Cost of a hunting lease

In the deer hunting forum there is a debate who (if anyone) would pay $10-$15K for a really good deer lease. Let me answer this by posting a movie I took in Falfurrias ,,when I went to the airport to meet some quail hunting friends from Denver, who were flying in on a private jet, I was shocked to see what was parked at the airport, I expected prop planes, this wasn't even deer season, quail was the only thing open. The guys I was with paid a guide - with dogs and a truck- $1K a day, plus tip --------- if I told you how much the lease was you would accuse me of lying. Most of these guys if they dropped $10K on the ground would not bother to pick it up. This type of high roller is becoming a very common sight on high end deer leases ( and quail leases). I guess the rest of us better get used to shooting does and spikes.

https://youtu.be/RBR5YDLUv5Y

Exactly right booskay. I've seen quail hunters do this many times for sure. There are MANY ranches down south that are prime quail habitat that get $15/acre for the quail hunting alone......and I'm not talking about 200-300 acre places. These are big ranches I'm talking about where a group of just a few lease it for the birds alone!

It’s been like that for a long time down there. The small timers, like myself, have a hard time finding a decent place to hunt our dogs in that part of the country.

Used to lovey it when the quail hunters would come in. Picked up some at CC Airport and hauled them the rest of the way. At first offered with and without dogs - that is, until we understood the market. Somes only hunted with 410s.

Those types have always been around, since the days of Teddy Roosevelt.

Don’t be too sour, hunters with deep pockets are responsible in large part for the numbers of game we currently have today. If it were not for these guys many species in North America and around the world would have been shot to extinction

Exactly… Teddy was one of them, he was by definition exactly what booskay is talking about. With out the affluent influence we wouldn’t have much of the wildlife we have today, nor the quality.

Most the west and TX was restocked with animals from private holdings. Tule elk wouldn’t exist today for not of the efforts of an affluent landowner.

The quality nation wide is a product of those willing to pay to make it better. High end habitat projects in private land are direct result of someone wanting to pay more to make things better

I’ve been priced out of a lot tags and hunts, with that said I still find hunts and adventure.

People are either on the give or on the take.

People with the means to give often do and very freely.

This is a trickle down effect that greatly benefits wildlife.


I’ll never, ever bash an affluent hunter who spends a great amount of money to hunt because those dollars are far reaching.

I wonder if the ones that landed in the KingAir felt like chumps next to the jets? I bet they landed under cover of darkness so no one saw them unload from it. Turboprops are SO bourgeois.

I agree with all the above. You can debate all day the haves and have nots, the good and bad of both, but at the end of the day, it takes all kinds and it is what it is.
Ill be stopping in a bit to get cheap ice at Bucees. Those guys can keep getting richer and spend it any way they want as long as they keep those stores in the way of my travels and keep that cheap ice, corn, feeder, feeder batteries etc.

Go to the airport in Cotulla during any week of hunting season. Not as many jets but still a lot of private aircraft there when I was there back 15 years ago. Sure it would look a lot different today.

Peoples from different bolts of cloths have enjoyed similar passions for generations.

It is shame that the poor folks can't enjoy hunting like rich folks can. Hunting is still hunting no matter how much money you have or don't have. If you are hunting for the dollar value put on the value of the animal....then you are hunting for the wrong reason. Hunters of all walks of life still find a way to enjoy their own way of hunting.

X-2

Lordy, I still enjoy shooting varmints off peoples places.

Exactly but the OP who is complaining about the cost of hunting lives next to the best public hunting in the state of Texas and could be hunting it for under 200 bucks a year where else can you hunt almost 200k acres for under 200 dollars a year?

We don’t see it here in Texas because it’s largely pay to play, but the western United States is a much more level playing field. Draw/OTC units and public land keeps it equal, you can be walking down an trail and pass a guy who works a a hourly job at tractor supply and a mile later pass a business owner with millions in the bank.

Solid comment txtro.

No out west is still pay to play. No different then here really. I spent more drawing my four tags this year then I did my deer lease, I feel fortunate just to get the four tags.

Examples- Legislation in NM trying to do away with LO vouchers, CO trying to lower NR tags, and do away with LO tags, fights over auction tags etc,. It’s same agruement you see here, money is causing a loss in opportunity, that is false.

Every system has the same projections of It’s pay to play. Some just understand that pay to play means wildlife benefits, and better experience long term. With out much of the $$$, habitat preservation and improvement doesn’t get done.

The NA wildlife model puts value on wildlife, so it will always be cost factor associated, it’s why wildlife gets preserved and managed in a sustainable manner

It’s not apples to apples though out west. I draw a mule dee tag in Colorado it’s $380 and I had the same chance as the next guy with equal preference points. In New Mexico it’s a true lottery. As long as I can afford the tag ( which is cheap for majority of species) I have the same chance as anyone else. Money cannot buy me an advantage to drawing.

