The Strategy For Leasing Deer Hunting Land

If you don't have a lot of money, leasing deer hunting land may be your best answer for finding your next great hunting parcel. Here is your complete guide for not only finding deer hunting land to lease, but for respecting the value of the deer hunting land you lease.
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[@BG-bx4ey]

We lease from timber companies for $8/acre in Louisiana where we can't plant, cut, or improve habitat at all per their rules. We rely on bait and feeders but have improved our output of bucks by more than double with a year older age average since applying as many of your hunting strategies as possible.

[@greeneyesfromohio4103]

$8 an acre….that seems incredibly cheap. Is that $8 a month or…?

[@BG-bx4ey]

​@@greeneyesfromohio4103That's for the year. $5-10 an acre is common for pine plantation timber leases down south. It's cheap, but I don't know if folks from the midwest would think it's worth the price because our deer are small and lower density. We do get 3 buck tags, which makes it fun.

[@MollyDogg1234]

Ive had really good luck by gaining permission, then building a very good relationship with the landowner. It gives you a good name. Makes it easier to get permission on the next parcel, where again, i strive to build another very good relationship. Treating people better than you are treated, can still go a really long ways.

[@scottpulver4920]

I’ve been lucky! My grandparents sold 200ac to my dads boss and we have always had access. So blessed. However the owners walk the land and ride utv and atv as I do so the past couple years it’s been tougher hunting. Food plots get eaten down to dirt and expose rocks. So I drive to Ohio and try my luck. Going to do lots of frost seeding in March while shed hunting and dropping trees. Great info! Thank you. Hopefully the dogs don’t come back 🙏🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸

[@janitorialguy4436]

Thanks Jeff, so grateful to own a forty

[@pabowtech]

Jeff do you do anything to keep your water holes from freezing?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

There really is nothing you can do other than with massive solar power and a bank of batteries...or electricity to a cattle tank heater. We have electricity run to 1 tank out of the 15 or so we have and we may run to another. However...deer do not need the water to survive during the winter. Just a great place to view wildlife and maybe collect some sheds tho.

[@Minnesotalife]

The guy that lets me hunt told me he doesn’t want anything from me other than population control. I throw in trail cleanup. Iv tried offering him money or help but he refuses me every time.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Man that's awesome tho! It's cool you offer and he declined...that's a v dry good thing for you and it's not hurting the relationship.

[@jasonsuratt6913]

I’m in the exact same situation. I got permission to several 1,000 acres 2 big farmers who hate deer . And wants a lot killed I average 20 does a season. But kill a few mature bucks . Only thing is he lets others hunt but we don’t pay he’s just wanting numbers under control

[@mochoman5532]

In Iowa as a land owner , ifyou lease land for hunting, you are required to carry insurance that states it is for hunting. Plus the person leasing the land must carry insurance. If someone is injured on the property, both can be liable. If a landowner allows you to hunt with no compensation, they are not liable.

[@bowhunt4abuck]

Stop feeding into that nonsense your medical insurance will cover it

[@ryanfarmer5155]

Another approach that can work well, if you feel like you have connected some or there is a positive hesitation, you can come prepared and show them your work calendar and tell them the couple weeks you intend on hunting only. Example, Mr Smith i have 9 days off from Halloween to November 10th if i pay 750 bucks to hunt just those days would you be okay with that. Youd be surprised it works on some landowners, your not a long term burden. Just wanted to throw that out. Ryan in Michigan (no leaeses or land available in Michigan for the most part). This works really well if you are planning out of state hunts and scouting in the summer time in that state/area.

[@ronlopresti4721]

I got lucky here in Michigan I just have to cut an acre of grass when needed and get to hunt about 300 acres between 5 farms

[@BG-bx4ey]

Dylan is right abiut the insurance. I was able to secure a lease because its new owner was not comfortable with permission hunting for liability reasons.

[@OKIbuckhunters]

So I have 3 properties one is 180 acres 2nd is 26 3rd is 40 Acres all the have at least 3 140" deer the 40 acres is excellent and all 3 let me do anything i want on the property as far as habitat improvements! i have tried to get them to take money i help them with anything they need done!

[@rickbaker4043]

You just don't want to go in and drive nails in trees to build deer stands lol don't take advantage of anybody you will feel good great advice as always 👍🦌🇱🇷

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

So true!

[@craigfurrow7977]

I get this but isn’t also a dick move that when you start leasing from someone and it gets someone else kicked off that has asked for permission for years and only gave a card or gift card? Maybe they couldn’t afford 2500 a year. If you can afford leasing multiple places at 2500 a year I’d say you actually probably can afford to buy land. I could maybe afford one place for that kind of money but it would have to have most of the things I like to hunt. Doing it just for deer? That’d be insane to me. Just my opinion of course. I’ll just have to stick to public, open field and water or the little bit I can get permission for. 🤷

[@BG-bx4ey]

Ok, but if you buy land, a person who had affordable permission there from the previous owner gets kicked off... I agree with you that a lot of people lease for deer only and miss out on so much, but I've seen that create affordable permissions too, just not for deer.

