HD Tactical

Where do you find leases?

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  • Duckyou

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    Where all do you look for hunting leases. I want to join one in the next year or two - within a couple of hours of Pensacola.

    Where should I look.
     

    Jerry

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    Keep an eye o the forum posts. Ive seen a couple clubs advertise on the forum in the last 3-4 years.
    The best way is the know someone in a club, or have a friend willing to take you along until a slot opens up.
    There is a ton of land around the eglin and blackwater areas if you don't mind public hunting.
     

    Bowhntr6pt

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    I use to read Woods N Waters magazine a lot... there were advertisements in the back.

    Contact the timber companies in the areas you would like to hunt and ask for the person who manages their recreational lease program... maybe they can give you contact information for lease holders. Some timber places divide their available tracks of land into 1000 acre lease blocks... that's a lot of possible points of contact.

    Visit local feed/farm shops in the areas you wish to hunt and inquire about possible clubs in the area. Meat/game processors, same thing, they know folks who have leased-land clubs.

    Last but not least, if you happen to be riding through areas you would like to hunt and see hunters, stop and simply ask.

    One easy method of getting your information out there is to have some business cards made up with your contact info on one side, and a brief introduction of who you are on the other side, omitting sensitive information of course. People you interact with might be in a hurry and not want to wait while you search for a pen and paper.

    Farmers and field workers you happen to see, simply approach that guy you see on a tractor and inquire... again, have a card ready, they might be busy and you don't want to get in their way.

    Look up land tracks on the county property appraisers page and get owner contact information... I've been very successful getting permission to hunt doing this albeit I'm after coyotes at night and hogs. Larger tracks of land might already be leased but that means you might get lease holder information to work with.

    No matter what, express to folks to KEEP YOU IN MIND (another reason for a nice business card) for future consideration if nothing is currently available. I did this keeping in constant contact with a lease holder who had the land bordering my land, after 14 years I finally secured the lease for myself.

    I believe the best leases out there are filled via word of mouth vs, public advertising. That's why personal one-on-one contact and foot work might be the best approach for a great lease opportunity.
     

    Duckyou

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    Keep an eye o the forum posts. Ive seen a couple clubs advertise on the forum in the last 3-4 years.
    The best way is the know someone in a club, or have a friend willing to take you along until a slot opens up.
    There is a ton of land around the eglin and blackwater areas if you don't mind public hunting.

    I don’t mind hunting public land, but I want to find a good club before my son gets to hunt. I have had a lot of poor experiences on public land and hunting at a club when I was young was wonderful.
     

    Deersniper270

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    A few years ago, I sent letters to all surrounding lands in North Milton asking for permission to hunt and included an aerial shot of the parcel I was referring to. Sent out about 25 and only got one response back from an old farmer telling me to stay off his property and he better not catch me taking any more pictures of his land. It was an aerial shot from Google Earth and he was furious lol.
     

    Duckyou

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    A few years ago, I sent letters to all surrounding lands in North Milton asking for permission to hunt and included an aerial shot of the parcel I was referring to. Sent out about 25 and only got one response back from an old farmer telling me to stay off his property and he better not catch me taking any more pictures of his land. It was an aerial shot from Google Earth and he was furious lol.

    Damn you and your satellites going over my land!
     

    SAWMAN

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    No easy way. No cutting corners. Get out and do some footwork. Get out and ACTUALLY talk to people. Get out and shake a mans hand.
    The computer,the intertube,face tube,texting,is no way to communicate. I see it every day on this forum. Try the old way. Remember those ways. More personal,more direct. The old farmer would/will/has felt voilated by something that we took/take for granted.
    Best advice - - -> you own 100A. You work the land. You grow a crop. It is your livelihood. It is how you raised your kids and most likely grandkids. How would you want some young "whipper-snapper" to approach you when you are out in the field and are hot,dusty,and thirsty ?? --- SAWMAN
    ADDED: THIS . . ^^^ . . in general. NOT aimed at any individual(s).
     

    trogers

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    Well said SAWMAN. Problem is, you have to live in a community and be in that community before those contacts start smiling when you walk up.
     

