A deer undesirable buck being taken is just as likely to happen with private stands as it does with open. There's no controlling that deer's movement to any private stand feeder or community blind feeder. Don't understand the logic there.

Sucks but there is a way to fix that.. but that can bring on bad juujuu

You are correct, deer do roam and chances are high that any one particular deer is not tied down to one spot. The logic being that if youre watching a certain genetically promising animal all season and have it coming into your spot religiously then someone comes and drops him thats a low blow. Of course, there's always a chance that said animal will be taken across the lease like I stated above which is completely out of ones control but you cant tell me it would not hurt a hell of a lot more if that buck was dropped under your feeder after watching it all season with high hopes for the future on a rather large ranch. I can see it being different with like minded hunters/close friends but unfortunately my situation did not allow for that and we were not all on the same page on what a trophy/cull was, how many does to take off, etc.

Goats........ nuff said

Yep. I would be gone.

Somebody telling someone what they can shoot. Does not fly on our lease.

I agree with you 10 pt..I don't see any issue with having a basic understanding on herd management and harvest management; the consensus understanding of what generally constitutes a "cull buck" and "trophy buck" but do see real problems in dictating exactly what particular deer can and must be harvested. That seems a bit dictatorial for my preference. If someone cannot reasonably harvest to the general guidelines of "cull buck" and "trophy buck" then penalties can be levied like taking away of one of the remaining eligible harvests for said hunter, "cull or trophy" based on what was actually 1st taken.

I try and see the positives thru the negatives PU and Hoof and Wings

I guess it depends how strict your LO is. Someone has to be in charge and everyone should be held accountable if they shoot an animal that doesn't meet requirements for the lease. IMO naturally

#1 grumbling on leases I have been on is the lack of effort of the "senior guys" to continually improve the land and growth of overall deer herd. From what I have witnessed is they rarely feed protein or manage a food plot and just rely on good ole fashion deer corn while others are more interested in growing and managing the herd. Not having everyone on board with the same goal can be detrimental.

Good point. To me that is why it is important to try to get a group who have the same goals. Some hunters are good with Hill Country deer - shoot whenever and whatever you want - take lots of guest, etc. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I hunted in that environment for years when I was younger.

Then there is the managed, trophy type hunters who limit what deer can be taken, limit guest, etc. As I got older I decided I was more interested in quality than quantity so I chose to hunt a highly managed ranch. Nothing wrong with that either. That is the beauty of living in a country where we can make our own choices. Problems arise when you try to mix the two groups.

Today there would be a lot less hunters if we had not invited guests out. Over the years I cannot even guess at the number of people that had their first deer hunt on our place as a guest. They usua;;y had a borrowed rife, free shells and someone to show them how to field dress their first one.

Nothing wrong with guest - we just limit the number on our place. I have been on too many leases with no controls over number of guest and it can get out of hand real fast.

The number of guest is not as important as knowing how many bucks and does to harvest...however..my experiences are allowing guests causes hard feelings some day, some time..sooner or later. Just go through this list on this topics..it tells the story.
Some hunters believe if they can't take the whole family, and allowing all of them to hunt, it is a bad lease.
My leases have not had enough deer for all the paying hunters much less allowing more hunters that haven't put out money or effort and possibly causing a shortage of deer. On the other hand, if you know you have plenty of deer...more the merry..more fun..beer and bbq. Lets Party...hee hee
Just remember..the hunters that pay their money comes first..that is the paying hunters fills all their tags they want first before anyone else hunts....just my opinion though.

Guests have to managed carefully. Some leases it's not a good idea. If you are hunting more than 1 man per 500 acres than it's going to be a problem. Ideally 800-1000 acres. This works very well because guest are never going to run into areas other lease members are hunting.

Also clearly stating in the rules that guests shoot off of your trophy tags eliminates anybody getting upset about a guest killing a trophy class animal. I know for myself, I hunted leases in the past that didn't allow guests and that ended up with me hunting alone most of the time. That's why I don't hunt those type of leases anymore.

For me it's really more about time with family and friends than the harvest of a trophy animal. When that happens it's the icing on the cake for that season.

