Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Just got screwed on a hunting lease

Anybody else got any stories about leases gone bad. I got royally screwed, and really haven't figured out what I'm going to do yet. This comes after I've bushhogged and gotten everything ready. Sick right now.

how were you screwed? did they take money and then stiff you? promise you the lease and then cut you out at the last minute after work had been done?

I can't afford a lease on hunting land, and where I live there is plenty of public. but I've heard horror stories before of stuff like this happening. it sucks

I have too many stories to tell about that. People are so mean to people. One thing I did learn above all else is that every lease has a good ole boys club. If you are not part of it then you get the worst of everything.

I will never pay over $500 for a lease spot again. Anything more and you are simply helping the good ole boys club pay their bills. They don't care about you but they will smile & shake your hand while they're taking your money.

"Handshake" deals work okay some times, others insist on getting everything on paper and still get hosed?

One of my former BILs once was part of a lease that included hunting rights to several hundred acres and use of a small cabin, for a nominal annual fee. Things went well for several years, then they got permission to renovate and enlarge the cabin, had two good years out of it.

The property changed hands and the new owner threw 'em off, wanted the cabin for a relative to live in. Their lease agreement didn't include anything about the land changing hands.

Most folks in PA that want a hunting camp with enough room to hunt, either buy one on an acre or two near public land, or bite the bullet and buy enough land of their own to hunt on?

Hunting leases are popular here in the northern tier counties, but they're generally just for use of the land?

Mostly guys going together and leasing mountain ground that's part of someone's farm land. Some available on property owned by forest products companies. At one time there were thousands of acres open to public hunting, on land owned by Hammermill, then Weyerhauser. Much of that is now parceled-out for hunting leases.

I have had my belly full of making the facilities nice only to have the same happen to me later. I figure I pay my money for the right to hunt on the property & that is all. I don't want to clean up camp's, I am not helping to spread dirt for better roads, I am not building blinds or feeder pens.

All you do is improve the property and you get nothing in return.

Same here. I few years back in Alabama a friend and I leased out about 250 acres next to Paper company land. The "Absentee Owner" gave us a pretty good deal but there was a lot of work to be done ...we cleaned up and replanted 3 food plots...bushogged up access roads to the property , put on locks on the gates to keep the Paper Company leasees off the property. We hunted it lightly the first season and then after the season we could not get a hold of the owner...When he did get back to us a month before the beginning of the season we were informed that he had leased it to one of the gun clubs that were leasing property from the Paper company. Let me tell you it would have been worth my while to drive 540 miles to kick that buttwipes ass.

While I don't buy a lease for hunting, I do have a similar situations happen to me. You help someone out on their property, hope for an invite to hunt, and nothing happens.

My advise would be to sign a multi year lease so your efforts don't go for naught.

I had a great lease on about 1600 acres. We had hunted free for 3 or 4 years landowners choice). We did everything for this guy from staying on the place while he was away to help his elderly wife, hauled tractors to the shop (hours away), took care of all ranch leg work that came up, installed propane to house, brush hogged, planted, tilled land insulated log home, you get the point.

He decided he needed money for hunting so we said no problem. Agreement was to pay money by 10-01-11 (it was march). Next time I was there in April, I went to collect some cameras and all my stuff was gone. I went to the ranch house to see what was up. He said he called the other day to ask for the money. When no one answered he leased to some other guys. All my stuff was in the barn. No call no nothing, I h=talked to the guy once a week at least. The deal was five figures. The land was bordered on 3 sides by a refuge and the hunting was great. We havent spoken a word since. I wouldnt hunt there again for nothing. That was wrong in every way.

Joseph

I lost another lease this year. I called in July to make sure everything was good and the guy told me he thought he told me last year that I could not lease it any more. It was owned by three brothers and the one brother I was paying was not sharing with the other brothers.

I am so tired of begging for a place to deer hunt that I think I am going to buy a little place. I can't afford much but at least it will be a place that me and my boys will always be able to go and I won't have to ask/beg another [bleep] person the rest of my life to deer hunt.

Dink

Once money and/or work become involved, it's a business transaction, and should always be treated as such.

And, it's all about the money.