    Deersniper270

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    Sawman that’s why I sent a letter so as not to be invasive. It was personable and not too forward. Mostly told them about myself and what I was looking for and of course offered to share every bit of the meat and pay processing fees for it. But most of the land I’m sure is already hunted by family. Just a shot in the dark and a funny letter returned. Wish I still had it
     

    SAWMAN

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    It has been our expierance that family and friends hardly ever hunt our properties.
    One of our larger properties was closed to us for less than two weeks during Christmas so that his family from away could hunt deer when here for the holidays. Now,open for us again. That is where I hunted a couple nights ago. His property is used to grow peanuts,cotton,and planted pines.
    It closes for us several nights per year also for the owners buisness purposes,but he is kind enough to give us advanced notice of what nights.
    Alot of property owners do not want to have their property leased to a hunting club for variuos reasons. 99% of the clubs in Fla are leased from wood/paper companies. T.R. Miller,Salter Brothers,IP,Plum Creek,just to name a few. In about '05 I leased from the first two mentioned. Great companies. IP . . . NOT SO GREAT. --- SAWMAN
     

    Bowhntr6pt

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    How would you want some young "whipper-snapper" to approach you when you are out in the field and are hot,dusty,and thirsty ?? --- SAWMAN

    Agree 100%... common sense applies. You don't want to approach a guy in the middle of actual work, such as running across a 500 acre field waiving your hands to flag them down while they are bailing hay LOL.

    But... if you see a guy or guys who have been working and taking a break, maybe approach with a nice ice cold bottle of water? Maybe offer to help load/unload equipment is applicable to the situation. I remember a guy who was an Army recruiter who used to carry three or four bottles of water and a few cokes in a small cooler in the summer time. Not only were they for him during the day but made for an ice breaker when he approached young guys working their butts off in the summer heat.

    I'd not approach a guy in the field who cussing like a sailor while fighting a stubborn stump or whose tractor wheel just fell off LOL.

    Bottom line is like SAWMAN said, it takes work and constant attention to spot possible opportunities. Example...

    The last place I got permission to hunt, which happens to be the location of a ranch that hosts a World Class Bass fishing business, was while on patrol I saw a guy pull down an access road to property I had permission to hunt. I knew no one should be there so I turned around and pulled in behind him. Well... instantly I knew why he pulled off the road and down the access road... HE HAD TO PEE.

    By the time I got to him, he had finished his business and I had called in his tag. I introduced myself and told him never mind me as I realized what he was doing and I was just checking to see who was pulling into the access road. He said he owns the (name of ranch) and totally understood... DING DING DING I thought... not passing up the opportunity, I asked if he had any coyote or hog problems and he said he does with yotes... I asked would he consider allowing me to hunt them and he said I was more than welcome. I've gone twice and got a yote each time. Now... was it because I was in uniform? Maybe. The main point was I spotted a possible opportunity.

    I have access to several ranches here in central Florida... NONE of the actual property owners are workers as the land is leased for cattle operations. The guys you see in the field might or might not be the actual property owners and might have property owner information. None of the cattle guys are hunters... I guess I'm lucky in that regard.

    Another example of who someone might or might not be... Back in the mid/late 1980's I use to have permission to dove hunt Mixon Farms. I'm not talking during the organized hunts they had, I'm talking being able to go hunt alone at any time. At that time, don't know about now, it was a big peanut farm in Cottondale, FL. Was owned by the former Lt. Gov. of Florida Wayne Mixon. Not important how I knew him but he gave my brother and I full access to hunt dove when ever we wanted. I say that to say this... we spotted Mr. Mixon roadside one day and he was dressed like you would expect a salt of the earth farmer to be dressed, we stopped and had a nice conversation and then went hunting... and IIRC he was driving an old farm truck... so when you see people remember... you never know who they are or what opportunities they might have available.
     

    Bowhntr6pt

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    A caution about joining a lease vs. being the lease holder... some lease holders will give you the boot if you "hunt too much".

    Both of my BIL's were kicked off a lease simply because the "hunted too much". Mind you, they "hunted too much" not "killed too much". They are both self-employed and liked to hunt Tuesday-Thursday when hardly anyone was around. Seemed the other hunters thought that was an "unfair advantage".

    My friend's BIL kicked him and other off a lease... same reason... being on the property too much vs. killing too much. Season prior before they were booted, two other guys I knew were booted.

    Be careful of the lease holder who want's others to pay for their hunting... anyone HONEST that holds a lease will tell you the best member is the guy who never hunts...
     

    no woryz

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    Well said SAWMAN. Problem is, you have to live in a community and be in that community before those contacts start smiling when you walk up.

    I would disagree, we don’t live in the community in Kansas where we hunt and we never have. We approached landowners and asked for permission. We are honest, trust worthy, and respectful of the privilege we are given. If you’re good people, they will share that and your privilege will grow... we are now allowed to hunt some of the best lands in our area and have great friendships that have developed from it.... as far as in NW Florida, too many people not honest, trustworthy or respectful so we bought our own land and still have to deal with SOB trespassers... good luck to OP...
     

    ccc

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    I think the biggest thing when you join a lease is knowing it’s like a job interview, they are sizing you up just like your are them. Last year was my first year on my lease, overall my wife and I love it, killing deer is just a bonus, we have met some great people, they have regular cookouts and bon fires. But we have rules and if someone over killed (how many deer you are allowed) or killed a deer too small (we have a 3 1/2 year rule) it would be frowned upon
     
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