There are no positives with goats....... well maybe if it was a wet year and they ate the grass down so you could see the deer.
or camp meat.............. which I'm not real sure about either
So no, the negatives way out weigh the positive(plural)

Man I've had some really fantastic meals with goat meat........

It's been several years since I've been on a lease (except for one year not too long ago where it was just me and another guy who was a dedicated bow hunter so "his area" was pretty small), and I'm fortunate to hunt on family land now (though deer sightings are rare since there are very few deer in the area). That said, it seems to me that feeders and stands seem to cause a lot of problems with the bulk of the problems being related to feeders. The last lease I was on (thanks to my dad) was in the early 90's and feeders weren't that prevalent. Likewise, most of the stands were inherited from previous lessees. So I've always been a fan of "community stands".

But I can also see where a person, who builds or places a stand and puts up a feeder and keeps it running and full, would be protective of "their" stand area.

Seems like the best situation for those who want community stands is either (1) to pay the rancher or his hand to maintain all stands and feeders, or (2) simply not worry about who shoots what and where and hope that everyone else is like-minded.

For those who want to have their own spot (which I totally understand), the best option is probably buying your own place or getting on a lease that understands this and hoping that you are not relegated to the last and least desirable area.

In either situation, the ideal is clear and up-front communication as to what the rules are, up front payment for whatever is required and removal of non-rule followers or complainers, regardless of what the rules are. If you're looking and will be the new guy and if you don't like the rules and associated costs, don't join.

I'm the other side of this. I'm usually the guest on someone's deer lease. When I arrive I ask:

Where should I put stuff?
Will my cooler be Ok here?
Where should I bed down?
What time is everyone getting up in the morning?
Yall like stout coffee?
Where would yall like me to go in the morning? You sure that's not too close to where you'll be?

I'm the guest, I do as I'm told. Will quit hunting to go help track and/or load a deer. Will help skin and quarter someone elses deer. Will cook and clean.

The only statement I make is "I really hate letting hogs and coyotes walk." Yall good with me killing everyone I see? And by the way I can reach pretty far so, is anybody down range in these directions?

I think it is the entitlment mentality some people have that gets them in trouble. I show up to someone elses land to hunt as a guest, I'm just glad to be there and appreciate the invite.

Do I win a prize for creating a thread that's still generating discussion more than three years later?

we allow limited guest and do not have any issues because all guest must be with the paid hunter at all times. Where I have seen issues in the past is that the member brings everybody he knows so camp gets overloaded with people as well as the stands, etc. Can't tell you how many times on past leases where a guest is allowed to sit by themselves, are told what can and cannot be shot, and they roll in with a young buck that never should have been taken. So we resolve that by having all guest sit with paid members which eliminates those kind of mistakes.

That issue is allieviated by a substantial fine placed on the paid member so he/she is picky about which guests are allowed to sit alone. Helps out on doe killing as well to spread out and git-r-done if it's getting down to the wire.

I'll throw a new one out there. Disproportionate time spent on lease amongst hunters often seems to create a divide within the group and sometimes with the rancher and group as well. Seen and been on leases where the self-employed guy that has ability to hunt 5+ days weekly throughout season and frequents the lease a lot even out of season starts to really rub the guys that are only able or elect to hunt 1-2 days weekly or every other week or so as well as only getting out every so often in offseason. What can/does happen whether true or not, there is a sense that the frequent hunter is overstaying his/her welcome and having a full run of the property and dibs on the deer. This one along with non-community stands and overzealous dictation of deer harvesting requirements have been the demise of more lease arrangements that I've personally been associated with or directly heard of. Key to this is to have the hunter group and rancher in full and complete agreement on what are the expected and acceptable amounts of time to be out there.

I could see this being an issue if "community" stands were being utilized, but should be perfectly fine if everyone has their OWN spots. Can't fault a guy for making time to hunt as long as he's abiding by all the ranch rules. I personally would be gone of a lease in a heart beat if my hunting opportunities were restricted during deer season.

Good point Titan but sometimes easier said than done especially when the majority and possibly the rancher as well were anticipating a more "casual", "laid back" approach being used.