Hunters: What You Should Look for in Leasing Hunting Ground

In many areas of the country, hunters feel the pinch between scarcity (or over saturation) of public lands and severely reduced access to private land. Many dream of owning their own hunting land. Good land within a reasonable drive, however, often carries a hefty price tag — or just isn’t available.

If one of these situations describes you, leased hunting ground may be the answer. Hunting leases can be a win-win for the hunter and the farmer. The hunter secures the rights to hunt a property, and the farmer adds a renewable revenue stream that requires little ongoing effort.

Assuming you can locate parcels available to lease, what attributes make up the right land for you?

When considering land for a hunting lease agreement, many aspects go into identifying the best parcel for your needs. They tend to fall into two general categories: hunting-related and outside factors that can have a significant impact on your satisfaction. This post discusses several key aspects of both categories.

Hunting Attributes

One of the first aspects to consider is location. Start by defining the geographic scope of your search. Expect to pay more for properties within a short drive from the city. On the other hand, less expensive, more remote locations may limit your ability to monitor the property or do out-of-season scouting and maintenance, such as trail upkeep and food plots.

The second thing to consider is size of the property. If your hunting party is small, say your dad and your daughter, a smaller property will do. If the primary group includes five other hunters, their sons and some of their sons’ college buddies, that becomes too much pressure for a small parcel — no matter how productive it is.

Which species do you hunt? Just deer? Or do you expect to hunt year-round as seasons change (turkeys, pheasants, ducks)? Your intent for access to the property will affect the size and profile of the land you choose. You may want to consult a DNR biologist to find out what they know about the presence of game in that area and its quality.

Next, as any good hunter knows, good hunting property provides for the needs of game: food, water and cover. A parcel need not necessarily fulfill all these aspects, however. Doing one well enough to motivate habitual movement through the parcel can often produce well. Scout the property thoroughly, walk it and ask to set trail cameras for a period.

What is the topography of the land? Does the land naturally funnel game through a specific location to access food, water or cover? These parcels can also be very productive.

Last, pay attention to access. Will the game be watching you unload your truck and walk onto the property from their bedding location? Will the wind betray your presence, or can you change your access point based on the direction of the wind?

Outside Factors

A parcel of hunting land may be very good at producing your desired game, but that’s a small consolation if outside factors cause continual frustration and potential conflict. Keep these considerations in mind when completing due diligence on a parcel.

Will the owner retain the right to hunt the property? Individually or with a party? Which game? There is a lot of potential here for conflict if you don’t ask the right questions.

Will the lease be for just one species? Does the owner lease it out separately for deer, ducks, and pheasants? If so, ask how these interests coexist, particularly when you want out-of-season access.

What other activities does the owner lease the property for? Is someone else farming the land? Have they sold mineral, timber or utility rights that could drastically change the landscape or cause in-season effects? All these interests can directly impact your ability to manage the property for hunting or hold a successful hunt.

Will your lease allow for other activities: out-of-season camping or the ability to run your dog on the property? The owner (or the other interests) may have strong opinions about these kinds of activities.

What property maintenance is expected of you? Trails? Roads? Fences? You should understand what kind of sweat equity the lease demands. These activities improve your ability to hunt the land, but also represent a key benefit to the landowner, who would otherwise need to invest in maintaining these improvements.

In turn, is the landowner open to the addition of food plots? Can you pay a little more to have some crop left standing? When it comes to land management, there are a lot of ideas that might be open for negotiation if you just ask.

Another important outside factor is learning how the neighboring properties are managed. If you plan to avoid shooting bucks until four years of age, but the neighbors shoot them at three years, you may have a problem. Do the neighbors lease hunting rights, or hunt it themselves? Does anyone hunt the property at all?

How does the presence of food, water, or cover on neighboring land affect game movement on the parcel you intend to lease? Be sure to scout the perimeter of the property for evidence of habitual game movement and take note.

Last, consider the term of the lease. Year-to year leases are common. However, that also leaves plenty of opportunities for the landowner to end the lease or change the terms. If you plan to invest in developing game on the land — making significant improvements to the land and passing over less mature game to increase the chances of bagging that trophy — then you may want to lock it down for a longer term.

It is not unheard of to have a lease ended when a landowner passes away or once the presence of trophy specimens gets out. A longer lease does lock you into a specific location for an extended period, but it also guarantees your access and protects your investment of time, effort, and money.

Keeping these points in mind, particularly these outside factors, can lead you to finding hunting land you can enjoy for years to come. More importantly they can get your relationship with the landowner — and anyone you must coexist with — off on the right foot.

In the market to lease hunting ground? Click here to explore available properties on the CommonGround Marketplace!