Do you pay for hunting access?

[Rico]

Not a lease per say but we do contribute a good amount of   money to help the land owner friend  that has to pay his morgage and taxes. Seems like the right thing to do.

[Paul J.]

Keep in mind that we pay for the public land that we hunt!!

                       Paul J.

[Paul WA]

Im with Rooselk, we literally have millions of acres of state and federal land to hunt...PR

[SteveB]

The small places I lease would be overrun and unhuntable if open to anyone wanting to hunt them. And the lease fee I pay helps stave off the development of 5 acre hobby farms that end all hunting - not just what some view it should be.

If someone feels I am contributing to the ruination of hunting, then that is their problem.
Frankly rather tired of the "entitlement" attitude and rather amused by it.

Steve

[Shawn Leonard]

I have to agree withe SteveB on this one George. Leases are becoming the only way some can hunt and like it or not that is what the world is coming to. There are guys that would have to travel hours just to hunt public land and they do not have the time. I have never needed to lease but it may come to that, so I would not be so quick to judge. It is all good George. Shawn

[adkmountainken]

our opinion was asked for and we are "entitled" to give it. as i said its not for me, you are free to spend your money as you see fit.

[SteveB]

Ken - I see no judgement towards others in what you said. I respect your opinion.

Steve

[adkmountainken]

i will say if there were no public land what so ever, i mean NONE at all and the olny option was to lease i would do it as a part of me would die if i could not hunt.  i really do feel bad for you guys that do not have a lot of public land to hunt. i live by MANY state forests which every one is at least a 1000 acres, also a ton of state land and believe it or not there is a lot of land that is NOT posted and free to hunt that holds a lot of deer and BIG bucks. i have stated before that i will give anyone who wants them gps coordinates to 2 of my stands on public land, i just feel that everyone should enjoy the privledge that i do. ya got to walk a bit up a mountain but the stands are there for you!

[Matty]

I dont..... But I would!  I'm sick of Public land hunts.
 

[GingivitisKahn]

I hunt on public land here in Ohio so yes - I pay through the nose for it.

[myshootinstinks]

In the west there are millions of acres of public land and low population. There are more people in a medium size city back east or on the west coast than in the entire state of Wyoming. I choose to hunt private land because I have the place to myself and I see more game. I've yet to pay a lease but I do compensate the landowner with a friendly token of appreciation.  
  However, if a person lives in an area of high  population density and nearly all hunting property is privately owned, I can see where a lease is a practical option.

[Lost]

Here in Ok you see more and more people leasing. I'm fortunate to get to hunt some private land for free. Initially a friend's inlaws gave permission. Now having established a good relationship with the ranch hand has kept me on the land even with the friend moving out of state. Some deer links, jerkey and shooting as many coyotes as I can goes a long way. The catch is I can only hunt alone. I'd lease the land in a heart beat if possible to have the opertunity to take new hunters and kids hunting with a mentor. But the owner is firm on me hunting by myself.

[Earl E. Nov...mber]

I hunt private land and am still  getting permission for a hand shake and respect,, But, I am driving over an hour one way to hunt too.  I know a lot of you are driving that far and still have to lease, so I am not complaining.

[Onestringer]

I have two leases in MO.  I hate doing it but I see a lot of deer.

[leatherneck]

I am very fortunate to have the lease that I do. 4 of us lease 550 acres and have done so for about 13 years now. We are able to manage the property well and the results are evident. With that in mind, we are not stingy with our lease neither. We invite others to hunt every year. We have 2-trad gangers coming in in 2-weeks to hunt with us. To each his/her own.

Mike

[luv2bowhunt]

I do a couple of cheap leases that don't have the greatest success... but it does give me a break from the public land crowds when I want to relax. I also hunt public land that is difficult to access and have 1 small farm that I have permission to hunt for free... just 15 acres but I have taken many deer from it. It took ALOT of knocking on doors just to find that small farm.

[John P]

I hunt both private and public lands. We do have quite a bit of public land in Wisconsin,and there are some pieces that are very large tracks.However with our very restrictive game laws make some of those tracks unhuntable.What I am trying to say is if you get back deep in some of these places you can have it to yourself and see a good number of deer.However having to register your deer whole makes it very hard if not impossible to get your deer out of the woods.So there is the catch,hunt close to the roads with everybody else or hunt private.

[draco]

Nice to know you think so little of Texas, George. But with ninety five percent privately owned land, you figure on paying to hunt or not hunting.
My biggest place I hunt is payed for with hauling hay to the barn. Other places are paid for with cash. Public land hunting is crowded because there is so little of it and your chances of success is limited.
I sat at the corner of an oats field a few days ago and had 23 deer enter the field within shooting range. Thats not going to happen on public land. On private land I can afford to be picky in what I pluck a string at. I hunted horns last year till the last week of season. In the last week I killed my two does and a spike buck. Public land--Not going to happen.

[Straitshot]

Not everyone is blessed to have a lot of public land to hunt on as do many of the states. In some states most if not all accessable hunting land is private. If you live in a state that has a great deal of public land then count your blessings because those of us that don't have to learn to make due with what we have. Many land owners have begun to realize that hunters will pay exorbitant fees to hunt, thus the game ranch and outfitter explosion. You can see it any night on the Outdoor channel. Hunting in states that have mostly private land has become a big bucks ($$$$) industry. Excuse the pun. Many who pay those exorbitant fees are out of state hunters. You don't see many poor good ole boys on those shows. Many land owners are learning that it is more profitable to sell hunting rights than livestock or increase your profits and do both. Really can't blame them.

I have tried both. Where I live there is some limited public land. Back in my younger days I spent most of my time there and learned every acre of it like the back of my hand. I hunted it with both gun and bow and had good success, but as the years went by and the population of the area increased and interest in hunting increased the demand on the area also increased, thus the regulations that governed the area also increased. Once I could hunt any of the public areas from October through December any amount of days any time the urge hit me to go with little or no interference from other hunters. My last few attempts to hunt at one of the areas was met with confrontations from lazy unethical hunters capitalizing on your hard work. The other area is so regulated now and is divided into numerous small areas that your only chance for seeing an animal much less taking one is mostly based on pure chance.

About 6 years ago something terrific happened which has afforded me a most valuable opportunity with regard to hunting. My uncle works on a ranch about 17 miles from my home, and knowing how much I loved to hunt asked the land owner if I could hunt there. For about the last 6 years I have had the opportunity to hunt on as good a hunting as there is in all of Texas. I know it will not last forever because my uncle is old and when he no longer goes out to the ranch I will most certainly no longer be allowed to hunt there. So I count my blessings and am truly thankful to have this wonderful opportunity. When it is gone I don't know what I will do. I might could afford a year or two of the ever increasing pricing of private land leasing, but I hope to retire in a couple of years and all extraneous spending will come to a halt. I am too old and crotchety to try the public land here any more. Would still like to go a few more times to the mountains to pursue the elusive elk or mule deer. Boy, I envy you guys in the mountain states. Might just spend the rest of my days killing foam and telling stories to all you younger guys.

By-the-way, I spent plenty on all those elk and mule deer hunts to New Mexico and Colorado. Spent enough going multiple times on my own to have paid for a couple of delux guided hunts. Guess I should have. Hindsight they say is 20-20.

Count your blessings and be thankful for what you have.

Louis

[-Achilles-]

If I had to pay I wouldnt hunt...I would hunt illegally then I suppose