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HOW DO HUNTING LEASES WORK?

November 10, 2023
onX

Hunting leases are agreements between a hunter and a landowner, or a
land-holding entity, that allows access to and the right to hunt land for a
defined period of time. A hunter may pay on a per-acre basis, per-season fee, or
per-hunt situation. In return, the landowner may provide or allow for certain
improvements to the land that benefit both wildlife and hunters.

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Hunters may be interested in securing a hunting lease because it will open up
new access for them on land that receives less hunting pressure than public land
or lands shared through a hunting club. Generally speaking, hunting leases will
likely cost more than a typical hunting club membership but less than buying
property outright, and the benefits to the hunter include having more input into
how the land is managed for wildlife, less overall pressure on the parcel, and
an opportunity to build a long-lasting relationship with the landowner so it can
be hunted for many years. 

Hunting on leased land got its start in the South in the 1930s, as public lands
became more scarce. By the end of the century, nearly one million sportsmen were
spending upwards of $625 million a year on hunting leases, at an average cost of
$2.27 per acre. Today, the cost of hunting leases, on average, is a lot more.




HOW TO FIND HUNTING LAND FOR LEASE

So you’ve decided that hunting on leased land is the right call for you, but
unless you’ve already tagged along on a few hunts with buddies who hold leases,
you might not know where to start. 

First, there are several types of hunting leases. Some are classified as No-Fee
Access, for which there is no money exchanged for access, just a written
agreement between the landowner and the hunter. This type of lease is hardly
more than having landowner permission to hunt their land, but with a contract. 

Another type of hunting lease is known as the Exchange of Services lease, where
a hunter does not pay money for access; instead he or she provides the landowner
a service in exchange for hunting on the land. The service might simply be
watching for trespassers, repairing fences, or tending to food plots. 

The more typical hunting lease, and what we’ll cover below, is the Fee Hunting
lease, which can be further determined by daily fees, a season fee, or a
long-term multi-year fee. 

When you’re ready to take the next step and start looking for land to lease,
make sure you can answer the following questions about what you’re looking for:

 * What species do I want to hunt there? 
 * How often do I plan on hunting the property in a given season?
 * How do I want to access the property (on foot, ATV, or vehicle for
   instance)? 
 * What might I be able to contribute to the land in terms of improvements,
   amenities, or wildlife management? 
 * How successful have previous hunters been on the property? 
 * How many people does the parcel need to accommodate? 
 * How much can I or each person on the lease spend? 

Simply jotting down these answers will give you important information to hone
your search for the right property. Now you can start looking for available
hunting land through some of the following resources:

 * Commercial Hunting Lease Networks – There are more than a handful of
   companies that specialize in pairing hunters with available lease lands.
   These companies may either own lands or have built a network of landowners
   who are offering properties. A few worth checking into include Rayonier
   Hunting & Rec, Legacy Wildlife Services, and Westervelt Wildlife Services. 
 * Realtors – Call a few of your neighborhood real estate agents to let them
   know you’re looking to spend money on leasing a hunting property. They
   already have established relationships with landowners to which they’ve sold
   land and others trying to sell. 
 * School Trust Land – There are many states in which lands owned by school
   districts are open to hunting. Sometimes those lands are public properties,
   but sometimes they are open by lease only. With these lands, make sure you
   know what other activities are allowed, as these properties are also often
   leased for cattle grazing. 
 * Ask Everyone You Know – There’s a lot to be said about word-of-mouth
   advertising, and that applies to finding good hunting leases. Ask your
   hunting buddies, or ask them to ask their hunting club friends. Find good
   pieces of private land and knock on some doors. Not every landowner is aware
   there are people willing to pay to hunt their property. 


HOW MUCH DO HUNTING LEASES COST?

If you want the most truthful answer to “How much do hunting leases cost?” the
answer is, “It depends.” Like most else, you’ll probably get what you pay for,
so the more expensive the lease the better that property likely is. Most often,
the value of hunting leases prove themselves over time because they have
produced a fair number of high quality wildlife. 

