Your Best Lease Rule

Just pick one!

All stands are open December 1st unless permission is given by the owner prior to that date. Of course once they are open the owner if present gets to hunt his stand.

I like this rule because it gives the owner a 1 month opportunity to kill a deer that has been frequently seen in his area by himself or on camera. IMO sharing the photos before season is part of the fun and this keeps people from trying to hide what kind of deer are showing up to his feeder. If you can't get it done in a month then your chances are slim anyways.

My favorite rule is, I make the rules. The owner don't hunt and I have a section of land to myself.

My #1... Dont be stupid and dont disrespect anyone or their property.

Leave your drama and poor attitude on the outside of the front gate.

Guests and family / kids are the sole responsibility of the one who brung them.
If they bring drama, poor attitudes or cause problems none of you are welcome to return.

My best lease rule is that I get to make, break, amend, or delete any rule since it is my land.

For example, no friends' kids allowed to hunt until December because my buddies kept bringing ill-behaved heathens that got on my nerves. One year I took my daughter (just us) at Thanksgiving and she killed a nice buck. One of my buddies actually said "I thought kids weren't allowed until December." I just had to smile and shake my head.

Rule #1. I determine who gets to hunt my stand.

I love hunting our own land now.

My favorite rule was no unacompanied guests or guest hunting.

We get 2 stands and nobody hunts your stands except if they have your permission!!!

If you don't show up for work day, you buy the shrimp for the Labor Day shrimp boil! And the beer!!!!

This rule is being enforced this year and I'll be real hungry and real thirsty after blasting doves all afternoon.

It is sad that common courtesy has to be a rule. I guess my group is lucky but we have hunted together for 25+ years.

Disputes will be settled by the wildlife manager, do not argue with the manager, he is always right, you are wrong, you will not get your way regardless of the size fit thrown.

Best Lease Rule:

Abide by all Game laws and have fun.


Too much more than that takes the fun out of hunting and leads to problems.

No traveling the lease(4wheelers or vehicles) during prime hunting hours. If you haven't left for your stand by 6am, you're staying at camp, and you don't leave your stand before 9am.

I have no special rules on my place. However, when my 10 year old son and hunting partner is with me, he rules.

No Spikes under 7" in addition to the ARs and no riding after September 1 until all deer seasons are closed.

We don't have any written rules just common sense. I'm really looking forward to this year with the new bunch. They all seem level headed. We'll see how it goes.

Best rule is to leave it better than you found it, but make sure your idea of "better" isn't warped.

Another is "no sighting in" of rifles. It's a hunting lease, not a shooting range. It should be treated as a black ops mission, get in undetected, make your kill, get out undetected, leave no trace that you were there.

we have this plus if you aren't on the lease by 3 pm you get to sit outside the gate. my other favorite no one can hunt your blind without your permission which I like I bust my butt to make my area and blind and feeder the best I don't want someone hunting there unless I know about it

Any hunters that hunt treestands or ladder stands must use a safety harness accompanied with a safety rope at all times! Too many tragedies every year and too many people that depend on us to make it home safely!

NO alcohol consumption until after the guns have been put away, and NEVER any alcohol while hunting or driving the lease.

Some of you folks are pretty hard core...

If you break it, fix it or tell someone that can.

That's why I'm glad I'm by myself, some lease rules are crazy, but to each their own. I guess I do follow the no vehicle/atv rule, I walk in and walk out unless filling feeders or loading the fallen.

I also like the one about not ATV or other riding during the season. We only use ATV's to fill feeders and pick up the fallen....that is awesome!

[quote=Rustler]Leave your drama and poor attitude on the outside of the front gate.

This was the reason I've gotten off a few of the bests leases I've been on. Life is too short to deal with ram rods and drama.

All rules I set are the rules and can only be trumped by the landowner.

But wait I am the only one on the lease, so I guess it works out.

I make the rules and the first rule is have fun, second rule is kid's take priority over adults. Been allot of kids take their first deer with me right beside them, hell theres been allot of people take their first deer with me right beside them and I love every bit of it.

