How did y'all find your leases?

All the leases I've had in the past was a friend or relative that added me on. Well I am on my own looking for a lease and was wondering how y'all found your leases. I am trying to find one for the next year if not this year. I need every one's advice on the subject so I can start looking for one. It has been 5 years now that I haven't had a lease and I am going crazy! HAHA!

Chamber of Commerce websites are a great place to start. I know Mills County tries to keep theirs updated with leases that are available. Run ads/watch ads in local newspapers, watch the Land & Lease section here, talk to buddies that currently lease good places-quite a few landowners have multiple holdings, just because your buddies' is full doesn't mean there's not something nearby. Realtors are another option, reach out to some where you want to hunt.

If it were me I'd run an ad in the local paper for the few counties that I was targeting, see what happens.

I found one on here several years ago. It sold and I got on another just talking with a friend who's lease had an opening. Been there for five years now. Word of mouth is the best way to find one in my opinion.

Joined one and stayed there for 22 years before moving out of state. While out of state, a friend invited me to join on one that we stayed on for two years. Found my lease in Missouri by simply looking up who owned the land and knocking on a door (I know, old fashioned way). Currently lease-less but have access to two places to take a few deer.

I found a lease by spending a day driving through every town in the area I wanted to hunt and put a "Looking for lease" ad on every bulletin board I could find. I stopped at every feed store and talked to employees. They talk to land owners every day. I put up ads at cafés, post offices, service stations, laundry mats etc. Every bulletin board I could find. I finally got my lease off an ad I posted on a bulletin board outside a small town service station. I continued to get calls about my ad for a year and a half after I found my lease.
In my ad I told the land owners how I planned to treat their property and I have lived up to my word.

Good luck.

Feed stores and livestock auctions are great places to post on a bulletin board and ask around about customers they know that lease their property.

County biologist many times will know of leases that have openings from working with the landowners.

Found mine here. This will be first year and I have high hopes.

On here is a good start. I have also asked the local game warden about places, since they always know ranchers and land owners.

Friend at work about 7 years ago. Before that I leased a few miles away on a place I found on one of those subscription services. I drive by it each time I go to my place and luckily don't hunt there anymore.

I think what part of Texas you are in makes a difference on how you approach it. I'm Missouri it's all farm land and big open fields so it's go door to door and make a good first impression so I figure west and south Texas would be similar, but I could be wrong. The way we do it in NE Texas is we find a piece we like go to the appraisal district online and see who owns it. We give them a call and ask if they want to lease. If they live in town we will go visit them if not we keep in touch with them. We let them know who we are already leasing from kind of like references.

grandpa found it bout 40 years ago

A friend at church called a place he'd done a couple of package hunts on and a couple of family members had died and the surviving brother was wanting to get away from a lot of packaged stuff.

Another time I went back to the lady that 5 years prior had said we'd been outbid by a big corporation on a lease we'd had for years. I was just asking if she knew of anybody leasing. She'd passed the ranch to the son and the big corporation had abused the heck out of the place. The son was glad to have us back and my brother and friends are still on the place 25 years later, although it's for sale.

Good luck on your search and I hope you find a place that's just the right place and you're on it for many years.

I got extremely lucky this summer and found one on Craigslist. Should be a heckuva place and it's directly with the landowner as his son-in-aw was the one that posted it. Just type in "deer" in the search box and pulls up all the stuff for sale relating to deer, just be cautious and thorough with Craigslist leases. Have definitely seen some good ones on here but you have to jump on them pretty quick. Good luck!

I'm lucky enough to have permission to hunt on some good properties for deer. I've always had great places to quail hunt for free in west Texas. I've moved to the central part of the state and posted the location I wanted to hunt on this forum last year. I wound up with 20K acres covered up in quail, 45 minutes from the house in an hour, with 12 other guys. You have to have some luck sometimes.

I found my first lease on leasehunter.com and I found my current lease on the land and leases section of this forum

I got lucky and married the ranch owners daughter.

there are some very active "Texas hunting lease groups" on Facebook that actively post leases available. If you can stand dealing with Facebook.

Chamber of Commerce website

I know it is weird, but current lease and last two Craigs list. Two good experiences one bad.

Thank you so much! Your responses is what I was thinking about doing. I can get a lease easily if I had lots of money haha! I will really have to hit the ground running after this deer season to find one for next year.

If you know about what part of the state you want to hunt, the tax office is a good place to start. One of the leases we have, my brother looked up who own what and started calling them. That little ole 35 acre tract end up being over 400 acres!!!

I married the landowner's daughter.

Leasehunter.com. Check daily

I have used all kinds of methods but one that works best for me is attending a local church in the area and getting to know some of the landowners. It takes some time to do that but it's an open way to get to know the locals, build trust and sooner or later the conversation just comes to hunting and fishing.

From the lease section here. But start looking in the spring- the good ones go quick.

Found a new lease on here about a month ago.

My Dentist texted me this morning said there was opening on his lease...good dentist

Ask everybody

Leasehunter.com

Stay away from the free publications they are about double the going rate

I found an add on the chamber of commerce Facebook page. I called the guy and left a message. He called back and said the add was old and he had the place leased out. We talked a bit more and he said he’d keep my number and pass it around. A week later he calls me back and asked if I was still interested. His hunters had to back out of their lease last minute. My wife and I drove out and looked it over. We’ve had it a year now and are signing a 10 year lease with the LO. 500 acres in Callahan county that is 8 miles from my in laws ranch. God provided us with an awesome place and awesome land owners.

Web site Lease Hunter is very good.