Would you lease this 100 acre property?

Please don't call, just seeing if there is a market for what I am "thinking" about "maybe" doing if I don't sell the place.
I know it is both small and expensive per acre. But it has some perks. Almost a turn-key lease.
Just wanting to know if I am being "fair" in the market for price I want. You won't hunt my feelings.

100 acres in East Texas, Cass county, made up of:
50 acres in 20-year-old planted pine
50 acres in hardwood creek bottom

Cons:
1. No water
2. No electric
3. Doe season only first two weeks of rifle season unless you hunt with a muzzle loader, then a special extended season.
4. Not looking for meat hunters, but long term management minded.
5. Non deer season, I can hunt hogs once a month on weekend you not there.

Pros:
1. Year round lease
2. Deer, Hogs, Dove, Ducks, (Turkey’s but not really in huntable numbers)
3. Coyotes, Bobcats, Coons, Squirrels, etc.
4. Special two-week buck/doe extended season if you hunt with a muzzle loader
5. I provide 3 feeders and keep them running
6. I provide the first 2,400 pounds of corn and keep feeders full
7. I provide two fiberglass deer stands, one on ground, one on tower, you may set up others
8. I provide the seed/fertilizer to plant 3 established food plots
9. I do all the work planting the food plots. Of course any help is appreciated.
10. Guest/family allowed but must hunt off your tags
11. There is a camping area
12. You may use a ATV/UTV on the property
13. Town with motel, restaurants, grocery store, 7 miles away

Total lease cost, $5,000 if two hunters, $6,000 if three.
link to see photos of property is: https://landsoftexas.com/property/100-acres-in-Cass-County-Texas/7781694/

Sounds a little steep to me....

I'm from Illinois, so my thoughts really aren't relavent. However, I'd pay that in a heartbeat. Beautiful property!

First, let me say, there are folks out there that would "buy in" to a turn key situation- just show up and hunt. And those type of "hunters" are willing to pay what you are asking. I don't understand the two tier pricing- set a price to lease and maybe limit it to no more than three and let whoever leases it determine if the want it for just themselves or have a buddy or two help with the cost. I will tell you that you aren't going to manage 100 acres in the sense of what large leases mean by manage. The property is too small- you can "manage" what you will allow the lessee to do but you won't be managing for big bucks. I have one lease that is 300 acres and I tell the guys that food plots are great to try to pull deer in from the surrounding area and at least slow them down as they are passing thru, but we aren't managing anything but the time we spend on the lease.

What class deer are we looking at?

seems a bit on the steep side on price but a lot of smaller properties run higher per acre typically. With it being almost a turn key (only first 2400# of corn) might be very enticing for some hunters and a nice place to go year around and possibly shoot a few deer and/or hogs. Might also be very attractive for a family lease, like husband, wife & kids for weekend retreats in nature. I think it would lease at that price but I would be more concerned about the character of the hunters and the limits on what was to be harvested, most would probably be good, but 1 bad apple can spoil the whole deal.

click on the link on bottom of page or just click here
https://landsoftexas.com/property/100-acres-in-Cass-County-Texas/7781694/

Half the property is in a creek bottom. A factor would be if that area was huntable in very wet weather conditions.

Nice looking spot you have there but $50.00 - $60.00 per acre

10 of the 50 acres near the creek in very wet weather, "3 inches or more of rain." get 6" of water across it for 3-5 days. The remaining 40 acres are dry..... well
not dry, but no water standing on it. However, you can drive a utv anywhere on the property even when there is standing water.

I don’t see you having a problem leasing under that arrangement... I recommend keeping it at 2.

That's my thoughts.

That's my thoughts, I just did not know if $2,500 was to high for a East Texas lease

I would stick with no more than 2 hunters. It is a little high, I feel you’d have better luck $500 less but lord knows somebody will pay what your asking. Especially with all that you are providing.

I'd jump on it at $3,000-3500 for a single hunter, no guests or family, ever. Bow hunt only. Kill 1 -2 deer max. Plus help with any and all work feeding, planting, blind placement, etc.

Given you will be providing corn and maintaining food plots I don't think you will have any problems finding someone to lease at that price. As others have said, I'd keep it to 2 (since you mentioned guest and family are allowed off the hunters tags). If for nothing else to keep traffic on the property to a minimum.

