Hunting Lease

C

ck2128

Guest
I'm from Texas where I get a hunting lease each year since the season here is apprx 3 months long, including archery. Do most of ya'll get leases for whitetail and then put in on draw hunts, etc for other game or do ya'll put in solely for hunts and hope to get drawn on 2 or 3 per year forget the annual lease? I ask the question because I'm fed up with my current lease and I'm just searching my options. I'm posting the same thread in the elk forum, but just trying to get ideas.
Thanks
 
So far I have said forget about hunting in Texas, I am in amarillo but I lived in Leakey ,Texas for a year and hunted down south too. I put in and hunt out of state and don't have to worry about getting screwed on a lease.
 
I can agree with that, but I'm still debating on wether or not to drop the $3,000 for my lease here in the state. I'll have to admit, the hunting is excellent, but it's still a lease and you still have the same bull**** that comes with a lease.

I'm putting in on my out of state hunts no matter what I decide to do. I'm chomping at the bit to get out there and in some mountains!
 
If you have enough money to still think about dropping $3000 on a lease AND hunt out of state then just buy some land somewhere for hunting! Then you can let all your new friends come hunt, especially the ones you meet from amarillo on Monster Muleys.;-)

I don't have a problem dropping $500 on a tag to hunt out of state when I have to, but I do have a problem dropping $3000 on a lease! I lived on a 7000 acre ranch down south that was leased by ten businessmen for $70,000.00 a year! We had ten point whitetail at the back door of the house we lived in along with all the exotics, hogs, and turkeys. That just seemed way too ridiculous. I couldn't tell you how much it frustrated me to have to pack up my bow and drive 3-5 hours to hunt public land when I lived there! And then not even see a deer in three days hunting! Texas has really become focused on money for a hunt! You have to pay an additional $48 for a public hunting lands permit! What a bunch of garbage!

I would suggest finding a cheaper lease with some friends.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-18-06 AT 05:59AM (MST)[p]I have a ranch in Texas, and pretty much shoot does for meat and take friends. I get my hunting for antlers in Colorado, and occasionally other states. However, I can still go on my ranch and "hunt" at any time and get a lot of kicks out of taking friends and getting a kid their first deer. You have to remember that unless you have the money and time off to go on multiple out of state hunts a year, you will be trading 3 months of hunting for about 1 week only. Most hunts in Colorado with a firearm are 5-9 days and when you are done for that season, you are done for the year. And you can buy only one tag for one season for each species (bucks and bulls). In other words, you could hunt bull elk in one season and buck deer in another season or you could hunt them both in the same season. But, you can't hunt bull elk in more than one season. Archery is 30 days long however. Good luck in your quest.

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
I have put in for years for the draw permits throughout the west and have not been drawn. I understand the frustration you are having with the lease issues.

I think the people who are not from Texas do not realize the costs of land throughout the state at least in areas that are within 4 hours of the major cities. We have tried for years to find a place to buy, but the price tag of over $100,000 for a 50 acre tract with no electricity, water, fencing, or other improvements is alot of money for me when you have a home, college, and other retirement issues to think of.

My advice, I would stay on your lease if it is a good place and continue to do a hunt or two a year out of state. I have given up my leases and I am hunting on a small tract of family land (20 acres) so my kids can hunt and we can do what we want. I had one terrific lease in Uvalde county years ago, but lost it and I rue the day that I let that one get away.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'll probably end up getting back on the lease and then still put in an out of state hunt or two. I am going to look for a new lease, not necessarily a cheaper one, but a different one. I'd hate to have to give up 3 months worth of hunting. I put in for the lottery draw in NM and deer and elk for CO. Currently have 1 points for deer and 2 for elk. Don't know if I should try and cash in anything and go this year or keep accumulating?
 
I too live in Texas and have done both, though the leases I've been on were out West or in the Panhandle just because I really prefer hunting Mulies. I think getting a trophy whitetail is a challenge as well, I just don't enjoy the style of hunting that it requires.

That said, in my exprience you could do three out of state hunts for the same price as your lease, and you get to be in the mountains. If you get to actually hunt much of the 3 months the season is open for, the lease may be a good deal. Personally, I had to hunt on almost all weekends, and my wife got tired of me being gone every weekend. Good luck in deciding, but for me nothing compares to the mountains.

WH
 
You said it perfectly. That is one of the driving factors for giving up the lease: I'm gone every weekend and my wife is getting tired of me being gone, especially with the work schedule I've had here recently.
 

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