Huntin lease agreement seminar in texas

old self made man that i worked for owned fairly good size ranches locally, but hunted the calahan for many years, he always said never let the landowner see a big deer,and never talk much about where you hunt or what you pay, pretty smart guy.

Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 32,708 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 32,708 Originally Posted by fredgus

old self made man that i worked for owned fairly good size ranches locally, but hunted the calahan for many years, he always said never let the landowner see a big deer,and never talk much about where you hunt or what you pay, pretty smart guy.

Loose lips sink ships

For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure. Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 8,595 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 8,595

I own my own small 133 acre place North of Fort Worth. The hunters are young men that I’ve known all their life. One of their wives also hunt. I don’t charge them. They pass on legal but immature deer. The wife took a nice buck last year. My grandson also hunts some but rarely shoots.

The nice thing is that they look around for things that need to be done that the old guy doesn’t get done.

Probably will sell the place soon. Arthritis kicking my butt and limits what I can do. Having to pay someone to build fence. I hate that.

Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP

Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020 Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by ntxtrapper All the above is why you buy your own place and not rent it.

I can afford to rent much more than I will ever be capable of buying, but I’m willing to put up with some of the extra that it requires.


^^^ I agree with this. Pros and cons of owning vs leasing for hunting has been talked to death on here many times and its off topic on this thread.

At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR
Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH

Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020

Turkeyhunter, with all due respect, I dont know how this is a legitimate question. I feel I am a very ethical person but I see no issue with either of your examples being unethical. This seems proven out because almost everyone has agreed. As others have said, theres a more kindly way to handle it but bottom line its a business deal. Certainly, it may be a bad business deal but not an unethical one.
I guess if I knew the thread you referred to it would shed some light on why its thread worthy.

At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR
Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH

Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 8,595 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Jun 2006 Posts: 8,595

How about the land owners expectations? That annual lease goes 2 ways. There is nothing binding on the hunters to come back the next year.

Currently, inflation is hitting both parties to the business deal. The landowner is getting a hefty tax increase due to land values increasing. The customer is also getting hammered by everyday expenses.

Last edited by Dave Davidson; 04/04/24 12:48 AM .

Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP

Joined: Apr 2011 Joined: Apr 2011

Unfortunately for hunters, some may disagree, but today’s hunting is sport hunting. not subsistence hunting. Money talks and bs keeps walking. Owners lease their land because they want the money, if they didn’t want it they’d let their buddies nephew from church hunt for free like they used to. Essentially for the most part the lease will end up with the highest bidder, owner may regret it later or he may not care. It’s simple business ethics at the end of the day, as that’s what it’s become

Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 10,951 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 10,951 Originally Posted by woodduckhunter

Unfortunately for hunters, some may disagree, but today’s hunting is sport hunting. not subsistence hunting. Money talks and bs keeps walking. Owners lease their land because they want the money, if they didn’t want it they’d let their buddies nephew from church hunt for free like they used to. Essentially for the most part the lease will end up with the highest bidder, owner may regret it later or he may not care. It’s simple business ethics at the end of the day, as that’s what it’s become

Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 20,805 determined determined Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 20,805 Originally Posted by freerange

Turkeyhunter, with all due respect, I dont know how this is a legitimate question. I feel I am a very ethical person but I see no issue with either of your examples being unethical. This seems proven out because almost everyone has agreed. As others have said, theres a more kindly way to handle it but bottom line its a business deal. Certainly, it may be a bad business deal but not an unethical one.
I guess if I knew the thread you referred to it would shed some light on why its thread worthy.

It's really a discussion topic in the form of a couple of questions. The topic is based on observations of the THF over the years.

Joined: Mar 2012 Posts: 13,770 emoji colt.45 emoji colt.45 Joined: Mar 2012 Posts: 13,770

As pappy once said : The more money ya have the more Freedom ya have.
Ethic's has nothing ta do with it.

First got ta Texas, (83), twas first, heard of deer leases. Everyone was doing it.
Had small place ta hunt. In-laws hunted a 1,100acer lease, it had few hogs on it
With 24-7-365 hog hunting, got on it, $200.00 yr round.
Wife found small camper, we did tent camping @ camp grounds, family thing.
i had slept in jungle hamic/ army cot on river fishing/frog gigging.
We were young couple, bought house ta move, with part of 401 plan @ foundry.
Had ta redo whole house. Money was tight.
Price of Gov. Food Stamp was cheap, family outings
We went ta a credit adviser. (have mentioned this first year on this forum,
in several discussions about leasing). Gave info about money spent,
building materials for house, insurance, car/truck payments & such. They asked anything else ?
Told them about the deer lease.
Quote: was told then, Leasing was a bad thing.
Yet it was a family outing, put on the & freezer.
Leasing started getting too expensive. Seen hunters loose lease ta highest bidder.
Several friends started Leasing in other states. So decided ta hunt area lived.
Then a WMA opened up just down the road.
That's about whin got on this forum,looking for people who wanted ta do some hog hunts.
Most know the rest of the story.

