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  • rotor

    TGT Addict
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    Nov 1, 2015
    4,239
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    Texas
    Obviously the first thing a good lease has is game. Since feral pigs are everywhere now, at the very least you have that option. The crappy lease I was on is in an area where the locals hunt pigs with dogs, so most deer and pigs have become nocturnal. Great photos on the cameras, but nothing in the rifle sights.

    The other thing a great lease has is a good group hunting on it. The one I referred to as "fun" had great guys and we worked together to fix things up. By tradition we had steak and potatoes for dinner the night before rifle season kicked off. Everybody brought stuff to help make dinner, supplies to clean up, etc. People helped each other with mowing, fixing stands, filling feeders, etc. On the crappy lease, it was every man for himself. Rules were often ignored. On the night of opening day, the campgrounds were filled with not only hunters but their wives, girlfriends, kids, dogs, cousins - along with booze, arguments, and all the mud they could churn up with their trucks.

    Another mark of a great lease is that it's open for more than just deer season. Gives you time to scout around, to fix things up, and sometimes just to get out in the country and decompress a bit.

    As for price, leases tend to be pretty expensive. If you have a decent group, sometimes you can find a place that is reasonably affordable. As an individual, it's hard to find a spot. There are several web sites where leases are advertised, but reading through them can drive you crazy!! Types:
    1. The Super Rich Corporate Lease - Fenced in pastures, deer bred to have huge racks, air conditioned sleeping place with wide screen TV and NFL package. $40,000 per gun per season, payable in gold bullion.
    2. The Small Landowner Special - 3 acres accepting up to 10 hunters, but don't worry, the property borders on some neighbor's land and deer will (probably) run through your spot. $500 per gun
    3. The Don't Disturb the Neighbors Special - Only archery hunting and no vehicles or loud talking before noon or after 4 pm. No water, air, boarding, roads, or food plots. $2000 per person, family welcome if they keep quiet.
    4. The Read the Small Print Lease - Fenced-in, feeders and stands available, $1000 per gun. Oh, by the way, we have a list of "trophy fees". Any deer over 8 points is an extra $500 per point. Anything that can be rated Boone & Crockett will be an extra $2500. There's probably a fee for does, rabbits, squirrels, or crickets that you might run over.
    5. The Time Share Lease - Someone must have sued these guys, 'cause they used to advertise these on every fence post and telephone pole. You sign up, you pay your money, and they have a drawing to see where you get to hunt. As a pyramid scheme, the guys who started it will be hunting some really good places - the kinds of spots you see in their ads on the internet. Everyone else will get whatever junk they can find. $500 to $2000 per gun, and (maybe) we'll be right back with your hunting spot.
    6. Day Leases - becoming more rare, but I don't know why. $500 per weekend, but every weekend is booked through 2047.
    7. Public Land Leases - Not too horrible, at least most of them have plenty of game. But you have to find a good spot that nobody else is hunting (and the local guys have scouted all of those out long before you showed up.)
    8. Unhappy Land Owner Lease with Cousin Bubba - Every once in a while you'll find a land owner that decides to make a few bucks off of the property they inherited. If you can pull together a group, you can get an affordable deal. Three big problems: First, these are hard to find and people jump on them quickly. Second, you have to have a good group. What happens all to frequently is you just don't have enough good guys and you have to recruit outside your circle. Things go great until opening day. Suddenly the new guys become total asshats and disrupt everything you're trying to do. Third, and I speak from experience on this one, the landowner probably has a cousin (or uncle or brother-in-law or something) that had been using the land and is pissed off at you hunting on it. They use any excuse to come around and make your life miserable. (Twice I had these types destroy an outhouse just to vent their frustration.)
    9. The Neighbors are Weird Lease - I got to hunt on a friend's lease some years ago where the neighbors next door were some sort of polygamist/religious nuts. They had armed patrols driving up and down the fence lines 24/7. If they saw a truck they hadn't seen before, they would cruise by trying to get the license number. Their property had guard towers in some places and they ran spotlights (like Hogan's Heroes) to keep people from escaping (or getting in, one presumes). Nice place, more than a little nerve wracking.
    10. Great Place when It Isn't Under Water Lease - A southeast Texas special - good price, but trees so thick you can't see 10 feet. A one-inch rain will fill all the low spots and make it impossible to get in or out. Mosquitoes are big enough to require a 12 gauge shotgun to bring them down.

    What a great list. I have 89 acres near Wichita Falls and not interested in hunting deer but would go for hogs. I have always let one individual and his family hunt this area for free, he maintained feeders with corn, he always got a deer and I never charged him anything. So I guess there can be hunting if you know somebody. He moved out of state and I haven't had anyone else request the use of my property. In my mind the deer are a natural resource and I don't own them. I of course don't want to get sued letting people on my land. The right person can contact me. I do NOT charge.
    Venture Surplus ad
     

    Lonesome Dove

    A man of vision but with no mission.
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Sep 25, 2018
    5,859
    96
    Cut n Shoot, Texas
    Finally pulled the trigger on a deer. He’s not big, old or special though he does have a bit of character.
    I noticed he was limping badly so I took him out. Turns out he had two clubbed hooves opposite of each other front right left rear. This was a quartering shot and shows exit wound far back. I hit his right shoulder.
     

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    jordanmills

    TGT Addict
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    Sep 29, 2009
    5,371
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    Pearland, TX
    I shot a deer two days ago. He jumped, shook his head, and stumbled off. We spent hours looking for him the dark, then hours looking for him the next morning. No sign of him. Not even blood.
     