Yep. I'm still so mad I'm not sleeping at night....Here's the deal. I lease 150 acres from an old couple here in town. Never had a problem, great folks. I take care of the place, bushhog, repair fences, ect. I noticed the land next to it was not being hunted, so I found the owner and called. He directed me to his attorney, said a guy was trying to lease it but had not come thru with the money. This was last Dec 20th. I went that afternoon to the attorney, we called the owner, and he said he would lease it to me. He also said since it was so late in the season he would get with me this spring (this past spring) and work up a 3 year deal, and cut me a little break on the money. Sounded great. I sent the check, signed the contract and hunted it lightly. This spring I planted some summer food (by the way it's 385 acres) and cut all the roads and cleaned up the mess left by the last hunters. I called the owner on June 6th, and he said the land was mine as long as I wanted it, just send the same amount of money. I sent the check. I continued to clean and do tractor work, and get it prepped for food plots. Last week my check was returned in the mail with a note that said "you did not pay in time, thanks for your interest". I could not believe it. I pulled the contract and it states upon payment (Dec 20th) lessee has the right to hunt 12 months. It goes on to say the agreement expires July 1. At any rate I called the guy again and he cursed me out and hung up the phone. He's 86 years old and I thought maybe he might be having some trouble with his memory, so I got the attorney to call him, he won't talk to him either. Low and behold yesterday a very high ranking state official shows up saying he has the land leased. It is all beginning to make sense now. I guess I'm going to let another attorney look at the lease and see what my options are. Probably nothing. It's a crying shame you can't take a man at his word.

Exact thing happened to me last year. We got the lease, spent a weekend bush hogging and putting up stands, bought an insurance policy then the broker decided he did not want to lease it to us afterall.

We got our money back (except for the insurance premium) but i know what you are feeling right now.

After years of dissatisfaction with various hunt clubs i am exploring buying my own place. I am very fortunate to even be able to think about it - figure this is probably as good a time as any to buy land

I know some of you might be tight but find a way to buy some land and never look back.


Sell that new truck and buy a used one, stop eating out,...whatever it takes. I've never known a fella who regretted buying their own land for hunting.

rrroae you are so right ... All i ask of the few i let hunt on my land is a token helping splitting firewood. i always have some that needs splitting and you would be suprised at how "something is always up" and guess what.. "something is up" on my end come deer season too...

John

Yep. I'm trying to buy a small place now. The Federal Land Bank has some good deals on financing and land is less expensive than it was a few years ago. I basically paid 1100 bucks to hunt 5 weeks. If I said the name of the guy who swindled me out of it, you Alabama folks would know it well. I've dealt with him in the past on another issue and my opinion of him then wasn't good. At any rate, I was able to get in another lease, probably even a better place, but this still gnaws at me.

I have looked at Lease options and Hunt clubs...actually down south which is a long way from NH! This kind of ass-raping scares me! Good Ole Boy network, less than honest land owners...hell, I am from NH, how much of the odd man out would I be down south with a Boston accent? WTF!

Jmj any idea what interest rate the Federal land bank is getting? The best I can find is 6% fixed for five years.

Dink

Had a bad experience in 2004. Got invited to join a club that hunted the Patmos plantation in Ms. JM might know where that is! Anyway, hunted there 4-5 years with no problems. Then the club pres. quit hunting and another fellow took over. He invited in a new member or two and one of them was able to pull some strings and get some work for the club pres. I think I pizzed off the new member by killing a good deer in an area we both were hunting ( stands about 1/4 mile apart). Anyway the next year when I tried to contact the pres. to pay my dues, he wouldnt answer the phone. Finally about 2 months later I got him on the phone and he told me that I had broke a bunch of rules and they didnt want me in the club. Come to find out, that new member had been trash talking and wanted a couple more of his friends in the club, and it worked. I met the scum pres. at a store in town a few months later and in front of everyone there I told what had happened. Told him in no certain terms what kind of a person he was (yes I cussed him) and invited him outside. He attempted to lie his way out of the situation and I told him I was gonna whip his azz right there in the store, if he didnt leave. He showed his true character, tucked his tail between his legs, and left. I apologized to everyone there for showing my azz, but several said he was a crook and he deserved what he got. I'm tempted to print his name, but I wont. I moved from that part of the country 3 years ago, and it's all behind me now. But, it's still a sore spot!

The first man who "leased" hunting rights to property he did not own, set in motion the general greed that perpetually screws more and more men who believe in a handshake. We did it to ourselves.