Beautiful property you have and from the pics looks it appears whoever leases it will have a shot at some decent bucks. You may want to consider putting some age rules in place to ensure everyone involved understands it's not a shoot um up place. Being the property is 100 acres, you may also want to consider a bow/suppressed only rule. Only problem with that is your extended season would be out.

I have 2 friends that may be interested,,, I'll check with them

Why?

I agree with your thoughts....I do think it's a little high but the turn key portion, you providing a fair amount of corn and food plots I believe would make up for being a little high.

I would think someone from Texarkana would do that in a heartbeat. That would make a nice family lease. The corn's worth $500 plus the time saved not having to fill the feeders. The key's finding good stewards of your property.

You asked...

I think you can get it...from an idiot

For that price, there’s better options in my opinion and my opinion is worth what you paid

And if you can get 5-6k, I don’t blame you

Shooting a high powered rifle on 100 acres? Glad I'm not next door. I guess you could stack the blinds in the center back to back to keep from shooting each other. Now you could use a PCP Airgun or Airbow safely.

Nope. Too much money for that amount of land.

With that kind of quality deer, seems reasonable. Just be sure to back it up with pictures.

I’ve shot plenty of rifles on smaller land that that with no issues, but I understand why an Azle resident might have a hard time with it.

# 10 Illegal ?

#10, may be poorly worded but the intent is legal & fairly customary.

Means deer killed by any guests count against the paid lease members county bag limit.
5 deer county - 2 guests kill one deer each, paid member can now take only 3 deer.
The key is only one county bag limit for that specific county no matter how many guests the member allows to hunt.

Guests use tag from their own licence to tag the animal.

No way I would offer a lease that includes a guest clause/policy without spelling out the exact total # & sex of deer allowed to be taken from property, unless an overpopulation problem exists on the property / in area.

To answer the OP's question, no I wouldn't personally lease the property, and double dang sure wouldn't lease out if I owned it.
If you want to sell the place, sell it and move on.

Adding to my previous...

That is a great setup with the blinds, feeders, food plots and supplying the corn, you will probably have no problem leasing it out to someone on your terms.
Just a little pricey for most folks on that small of an area. $2,500 per gun on which is 50 acre per hunter.

Now if you are surrounded by large landowners who practice game management or other small tracts that no one hunts on then you might have a wonderful Honey Hole and worth every penny!
If you are surrounded by small tracts with medium to heavy pressure than the chances of both hunters seeing and shooting a nice mature deer in that area cannot be very good?



Good luck though

Question; is your property surrounded by large managed places or smaller ones that have medium to heavy hunting pressure?

I think 3 guns is way to many on a place that size in that area so I would pass just on that basis. The bigger question is going to be animal quality though, 100 acres in E. Texas can have some good deer depending on the neighbors, but it can also have almost nothing if the neighbors fill all their tags for every family member each year.

South side of property, 400 acres timber company. Never heard s shot or seen anyone over there. East side is 500 acres in a family trust. Don’t think they hunt. Heard one shot in three years from that side. West side, 400 acres, owned by 80 year old, very very nice man who does not hunt. He sometimes lets friends hunt, heard one shot in three years. North side 200 acres. Hear shots opening weekend every year then that’s it.

I do not know much about East Texas lease costs but I think you should be able to get at least $5K for your place for 2 people to lease it with everything you offer and all the animals you have. People pay $2K - $4K for a weekend qual / exotic hunt where they just show up and hunt. Other than camping, your hunters won't have to bring a blind, feeder, nothing and get to use it for a season / the year. Nice place by the way! It is not the size of the place that matters as much as the amount of animals coming through. I hunt 2 places. One place in S Texas (800 acres) and we have about 90 deer on it. Another place is 37 acres and I have about 25 different deer coming through it regularly and with tower blinds you can safely shoot down at game.

I would think it would be good for a family at that price. No more than two quality bucks and an additional buck with your approval by picture.
Pigs I’m sure there are plenty

I don't hate deer or need the meat that much.

Sounds like a Honey Hole to me

That is probably why there are that many deer on your place because of the food plots and feeding all year combined with large neighbors who probably do not have food plots and little pressure.

Would make a great lease for a small family....

