Just got an eye opener!

[Darron]

I did some networking and found a farm for lease in SE Ohio. I contacted the owner by phone to get the specifics of the property. 150 acres woods and 70acres fields gently rolling. We then talked price and I asked him what he wanted for the lease. This is when I couldn't believe what I heard. $8,000 for a 200 acre lease:yikes: If you do the math that is $38 an acre. WOW! If you lease the property for 8 years you could have went out and bought your own property.

If hunting comes to this I am done. $38 an acre for a lease is ridiculous, I don't care where it is at.

[bb0bbby]

I would have to agree with you there....I recently went down to Meigs and walked/rode through a 100 acres parcel for sale at $1000/acre. Damn banks don't want to lend on anything in ohio due to the foreclosure rate.

It's enough to keep you from doing what you love to do.

[countyroad]

If nobody is paying that price than there is nothing to worry about. If someone is paying that price than that means the market price is very attractive to land owners and thus you will see leasing to really grow.

[coonskinner]

I did some networking and found a farm for lease in SE Ohio. I contacted the owner by phone to get the specifics of the property. 150 acres woods and 70acres fields gently rolling. We then talked price and I asked him what he wanted for the lease. This is when I couldn't believe what I heard. $8,000 for a 200 acre lease:yikes: If you do the math that is $38 an acre. WOW! If you lease the property for 8 years you could have went out and bought your own property.

If hunting comes to this I am done. $38 an acre for a lease is ridiculous, I don't care where it is at.

anybuddy is crazy to lease in se ohio...sorry but i must say it... but the deer hunting is just as good on unmanaged public property anywhere in se ohio...yes you cant control the hunters and isnt that what management is really mostly about but...in archery season...even if you see lots of cars along the roads...chances are you wont see another hunter in the woods...most of public land is just that big...and its all good...:eek:

:D

[Patriot1]

deer hunting just as good on public land?! haha! You must pass 140s up every weekend like i do on my land

[deerhunt45]

deer hunting just as good on public land?! haha! You must pass 140s up every weekend like i do on my land

Not just any publice land...

No, coonie don't pass those up too often, or maybe he does but just not everyday :mischeif: But it's on his terms, that I'm sure of ;)

[deerhunt45]

If nobody is paying that price than there is nothing to worry about. If someone is paying that price than that means the market price is very attractive to land owners and thus you will see leasing to really grow.

I think county's post says a lot for so very few words!

Many will jump on the "outfitter" band wagon, but few will survive in Ohio at those prices JMO. But it will come down to survival of the fittest and deepest pockets (to lease up private land) and it can be alarming to think of what it might cost to bowhunt private land. Supply and demand.

Hot topic to say the least...

[Darron]

I never really had intentions to lease it. I just came across it and wondered how much he wanted for the lease. When he said 8,000 I about lost it. Don't get me wrong, I am always looking for new property and I'm not opposed to leasing if its necessary, but 8,000..................no way. I could use that 8,000 on a down payment of my own property.

[Thunderflight]

That is insane!!!! $38 an acre!! Holy cow.

[coonskinner]

i stand by what i said...i've seen my share of deer off the national forest...i've also taken my share...i have prolly seen more big bucks in my lifetime than most that are on leases or feed their own...and most have been on the national forest...i've also seen a good bit on private holdings too...these are all deer that feed naturally...no plots,no alpo super x...and they were purty equal in size and in numbers whether on public or on private...as i've stated before i have access to thousands of acres in the athens area and 100 acres in perry county...no fees and they do allow other hunters...they are more crowded than the national forest as far as hunters...for those that dont think theres big deer on the national forest...i say you havent hunted it...or your skill level isnt good enough to find them...because i see my fair share of what comes from there each year...and most i see come from a 1 mile square area and another 1 mi. square area across the river...and there will be as much or more taken the following years...which i must admit amazes me...theres very good natural habitat there to grow them big...i have seen many very big 3.5 year old deer come from the wayne...and again i say theres no reason to lease in se ohio as far as big deer or quanity of deer go...management here only matters with the number of hunters you compete against...and thats what it means to some...competetion and money...or both...illiminate competitors...its easy to win...and SOME hunters will fit that mold...NOT ALL have plots for that reason but i am saying some do...and these are the ones that will be on the higher priced leases...or will be the ones leasing up as much as they can for not only their own use but will be leasing to other hunters too for profit...i do realize some will do this just for their own pleasure and satisfaction along with a few freinds and family...that are not in it for profit but just want a place of their own...there are also large companies that lease land in the deer rich states that want to move into ohio...theyll lease the whole state if they can...including the small frys hunting lease...its dog eat dog...most money wins...:biggrin:

[jackalope]

I Know some guys who lease 800 acres down south from the paper company. The paper company is going to clear cut 250 acres of it this spring leaving 550 of good timber to hunt. And with the other hand they are raising the lease 50 cents an acre...

