How much per acre is reasonable???

[kyle1974]

If she posts it in the paper or on a website at $20/acre, she can get it.
The closer it is to Houston the more valuable it is. With it being small, it is more valuable.
However if she likes you and trusts you, its better for her to lease to you rather than somebody she doesn't know.
[SIZE="4"]All the larger S Texas ranches I see are 12-15/acre now and thats for a couple of thousand acres.[/SIZE]

DEW

YOu're just not looking in the right place.

Unless you're shooting 160 class and up deer, anything over 15 an acre is a flipping rip off. There are plenty of leases out there under 10 bucks an acre, you just have to do more than wait for one to fall into your lap.

I went and looked at an 850 acre lease in north texas this weekend that was under $3 an acre... and it's online. That was for year around access, dove hunting, anything

[JTS]

$12 an acre for 2000 acres in south texas webb county, protein feed extra. Hunt year round.... hogs, javis, quail, dove, predators, 1 trophy (150+), culls, and number of does depend on yearly mgmnt survey.

[tuthdoc]

Find out what the neighbors that you know pay and that will give you a starting point.

What you pay will depend on how badly you want it. If it's two of you, offer her 3000 to start. That's 1500 each. 3500 would be 1750 each and 14 per acre.

[Mike Murphey]

For management purposes, 1 trophy deer per 250-350 acres...(or more )...on a small tract of land, more than one person hunting that area would be too many....I would think for that property I would be betting around
$1800-$2000, maybe $2500, would be the going rate...but remember that deer will pattern you quicker on a small tract of land.....

[CaptainDave]

YOu're just not looking in the right place.

Unless you're shooting 160 class and up deer, anything over 15 an acre is a flipping rip off. There are plenty of leases out there under 10 bucks an acre, you just have to do more than wait for one to fall into your lap.

I went and looked at an 850 acre lease in north texas this weekend that was under $3 an acre... and it's online. That was for year around access, dove hunting, anything

You're thinking logically, but your opinion on price doesn't totally hold up. I would like you to find a lease within 2 hours of Houston (NOT in east Tx) that is for 10/acre or less and actually has a few deer running around. If you find one, you better keep it as long as possible. The closer to the metro you are, the more a lease will cost. Why? Travel time. There are too many people who aren't really trophy hunters who want to get out and hunt, but don't want to spend 1/2 their weekend in a truck. Believe me, I'm one of them. I pay a little over 15/acre, but my lease is 18 miles from my door step and approx 40 miles from the 610 loop. My gas savings alone, covers the additional premium on the price of the lease...Not to mention my time. Some lease prices may be high, and a total rip off for some, but a fair deal for others.

[Grayson]

if you have guys that shot "too much" on 160 acres right next to you, I can assure you that anything that you think is a borderline shooter will get plastered by them. There is no way on this planet you can manage deer on a couple hundred acres. Personally, I think you could find a better deal on a bigger place, that you would have to share, it just depends on what YOU want. You would probably have a better shot at bigger deer if you spent 3-4K on a better, larger lease.

I've said this a hundred times on different boards... but the reason there are big deer in south texas, is because there are big ranches. There aren't book deer hanging out under every oak tree south of san antonio.

There are exceptions, of course.

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[kyle1974]

You're thinking logically, but your opinion on price doesn't totally hold up. I would like you to find a lease within 2 hours of Houston (NOT in east Tx) that is for 10/acre or less and actually has a few deer running around. If you find one, you better keep it as long as possible. The closer to the metro you are, the more a lease will cost. Why? Travel time. There are too many people who aren't really trophy hunters who want to get out and hunt, but don't want to spend 1/2 their weekend in a truck. Believe me, I'm one of them. I pay a little over 15/acre, but my lease is 18 miles from my door step and approx 40 miles from the 610 loop. My gas savings alone, covers the additional premium on the price of the lease...Not to mention my time. Some lease prices may be high, and a total rip off for some, but a fair deal for others.

This is within 2 hours of the DFW metroplex... and contrary to the board opinion, there are hunters outside of houston. It seems to me a lot of the houston crowd has convinced themself that "X" isn't possible, so they accept whatever first deal they see. I'd be willign to bet there are just as many hunters around DFW as there are in houston. I'd pay more for a quality lease if it were closer, but you're right, it breaks down to economics, and how bad you want to go. I paid $11 an acre in fredericksburg, and I'm looking into another lease that was actually posted on this board for WAY WAY under $12 an acre. Of course, it's about 5 hours away. But WHEN I actually get to go, I'd rather be glad I'm on a decent place that looking fora puppy to kick because I wasted my entire weekend not seeing anything!

(not that I would actually kick a puppy....)

[wags]

Keep it coming... come on those from south Texas. Truthdoc, the guys I know own their place.

[cosmiccowboy]

I assume the river frontage you are talking about is the Nueces. If you can get a 5 year renewable option at $15 an acre fixed I think you will be very happy with it. That country can produce some really good deer. Don't knock your neighbors for shooting "too many" deer as long as they are shooting the right kind of deer. If they are killing 5.5+ year old deer they aren't hurting anything no matter how many they kill. The fact that you have a dialogue with them is even better.

[mesquitecountry]

Most leases or friends that have leases in south texas are paying around 11-15. But they're killing good bucks and these are larger tracks of land.

[Kdog]

I think others have offered some good advice. I would think it would be tough to "manage" for better deer without cooperation form a lot of your neighbors, more than just the 160 acres next door. My lease is 5,000 acres, and we have seen on our trail cameras that once the rut cranks up, bucks will travel a long ways......you won't know if its worth it (no matter what you pay) until after you try it out.

[cosmiccowboy]

It's not about how big the lease is but how many hunters you have per acre and what impact those hunters have on deer behavior. A 2500 acre lease with 18 hunters is no better than a 250 acre lease with 2 hunters. Probably worse because of the traffic. You can definitely "low impact" hunt a small place successfully.

[wags]

So right now it looks like the consensus is what I had in mind...$14-$15 an acre is what I should offer. I think the owner should be happy with that. At least I hope.

[Mudslinger]

We are paying $5.15 per acre in Kent County, 1488 acres with 7 hunters, and that is with giving the land owner about $4.65 per acre and the lease broker we have to go through about $.50 per acre for a total of $5.15.

[BrandonA]

It's not about how big the lease is but how many hunters you have per acre and what impact those hunters have on deer behavior. A 2500 acre lease with 18 hunters is no better than a 250 acre lease with 2 hunters. Probably worse because of the traffic. You can definitely "low impact" hunt a small place successfully.

I agree.