Gentlemen,

I am located in Austin, TX and am looking for a good sized deer lease, hopefully one that will not cost me an arm and a leg. I have had very little success thus far, but I figured with all of the information on this board I would give it a try. I hope to bow and rifle hunt white tail as well as possibly some hog hunting. Thanks in advance guys.

Blake

To paraphrase another line: Good lease, close lease and cheap lease. Pick any two.

I would prefer good and cheap =). I don't mind doing some driving.

There are some reasonable rates in South Texas but you have to look hard. Finding a good lease is like hunting a particular buck; it takes perseverance.
The Freer area has some low cost leases and the genetics are great. Avoid most advertised leases because for the most part some broker leased the place and is sub-leasing to the shooters. They want bodies and don't care much about whose money they take. If you have a problem with another gun on the lease you have to find the broker or lease manager to register the complaint and they rarely act during the season; they just take the money and wait until another year when they have a replacement lined up.
Decide where you want to hunt, scout out the local landowners that don't take the lazy route by hiring a broker and work them until you find the deal you like. It takes an investment in time but once the locals realize you are a serious player they will help you find a place. Landowners fight over good leasers.
For the record there are some really good brokers out there but as a percentage the good ones are a small number.

On a different note, how long have you been an Austinite? I lived there from '64 to '74.

I've been here since '00 when I transferred in to go to UT. I graduated in '03 and have stayed here because I like it so much. It's also a great location for a hunter with the hill country all around. Where are you located these days?

Another UT grad (or not)that sold their soul to stay? When I lived there you had two choices; work for the state gov't or the university. Both paid shit wages and everyone else tagged payscale to that. I'm really glad it has options now but damn the cost of living. Believe it or not when I lived there Austin won lowest cost of living nationwide for cities 250,000 to 500,000 population every year!
All that said, it has great things going for it.
I'm a Houstonian now by way of several Louisanna towns.

I've been quietly (probably too quietly) looking for something like that for several years...even putting out the word with a few landowners who let me go shoot management deer a couple of times a year, with no luck thus far. If you find something and it has another opening, I would be intersted in that too...Good luck!

quote:

All that said, it has great things going for it

'cept that dang school in the middle of the city and all the freaks it has attracted in the last 15 years or so! Sorry, couldn't resist...

CDH, Texas A&M class of '93, '97, Gig 'em Aggies!

Fusino,

All little more information would help.
How much are you willing to spend?
Are you by yourself or do you have a group? If a group how many.
How far are you willing to drive?
What type of deer would you be happy with? ie 120,140, 160, 180?
Do you want yearound access of hunting season only?

Tiggertate, what have you been smokin. The Freer are is probably one of the last areas in South Texas that I would check. Sure there are a few good ranches in that area but the majority have been shot to s--t for the last 30 or so years.

quote:

Landowners fight over good leasers.

I don't think so! Landowners fight over who can find the biggest sucker to pay the most money. There are very few good leases available right now. Good leases usually have a waiting list a mile long. You will hardly ever find one advertised. Good leases in South Texas will go from a low end of 7500.00 to a high of 15000.00 per year.

Not the first time we disageed, eh? To each his own formula.
I'm on one that's $4,500 (year round) all game and non game, 4 dear (1 trophy, 1 cull, 2 doe) unlimited quail, dove, duck, goose, coyote, pigs add infinitum. Housing power and water provided. Guest privileges, yada yada yada. Was it easy to find? no. Is it unusual? not if you run with the right crowd crowd. By that I mean serious hunters, not shooters.
BTW, the lease coughed up the 2003 #1 Boone & Crocket typical for Texas and last year a 189 pt non-typical this year. Free ranging, too.

The landowners that fight over the suckers are the ones to avoid. The other good ones do infact search out good leasers. I guess they just haven't found out about you yet.

quote:

I guess they just haven't found out about you yet.

Oh, I wouldn't say that. I've done okay for the last couple of years and I get to hunt for free. I have unlimited access and get to shoot 30 or so deer a year.

quote:

BTW, the lease coughed up the 2003 #1 Boone & Crocket typical for Texas and last year a 189 pt non-typical this year. Free ranging, too.