Not only are they having to lease the 250 acres of now worthless deer hunting land but pay 50 cents and acre more for the entire lease....

[Darron]

I would never lease from meade for that vary reason. You go in there one day and it is stripped/logged.

[Hiller]

38$ an acre... dang thats a ton of money, and your right if you leased that thing for more than a couple of years you might as well have bought it because you'll have already wasted 10's of thousands of dollars for a place to hunt...

[Rick]

Darron
I go out to SD every year prairie dog hunting and that is what it is coming to out there and alot of guys are giving it up. So now a lot of the ranchers out there now have to buy poison to help keep the numbers down on the PD's.
Why I haven't give up on go out there is I look forward to seeing some buddy's I don't see but 1 or 2 times a year. Now that gas prices are going up and up that trip may stop after this next year.
I also think this is what Ohio is coming to by farmer's starting leasing ground out to hunt deer and its the guys hunting that are asking to lease the ground to them and not let anyone on but them, this is what making for farmer's here in Ohio do it this. ............ the bad thing about it is like you said alot of guys will give it up and the only thing to keep the deer numbers down are by cars and trucks hitting them on the roads.

I have give up on deer hunting.
Deer hunting just cost to much to do any more.

[PAKing]

Leases are like lawyers, everybody hates them until you find a good one then their are worth every penny. My groups pays $25/ac in Coshocton Co and we consider it a bargan.

[Darron]

Leases are like lawyers, everybody hates them until you find a good one then their are worth every penny. My groups pays $25/ac in Coshocton Co and we consider it a bargan.


WOW! You better be a lawyer to afford that kind of money. I guess leases are going that high. Looks like I won't be leasing anytime soon. Even at $25 an acre you would be better off buying your own property. Just my opinion.

[PAKing]

5 of us split 240 acres. For $100/month I have a great place to hunt deer and turkey. I am 67 years old, don't need any land at this stage of my life to worry about owning. I think this lease is the best $1,200 per year I ever spent.

[XX78]

Leases are like lawyers, everybody hates them until you find a good one then their are worth every penny. My groups pays $25/ac in Coshocton Co and we consider it a bargan.

I can understand that.

[johnc21]

I Know some guys who lease 800 acres down south from the paper company. The paper company is going to clear cut 250 acres of it this spring leaving 550 of good timber to hunt. And with the other hand they are raising the lease 50 cents an acre...

Not only are they having to lease the 250 acres of now worthless deer hunting land but pay 50 cents and acre more for the entire lease....


I disagree with the clear cut. It will actually create alot of browse and bedding area. You will be suprised with what that will do for the deer herd.

John

[CritterGitter]

I disagree with the clear cut. It will actually create alot of browse and bedding area. You will be suprised with what that will do for the deer herd.

John

I agree that in large timbered tracts a deer hunter's best friend for management purposes is a chainsaw. However, it's a LOT of work. So, if they did it for you then that is all the better.

Kyle

[CritterGitter]

5 of us split 240 acres. For $100/month I have a great place to hunt deer and turkey. I am 67 years old, don't need any land at this stage of my life to worry about owning. I think this lease is the best $1,200 per year I ever spent.

Unless that farm has several booners running around it, that sounds extremely expensive to me. I have free access to 118 acres in Crawford county and it has 2 bucks that will easily make BBBC. I also have free access to 2 farms in Delaware county that are each approx 56 acres. Also, in this area it is EXTREMELY difficult to get permission to hunt on private land. So, wtih a little effort it can be done.

That being said I spend most of my time on public land. I just know a lot of good areas really well.

I bet I could find 100 acre farm in Knox or Coshocton county to hunt on for free. Would I have exclusive acces.........probably not, but that is not a big concern.

Kyle

[Bucko]

We hunt a 1400 acre farm,for free we have tried to lease it ,but the owner said why would you want to lease it when I let you hunt for free.In which we did not have a good answer for that.Bucko

[ohio hunter]

So out of curiosity, what is the average going rate for leasing wooded acreage? I am not familiar with leasing land to hunt. Assume you wanted to lease land in one of the top 5 counties for number of deer harvested in 2006, what is a fair price to pay?

[birddog1]

Our lease just went up this year, we are paying $15/acre for 133 acres. We've had the lease for 5-6 years. It started at $7/acre then went up to $10/acre. The owner has a waiting list for people wanting to get land. It's a sweet property, but I always thought $15/acre was high, now I'm not so sure.

I just set up a friend with a lease I found in the local paper. A guy had something like 240 acres and he wanted $12/acre. It's in Monroe County and would have been a nice property to have.

