South TX Hunting Lease Prices

Guys,

Newer to posting questions, long time lurker. I am trying to see what others think is a fair price for a lease approximately 15 miles SE of Pearsall, TX that has brush and surrounded by agriculture fields and sporadic other brush covered adjacent lands. The lease is 156 acres and has no running water or electric to the land. The blinds (4) and 2 feeders provided by landowner. The other feeders (3) and corn are provided by the hunters (3) total. This is a first time lease for the guys currently on it. We have been maintaining the grass cutting and corn for the feeders since August. Landowner has road cut to help maintain roads a couple of times. Landowner is a great guy, but lease agreement allows for only 1 buck and 1 doe per family. Based on just what I have described what would be a fair price per hunter/family in your opinions? I am trying to judge where we fall in the lease price/acre range. Any feedback is appreciated.

Your landowner will probably be able to get more than the going rate on $/acre due to the small tract and generous limits. My advice is to judge what it's worth to you to spend vs how the season shakes out.

$500-$550 a gun. Anything above that wouldn't be worth it, imo.

I wish I only paid $550/gun... lol

I think it's all relative to what you can afford. There are so many companies that have sucked up these leases to accommodate their clients. I know that I leased a smaller place than you and just recently let it go. I paid way to much for the property but it's all that I could find. If you like the place and kill deer don't worry about what people on this forum say.

3 hunters on a 150 acres is way too much pressure for that area.

You likely will have better results just to pay for a package hunt somewhere.

If youre killing three bucks and 3 doe on 150 acres don't even bother trying to price it on a $/per acre basis. And know that theres a good chance year one is going to be your best by far so you might not want to put too much work into land or infrastructure improvements or even consider supplemental feeding. Good luck, hope it holds some mature bucks this year.

Spot on

this

If it's low fence around you bucks can travel a long way during the rut.Just don't shot the doe and the bucks will show up.

Great area but too many people for the acreage. 500+ acres per member is common in that area

OK,, so how much is he asking,,,, we are all curious. In my humble opinion 1 hunter at $1500--$2000 would be about right on 150 acres. fouzman had it right,,, Another thought, you could sub divide it into 10 acre tracks and sublease those.

$2500

For all three or each?

$16.50 an acre with no water or electric? And three guys on top of one another? No thanks. That's assuming it's $2,500/year for all three of you. If it's $2,500/gun that's just stupid.

My experience its a little over $10 per acre. By the rates I've seen 156 acres would be around $1650 to $1700. Since the stands and feeders are there closer to $2000 for one gun. 156 acres can have a lot of deer on it in South Texas but keep counts of what you see and let the landowner know the count. He may let you take a few does to maintain the health of the herd.

"Herd" health? That country will support a deer to about 20-25 acres without supplemental feeding. So, on the high end, you're talking about 7.8 deer on 156 acres. You're going to be killing most of your "herd" with six deer allowed. Granted, you'll be having some transients back and forth from the neighbors. However, if my neighbor was killing six deer/season on 156 acres, I'b be building a high fence to close that neighbor off from the deer than inhabited my adjoining property.

Remember this as well, South Texas doesn't equal big bucks; you may be in the right region, but just because you hunt the region doesn't mean it's the right spot. I'd have a hard time leasing a place this small in South Texas if I had to split the cost to afford it.

$2500/each gun. I went into this understanding that there was about twice the land size and only 2 guys. I lost my place last year so had nothing lined up. Went in on blind faith and word of mouth from a friend of a friend. Then the 3rd gun was thrown in by landowner after the deal was done and nothing I can say about it. It is a nice place and we have made it a pretty nice place but for the limit of 2 deer plus the price and number of guns I do not think this will be long term without some negotiation of price or I will be looking for another place again next year. I appreciate the feedback. I keep telling my buddy that this is way over priced and he doesn't see it that way.

$48/acre isn't overpriced? It's ridiculous. Man, I feel for you and having a place to hunt is better than not hunting.

This is why high fences go up...

That landowner has a gold mine, and as long as people pay he will keep leasing year after year without a thought.

"Then the 3rd gun was thrown in by landowner after the deal was done and nothing I can say about it."


That's just wrong for a land owner to do. Unless you signed a lease stating otherwise, it seems to me you agreed to pay $5000 to lease the place for 2 guns and that should now be split 3 ways.....What's stopping the LO from now day leasing when you're not there or even adding another to the season lease? This is why it's always good for both parties to have a clear and detailed lease agreement.

PS - I've never leased my place for deer season, but if someone wants to pony up $48 an acre for 3 guns and 6 deer, I would definitely consider it. I have good numbers, fair quality and more acreage.........

$1,250 a deer seems high to me, but can also see if it is a year round lease, with other opportunities to hunt and enjoy, might be okay. Is there a tank? Dove? Hogs?

Heard of a place that is $8500 a spot on a big ranch in South Tx. There is a about 750 acres for each hunter and year round feed and feeders are included in the price. A cull buck is a 6+ year old deer below 160 and guests hunt off the payers tags.

^^^^^

That's a good deal!

Yeah I think that place is around Freer.

When we "signed" the deal we knew of another guy who might join as well, he was the guy who made us aware of the lease. But he did not commit to the lease so we were under the impression it was just the two of us. We were made aware of the 3rd gun who is a guy from out of state after the fact to be clear. Yes, this is a year round lease that has one tank, hogs and dove. But the good dove hunting is to the fields to the north that we do not have permission to hunt as he leases it out to other dove hunters. He separates dove lease from deer lease.

$8500... I wish I could afford a place like that. Maybe one day!

IN PEARSALL??? That could pull $1,000/gun easy

Now $2,500 is high... but he will find someone to pay it..

There is most likely a reason this lease is coming up.. i bet it re leases quite often but with no problems finding buyers.. and will if people keep paying the prices they do

Pearsall, Cotulla, where ever. He may pull it, but that doesn't mean I would pay it to hunt on 156 acres with no water or electric, and two other guns. Surprised his neighbors haven't fenced him out already. 6 deer off 156 acres is preposterous. At $48/acre, that's probably the most expensive deer lease in Texas.

We shoot about 10-11 deer a year of 320 acres in south texas. Surveys are always off the charts high... now they darn sure aren't all bucks.

That's all good. They freeze the same.

This! Enjoy it this year and look for another lease next year. No way a 150 acre low fence lease will support 3 bucks and three does being killed each year...at least not any that I've ever seen or heard of.

It can support maybe 3 deer taken. 1 buck, 2 doe total low fence with no management from neighbors. Someone suggesting more than that already has a managed place and knows their game. The smaller the place, the less you can take per acre unless you know what is going on outside.

There are some ranches in that area of south Texas that were cut up into "ranchettes," 100, 200, 300 acre tracts. The original owners hunted them with family and friends and shot them out, but they still own and pay taxes on the land, so a lot of people lease them out to recoup some of the expense.
I would bet that small lease is surrounded by other small tracts/leases.
If that 150 acres is located between two large ranches, then it might be worth it, but still way too high and too many hunters for such a small place.

So $7500 for the 150 acres ????????????

As far as I know. I paid $2500. There are 3 on the lease so my simple math self assumes so.

I wouldn't pay $8500 to hunt a deer in Texas even if I was mega rich. That is just stupid.

Plenty of people pay more than that. They are hunting a different class of bucks than 99% of us.