I'm with you Hwy Man..I get a lot more out of seeing someone who
gets excited about a deer or it's their first ever than I do taking an animal myself..and that's what hunting is really all about..I've always looked at it as a learning process..both from
the people one hunts with and the animals you encounter while hunting..and that is what I still go for...Taking an animal is only secondary...and except for Predators, I do not kill what I
don't eat..DD

No drunkeness where you become a burden to the other hunters.
If you can't hold your liquor you need to stay home!

No babysitting of kids, or most importantly, lease members, will be permitted.

Feel free to fart at your own convenience, but absolutely no peeing off the porch.

Yeah, that should be what hunting is all about!!! I have heard some really stupid rules in the past. Kinda makes you wonder what the real issues are.

10 years ago we instituted our own AR policy. Don't shoot a buck unless a basketball can fit inside the antlers. Shooting a smaller buck cost you two tags and you had to do dishes for the remainder of the season.

Man, this makes me feel even better about passing up on that larger lease I was looking at a couple of months ago. there would have been between 8-12 people hunting about 5,000 acres, and I am sure with that many people, a ton of rules to abide by. I understand the need for rules, but at the same time there seem to be alot of "LEASE NAZI'S" out there that are just waiting to bust your balls for breaking a rule.
I am happy with my little 350 acres, and just me and 1 other guy. No rules, just common sense, and common courtesy to one another, and thats worked out pretty well for us both.

There are definately at least two camps of hunters out there. The trophy hunters (very strict with rules) and the family hunters (very few rules)...I guess there are some that are in between the two or a lease with members from each camp I described above. IMO most problems arise from members having different views on how to run the lease. Bottom line is that if you don't like how the lease is run, either find a new lease or buy your own land. And, if you don't get along with and respect the owner, don't be alarmed when he kicks you off. Pick yourself up and go find a better lease that suits your personality.

Lease Nazi's suck, if you gotta have all those rules find somewhere else to hunt, hunt with like minded people and use common sense. All these guys with their rules are on sort of power trip. If everyone tells the nazii to piss off and leave he can't pay for the place himself, and if he can let him.

Yes, hunting leases can become nothing more than a place where kids can be taken to let an ATV babysit them.

If your in camp with a bunch of (i would hope friends) if common sense needs to be a rule, you gotta a problem.
Never had any rules to speak of just be yourself and have a little fun doin it.

This was exactly the reason I asked this question. It seems there are two different camps and styles. We are there to hunt including family and common sense always seems to prevail. Except for the original rule posted we go by common sense.

Two of the best rules that come to mind are:
- The owner is always right.

and

after reading all the rules the very last one says:
- "See Rule 1"

X2

11 - No mismatching of camo. For example, it is not permitted to wear real tree shirt and mossy oak pants. Hat brims cannot be turned around backwards. Jeans may be worn as pants with any type of camo as long as there is a matching hat. Handkerchief can be red or blue, or may be substituted with a camo one during turkey season as long as it is the same brand and type of camo. No affliction wear permitted at any time even during the off season while alone at the lease.

One rule on our lease - common sense. Never seen a written list for our lease and don't need one.

For leases with idiots, rules ain't going to matter anyway.

Treat the place liked you owned it.

After reading some of these, I'm so glad I have my own family places to go and hunt. I enjoy taking my kids hunting more than anything else and enjoy being around people with good common sense. Some of you folks have some different rules for your tastes, but hey...its your lease..not mine.

NO DRUNKS ALLOWED !

You can drink, you can get a buzz. Much more than that you can go to bed.

Do something STUPID and you can find yourself another lease.

Excellent point.

All hunters must be immediate family and their animal tags come from your license. Only exception is someone getting on or off the lease and bring someone to help set up or tear down.

I'm adding that on to the bylaws.

