Hello,

I was looking into a hunting lease but I am not sure I really understand how it actually works. I am from Germany and live in Texas for now 3 years, just did some ranch hunts and lottery in public land. I had a lease back home but it seems that it is completely different here. So my questions are:

What does it mean when it says in the add "3-4 Hunters" (or more)? I must share the hunting right or hunt in groups only?
Who pays for the damage caused by the game?
How much of the Hunt I must share? How is the population controlled? If I take the lease can I grant my hunting right to someone else?
What are the usual durations of lease contracts? I mostly found just 2-3 Month-long terms, why so short?

Thank you!

https://tpwd.texas.gov/regulations/outdoor-annual/hunting/ You will need a hunters safety card and take the course if you born after Sept 1st 1971. Texas hunting is quite a bit different that what you are used to. The native game species are not owned the the landowners....any non-native or exotic species on their land is different. Texas Parks and Wildlife is the one the set the seasons, bag limits, etc for the native game species for all of Texas. The landowner can lease your the hunting rights or trespass rights and then he can set his own limits for what you can take and when you can hunt based off the TPWD regulations. The landowners limits you can take off of his land may be lower than what the TPWD allows you take off of your license. You can hunt more than one county or landowners land but your total harvest of natives species is still limited to the tags on your hunting license and the county regs for that county. The new season regulations start on Sept 1 of each year(2019 last year) and end on August 31 the next year(2020 this year) Each county can have different season dates and bag limits...so you need to be familiar with the county you are hunting in. The landowner does not have to pay the state for damages to the crops or lands like they do in Germany. You can not sell any native game animal or parts of it you have killed when hunting in Texas. You can give all or parts of the carcass to someone with the proper documentation. Any native game animal harvested must be recovered and then the edible portions kept for your consumption. The regulations link above covers it well.
When you lease private hunting land in Texas your either lease the piece of land for yourself and the landowner sets the harvest limits for you(based off of TPWD county regs) or you can get on a lease that has x amount of lease spots on xx amount of acres(still have harvest limits set by landowner( and TPWD county regs). The landowners will sometimes limit the amount of hunters on the acreage leased...or set a maximum of 5 hunters for example...does not mean you have to 5 hunters. Most leases will take the maximum hunters to keep costs down....this may not be the best for the management of the lease for the long term though. The landowners will sometimes set the harvest limits on his land or leave up to the lease hunter(s) to set their own harvest limits and management plan. The TPWD controls the harvest numbers for the state and the landowners then control what is taken off their privately owned lands. When you lease land to hunt you are generally going to hunt it yourself. If you invite someone to hunt with you then they are killing animals off of your quota....you may only be allowed one legal buck by the landowner for your lease spot and if your guest kills that legal buck your are not going to take another buck that season.
Non-native animals or exotics have no season or bag limits controlled by the TPWD...the landowners can set their own limits and seasons on them. Many leases are year round while some are season specific....ie...deer season only...dove season only...duck season only...turkey season only..etc. Many landowners will lease hunting year round to include all legal native and non-native species in the lease contract and then set limits on harvest numbers. Some landowners will lease for a specific season only to keep traffic down on their land. Many lease contracts are for one year at at time and many will be for multiple years at a time.
Lastly...get your hunter safety card if you need one and read the regulations over and over again so you know when to hunt each species,what weapons are legal in each season, what sex of each species you can take and how many animals you can take of each sex in that county your lease is in.
Lot of rambling in my post...but I hit the highlights. Sure I left some important things out also. That is where the link above covers it all.
Good luck!

Alright. Thank you for your reply!

I do have the Outdoor Annual and the safety course taken and read a lot on the official page, but a few things especially about the lease itself are not clear to me at all.
Like in Germany the minimum lease is 9 years, and the parties can only determine which animals you can Hunt but not how many. For example, the owner could say no Deer, but can't say 2 Bucks only / year. With damages it's usually the Hunter will need to pay the damage caused by the game during the lease, and is also responsible for the population on the properties. (So you can't take'em all except the State orders you to do so) -> With the lease come many responsibilities and costs about 10k a year, so you need to sell meat to get even if you do not have the money "leftover"

Back to Texas:
Basically when they say lease is for 5 Hunters, then the landowner just does 5 leasing contracts and they are each on their own. So it might be I never see one of the other 4, or need to coordinate ourselves before going in the field.
Sounds all pretty easy going. You just pay for Hunting on the owner's land and you have besides the basic regulations and respect for his property no other duties. (Correct?)

Every lease is different. Almost all have a central hunting camp you stay at. Fire time is the best part. Normally have one lease manager that deals with the landowner and communicates to you. Most are year round actually for all game unless it is specialized for specific game. Higher your budget the better the hunting and freedoms of the place. Honestly if they want 5 guns and it is not an established place with current hunters do your homework. Best are word of mouth with a waiting list.

Well, the landowner may ask you to help defray the cost of utilities (electric, gas, water). PARTICULARLY if his ancestors are from the same country that you are! (I have enough German in me, probably 40%, that I can say that. )

Just let him know any problems with his land, water leaks, cattle in trouble, etc. It's common courtesy, but you probably already know that.

Appreciate it guys! I think I have a good picture now.




"Wenn es Brei Regnet - Loeffel raus halten!" {When it's raining porridge - take your spoons out} -> when opportunity knocks, let it in