[Rick]

I look at this way if I ever have to lease land to hunt on that will be my last days of hunting for me.
After you pay to lease the land then ammo, gas to get your self there every day, time setting in the woods and not seeing anything some days ....... you be better off going to the meat market and pickup some thing to take home.

I have seen this paying for land to hunt on out west and once it gets around you paid one farmer /rancher, you will start seeing every farmer/rancher in that area with there hand out. The rancher in South Dakota that ask for money now have to pay for poison to keep there varmints down do to know one stop by and shoots for them any more and buying poison cost a hell of a lot more than having some guys stop by and shoot. ..... I had one rancher tell me this last year when I was out there. I look forward to my trip out to his place every year and I always take him some candy buckeye out every year for him and his wife.

That's just my 2 cent about leasing ground to hunt on.

[ohio hunter]

I look at this way if I ever have to lease land to hunt on that will be my last days of hunting for me.
After you pay to lease the land then ammo, gas to get your self there every day, time setting in the woods and not seeing anything some days ....... you be better off going to the meat market and pickup some thing to take home.

I have seen this paying for land to hunt on out west and once it gets around you paid one farmer /rancher, you will start seeing every farmer/rancher in that area with there hand out. The rancher in South Dakota that ask for money now have to pay for poison to keep there varmints down do to know one stop by and shoots for them any more and buying poison cost a hell of a lot more than having some guys stop by and shoot. ..... I had one rancher tell me this last year when I was out there. I look forward to my trip out to his place every year and I always take him some candy buckeye out every year for him and his wife.

That's just my 2 cent about leasing ground to hunt on.


Well put. I hate to see this happen too, although I hunt on my own property or public land. At the same time, I don't know what the answer is given the limited access of hunting land.

[Rick]

All I can say is its not good if a guy has to lease land just to hunt.
I been going out to South Dakota hunting prairie dog and coyotes along with some other things going on 16 years now and every year I go out we find out more and more land is being lease,the bad thing about it is must of the time you never see anyone on it for weeks at a time and prairie dogs will take over a ranch in no time like the deer will here in Ohio will take over a corn field. I know one farmer here in Ohio that shoots deer when ever he see one in his corn field but he will not let anyone deer hunt do to guy getting on his land that hasn't ask. ........... I can g-hog hunt it all summer long or coyote hunt it but in no way I can deer hunt it.......... that's just the way his is now about it and we can thank the deer hunters that didn't ask.

[Darron]

Our lease just went up this year, we are paying $15/acre for 133 acres. We've had the lease for 5-6 years. It started at $7/acre then went up to $10/acre. The owner has a waiting list for people wanting to get land. It's a sweet property, but I always thought $15/acre was high, now I'm not so sure.

I just set up a friend with a lease I found in the local paper. A guy had something like 240 acres and he wanted $12/acre. It's in Monroe County and would have been a nice property to have.

Even $15 an acre seems high to me. I wouldn't pay more than $10 an acre for a lease. A good price is anywhere from $5-10 an acre depending on the property and location $10 being really good. Anymore than $10 an acre and you might as well buy. Just like the guy that wanted $28 an acre. He e-mailed me back stating he would drop it to $23 an acre. :coco: No thanks.

[birddog1]

Even $15 an acre seems high to me. I wouldn't pay more than $10 an acre for a lease. A good price is anywhere from $5-10 an acre depending on the property and location $10 being really good. Anymore than $10 an acre and you might as well buy. Just like the guy that wanted $28 an acre. He e-mailed me back stating he would drop it to $23 an acre. :coco: No thanks.

If I was paying the entire thing, yes it would be a lot. But even if I was, I'm not sure where I could buy land for $1995 for the year. Even better, I split the cost with my Dad and brother.

It gives me a place to hunt deer, turkey, grouse and ride my ATV. As the demand increases, and it will, the price will increase as well.

Would I love to own the land? Without a doubt! However, that just isn't going to happen. This is the next best thing.

[ap0317ah]

I agree that in large timbered tracts a deer hunter's best friend for management purposes is a chainsaw. However, it's a LOT of work. So, if they did it for you then that is all the better.

Kyle

when i bought my land i clear cut 32 of my 150 acres sure makes the price smaller and afordable
Tom

[mrex]

Anymore than $10 an acre and you might as well buy. Could you explain this in mathematical terms?

[Darron]

Could you explain this in mathematical terms?

Would be glad to Mike.

