I have decided to lease my ranch in Central Texas for deer, turkey & dove. I have always had friends & family hunt in the past so I am not up to speed of what to charge hunters.

The ranch is 45 minutes north of Austin/ 20 minutes from Killeen/ 30 minutes from Lampasas. It is +/-790 acres of hill county land with rolling hills & oak trees. Low fenced with lots of deer & turkey. I feed the deer year round. Several creeks cut across the ranch. 90% of cedar has been cleared. It has 10 hunting stands, 11 corn feeders in feeder pens, 4 protein feeder pens, fenced food plots, 4 tanks, 15 water stations, walk in game cooler, etc. Water & electricity are furnished. Each hunter can kill 1 buck, 2 does, spikes & other "cull" bucks (as well as turkey, dove, & hogs. Each hunter would be responsible for keeping corn in 2 feeders for the year round feeding program.

I am thinking of leasing to 5 hunters. What is the range that I should charge the hunters? Thanks for your advice.

That area is know for small to medium sized deer, and all the improvements you made were unnecessary and actually devalue the property. I'll do you a favor, 500 x gun and I'll take all 5 tonight.

once you set a price, please email info to bob@robertshaffer.com. thanks for giving me the first shot

You could get $3500+ pretty easily for 5 if you are supplying blinds and feeders. You could probably still get that amount and not supply feed/protein or charge even more if you continue to supply it. You are in a prime hill country location. Would it include lodging with electricity/water or just WE?

Would you retain rights to harvest for the family? What kind of guest policy? Will you be livign on the property? If so, year round access is probably not what you want.

[This message has been edited by OldAgbaseball (edited 4/15/2012 6:52p).]

I stopped leasing my ranch this year. Not worth the headaches!

Be the first guy to help the insane lease pricing get back under control.

Why not lease it to a friend/family? Id bet you have at least 1 friend that has a brother or son or father that would be more than happy to take you up on the offer for a fair price.

No offense to texags, but that is the way to do it if you already have a relationship established. Present it to them, they will likely recognize it as a fair deal, and then the management headaches and overall pain in the ass / trust factor becomes much more managable.

Its easier to make $500 -1000 less per gun for knowing who is stomping on your grounds and their overall level of firearm knowledge and appetite for lawsuits in case they shoot each other thn to offer it to the highest bidder.

Plus, you dont have to deal with potentially BSC leasee wives.


[This message has been edited by OldAgbaseball (edited 4/15/2012 6:57p).]

I am familiar with lease prices and outfit for several ranches. Who provides the corn and protein? Who maintains the blinds, feeders, pens etc? Is there a house? I'd guess just based on basic information you can get $16,000 easily for the place. I'm not sure I'd put 5 guys on it, 4 is a better number IMO.

DVM

[This message has been edited by DVM97 (edited 4/15/2012 7:10p).]

I will have the hunters provide the corn (& protein if the group decides they want to feed protein -I quit protein a few years ago due to being low fenced & cost).

The hunters will need to provide their own lodging during the season. There is a nice bunk house on the ranch that hunters can use "with permission" for off season visits to fill feeders,etc.

Hunters can bring one guest for deer hunting, but must hunt together. One guest per hunter for dove season.

I have a house on the ranch but do not live there. I have a private bird hunting permit & hunt released quail on the ranch with several friends. Most of our quail hunting is in January & February. I have other places to hunt deer.

The lease would not be year round. It would be from September until end of deer season. Hunters can hunt turkey during print season but must let me know when they are coming to ranch. Hunters also have access to fill feeders, etc.

[This message has been edited by leanderag82 (edited 4/15/2012 7:40p).]

DVM97- What is your thinking on #'s of hunters? 1:200 acres? Is that normal in the hill country?

I was thinking I would keep feeders & blinds maintained. Is this the norm when land owner owns the feeders/blinds?

Agree with DVM. Wouldn't surprise me to see you get $4k x 4 hunters.

I always heard that in most parts of the state its basically the cost of an acre per gun for absolute bare bones accommodations. Obvious S Texas doesnt follow, but ive found it accurate acros alot of the state.

^ so that might put it in the $4k range.

Yup. Id say that is just about right.

I think the guy above DVM and DVM both nailed it pretty well too. I just use it as a rule of thumb when people ask if X place is a good deal. It also helps explain how prices in the triangle are justified.

BTW MisterHancock, you might be setting some sort of internet/TexAgs record with number of reincarnations of yourself on here.

leander, email me dvm1997@gmail.com if you would like to discuss ways to set up the lease agreement. I would recommend 4 guns at $3750 and they pay the corn and protein, with you feeding for them, this is ideal for both parties. The lease agreement is critical so there is no "grey" area between both parties. Leases can be pleasurable and a PIA for the landowner, I've seen it go both ways.

DVM

$3750????

Yes, $3750, $20/acre is about what this type of property will lease for. It can be more or less depending on "enhancements". He can list this and have it leased in 2 days!

DVM

I would also suggest you look into the hunting lease information on the A&M Real Estate Center webpage. There is some very helpful information on there about lease terms, liability and insurance, waivers, etc.

"He can list this and have it leased in 2 days!"

then he's not asking enough.

quote:

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"He can list this and have it leased in 2 days!"

then he's not asking enough.

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We'll see about that in 20 years when the old rich guys have died and the younger guys have stopped hunting because of being priced out.

We have a lease in between Burnet and Llano its 1780ac and the rancher feeds protein year round and we feed corn in the feeders. Place has 9 stands and you can kill 1 buck and 1 cull buck, 2 does, and spikes. Can also turkey,hog,dove hunt year round. We have 6 guys and pay 1600 a gun. There are some 140 to 150 class deer but mainly mature bucks go around 125 to 130 range. We also have a ranch in Burnet and no where is anybody charging that kind of money to hunt hill country deer. I have lived in Burnet County for 30 plus years. For that kind of money you can hunt south texas or go out of state and kill a great deer. Our cattle ranch has been in our family since 1917.



[This message has been edited by Burnetaggie99 (edited 4/16/2012 3:13p).]

Me, my Dad and brother may be interested in leasing the whole thing at a fair price. We are more interested in teaching our sons about the outdoors above anyhing else.
Email in profile.

Burnet, you have a heck of a deal, I wouldn't complain one bit. I work in the industry and help "find" leases, guide hunters, outfit for ranches, etc. S. Texas (one gun to 500 acres) is $6,000 with NO improvements, one gun to 1000 acres is roughly 10-12k and some as high as 15-17k. I've got a good friend hunting outside of Dripping Springs, 800 acres, 6 guns at $3300 per gun with a camp house and elec. but, no feeders etc. no lakes. I've been looking for a better place for this fella, haven't been able to find it. I'm sure your landowner is happy with you and you with him, once you get to this, no need to change. A good steward of your land is priceless!

DVM

I would make them provide you with an insurance policy and make sure you limit the number of quest they can have at in camp....

I would say in that part of Texas, your going to get closer to 2-2.5k/gun for 4-6 guns....