Did you kill these or did somebody else. Which brings up another subject. Just because you get on a good lease doesn't mean you have the skill to kill a big deer

Dead right, dude. I was bragging on the quality of the lease, not myself. I'm just lucky to be there.
FWIW, what is the glory in killing 30 free dear a year? Much less huntimg for free? Sounds like you don't think the exercise is worth much?

M16:

How much am I willing to spend? --I know it's a lame answer, but it really depends on how I feel about the land and the game population in general. Doubtless I will visit the land and take a serious look bofore forking over the cash, so that is my answer to that one.

Am I by myself or with a group? --I will be the only hunter. It is possible I might want to have a friend or my dad with me for a hunt or two, but doubtful they will be shooting anything.

How far am I willing to drive? --I would be willing to drive several hours (my limit would probably be 4 hrs).

What type of deer would I be happy with? --140+

Do I want year round access? --Yes, I would like to bird hunt as well.



tiggertate:

I am indeed a UT grad. It's funny you mention the ultimatum: "You either work for the city/state or for UT." Almost every friend I had in school either moved away or works for the city/state or for UT. I was fortunate enough to get a position with an incredible company (an advertising firm), one that has yielded amazing results. I truly love every second of my job. All that being said, if I had to live in another city in Texas, I would definitely be happy with Houston or Dallas. Thanks for all of the help man. =)

You might have better luck looking to east Texas Pineywoods. There are some real nice deer being taken from this area, 140 -160+. They are by no means common, but they are out there.

Hog Killer

Being by yourself makes it difficult to find a quality lease. You may want to check out the local gun stores and ask around. Sometimes they will know somebody looking for someone to fill a lease. For $2000 or less you may want to check around Sonora or a well managed place in the hill country. For $5000 or more you could be looking at South Texas. Another good place to check once you have decided on an area is the local biologist or game warden. Does anyone at your workplace hunt? Check with them. If they don't have an opening they may know somebody who does. Just keep networking and something will happen.

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FWIW, what is the glory in killing 30 free dear a year?

No glory just a lot of work. It takes good management to kill big deer.

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Much less huntimg for free?

I am hunting my own ranches so what sense would it make to pay myself?

quote:

Sounds like you don't think the exercise is worth much?

I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

I just got one of my mounts back the other day. Here is a picture of one shot this past year. 182 gross 170 5/8 net. Low fence.

My advise would be to use that TU connection and the neckwork provided. There must be literally hundreds of TU grads on fine S. Texas hunting leases and perhaps as many who own ranches in the great brush country of S. Texas. The problem you will have is that the good leases are tied down by the "good ole boy" friendship thing and are mostly "closed" to "strangers". Try TU as you are not a stranger to that network. Good luck and S. Texas would certainly be my recommendation. Anywhere from Kingsville to the Valley to the border and north to Del Rio and then East to about Uvalde.

PM sent.

To begin with, we were talking leases, not landowners (whom you were just disparaging) and now you are one? Regardless of the back and forth, that's nice deer and I am happy for you.

Fusino:

quote:

I am located in Austin, TX and am looking for a good sized deer lease, hopefully one that will not cost me an arm and a leg. I have had very little success thus far

Well, I can certainly understand why. Deer leases in the area you're talking about START at about $5 an acre/year and most of them are higher, especially if you want the bird hunting as well. $10/acre would be more like it and I now of one that is $12/acre for 12,000 acres!

So.....you want to hunt by yourself, have a big place (whatever your definition of that is) and it be cheap (whatever that means), close, and have good deer in the 140+ range. I don't think so......

Now, if you wanted to get on a lease with other hunters you might be able to find a place that would meet those criteria for $3000 to $5000/year.

I'm not saying what you want is not available, but it sure isn't going to be easy to find in central Texas. In addition, outside of the S Texas area, in spite of what people say, 140+ deer are pretty damn scarce. Sure, there's a bunch of them killed all over Texas every year, but divide that by the hunter's days (# of hunters plus # of days they hunt) and outside of high fenced hunting you'll find that 140s are damn hard to shoot.

^^Don't misunderstand me. I am not looking for a lease devoid of other hunters, I'm looking to get on a lease which I fully expect to have other hunters. However I'm not looking to join along with a friend or a relative, I will merely be hunting as a party of one.

