how many would..

[bowmaster12]

lease a 40 that is home to many monster bucks and is part of 7000 acre block of qdm/trophy managed property. Lease isnt cheap $1600 and there is a 150" min on bucks now hunting with trad equipment how many would limit themselves to a 150 or better while paying for the privllage to hunt there?

[PEARL DRUMS]

I wouldnt do that, just an opinion. Most deer wont stand around long enough to score them. Not to mention hunting is more fun when you put your own limitations on yourself rather than somebody else telling you what you can and cant shoot.

[cacciatore]

I would if I had a chance.

[bad arrow]

No guarantees in life so with that kinda money I'd buy a couple of nice bows instead.... Phil

[LPN]

It would be easy for me to say no,,but I'm fortunate and don't have to purchase a lease to hunt,,,I'd look at it like this,,,I have a place to hunt the rules are the rules and it could be worse.

[Whip]

It all depends what your goals are and what your budget can afford.  If you really want to shoot a 150 class buck you need to hunt where some of them exist.  7,000 acres of QDM land (properly managed) will certainly have some great deer.  Of course, QDM is more than just waiting for a big buck.  It also means managing the does, and killing an appropriate number of them as well.

Forty acres isn't much room to hunt on, and you would need to be very selective on how often and where you hunt it.  But your chances of finding the buck of your dreams is better if you can hunt places that are home to them.  

Sad in a way that it comes down to money to improve the chances of taking a great deer.  But the way deer are managed by the states in many areas that are more accessible to the public has made leasing a reality for those who really want some high quality hunting ground to themselves.  That isn't likely to change no matter how much we wish that weren't the case.

[Steve95]

Hunting shouldn't all be about the money or the size of his head but the experience in life. I have only seen a track of land like that payoff for the guy that is collecting the money. I would be a hard sell but lots of guys have money for that.

[Bjorn]

It depends a bit on your other options and budget. 40 acres is not a lot as others have said. And 1600 is a fair chunk for that acreage.
If it were me I'd scout out other options.

[saltwatertom]

no

[Night Wing]

Not me.

[Jeff Strubberg]

If I had another option, I wouldn't.  I understand that some folks have to lease in order to hunt, but I personally think it's a great way to separate hunting into a have/have not situation.

[Bowwild]

I'd have a difficult time doing that one because it isn't much acreage. However, I spend $1,500 on a 120 acres adjacent to where I live and there is far less control on property adjacent to where I hunt -- a 152 (I  measured it) was killed next door (70 yards from my favorite stand)on November 13th this year. However, I had been hunting this 120 for about 8 years for free and was going to lose it to some strangers if I didn't step up. I don't like writing the check but I'd like less some new guys with bait barrels setting up on my stomping grounds, next to where I live. Frankly, it felt just a bit like extortion at the time but I'm glad I did it because now I have much more control than ever what goes on this property. However, if the price goes up, I'm outta there.

As others have written, it depends upon what is important to you and your situation.  If the area is close to home and will save you time and travel cash then the ledger starts to bend towards doing it. The quality of the 40 acres you are being offered is important as is what will be taking place on the tracts adjacent to yours.  I could see prime spots on the 7,000 being set aside for favorite clients/guests/friends and you get stuck with nocturnal travel lanes. Getting to and from your 40 would be interesting as would the the ingress of those hunting around you.

Sounds like an area with high expectations though -- I imagine the compound shooters have a higher minimum score requirement?

[bowmaster12]

theres 4 other people i know that will be gettign 40s as well we all agreed we will share all the land so a total of 200 acres the 150 minimum is for all weapons also you can shoot something smaller if u have a 100 dollar bill you want to get rid of.  The land is about an hour and half from my home.  right now im leaning towards not doing it its alot of money for a couple deer theres alot of public land around and im not sure i want to handcuff myself to that 150 mark.  will have to do more research before i make up my mind thanks for all your thoughts

[Blaino]

not me.  i just got my first deer with trag gear this year.  i gotta shoot a few more and not have 150" marck in the back of my mind. on the other hand i don't have 1600 bones to spend on a hunting lease.

[xtrema312]

This is a hard one, but I do have some thoughts in several areas of the issue because I have been considering the idea of leasing, buying, and the cost of the hunting I do now.  

First, it is hard to find great spots to hunt.  40 is not a lot unless it is ideal.  If I could get into it with easy access with the normal wind patterns working for me to get to good spots without going through the deer so I could hunt it quite a bit and not burn the place out I would consider it.  It would be better yet if it had water, cover, and connected some major feed and cover area so it was used a lot as a travel area between bedding areas and beading areas to food.  If it was just off to the side of some huge area and had nothing special to offer it could be of limited use and the deer could just move out if you hunt too much.   I have someone I work with that ownes an ideal 50.  They have shot multiple large bucks over the year with two this year and have seen two more.  They hunt all the time and see a load of deer.  A spot like that would be well worth it.

I hunt two 10 acre parcels that have limited deer, but two weeks a year the bucks roll through.  Hunted correctly it produces 5-8 buck sightings in the pre-rut and early rut, and I see my best buck every year in this spot.  I take at least one each year.  I wouldn’t pay much to hunt it.  It is not that good all season.

While I do not pay to hunt, I would consider it.  If it was close to home and work so I could get there with limited driving expenses it could be a good deal.  When I figure the gas I burn driving to hunt I could afford a little private spot to hunt if it was not a lot of $.  

I have thought about buying land, but the taxes around here could be close to what you would pay to lease this spot.  So if it is a great spot why tie up your money and pay taxes?

You can always take that money and go on a great hunt.  But what are you going to get for that a week someplace if you DIY?  I could hunt the whole season in a spot like this if it is set up right plus I could take the kids and wife for free after the first cost.

I am a meat hunter first.  I would love to shot a 150 or better.  I would love to see one in the wild.  I got to have meat.  So if it is QDM and they shoot a good number of does, and I can shoot some does then I could let the small bucks pass.  Now how do you shoot a doe when there could be a 150 around the corner?

[Mudd]

It wouldn't and couldn't be a choice for me.

I recon I'd have to be satisfied with punching paper and shooting those nasty stumps.

God bless,Mudd

[Mike Vines]

Sounds a bit high to me.  I used to lease 250 acres in S.E. Michigan with some good friends, $500 per guy, and rules were archery only, and no guests for deer, only immediate family.  Worked quite well.  We had tons of does on there, and the bucks that were there were small.  I only saw 1 10 point in 3 years, and the biggest buck I ever took was a 6 point.  I'm sure if we could have gotten all the does off of there, it would have produced some big bucks.

[landman]

I think I would pass.    I love venison and I love bow hunting but when gun season rolls around, if I haven't tagged a couple of deer, then I pickup my rifle and put a couple in the freezer...just like I did this past weekend.    An old doe and a management buck with a basket rack 4 on one side and a V sticking up out of his noggin on the other side.    I always practice QDM on my lease and I because of that, I have some nice bucks that hang out in the deep timber on my lease.

But from another angle, I've killed several pretty nice bucks, not bookers, but nice none the less.    I'd love to take one really buck before I have to quit climbing into trees but it's not an objective.   In my crazy mind, any deer I take with a recurve or a longbow is deer enough.

[Hawkeye]

I wouldn't, and would not be able to, but I know folks who regularly pay "trespass" fees out west for the right to hunt on a ranch for just a week.  In that vein, I could see someone justifying the cost for that opportunity.  It just won't be me...

[Biggie Hoffman]

OOOhhooohh pick me pick me!!!!!