Mr. T I commend you on the hard work you put in to make a beautiful place. It's almost a shame you are selling; those kids sure are enjoying it.

Seems a little steep!

The closer it gets to the season there are people that will pay that in a heartbeat, and not think twice about it!

That was my initial thought based on the size of the property...but when you look at the layout of the property, what surrounds it, and what is provided with the lease I think it would be a great deal for a father/son or husband/wife family type lease....not a bad deal for a turn-key property in an area with limited pressure....

My uncle is charging around $2,500/gun 3-gun lease on a 360 acre ranch in Lampasas county...deer and pigs only with limited access outside of deer season for comparison.

It`s a free market. If you can get it …… do it. You aren`t putting a gun to nobody`s head and telling them to lease it. If is to high...and it may be.... no one will be willing to pay the price. I personally would not pay that much, but that`s just me .

If the low hunting pressure and size of surrounding properties(big plus for me)are truly as you suggest and with what you are providing I would think you could get 4-5K fairly easy

Nice place.

I would lease it ...

Probably not.

Great Pics - I'm sure you will lease it.

On 100 acres the quieter you can be the better. From the OP's description, he appears to have some resident deer. Go in blasting and that will change real quick. At least that has been my experience hunting small acreage.

Hell no. I don’t even pay that for 1000 acres off of little cypress and it’s just my dad and I on the lease.

$5-6k is robbery and you should be ashamed.

what a joke

You can't rob someone of something they don't own.

He is providing at least $1000 just in corn and seed plus planting food plots and providing feeders and stands. I think $4-5k is a great deal for someone with good quality deer.

Wow....attack mode. You outta TP maybe

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate opinions from both sides pro and con.

It’s 100 acres in Cass County, not Webb County.

2400 lbs of corn is 48 50lb bags at $7 a bag. My math says $336, idk where the $1000 came from.

Plus seed and fertilizer for 3 food plots....and all the labor/tractor work...easily $1000.

It’s still Cass Effing County.

It’s still Cass Effing County.

What is effing, if it's profanity why is it needed to answer the OP question??????????????????

Is money not worth the same in Cass Effing County?

Is corn and fertilizer and seed and labor and tractor work that much cheaper in Cass Effing County??

Mr. T,
Don't let one asshat's opinion have an effect on whatever you want to do with your own place.

I ask same minded people the same question all the time.

If you owned property how much would you charge to let strangers have basically all access to it?

Idiotic answers or crickets...

Nice place for sure. Just small. I won’t hunt small property anymore. Doesn’t mean my hunting is better, but I do like to look a different scenery every now and again.

After a couple of years of maintaining 3 feeders, blinds and cameras by myself, I think it's reasonably priced.

If you figure about $1,500 for each blind/feeder setup, corn, labor, and even food plots, it's a great deal for someone who just wants to hunt.

What hourly rate for labor is considered reasonable???

I hope a good person takes you up on it.

You left out the most important factor ------------------- what is around it ???------- if it borders a 2000 acre ranch , that is one thing,,, if all the plots around it are 50 and 100 acres, that is a totally different situation.

The OP did answer & explain that question...

The guy who does my tractor work charges $55 an hour...that's for bush-hogging, disking, tilling, spreading, food plots, etc. For my three 1-2 acre food plots it usually cost me about $750.

https://landsoftexas.com/property/100-acres-in-Cass-County-Texas/7781694/







Did either of you even open the link that showed the property, improvements, super nice blinds, feeders, food plots and the description of adjoining properties?
Did you see the amount of deer, quality of bucks? Cass county can produce some Monster bucks especially with large neighbors with little to no pressure.

Please tell us about your setup, how many acres, how much do you pay? Show us some pictures of the massive bucks you have taken off your place recently

If I remember correctly once the season hit, there were not many deer sightings on the place. What's a person going to do after spending that kind of money and not getting a deer? Just something to think about on the pricing of you want someone to stay multiple years and not expect a big buck like the one in the pictures. I pay $1,700 for way more land so not getting a buck is not as painful. Just take doe for meat and enjoy the outdoors plus tons of turkey and other stuff to do with water and electricity. Its tough since you are providing the blinds and everything. Good luck to whoever might lease it.