Fusino:

Sorry, I did misunderstand you. If you're willing to be on a lease with other guys in a hunting club situation, then your chances just increased enormously. However, I'm not sure what your definition of "cheap" is. I'm not in your area so most of what I'm saying is based on friend's leases or experience. There are some good deer around Cotulla but finding a decent lease with a spot might be a problem.

A hunting lease or club is kind of like a marriage, you have to go along to get along with the other guys. You need to evaluate yourself and decide if you are a "club" type person.

There is some good deer hunting available to the NW of you, all the way up to the panhandle, but it would take local knowledge to know what was good and what wasn't.

Like several have said, your best contacts are going to be personal ones, unless you want to drive around the countryside, going into all the feedstores leaving a flyer describing what you want.

I can't speak for what ranchers M16 knows, but many of the ranchers I know, including myself, value good leasees over a few extra bucks per year. Long term relationships, not littering, not shooting my cattle, not having falling down drunks set themselves or your place on fire, just in general good honest hunters who shoot what they're supposed to shoot and don't shoot what they're not, are valued in this section of Texas, the Post Oak Savannah and the Pineywoods.

There are a lot of $800-$1200 places in South Texas. You don't have a lot of control over your hunting partners and sometimes you have to jump leases to get on one you like. They tend to be smaller pieces of land (600 to 800 acres) adjacent to larger ranches with low fences; usually 8-10 guns or so. That is usually what the brokers have but there are a few landowners that manage their own operations. I've seen some nice deer come from some.
Frankly, most of the locals don't bother with leases because the great big cattle ranches (not game-intensive hunting operations)are so easy to poach.
I would make a list of towns in a radius you can live with and start with the Chamber of Commerce in each. From there you might call the local game wardens. Some will blow you off but some will be helpful to one extent or another.
Like Gatorgordo said, the better leases are about manners and repect as much or more than the last dollar.

I have leased and guided on ranches in South Texas the past 25 years. There are a few, a very few ranchers that have the loyalty to stick with good hunters. The majority have a loyalty to the dollar bill. If somebody comes along and offers more money you usually either match the offer or hit the road. I had a what I thought was a good relationship with one landowner who after seven years got a better offer. We didn't even get a phone call. Just a letter in the mail with a thiry day notice to vacate. The foreman was pissed but what could he do. They have their little gatherings and when one finds out the other is getting ten or twelve dollars and acre guess what happens?

You have to understand that a good number of them don't care for hunters they just want the income. That's why you have so many package hunt operations. The idea is to get the same money as a lease hunter and get them out in a minimum amount of time. Right now there is a small amount of land for lease and a lot of people who want to lease it. It's a lessor's market.

I just got off a lease that went from $5,500 to $10,000 in one year. All we were told is that you are such good hunters and take such good care of the place but that's what the neighbors are getting. I don't blame them cause that's the going rate. I could have afforded the increase but decided I had enough and bought my own place. It's a pretty damn good feeling knowing that I don't have to play the lease game anymore.

^^Hopefully some day I'll have the opportunity to just buy my own place as well. That would be unreal.

quote:

not littering, not shooting my cattle, not having falling down drunks set themselves or your place on fire, just in general good honest hunters who shoot what they're supposed to shoot and don't shoot what they're not.

I have hunted in Texas on similar conditions, can't complain at all

In addition to the above mentioned, no truck hunting/quad/atv, no use of semi or pump action rifles, no caliber smaller than 2506, no shooting at ridiculous ranges.

Cheers
/ JOHAN

gosh you guys, I can't believe people are paying that much money, if you are paying 5k per year why not go out to the west and hunt, heck I bet for 5k you could do an alaska hunt. or for less money you could hunt public land in most any of the western states, yeah success would be lower but it would be a real hunt, non of this deer stand stuff where the deer are mearly executed while they are coming to the feeder. and best of all you don't have to worry about going off your lease, after hunting utah for a few years hunting texas is just too limited and confineing.

Well Cummins I have been elk hunting in Utah. A couple of times. It's okay but kind of limited. Flew out in the morning, shot a 6X6 the same afternoon. Spent 5k on the hunt plus travel, license, and taxidermy. But after you kill an elk what do you do then?