[@chadmirandy1220]

It’s way more expensive to own than lease. I have 160 acres and it’s $3200 a year. To buy 160 acres where I hunt would be at least 500,000 and depending on interest rate would be around $4000 a month. I can’t spend $48k a year on land to hunt. But $3200 split between me and one other is easily doable.

[@djz9584]

Thank sir. You're the man !

[@ArmedPatriot]

What would you do if you were disabled and only brought 1000 a month in for leasing land

[@briankitchen3227]

Hi Jeff - the moment you said people are being dishonest when they knock on the door and ask to hunt the land for free you lost me - maybe canada is behind the times compared to our neighbours to south but the hunting culture I grew up in as a young boy was very open to the idea of free permission. The local farmers would and still do allow me to hunt, I can even remember Mr Carter giving me a box of shotgun shells to shoot crows that were damaging his sweet corn. I’m sure times will change here too as land parcels become smaller and smaller, there is something being lost in this world you are endorsing, please don’t speed up the process- It doesn’t seem people are as happy. Just listening to your first two and a half minutes has inspired me to post on your forum that usually I find insightful and educational - this video is a little insulting to a society of hunters, a polite people who hold a high regard for ethics and of the animals and the land they live on. Regards, Brian Kitchen a Hunter proud to ask permission without paying, but I do take great enjoyment sharing the wild game I harvest with the landowners and the stories of the hunt with them. Good luck to all in 2025 on your hunts

[@JackFrostTheDeerHunter]

Shouldn't a lease be at least equal to the property taxes on the land?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

It depends on the area. For example some areas are extremely high in taxes because of commercial development rights, for example...but the value to hunt that same parcel is much, much lower. On the flip side because of ag enrollment or forestry use, I've seen lease prices many times higher than the taxes. Definitely not a blanket rule

[@JackFrostTheDeerHunter]

@@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 thanks for the reply. I had two people hunting on my land and asked them for 750.00 per person to help defray the tax bill and they both chose to go hunt elsewhere...275 acres with 10 acres of food plots....turns out my farm hunts much better without all the intrusions anyway.

[@BG-bx4ey]

​@@JackFrostTheDeerHunterThat's a tough situation that always seems to turn sour combining family hunting lands with paying lessees. You're both probably better off with them walking away. As for the value, I relate it to market value, not taxes or % of value. Big timber company leases in my area are $5-7/acre, Other companies and owners who lease their timber management charge $4-6/acre, so I'd offer $8/acre to a private landowner for all hunting, fishing, trapping rights for the year. An hour east of me in swamp country, there are bigger bucks, more deer, and no timber income for the private landowners, so the hunting market value is WAY higher. Land there leases for more like $30-50/acre.

[@hunterkautz2288]

Diversity vs Quantity vs Quality would be a great video idea with a Venn diagram.

[@whitetailpatriotsoutdoors1366]

We got room on our Ohio lease Jeff, know anyone whose interested?

[@dswish1730]

We used to lease land in Indiana.400 acres was 5 grand.Get pricey from travel lodging and license now🤔We would get there and 4 wheeler tracks everywhere.What to do about that🤷🏻

[@nyleslehnen4751]

Cell cams well placed post it catch them end the problem with local co word gets out fast once ya bust the first wave

[@transamguy9073]

I hate to say it. But hunting has become a business. Back in the 80’s and 90’s. It was so easy to get permission to hunt. Farmers were more than happy to let you hunt because the deer destroyed there crops. Now its a rich mans sport. And here in ohio people are wanting way more to lease there land than what its worth

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Even back in the 80s I leased land. Very cheap then...but it was still the way. Also, with permission land came problems. Sharing with other hunters on 15 acres wasn't ideal. Fortunately in OH there is some of the best...and unpressured...public land in the entire country. Even way back then tho, it was an unrecognized value. Those farmers just didn't know it was worth anything, and no way (Internet) to reach people that would lease it.

[@transamguy9073]

Back in the 80’s. There really wasnt alot of bow hunters. We would run into some small game hunters here and there. But buy the mid 90’s there was alot more bow hunters

[@AndrewPorter10]

As a young Dad with two boys it is hard to buy a decent hunting parcel. If it wasn't for leasing here in Indiana it would extremely hard to find a place to hunt.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Amen Andrew... unfortunately so true! Free would be better but that just isn't realistic

[@AndrewPorter10]

@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 100% and the people that do let you lease. You gotta make sure to take care of them. I know your paying but bringing some deer jerky or summer sausage after season goes a long way!

[@AndrewPorter10]

Is there a solid going rate for leasing hunting ground? Do you go by so much per acre or what's the current standard here in the Midwest?

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

Man it varies so greatly as to where. $2000 for 40 acres in good areas is not uncommon...quite a bit more for great areas!