Common sense, aint so common!!!!! Just sayin'

x2

Holly chit...those are some serious strict leases... how tha hell would that even be fun...i want to go to the lease to get a way, kick back, have plenty of beer and a good time... not to go to a dam prison... its not to hard to be safe with common sense...people try to make it seem like it but they are usualy the ones that mess up

We just voted on a new addition I added to the post above.

#1 rule. If a gun is not in your hand then a beer should be

From the posts I'm in the minority, but I like a little order at the lease. "Common sense" would tell you not to inbreed, but I live in SETx so we see how much common sense they have down here. Our lease is large, so it's hard to keep everyone on the same page without the rules....which they give you before you join. If you don't like them don't join...if you join, don't gripe about the rules you should have read before you joined. I'm particularly partial to safety and alcohol rules...the last thing anyone needs is someone hurt or worse because you don't remember what "common sense" is when you're drunk and think you're on Top Shot.

I hunted one of my dads buddies ranch for a little over 20 years. It was a little over 10,000 acres. Pretty much the only rule was no firearms in the house or bunkhouse. All firearms stayed in the truck you came down in until it was time to hunt and went back in the truck when you were done hunting (they could stay in one of the jeeps you were using while there).

Reading some of the rules in above posts just seem like places i would not enjoy hunting. Hunting is supposed to be fun, i don't want to feel like i'm in school or work! To each is their own though...

This is exactly why people should read the rules first and agree to abide by them before getting on a lease and then complaining about the rules once they are on the lease.
If everyone could get along, families included, and be courteous to one another, then rules wouldn't be needed, but finding a group from different backrounds, that will agree on everything is hard to do, and it's naive to think otherwise.

I would not make it on your lease

thats the first good rule so far

I agree! However sometimes less is more, fun that is

Did you read all our rules

reminds me of the first time i went dove hunting. i showed up in a white t-shirt. still got plenty of dove but took a ribbing for it. not sure what i was thinking.

if you see it, it is legal, and it would make you happy to shoot it, then you shoot it.

Most of our rules are for safety reasons. We all ride in and out together. If you're not in the truck when we load up, have breakfast made when we get back.

Open chambers until you get seated in your stand
Open chambers in the house

No loaded guns in trailers or bunk houses! Drink responsibly or your off.

IMO most rules are so the lease manager or land owner can kick someone off when they do something stupid... It's just there in writing so they can point back and say see this is the rule you broke and now your off.

This is why we left Kent cty. after 5 great years. The Nazi got to be way too much to deal with. The final act came when I found a 3 ft rattler under my trailer,killed it,cut off the head,yelled at my brother -"hey Chuck". As I threw the snake at him, I saw Nazi's wife in the corner of my eye,she was walking at a brisk pace towards my brother. It was like slow motion as I saw the snake hit her and wrap around her neck. Needless to say ,she screamed and freaked out. Nazi bowed up at me like I had done this on purpose. It nearly came to blows...Now it makes for a great story though.

Ya doing stupid stuff like that would get you kicked off of someones property!

If I have to sit down and listen to all these BS rules before I hunt, I'm making tracks, y'all can hunt without me.

Sounds like a lot of people hunt with people they don't know or can't trust, its yall's fault you need all these rules. If a situation occurs at the places I hunt, it's handled right there and everybody goes back to hunting. If someone acts like a donkey and needs to be smacked, smack him, pretty simply.

Glad 90% of my hunting is done on my own lease without all this BS.

What no horse play either, geesh give me a break!

Only rule we ever have is that the guns go up before the alcohol comes out!

My area, my pen, my feeder with my corn, my stand.

Looking for a "your". Wait. There it is..."Your area"!

Some of us work hard to not tromp around and leave scent where we want to hunt. I like to have my area to where I can manage it the way I want, and at the same time, I respect "your" area.

I understand "horseplay" but throwing a dead snake? You can continue to live by "my dern tootin rules durp derr!" or grow up

I can't beleive I put my beer down to respond to this.

