Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Lost my deer lease today

So I've been on this hunting lease for about 12-years. Each year I get an envelope from the agent with the new lease agreement and a return envelope to sign and return with the check. He sends the check and (presumably) the lease agreement to the owner. But only the first year have I ever gotten a signed, fully executed copy of the lease paperwork back. Of course they always cash the check. Except last year, the check had not cleared after 9 months and I had to call and ask them to deposit it.

The land owner is 85 year old lady fighting cancer. Tough situation and she tries to manage everything herself. Which explains not depositing checks.

Well tonight the land owners whack job daughter calls and starts in about how I don't have a lease becuase they have not signed it (which they never do), said I never signed it (which I always do), and that the old lady owner mistook my check for something else and not the lease fee, even though in the note line I wrote "Deer Lease Fee 2020". All this just 2 weeks before bow seaon opens and while I have already cleared brush, mowed roads, been feeding corn, put out my ground blind, etc.

They are all kinds of screwed up.

I guess I chalk it up to not "forcing" the old lady to send me a signed copy. But how do you that with a 85-year cancer patient that lives 400 miles from here who I've never even met in person?

That sucks.
But an 85 yr old lady w cancer has bigger worries.
Taking the high road might be the end of hunting there.

I had my good spot of 19yrs sold without warning....was friends w the landowner ( guess a divorce was looming )

Had to hunt state ground and other for a couple yrs before getting a smaller place to hunt. Not as good either.

Turkey hunting has been a challenge but after a few yrs i think i can score on public close to home.
Again, not good like my old spot, but doable.

Pain in the ass.....but i kinda see it as a challenge. Just accept it and move on, it works out eventually.

Condolences.

For a long time I benefitted from the generousity of a good friend who gave my family free, unfettered access to the property he owned. All things come to an end, however, and that sort of arrangement is largely a thing of the past. Even paid access to private land is tough to find here, but fortunately we are blessed with many large and small public tracts, one only about 15 minutes away. Not likely I'll kill any Booners there, but the woods are very nice, and I can make meat. I have some stands tucked into good spots, which so far haven't been futzed with, probably because they're a mile from the parking lots, and also because they're secured.

This year, I'm somewhat concerened about the possibility that pressure will be a lot higher with so many people off work because of the Plague, but we shall see. I'm also considering hunting at a preserve or lodge, if I can find one, in hopes of getting a big one.

Good luck finding a new place. I've heard public access in TX is limited, but it can't hurt to check into that.

If they cashed your check, marked for 2020 lease, it would seem you do have an agreement. ????

I hunt public land a lot and am thinking the same about increased pressure this year due to so many people out of work. I have a 5 thousand acre state forest 2 miles up the road I normally hunt quite a bit. After the first week, there's usually not many other hunters in a normal season.

Bad luck man.

Even worse timing.

Like said above, lady has worse things to deal with now. I’d chock it up as a loss and move on.

Lost lease I’ve hunted on over 10 years last season. Landowner decided to sell.

A co-worker had a deal similar to yours. He had a handshake lease with an elderly woman to hunt land she owned for a fair price.
Then her kids found out they could get even more from out of state hunters.

No way I’d say let it go. They are just trying to fugg you( Family it seems). If they cashed your check then you have a agreement. Why sit back and let someone walk all over you like that. They are hoping you will do nothing. That’s why they are acting this way
I’d give them 3 choices

Refund my money
Continue the lease this year since you have already paid
Go to court to settle it

I’m guessing one of the first two seeing as if their mother signed a check and cashed it from you for a lease your gonna win

This.

DF

That’s the route I would take. Sympathy’s for the old woman but the daughter is just being a biatch about it....

Exactly. The old woman it seems would have never done you like that. Her family is using this opportunity for their own financial gain. If they do you like this who else are they cheating or screwing over

Guess I’m confused about paying last year for this years hunting.

I lease a small place with my dad.

2020-2021 deer lease is due June 2020.

If you paid last year for 2019-2020, you got your monies worth.

If you paid last year for the 2020-2021 season, then it with the others. Pursue it or at least get your money back.

The offered to refund the money, but I don't want that I want the lease. A little too late to find another place for opening day in 2-weeks. I will take it to small claims court and let the Justice of the Peace, Rusk County Texas, Precint 3 decide. At least the "lady" will have to drive here from Houston to be in court. I'll get some satisfaction from that.

I've paid annually for 10+ years. I just paid her on 7/6/20 to hunt for 2020-2021. She cashed the check.

I just hate this kind of thing. Truth is, I am blessed to have the money to buy my own 100 acre place, but I don't ranch and would use the place 3 months a year, so it'd be an expensive hunting place.

Talk about jerking the rug out from under a fellow. Pretty low of the daughter to pull that, especially this late in the year. Wish you luck with it.

I understand now. Mistook you original post as last year was the last you paid. ( as last time the took your money )

My mistake and sorry for your troubles i this.

The sane thing worries me about the spot my dad and i lease.

Older folks. Out of town. One day someone will offer them more than we will pay or their kids will end up with it.

Lost s lease I hunted in Coleman county for 25 years. It sucked.

Lost one in Polk county I’d been on for 15. Timber cutter wanted it, so than ran us off. Some guys had been on it 40 years.


Sorry you lost it!

It's really sad to me to hear of all that because
I'm seeing more and more of it in this part of
the world. I see more and more old farms and
ranches cut up and turned to mini ranches or
subdivisions, or the larger ones into hf hunting
resorts. If I live long enough, I can foresee a
time when there won't be any affordable lease
land, only hf preserves like you see online with
premium lodging and gourmet meals and a
" menu" and price list of different antler sizes.

I lost my lease two years ago because I wasn't really a regular leasee. I was a fill in. One of two brothers who had been on it for 40+ years and knew the landowners personally decided he wanted to put his son in law on it. I being the lesser leasee was kicked off. I had hunted it for 7 years. Anyway, I'm still looking for another one.

Lumber on private land is a farm crop. All crops need to be harvested sooner or later and your's came up this year. The only difference between this and leasing a stand over a corn field is that timber is a long term crop while corn is an annual. That's how farming works.

You'd think theyd want someone on the property and maintaining roads, keeping an eye on things, especially if they are 400 miles away

That sucks though....especially right before the season.