Now if you put in for multiple states and species then yes you can run up a tab but if I join multiple leases then it will outweigh what you spent in draw tags. That wasn’t the point I was trying to make, my point was the footing was much more equal over there in regards to opportunities vs. income

It cost you more then 380. You forgot the hunting license. With that said there won’t be any OTC tag in CO in another 15 years. I haven't drawn an elk tag in 10 years in NM but I can buy a LO TAG every year for same units. Utah same way, Nevada Same way etc. All those residents scream about money ruining their opportunity. Yet they want to ignore how those tags ultimately bring in 6 to 1 dollars for conservation when compared to resident tags.

It’s still the same projection of money. In CO it LO tags taking away from the draw pool, same in NM, Utah, Nevada etc. People buying LO Tags, Raffle Tags, Governor tags etc.

It's exact same agruement with a different colored dog.
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In any western state you can literally buy a tag for any species including Sheep if you have enough money, in some states money allows you to buy a tag that's valid for 365 days.

Is it dollar for dollar? it is when you don't put your eggs all in one basket. I'd never hunt elk if I just relied on NM, AZ, NV, Utah and Okla draw, but there is almost 700 right there just in application and license fees. That's with zero tag drawn. It jumps up another 700 plus if I actually draw a tag.


Your point is not exactly true, because in CO you may draw an elk tag that's valid for 5 whole days... Compared to Texas almost 4 months season. You can still hunt Texas for almost 4 months and not have a lease nor have to draw a tag.

Who say's , poor folks can't enjoy hunting like d rich folks can ?

Apparently you.

He whines, pizzes and moans about it...huge difference.

ya'll think your so high & mighty with your big buck$...

The people we bought this ranch from leased the quail hunting to 5 out of stater’s for $25k.

This was on top of what they got for the deer leases.

Damn shame that I can’t afford a limo like the white folks downtown.
Damn shame that I was born neither rich or good looking.

I don’t resent those that have been more successful in making money than me. It’s there’s and they can do as they please.

I don’t resent those that picked rich parents. Luck of the draw.

I have plenty to eat and a nice house. It’s enough for me.

You can thank Steve Rinella, Remy Warren, Randy Newberg and all the other “influencers” who have to tell every Tom, Rick and Harry about western public land hunts and then put it on TV and the internet and show the world how fun and easy it is to DIY in the backcountry.

They made money off it and will be the first ones to bish & moan when they all shut down OTC and make it draw

They helped speed it up, but it's been changing every year. I've been hunting and or tagging along in CO since the early 80’s. It's been headed that way for year's, just not at the exponential level it is now.

Double edge sword for sure. I don't think they are all bad for the sport, I too push as many people as I can to hunt out west, and at least try it. I'm already looking at building points for my girls. So I can get them on a 8 year rotation.

Whenever I wanted something or wanted to do something and could not because of what it cost. Guess what I did. I usually found a way by either working more hours. Finding another job that paid more or lowering my expectations on what I actually wanted. Pissing and moaning about what others do that you can't does nothing but lower your own self esteem.

Reciprocity

I’m still waiting to get invites from all the people I’ve taken hunting over the years. Waiting, waiting,waiting.

Yea I see It somewhat same way its either a priority or it's not. That neither good nor bad. It's just a priority ranking. Sometimes life happens and it just can't be a priority. Understandable, life happens we all have to re-prioritize. We can either project or set a future goal.

Hunting won't ever be cheap. Fortunately we have lots of different priced options from general public to COE to WMA to different states.

Finite resources are always rationed in one form or another. Either through limited availability, limited time, or valuation. Or a combination of both. I have nothing against any of these methods as long as they're not overly exploitive of the resource. Do away with transferrable lo tags and a certain number of landowners will convert their property to a use less conducive to hunting. Even with the best wildlife model on the planet, is still the king's deer. We just have a more egalitarian method of allocating the resource.

Actually you can thank RESIDENTS of the western states for the PRIMARY reason its so dang hard to draw western tags today. And its comical when you come across a western state resident and they complain about all the 'non residents' screwing up the hunting in their state. When you show them the data the true reasons its so hard to draw western tags they don't know weather to laugh or cry.

Now maybe the celebrities influenced the residents also but I'm just stating that non residents of western states are not the problem....if there is one. I do not blame residents out west for wanting most of the tags either. But some western states are taking advantage of out of staters just so we can "play the game".

I'm talking OTC units. They are packed full of Non-Res. hunters so Its hard to place blame on the residents for the OTC units filling up. Every year I go up there its more and more crowded....increased publicity from the aforementioned people has driven more and more out of state folks, who would probably not have given a second thought to hunting OTC elk in Colorado, into these units.

You know what they say...deer hunters show up to the lease in their new F-250, and quail hunters show up in their new Citation.