area. I trust the guys on my lease so no drama there, but I don't trust the land owner and his family.

Anyone who doesn't trust the landowner or the other lease members is in bad shape. Everyone involved with the lease should be happy that anyone gets a nice buck. I wouldn't have a lease any other way, myself.

Amen! Heck, I've got to watch my landowner to keep him from doing too much for us. It's a good problem to have, considering we came from a place where the landowners family were a bunch of POS's.

What's the saying? Never miss a good chance to keep your mouth shut? Or something like that. Hunting is a sport. Play the game a little bit.

They are nice 8 points in my opinion and id be happy taking one of them. I'm used to hunting on public land. Do you hunt on a high fence? Maybe our idea of a 'trophy buck' are a little different.

Again, mixed concepts. So am I. So should any decent person be when it comes to lease mates.

But, that's not the issue being discussed here. And landowners can often be a whole separate issue. Which is a primary reason I got out of the lease game and became a landowner myself - pretty much solves all problems.

I agree with you but will say....In my leasing days, I had two landowners (two separate leases) that I learned not to trust. Both of these leases were last minute while I was working all over. I knew better with both of them but I had to have a place to hunt in my proximity, and they were cheap so jumped in. Both times, poured more work and money in than anybody else. Both times learned that family and friends were hunting my stands whenever they wanted. I can read tracks and sign, duh. So complained to the landowner ha ha. Then I showed up on my days off with my family to hunt and there was actually the remains of a campfire 15 yrds from my stand. Beer cans/bottles all over/piss puddles....they didn't like my kind or me complaining. It was obvious. They made a point. I raised more hell. I came back later to get my stuff but it was looong gone. You can say I've learned some lessons... yes I was in bad shape. I was young and gullible.

I 100% trust everyone im hunting with, no one is going behind anyones back lol. LIke i said earlier this thread is about avoiding drama on a lease and what to do and what not to do. Im a newbie at leases

Think of the biggest things that annoy you when hunting public. Most likey that is when hunters decide to go to and from stands and proximity to each other. Other is stewardship of the land that costs landowner tensions (ruts, trash, fences, livestock,etc)

That's the ones I'd focus on.

We get along with our landowner alright, but he'll change his mind 180 degrees from what he said less than 24 hours ago and sometimes apparently have no memory of the first thing he said. (And he's a couple of years younger than me...and that ain't TOO awful old.) 'Makes it interesting at times.

Good advice.

Had to get my own place so I could make my own rules! Got tired of working my stand, food plots and feeder pens only to have someone hunt it and shoot a buck I was watching for 4 years, while I was having thanksgiving dinner with my family. They new I was headed up for the afternoon hunt but did it anyway. It's ok. They all got kicked off the place the next season anyway. They kept complaining to the landowner that I took all my toys when I left. "What, He took his feeders and stands, get out of here!"

Bingo! And don't tell them that you are seeing deer. If you do, they will start hunting your spot.

Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.

I'll also add that it's still very early. Those bucks are going to completely change patterns once they get hard horned and near the rut. It's likely a moot point, but you may never see them after the season opens. They're likely to scatter to parts unknown before all is said and done.

Just hunt, have fun and good luck.

Late to the thread, but Scooter nailed it shut right there.

....drama queens show yourselves....oh wait....too late....never mind....

Good to see you back Sir. Hope all is well with you.

and yes, that's sound advice for some of us.

Not everyone has the fortune of seeing several 125-140+ deer every year. Just because it isn't a trophy to you doesn't mean it isn't to the OP.

Hey Skinner,

Thanks bud, good to see a familiar "face" here. I lurk from time to time. You know how it goes. Busy with life. Good to be back.

Like many of the guys here and on this thread, hunting is much more than just shooting a deer. It's the experience

Do not confirm or deny the appearance of deer on your set up. Don't show the pics and practice your spouse surprise face when you kill one of those nice bucks and bring it into camp. Lol

+1, when the rut comes those bucks are just as liable to be on the next property as they are at your feeder.

As many have said, don't taint your hunting experience with deception. Be upfront and honest and celebrate with your friends when they see and kill big deer and they will do the same. It is a hobby after all, enjoy it. "don't start nothin won't be nothin"

Your in with the wrong group if your worried about sharing game cam pics with lease members.

go with your first thought its usually right. if you are seeing bucks so be it. if your friends are not then you have done research or lucky keep it to yourself. get the deer that suits you and after that it is up to you if you want to tell them. but this info. comes from a person that hunts a lease by himself and loves it.