[@ArrowandString]

I lease 110 acers in Crawford County Wisconsin for $5500. Its the only way I can hunt good ground. Land in Crawford County is going for $7000 an acer. That's just not in the cards for my family.

[@BG-bx4ey]

Down south, it varies from $5-50 an acre. Mine are around $8.

[@AndrewPorter10]

@ to buy hunting ground where I am at. I am seeing it go for 15k to 18k an acre. So leasing for a few thousand if you can is a pretty dang good deal.

[@northsky5629]

​@AndrewPorter10 nobody is paying 18k an acre. Is that per season or for 100 years. Get real😅

[@brianguest238]

Is it taking advantage of people if you don’t have the money for a lease but you love to hunt and respect their property

[@BG-bx4ey]

Call it what you want. Love and respect don't pay the taxes.

[@brianguest238]

@ then my counter to that would be the owner would say no I want somebody here that’s gonna pay. I’ve got plenty of properties to hunt that I don’t pay. It’s not about the money for the owner. They don’t need the finances. They just want somebody to enjoy the property and respect it.

[@BG-bx4ey]

​@@brianguest238That's awesome! You'd be foolish not to take advantage of that. But, the fact is that you're getting thousands of dollars of value for free in exchange for enjoying the property. There is nothing in it for the owner except liability and whatever you have to offer. f I found a deal like that I would be bending over backwards to find a way to say thank you. And I pay a higher than average price and still consider it my duty to maintain amd clean the property very well.

[@jimmyharper6655]

Great info here, but I disagree with the statement that you need to avoid leasing land that's for sale, especially if it's timber company land you're leasing like in much of the Southeast. Our current hunting lease, which we've held for over four decades, is on land which has been sold half a dozen times over that period. You just have to be willing to make quick contact -- and leade contracts -- with the new owners, and adjust to their way of doing things. But it's worth the minor inconveniences involved.

[@BG-bx4ey]

Yeah, timber co leases are the exception. We have had a few change hands while we leased and we kept the lease under more restrictive conditions that didn't allow food plot planting.

[@dswish1730]

Guided some guys from Vermont this year.They asked me how much to lease for a week🤔Told him 500,000,small bills,in a briefcase.Havent seen a briefcase yet😂

[@northsky5629]

Things that never happened

[@mi_bowhunter80]

I have never payed to hunt and I have always had great places to hunt. I'm not paying anybody to hunt in Michigan that's crazy!! Other states oh yeah I would pay to hunt!!

[@dillanmckinley5666]

You make it sound like there a set price for a lease its definitely not the case in Illinois when you have to compete with rich Chicago goes and out of state guys that will pay 10k to hunt 150acres for just the gun seasons lol so if you can get it for 3k your not really taking advantage it's just what a normal person can pay

[@kurtpearson2793]

We have acres the neighbor rotates soybeans and corn on, as well as allowing him egress to access his property. In exchange we have rights to hunt his surrounding woods. Seems fair-

[@DashcamAmerica]

The only thing i dont like about people leasing is they treat the neighbors property like shit like trespassing etc...

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

I've actually seen the opposite, over and over again while working directly with landowners. Trash, trespassing, theft...much, much more prevalent with folks who hunt for free. Huge difference overall...

[@DashcamAmerica]

@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751 one day when I get rich I'm going to try to invite you to East Texas to survey and you will see about fence sitters and trespassers etc

[@BG-bx4ey]

​@@DashcamAmerica Everywhere has the potential of good amd bad neighbors, mostly good. My experiences in Louisiana, Alabama, and limited time in Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas all tend to prove that people who ask permission, get insurance, and pay to hunt a property treat the land and the neighbors a lot better than people who sneak around behind the owners backs to enter the property illegally, steal game and gear and leave as many beer cans as possible behind.

[@Steve-MN]

I don't think you're ripping a landowner off of you are trading hunting privileges for upkeep on the land, fences, etc.

[@BG-bx4ey]

That's not a free ride. My labor isn't free, neither is yours.

[@Steve-MN]

@@BG-bx4ey Didn't say it was free, but trading labor on the their land is paying for the rights to hunt their land, is it not?

[@xxHonkxx]

Leasing is a joke and a race to the bottom. I’d rather just spend the money on a lease to buy a cow. The thrill of public land and using your wits to kill an animal that has successfully avoided other hunters is where the satisfaction comes from.

[@whitetailhabitatsolutions9751]

We hunt public every year to relax. Fewer hunters and hunting decisions aren't critical like they are on private parcels, where more hunters are across every border. We literally hunt public to take a break and relax. Come to the discussion more informed and experienced, next time 👌

[@BG-bx4ey]

I believe I hunt the state with the highest deer hunting pressure in Louisiana, and it's still way easier to get a deer, especially a solid buck, on public than the small-tract private most of us normal people hunt. People tend to lump all private land hunters together, but that's a lie they tell themselves for self-indulgence. There are a multitide of broad differences between guys on a big hunting club, people with thousands of truly private acres, and the majority of us peasants hunting 40's surrounded by neighbors hunting their 20's and 80's.