But there are hard numbers for how much a hunting lease can cost. Today’s
hunters can expect to pay between $10-$50 per acre for a hunting lease. The
price is determined by a number of factors, including the quality of game
harvested, exclusivity of the property to the hunter(s), the distance from town
(ie. closer to a town is likely more expensive), amenities (use of existing tree
stands or buildings on the property, running water, access to power, etc.),
amount of acreage (generally, leasing more acres costs less per acre), and the
improvements made to the property (essentially, how well it’s managed). 

In 2014, Georgia Outdoor News published the results of a survey detailing the
average cost and size of hunting lease lands in the state. The publication found
that the average size of a hunting lease was 934 acres, and the average cost of
the lease was $9.97 per acre. The average number of hunters on the leases was
eight (compare that to hunting clubs, which may have as many as 20 hunters), and
the most common animals hunted were deer and turkey. Interestingly, the survey
also found that 98% of hunters said they would lease property again the next
season, showing a very high satisfaction rate. 




WHAT MAKES GOOD HUNTING LEASE LAND?

Good hunting lease land is just like good hunting land, so if a property has
good food sources, cover, and water, then it’s likely to hold quality animals.
But what really makes good hunting lease land is the lease. Before you sign any
contracts for a hunting lease, there are a few things you want to make sure you
do. 

First, scout the property yourself, so ask permission to walk the land, explore
the access points, and see for yourself if there are ample spots to hunt. 

Second, ask the lessee questions: 

 * Who’s responsible for keeping up the roads? 
 * What commercial activities are offered or planned for the property? Will
   there be cattle grazing or logging? 
 * How many hunters are leasing the property outside my own group, if any? 
 * How many deer are you permitted to take: just one or as many for which you
   have tags or permits? 
 * And ask what input you’ll have for making improvements to the property. Can
   you suggest food plots, or new access points, or put up your own blinds or
   tree stands? 

Next, talk to the neighbors of the property. What kinds and quality of animals
have they been seeing on their land. Then talk to the regional wildlife
biologist directly and tell them what your hunting goals are to see if that’s
achievable in that area. The state biologist would have a good idea, for
instance, how many 4-plus-year-old bucks are around. 

After you secure a hunting lease, make sure you do everything you can to keep
it. If you find the success you’re looking for there, you’ll likely want to come
back the next year. Treat the owner or land-holder as your partner with whom you
share the same goal: to make the best hunting experience on the best hunting
property possible. If you do that, you may just have the keys to incredible
hunting land for years to come. 




HOW TO USE ONX HUNT ON LEASED LAND

You can set up the onX Hunt App or Web Map to help you search, prospect, and
hunt leased land. With the many layers and tools available, hunters have an
advantage on every hunt. 

Here’s how you can set up the Hunt App for finding and hunting leased property:

 * Public/Private Land Boundaries – Use the Government Lands Layer that
   color-codes property boundaries for finding public school trust lands, or use
   the Private Land Ownership Maps to get contact information for properties
   that interest you. 
 * Boone & Crockett Layer – onX partnered with The Boone and Crockett Club to
   highlight concentrated areas where trophy class animals were harvested. The
   layer has trophy data for every North American big game animal a hunter can
   imagine. With this layer, you can research any potential leased land based on
   the quality of the game. 
 * National Wild Turkey Federation Records Layer – Similar to the Boone and
   Crockett Layer except for wild turkey hunting. With this layer turned on
   you’ll be able to access a NWTF score and the average weight, beard, and spur
   lengths for turkeys in the area. You’ll even see what turkey subspecies are
   in the region and their distribution. 
 * Line Distance Tool – Whether you’re scouting a potential piece of property or
   ready to hunt the piece you’ve leased, using the Line Distance Tool will
   allow you to measure the distance between any two points: perfect for judging
   shooting lanes, distance to your tree stand, or for measuring across a food
   plot. 


RYAN NEWHOUSE

Ryan Newhouse was raised hunting squirrels and whitetails in the deep South but
has spent the last two decades chasing Western big game in Montana. He has
written professionally about his travels and the craft beers he’s consumed along
the way. He loves camping, fishing, boating, and teaching his two kids the art
of building campfires and playing the ukulele. His great-great-uncle, Sewell
Newhouse, invented the steel animal trap.
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