I guess I missed where the OP made mention of not many deer spotted after the season started
One would think since he has a buffet (food plots with mixed greens and corn) for the deer to eat year round, he probably draws a lot of deer from surrounding properties year round?

FYI I still think it is a little pricey for me, but thats just me! I can see where it would be a very good value for someone else


(Three food plots have been carved out of the dense trees. There is a 4-acre food plot, and two 2-acre food plots that have been planted in winter oats/Austrian winter peas. They are a magnet for the big mature deer that Cass County is known for. The property is situated about 7 miles north of the City of Hughes Springs on county road 2932. It is truly a hidden gem when it comes to Deer Hunting. The property has been well managed and I think that the photos speak for themselves when it comes to the quantity and quality of the deer on the property.

The property is AG Exempt, (Timber) and Taxes for 2018 were $238. There is a 2-acre duck slough that provides water for wildlife, however the entire north property boundary is Kelly Creek, which serves as a major travel corridor for big bucks and other wildlife throughout the year. Almost always you will find Wood ducks on the year around water holes in the creek and mallards on the duck slough.

The property is surrounded by large neighbors, two of which do not hunt. A mulcher was brought in last year to enlarge the ATV trails allowing great access to every part of the property. Unlike other small properties, this ranch actually has deer that live on the property, not just passing through it.)

If it was close, I'd do it. It would cost me that much for my son and me to lease just about anywhere and probably have 10 other people on with us to boot. To have a place to yourself is worth something also. A lot of work has gone into the property that requires both machinery and manpower. This doesn't include the cost of transporting the equipment to get the job done. it would serve the needs of a lot of folks but maybe not all.

I would do it in a heartbeat IF I was not already on 3000 acres in west Texas, and already own my own 85 acre farm in Kansas that produces brutes (so small land doesn't bother me). The hog hunting and spring turkey is worth it for two people, even if you don't shoot a deer. Turnkey is hard to find, and hogs and decent deer in daytime pics ! But thats me .....

That place looks awesome and since I don't have my own, I'd love to lease a place just like it for just myself and my youngest who's 10. Partly just love a place to go shoot. But no way I could justify $5K. Not knocking it at all, but I could see $2-3K maybe.

looks like a well cared for place in a good location. I would not want to lease it if it were also leased to another hunter. though the place looks to have a lot of good quality game, 100ac is just not big enough to lease to two people who don't know each other. and then also share it with you on the weekends sometimes. For one hunter, or maybe a father/child, father/wife/child...people who wouldn't be competing with each other. $5000 still sounds like a lot, but i've been pretty fortunate to have some decent places to hunt that didn't cost me nearly that much. For someone who could afford to just buy the place it'd be a heck of a small farm/ranch with some good hunting as a bonus. Even though the game looks really good, its been my experience that folks who are willing to pay several thousand dollars to hunt are usually looking for what i'm going to call a "large property experience"...they don't want to shoot one on a smaller HF place, or on a smaller backyard type place.

I just went through the pics again. Those aren't multiple pics of a couple of good bucks, they're different bucks, looking at their browtines. Really good quality mature deer. Beautiful place.

why would anyone pay 5-6K for 100 acres in east texas, when they could get on a very nice lease for that kind of money that gives you probably 3-5 times more land to hunt?


the problem with small acreage is that you don't hold any deer, they just pass through. We see bucks traveling 1-2 miles a day during non rut times. during the rut, all bets are off. They'll travel miles and miles.

Probably because they live fairly close and have the $$ and do not want to drive 4 + hours each way to hunt.

Stub, great point that is often overlooked by those whom do just this...

Stub, that's a very good point. Personally, I would drive right by that place for 5 to 8 hours to hunt much bigger places in West or South Tx. However, if a guy has the money and doesn't want the drive(or the maintenance) then I think its a great place. I think just the thought of the size/price/location of the place would of gotten bashed on here more except I think Mr T has a very well deserved good reputation on here. Good luck Mr T.

Free range, thank you for your comment. The reason that I asked the question in the first place about leasing was a man who came out to look at the property to buy, has to sell his land first and made me an offer to lease it for Hunting right then for $5,000. But wanted to put three guys on it. Hence my question about three guns for $6,000. And I thought that if he was trying to buy it, he most likely would want to take care of it and not shoot it out.

Sounds like a smoking deal to me Mr. T.....hope it works out for you....