Up here hunting has changed, have 4 different areas can hunt. Alot of the old abandoned
farm places been bought up by people from cities, for hunting camps.
Ya see box stands (store bought) going up all over. Still hunt in tree stands, ground.
4 of us, 80 year young mom still goes sits & takes deer. We get together do own processing.

Hunting has changed. Get alot of slack from some on here.
just a simple post, grammer may not be best.
Best wish's ta all on hunting adventures, stay safe.


i'm postaddic Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 13,768 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Mar 2010 Posts: 13,768 Originally Posted by freerange Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by ntxtrapper All the above is why you buy your own place and not rent it.

I can afford to rent much more than I will ever be capable of buying, but I’m willing to put up with some of the extra that it requires.


^^^ I agree with this. Pros and cons of owning vs leasing for hunting has been talked to death on here many times and its off topic on this thread.

Everything, including leasing a place out from under someone else, has been talked to death on here many times. It seems relevant because owning your own place eliminates the issue brought up in the OP.

Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Apr 2013 Posts: 9,020 Originally Posted by ntxtrapper Originally Posted by freerange Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by ntxtrapper All the above is why you buy your own place and not rent it.

I can afford to rent much more than I will ever be capable of buying, but I’m willing to put up with some of the extra that it requires.


^^^ I agree with this. Pros and cons of owning vs leasing for hunting has been talked to death on here many times and its off topic on this thread.

Everything, including leasing a place out from under someone else, has been talked to death on here many times. It seems relevant because owning your own place eliminates the issue brought up in the OP.


A bit of a stretch, but fair enough.

At some point in life its time to quit chasing the pot of gold and just enjoy the rainbow. FR
Keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. RWH

Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,448 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,448 Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by BOBO the Clown

a lease is a yearly business transaction. nothing more nothing less. Each side of that agreement has something to offer and motivators that need to be met.

If one sides Motivators arent met then landowner maybe looking for new lessees or lessees may be looking for a better lessor/property.

No different in Cattle or farming world. Your hunting is a land owners commodity.

ethics = breaking whats in the signed contract,

I agree with this 100%

A few years back someone off this site was able to find our rancher and offered him more than we were paying. I don’t think the caller expected the response and I got my butt chewed for posting on here in a way that someone was able to track him down. There was a very interesting and entertaining thread about it too

It's crazy what a good steak can get you

[Linked Image]

Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 17,734 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Aug 2004 Posts: 17,734

Our landowner has said I have been offered double what y'all pay and I have guys ready to pay more. That was 20 years ago and we are still there. We have a great relationship. Luckily no guests have tried anything slick.

Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 35,949 Joined: Sep 2010 Posts: 35,949 Originally Posted by Pope&Young Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by BOBO the Clown

a lease is a yearly business transaction. nothing more nothing less. Each side of that agreement has something to offer and motivators that need to be met.

If one sides Motivators arent met then landowner maybe looking for new lessees or lessees may be looking for a better lessor/property.

No different in Cattle or farming world. Your hunting is a land owners commodity.

ethics = breaking whats in the signed contract,

I agree with this 100%

A few years back someone off this site was able to find our rancher and offered him more than we were paying. I don’t think the caller expected the response and I got my butt chewed for posting on here in a way that someone was able to track him down. There was a very interesting and entertaining thread about it too

It's crazy what a good steak can get you

"A good steak" = A damn good steak and taters every weekend that we are there

[Linked Image][Linked Image] [Linked Image]

Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,539 Veteran Tracker Veteran Tracker Joined: Dec 2007 Posts: 2,539 Originally Posted by txtrophy85

It becomes unethical when you're a guest of the leaseholder and go direct to the landowner with an offer to lease, basically subverting the present leaseholder.

If your joe blow off the street with no ties to the existing group, its not unethical to make an offer.

As far as unethical from a landowners point of view, I would say if you received an offer (assuming lease holders were in good standing) that was higher, and you didn't give them an opportunity to match it, then that would be bad business.

This pretty much sums it up

AVOID. Luna Canyon Outdoor Adventures Chacon NM Elk Hunting. Owner James Duran

Joined: Jul 2013 Posts: 6,268 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Jul 2013 Posts: 6,268

There are LO out there who value leasors who take care of their property and it trumps $$ - the other thing not mentioned here. If you find a great lease do a 5 year lease with some increases in price.