Now spend the same and go to South Texas. On an MLD managed ranch you can start hunting the first weekend in October until the end of February. Course there's dove and teal in September. Bobwhite and blue quail from November to the end of February. Coyotes, feral hog, javalina, bobcat, and an occasional mountain lion inbetween. Culling all the spikes and does along with a management buck and a trophy buck. Usually around 10 deer but could be a whole lot more depending on how many permits you have. Catching rattlesnakes as thick as your arms. Great bass fishing. Full moon nights sitting by a mesquite fire grilling steaks while sipping a cocktail listening to the coyotes howl. Spending about 60 days a year doing this. Need I go on?

I know this is going to be shocking but not everybody in Texas shoots deer from under a feeder. I personally don't care for it but to each his own. Rattling in a whitetail is like cow calling a bull elk. Quite an experience whether you shoot or not. Hunting the rut is also a blast.

I can assure you that most of us average joe western hunters, don't just go out and shoot a 6x6 in an afternoon. If I had 15k to spend yeah I could go to a CWMU ie ranch outfitter and do that in an afternoon, but getting a 6x6 bull on public ground is a trophy certainly of a lifetime. There is alot of scouting work that goes into it and that is half the fun. growing up a texan I would have to say I still prefer the mountains and wide open spaces of utah, there is nothing like glassing a huge vast canyon accross a ridge and spotting your animals then trying to forumulate a plan to get on them. Texas is in my blood but utah stole my heart

BTW your description of a texas hunting lease sounds pretty good LOL

Yeah M16 where is this lease you speak of?! =P

Well, M16, we agree on something. I would much rather get the 30 to 40 hunting days on the lease for 5K than 5 days on an elk hunt out of state. Actually I'd rather do both but funds force me to chose only one.

Cummins, there are a lot cheaper leases but the quality goes up with the price to a point. And those prices are for a year-round lease in an area that right now has great water and natural feed. Back in the early 90's during an 8 year drought that same ranch was lucky to get $1100 because frankly, the animals were too poor in the natural enviornment to amount to anything and the lease rate wouldn't cover additional feed.
Remember, a big part of the lease money usually gets plowed back into the game management program and other improvements to the property which ultimately benefit the leasers.

I am looking for a good quality property in the hill country or west Texas. I prefer that it has some exotics and turkeys present. The size of the property isn't a huge factor. I particularly enjoy hunting Axis deer.

I have had a couple of real nice places in the past, but land sales and family changes have taken those. I can take on a property or join an existing group.

If I run across something large enough to need a little help, I will post something for you guys here.

Jeff

West Texas, that is the trans Pecos area is mostly Mule deer, a few ranches have Coues deer, some like around Sanderson have both Whitetail, and a few whitetail Mule deer crosses, Javalina, some exotics..but the problem is they lease by the week more or less or have a 3 day hunt, and vari from there..Its just a 9 day season, and its expensive..The panhandle of texas has some good deer also but again they lease by the 3 day hunts for the most part..On the ranchers part is a commercial ventures that is as important as his cattle and can amount to enough to pay most if not all of the ranch operational expense.

Based on what your after you might be better off hunting the Gila or Southern New Mexico in the Ruidosa area on National forest, they have some nice deer and big deer and elk..

Texas is very commercialized, my family there has deer leases but sold out for the next century or two...If its good its all but impossible to find, its just too easy to find clints wanting like you to hunt, and most of them have no cost issues has been my experience. I hunt Texas every year and have for my lifetime on a number of ranches, but I was born in a ranching family and have many friends and family in the business..Good luck, but your in for a uphill pull. Give New Mexico some thought while your at it, unless its too far or give up on a year long lease they go by the acre and in some states those acres sell for the same price as a deer lease!! Ive seen a few lease for $7.50 and acre but that's been sometime, not sure what the going rate is today, but all "year around" leases should be sold by the acre..

The other option is the day lease, but from what Ive seen those day leases are day leases because they have few deer and bad management, many are just plain rip offs, same with some west texas mule deer hunts..They can be chicken or guts and feathers and the good ranches are not looking for business, they have it..

Now your talking business Jeff, put a group together and the price per hunter goes down and it can be affordable..My son found a nice 15,000 acre ranch for a group of 6 and kept it for 5 or 6 years at $3000 per hunter year around with a nice house camp on it..It was very good until a neighbor on both sides fenced their land and ruined that lease, but the owner is still leasing it and they kill a couple of deer a year on it Im told..but your on the right track. Pick your partners carefully, one bad apple can turn the experience into hell.Ive seen that many times.