For example, the lease I was looking into was $38 an acre for 210 acres. That comes out to $8,000 a year. If you individually leased that for 5-6 years you could have easily bought anywhere from 30-50 acres if you shopped around. Yes, you aren't going to buy 200 acres, but you don't have to buy that much property to have good hunting. There's comes a point in time where you have to look at things in the long run. When you lease a place for several years, you have basically throwed your money away, just like renting a house or apartment. You will never own it no matter how much money you throw into it. That's why personally, if I can't lease a place for 6-10 dollars an acre I will wait and either a) find someone who is willing to lease at a decent cost or B) save my money and put a decent down payment on my own property. That's the way I look at it, right or wrong or indifferent, when you lease you will never own the property, period. Some of these landowners, like the one I talked to, is asking a ridiculous amount of $ for the hunting rights. For that type of money there better be a deer and turkey behind every tree.

For the record, I'm not against leasing, but I am against people taking advantage of us sportsman. Wanting a little bit of money to hunt is fine I know it is coming to that, but some of these people are too carried away. IMO $6-$10 an acre is a fair amount for a hunting lease in Ohio. This isn't Texas...............yet.

If leases are going for $38 an acre I'll gladly lease out my property to bowhunters. Why not? Do that for a couple years and I'll have one heck of a down payment towards some more property.

[Bucko]

I would bet if you contact the guy thats is asking $38 an acre to lease still has it.That has to be the highest price in Ohio.BB

[Darron]

Well, he did contact me the other day telling me he dropped it down to what is still an insane amount :coco: His reasoning behind this is the property is in Adams county and the "Adams county buck" was taken in this county. I haven't looked at the property, from his description it sounds nice, but not for that kind of money. Even at $25 an acre you're looking at almost $5000. It wouldn't be bad if you split it up between 5-8 guys, but then that would defeat the purpose of a lease in my opinion.

He can ask all he wants, but getting it is another thing. If he would have offered a decent price I would have seriously looked into it.

[bakerboy]

If he can produce sheds and photos of a very good buck, he will get the $ 5000 from a television show. Joe Thomas will probably buy it. He's up to about 500 acres now in Adams co.

[Darron]

More power to him. I have the money, just don't want to spend it in that way.

Joe Thomas, isn't he the guy from outdoor channel that fishes?

[Matt D]

Is Thomas buying land or is he leasing?

[trkyslyr]

I talked with a couple of fellas the other day that bought 234 acres in carroll co. a year ago. They are advertising as "outfitters" and are day-leasing the property for $500.00/day/hunter ("semi-guided"), and they are booked for what they want to offer this year. Their advertising is limited right now to the new england states, some of which do not allow hunting. Amazing what some people can/will pay.

[Bucko]

I am from New England and there are no states here where you can not hunt , we have towns and citys where you can not discharge a gun but none have ban hunting.Or at least not yet!.BB

[trkyslyr]

Didn't think you could hunt in Massachusetts, my mistake. Either way, that is what these guys claim. I wont be hunting there at those prices.

[Fish-n-Fool]

The 90 some acre farm i hunt in muskingum county is now suddenly surounded by leases. The huge farm on the east was sold to a very wealthy Amish man this past summer who own some serious cash producing natural gas wells (to the tune of over $50,000 month I hear). The Amish man is buying up property and leasing it all. The huge expanse of woods to the south was owned by one man - he died about 7-8 years ago and his family has been fighting over it since - don't know what happened there, but it is now all leased ground.

My family has been hunting this farm for over 30 some odd years. The owner is now in his 70s and he was approached by 3 groups wanting to lease. He has the farm leased to a cattle farmer (only for pasture purposes, not hunting). He sat down and talked with all 3 groups and they were willing to throw some good coin for his 90 acres as it is a highway between 2 very large tracts of awesome ground (now leased). He told me not to worry while he was around - he told them all not to bother calling or coming back next year - he would rather let us hunt it for free. I can tell you this gentleman has no need for any more $ and that may well have a lot to do with it, but he told me he just don't like the way things are headed.

I have a strong feeling however, that when this gentleman passes his son will lease this place out that next season. I've known his son for years also and he lives on the property. He is a great guy and we have done a LOT of work around there for him each year, but I'll bet we won't hunt it anymore. I told them to contact me before they leased it out to anybody and they assured me not to worry, but I won't pay the amount these groups will even though I CAN afford it. I just think it is too much for a small farm and I'm saving money to purchase my own land soon enough.

As much as I love to hunt if I have to pay over a couple thousand bucks a year, I'll sit it out and spend my extra time on Erie trolling for eyes until I own my own 100 acres.

It's a choice many of us will have to make soon enough - just watch.

[Bucko]

Turk, I would like to lease the land we hunt, but can't.The gentleman that owns it will not take a dime, I am not sure how much he owns today but we have free run on 1400 acres 2 plots. I am sure this will all change when his nephew get it, as he is all the man has left other than his sister.As for hunting in NE.Mass has some giant bucks that will turn even the TV guys eyes.Deep pockets in that state.BB