[/quote]

I understand "horseplay" but throwing a dead snake? You can continue to live by "my dern tootin rules durp derr!" or grow up [/quote]

I'm plenty grown, but over half these rules are stupid. Like I said sounds like some people hunt with idiots, thats yall's own fault. If I can't have a place to cut loose and have a good time, I won't be there and for sure wouldn't pay a dime for it. If practical jokes ain't aloud, then count me out. A dead snake coiled up in the outhouse is our favorite trick and if someone's too uptight to handle that, they can hunt somewhere else. I understand gun safety, no tearing up the place on 4 wheelers, and hunt your own stand, but no booze or horseplay sounds like as much fun as being at work!

I'm as redneck as they come and don't know what durp derr means.

erathkid i would have beat you down right there no questions asked period.

And if he kicks you off for no justified reason and costs you substantial monetary loss ($1,000.00+), take him to court to recover your costs. Then I agree that you find a better lease with a reasonable owner who doesn't have every lease member tired of his antics.

I'm plenty grown, but over half these rules are stupid. Like I said sounds like some people hunt with idiots, thats yall's own fault. If I can't have a place to cut loose and have a good time, I won't be there and for sure wouldn't pay a dime for it. If practical jokes ain't aloud, then count me out. A dead snake coiled up in the outhouse is our favorite trick and if someone's too uptight to handle that, they can hunt somewhere else. I understand gun safety, no tearing up the place on 4 wheelers, and hunt your own stand, but no booze or horseplay sounds like as much fun as being at work!

I'm as redneck as they come and don't know what durp derr means. [/quote]

Haha I was mainly referring to the "I accidentally threw a snake at the landlords wife and Im pissed his husband was mad" lame [censored] story. Yes I will agree with you that having rules outside of the basics IS not something I would agree on, but hey, we are on THEIR land. Our only way to change that is to buy our own land or find another lease! Like I said practical jokes are fine but common sense was not used in the story above!!

And for durp derr? I just sounded it out while typing No clue if it means anything at all... but it's provocative!

Zach

Every one rides in together or you can't hunt? What is the point of this "rule"?

I can understand noise and safety rules but I can't imagine how this is effective for either. I swear some people make rules just so they can enforce them and feel like they have a reason to exist.

Rule #1, Get along. If you cant do that, take a hike.
Rule #2, follow all my other rules, lol.

If i ever was on a lease with half the rules yall are puttin up here id pack my crap and head home, I dont listen to my wife tell me what i can and cant do and I get on a lease to hunt and have some fun, drink some beers. Things like this is the main reasoning we bought our own ranch and I still go on alot of package hunts every year. Aslong as everyone isnt abunch of idiots you shouldne need rules or worrie about whats going on if your not there. Just my 2cents.

My best lease rule? Quit wasting money hunting on leases and hunt my own land. Life is so much better now.

I manage the lease so I make the rules.

Still the best one so far!! We are adding it next year. We dont have a lot of strict rules, but the ones we have are solid.
You must take a doe before you take a buck
All bucks must be 3.5 or older unless they are a cull buck
taking a buck younger than 3.5 (if not a cull), you add $100 to your lease fee next season
You may bring guests, they must hunt with you and they are your responsibility.
If a gate is shut, shut it back.... if its open then leave it open.

Everything else is common courtesy, only certain selected people hunt on this ranch so we are all like minded. The landowner is part of the hunting group so that makes everything gel together and we dont need a lot of instructions on when to or when not to leave, or that everone must ride together, or dont pee off the porch, or you cant hunt "MY" stand until the first odd numbered saturday after the first full moon after the fall equinox....Like some other have already mentioned, I've hunted all over Texas on ranches big and small...and there tends to be a lot of rules on the ranches where a lot of folks lacking common sense and common courtesy hunt....so I dont hunt there.

I think the main thing to focus on here is that we all share a common interest, to HUNT!! Do what you can to help the other guy out...you never know what someone is going through....take your kids and others hunting every chance you get.

Dove Season is right around the corner folks!! Get out there and enjoy it!!!!!

Is this an actual rule?

Learn to age deer, take deer that need to be harvested.