    Dad_Roman

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    Apr 1, 2018
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    Teague
    Everyone knows I have a lot of deer where I work but I got called out the other night about 1930 and Dustin rode with me. Its about a mile around the perimeter with sparse woods cleared and groomed so you can see through all of it. From leaving the highway, making one circle, and back to the highway I swear we saw 100 deer. Never seen so many deer there.
     
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    Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
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    36   0   0
    May 28, 2008
    17,700
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    Mustang Ridge
    Finally pulled the trigger on a deer. He’s not big, old or special though he does have a bit of character.
    I noticed he was limping badly so I took him out. Turns out he had two clubbed hooves opposite of each other front right left rear. This was a quartering shot and shows exit wound far back. I hit his right shoulder.
    Pics of defective hooves?
     

    Lonesome Dove

    A man of vision but with no mission.
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    7   0   0
    Sep 25, 2018
    5,859
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    Cut n Shoot, Texas
    I’m steal trying to make all is good with the meat. It had a growth or timer type deal on that clubbed front leg above where it’s swollen . That swell looked to be solid caritlige buildup. But I’m guessing.
     

    h_coats

    New Member
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    Mar 12, 2018
    32
    11
    Plano Texas
    Sometime during the off season I was up at my deer lease and I discovered a perfect spot to sit that had a perfect view of a field. I know when deer season came around I was going to have to shoot a deer there. Sure enough the farmers planted wheat on the field. On November 9th I drove the 4 wheeler around and hand corned all of the game trails entering the field. I got set up around 3:00 and was bored out of my mind not thinking I was not going to see any deer. At about 5:00 deer just started pouring into the field. I ended up harvesting 2 doe that evening and it was for sure a hunt that I will never forget.
    34304C08-FB95-4F25-A7EF-8503C7A8E975.jpeg
     

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    MTA

    TGT Addict
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    Mar 10, 2017
    9,054
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    Fannin
    Sometime during the off season I was up at my deer lease and I discovered a perfect spot to sit that had a perfect view of a field. I know when deer season came around I was going to have to shoot a deer there. Sure enough the farmers planted wheat on the field. On November 9th I drove the 4 wheeler around and hand corned all of the game trails entering the field. I got set up around 3:00 and was bored out of my mind not thinking I was not going to see any deer. At about 5:00 deer just started pouring into the field. I ended up harvesting 2 doe that evening and it was for sure a hunt that I will never forget. View attachment 196664
    What rifle is that???
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    30   0   0
    Feb 1, 2010
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    DFW
    Most I have talked to have been skunked. The acorn crop is crazy heavy in many parts of Texas this year. Seems about every 4 years it happens.

    I have feeders out, and deer are showing up every other day, maybe. And zero big bucks are showing up. Lots of stuff for them to eat this year.
     

    Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
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    36   0   0
    May 28, 2008
    17,700
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    Mustang Ridge
    Most I have talked to have been skunked. The acorn crop is crazy heavy in many parts of Texas this year. Seems about every 4 years it happens.

    I have feeders out, and deer are showing up every other day, maybe. And zero big bucks are showing up. Lots of stuff for them to eat this year.
    Acorns were crazy in San Saba this year as well. Just got to be patient and wait for those 9-10am deer and not be afraid to pull the trigger on the 1-2 minutes before legal light ends deer.
    That’s what I did and got 4 does and a cull buck this year.
     

    jordanmills

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    Sep 29, 2009
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    Pearland, TX
    Acorns were crazy in San Saba this year as well. Just got to be patient and wait for those 9-10am deer and not be afraid to pull the trigger on the 1-2 minutes before legal light ends deer.
    That’s what I did and got 4 does and a cull buck this year.
    I pulled the trigger about a minute before legal light ended last month. That thing melted into the brush and I didn't find a hint of a trail. Looked half the night and all the next morning.
     

    Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
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    36   0   0
    May 28, 2008
    17,700
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    Mustang Ridge
    I pulled the trigger about a minute before legal light ended last month. That thing melted into the brush and I didn't find a hint of a trail. Looked half the night and all the next morning.
    Why don’t you have a black light ?;)
    3 of my 5 were shot at the ass end of legal light. I did not have to pull the black light out of the bag though.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
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    Feb 1, 2010
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    DFW
    No cull bucks could be shot this year, and I only saw young bucks. Taking my daughter to shoot a doe (hopefully) this weekend. Waiting for a couple huge ones that never showed up. 5:30am to 12 noon. Then 2pm - dark-thirty.
     

    Hoji

    Bowling-Pin Commando
    Rating - 100%
    36   0   0
    May 28, 2008
    17,700
    96
    Mustang Ridge
    No cull bucks could be shot this year, and I only saw young bucks. Taking my daughter to shoot a doe (hopefully) this weekend. Waiting for a couple huge ones that never showed up. 5:30am to 12 noon. Then 2pm - dark-thirty.
    Most of the paying hunters were striking out as well. I got my five deer in 4 days. Patience is what it takes when acorns are in hyperdrive.
    If you are hunting feeders, bring binoculars in the stand with you and be prepared to shoot deer well away from the feeders. Think longer shots as they cross roads, step into clearings, step out from behind a persimmon.
    Truly to think about where they are going to be after you glass them.
     
    Every Day Man
    Tyrant

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