Last edited by tlk; 04/05/24 11:19 PM . You can't fix stupid Joined: Nov 2018 Posts: 1,600 Pro Tracker Pro Tracker Joined: Nov 2018 Posts: 1,600

As a landowner, if i marginally unhappy with current lessors would take the bump to see them go, if I was happy with them, would sit down with them and seek small bump in price to cover increase in taxes.

Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,448 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Feb 2012 Posts: 11,448 Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by Pope&Young Originally Posted by txshntr Originally Posted by BOBO the Clown

a lease is a yearly business transaction. nothing more nothing less. Each side of that agreement has something to offer and motivators that need to be met.

If one sides Motivators arent met then landowner maybe looking for new lessees or lessees may be looking for a better lessor/property.

No different in Cattle or farming world. Your hunting is a land owners commodity.

ethics = breaking whats in the signed contract,

I agree with this 100%

A few years back someone off this site was able to find our rancher and offered him more than we were paying. I don’t think the caller expected the response and I got my butt chewed for posting on here in a way that someone was able to track him down. There was a very interesting and entertaining thread about it too

It's crazy what a good steak can get you

"A good steak" = A damn good steak and taters every weekend that we are there

[Linked Image]

Joined: May 2017 Posts: 5,445 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: May 2017 Posts: 5,445

I just stumbled onto this. Interesting thread. My perspective may be a little different than most here. From a business perspective, leasing the hunting rights on property is small potatoes and has a very small impact on revenue/acre generated. With that in mind, most landowners that lease hunting rights in the form of an annual hunting lease agreement do so because they like being able to share what they have, without impacting their business decisions regarding their property. With that in mind, it does not take most landowners long to realize, most lessees do not respect their property, the resources on the property, or the landowner. When a landowner finds a good group of lessees he most usually prefers continuing to lease to a known entity. If the landowner is entertaining offers from other groups to lease to, it is most often an indication the landowner is dissatisfied with the group he is currently leasing to. Prime example: spent $28,000 putting roads back together on a place the hunters tore the hell out of two years ago. Didn’t waste any time that would take me away from profitable endeavors talking to them about it. When the lease term expired they were informed their lease would not be renewed and it was leased to someone else. Former lessor appeared oblivious as to why it did not work out.
As someone who leases out a good bit of property to hunters: in my opinion the guy who tries to slip in and under cut a group to lease a property out from under them is unscrupulous. If he has no problem kicking the current lessors in the nuts, he will not have a problem with kicking the landowner in the nuts either.

Smokey Bear---Lone Star State. Joined: Jul 2013 Posts: 6,268 THF Trophy Hunter THF Trophy Hunter Joined: Jul 2013 Posts: 6,268

we have had an awesome lease for going on 16 years. Two years ago someone came in from the outside and offered big money to take over - the LO took it.

turns out the new guy was clueless and had a horrible season (lots of issues) - LO came back and let us take the lease back over.

I think the LO realized how well we took care of their property and followed all of the rules and knew we were the right guys for being on his property -

You can't fix stupid Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 22,417 THF Celebrity THF Celebrity Joined: Jul 2008 Posts: 22,417 Originally Posted by Smokey Bear

I just stumbled onto this. Interesting thread. My perspective may be a little different than most here. From a business perspective, leasing the hunting rights on property is small potatoes and has a very small impact on revenue/acre generated. With that in mind, most landowners that lease hunting rights in the form of an annual hunting lease agreement do so because they like being able to share what they have, without impacting their business decisions regarding their property. With that in mind, it does not take most landowners long to realize, most lessees do not respect their property, the resources on the property, or the landowner. When a landowner finds a good group of lessees he most usually prefers continuing to lease to a known entity. If the landowner is entertaining offers from other groups to lease to, it is most often an indication the landowner is dissatisfied with the group he is currently leasing to. Prime example: spent $28,000 putting roads back together on a place the hunters tore the hell out of two years ago. Didn’t waste any time that would take me away from profitable endeavors talking to them about it. When the lease term expired they were informed their lease would not be renewed and it was leased to someone else. Former lessor appeared oblivious as to why it did not work out.
As someone who leases out a good bit of property to hunters: in my opinion the guy who tries to slip in and under cut a group to lease a property out from under them is unscrupulous. If he has no problem kicking the current lessors in the nuts, he will not have a problem with kicking the landowner in the nuts either.

Excellent feedback that also points to why it can be so difficult to join a "good" hunting lease. The current members understand fully what's at stake and the risk when any newcomer joins the lease, no matter how well someone claims to know them.