I have been looking at leases in Texas for deer, exotic, javelina, and hogs and I think I have a few questions.

What is a fair price? I am thinking max $4000-5000 a year if I can pay it in payments.

I would like to be able to shoot at least 2 bucks, 2 javelina, and unlimited hogs and varmints. Plus maybe one or two exotics a year. Is this anywhere near reasonable?

To get Javelina you of course will need to be in S Texas and as a general rule there are very few leases that include exotics. As far as a Deer, turkey,hog,varmit, and dont forget dove lease $2000/gun should find you something pretty good and $3000-4000 should include the wife and kids at least as visitors If you plan on them being out with you much you might want an induvidual lease just for yourselves, other wise most leases are for groups of huntersso you would team up w/ some other guys.I have been on the landowner side of leasing for years ,drop a line if you have any more questions.

SSR

I'll keep thinking about it, I am living in Australia for the next 3 years so it's not like I need one tommorow, just want to get an idea and educate myself.

Thanks again!

Hmm, I have seen places like that, but few and far between. You will need to be in or about san Antonio, rather than out west, to fit that bill.

Leases can be part year, seasonal, or annual.
Can be single hunter, or family.
May have cabin, power, water. May have nothing

May be raw land, timber farm, farm, improved hunting land, or a park

Some have lots of rules, some have nearly none. Some regulate and require what you must feed, some merely ask that you pick up your trash. Some have work days required, some only allow you non the place during specific times.

It's wide and varied. For what it sounds like you would be spending, here's what I suggest

Get an inexpensive annual lease for deer, pigs, and perhaps tHe birds. 1 to 2 k annually

Javelina are not pigs, different species, and I think that javelina are not edible.

Twice a year, go to an exotic ranch and hunt the specialty animal you might like. Javelina hunts are cheap.

Remember that does/cows usually taste better than the trophies, and are always cheaper, by a lot

You can put up stands and feeders at your lease, and then, if you like, improve it and have a home base. Then you can select something cool for an exotic hunt, and that can change according to ypur tastes, rather than the dictates of one ranch

It's what I do, largely. I have a home lease, and will go on exotic and or meat hunts, from time to time.

Btw, I DO expect a high success rate on high priced exotic hunts. Otherwise, why would I be paying to shoot these animals, if I can't see them

Even as great a state as Texas is, you'll have a hard time getting all that in one. Typically, a lease will have deer and some combination of hogs, turkey, dove, small game (squirrels, rabbits, et cet.), and varmints. Either as available game on the lease or that exist there.

Some leases are seasonal and some are year round. I was once on a lease that was year round for everything except spring turkey. You could shoot turkeys during the fall season but couldn't even be on it during spring turkey. The landowner and his nephew made a bunch of money selling and guiding spring turkey hunts.

Javelinas and quail especially are pretty specialized or localized. Don't expect to find them on the typical deer lease. Some areas of the state are better for hogs than others. Some hard core deer hunters would prefer no hogs because of the potential impact on the deer. Dove depends on where and the property. Some good deer hunting property just doesn't have the right setup for doves.

Leases can be found on several statewide websites. In less populous counties, the local chamber of commerce or feedstore will have a list of leases available. But word of mouth can be best. That way you'll get to meet and know the guys on lease before you plunk down some money. There's lots of leases out there where you might be one guy of 10 several of whom have been on it for years and "rule the roost" so to speak.

There's also different approaches to how you hunt it. Most Texas hunting is done from stands. On some leases---especially larger ones---everyone has their own stand and that's where you hunt. You might get shot if found in another's blind. On the other hand, the first lease I was on was totally open: "which one you hunting today?" "I don't know. Maybe the creek blind? Which one you want to hunt?" "Oh, I was thinking the hillside blind." "Okay. I'll take the creek blind then." "Okay, I'll go to the hillside." (We name our blinds here in Texas.) The lease I'm presently on is hybrid. We've got our own stands with a couple of community or open ones. You hunt your own or a community one till Thanksgiving and then you can hunt others' blinds. Works pretty well.

Exotics are pretty much a pay for them thing or they just happen to wander by. In a couple of parts of the state where there's a lot of exotics ranched you can find some that have gotten loose. Otherwise, expect to pay for them specifically.

You might find yourself with a couple of leases. Sometimes landowners lease out the rights separately. A friend of mine is a big quail hunter. That's all he really cares about other than spring turkey. He'll shoot a deer if someone invites him to go but really not his thing. The quail lease he's on is for quail only the second half of the season. The landowner leases it to deer hunters for deer season.

LWD

Hogs, varmints, and deer are what I am interested in.

Are there such a thing as mule deer leases?

I have looked into this also, since I would like to spend the winters in TX. I figured if I had $3k hunting budget, instead of a lease and possibly getting hosed, which I guess happens. (I have good friends in Dallas that have been)
I would just pick some exotics to go after each year, with maybe some birds or varmits. $3k buys a lot, especially female species and hogs. And you get to experience different ranches.

You ever visit the website, Texas Preditor Posse? Good bunch of guys and lots of info. Bob, who is an AR member is a moderator and founder I think.

quote:

Remember that does/cows usually taste better than the trophies, and are always cheaper, by a lot

That depends on whether the rancher knows you shot one of his cows.........

We have just about given up on a W Texas or S Texas Lease....


BUT

4-5K / Year is a realistic price for deer.

Exotics maybe... or not

PM a guy here that goes by geedubya, sp. may be off. He is a lease holder and also hunts a few other places.

Perry

quote:

and I think that javelina are not edible.

Javelina are edible, you just have to know how to clean the stinky little basterds! I don't know how so I don't shoot them except under extreme circumstances. I have eaten Javelina and it was pretty good!

Andy

I know many who eat Javelina, mostly made into tamales. West Texas hugging the Mexican border has lots of Javis as well, but not much if any, north of I-10. South Texas is covered up w/ them...Good Luck.

BTW: For $4-5,000 dollars, try looking for a lease in Webb, Maverick, Dimmit, LaSalle, McMullen & Jim Hogg counties for Big Deer & lots of game. Also check out: www.deertexas.com for online leases.

Leases near Dallas/Ft.Worth will bring over $10.00/acre if they even have a deer track on them. Good ones up to $15/acre. With that kind of money out there. $3K-$4K does dot spread very far. Esp...if you want the lease by yourself.

mule deer leases will be mostly west of the Pecos River or in the TX Panhandle. Mule Deer season (rifle) runs for 2 weeks (3 weekends) after Thanksgiving, although you can bowhunt them all of October.

If you are leasing land as a part of a group, you may be able to find a place for under $2000 - my uncle's lease in Central Texas is $1200 or so. Its not a huge place, but he kills a buck every year in the 110-120 class . . . he's seen a 140 class buck on the property but never got it into bow-range.

Most places go for $X per acre. The landowner will lease the property to an individual who will then put together a group of hunters. Some landowners don't care how many hunters, and leave the managment to the guys they lease it to (usually a bad idea). If you just want a place to hunt, this sort of arrangement may work for you.

Beware of lease-brokers. I've been on places advertised to have 170-class bucks killed on them. Maybe so . . . 20 years back . . . the year I hunted them, no (zero) buck sightings.

If you want exotics (Axis deer) you want to look west of San Antonio in the hill country. Edwards, Real, Kinney, Uvalde, Bandera, Kimble, Medina Counties. Most of these places have lots of hogs, very few varmints (sheep country!), and a scattering of javelina.

So what I'm saying is do your homework . . .

Troy Hibbitts

Thanks Troy,

Still a bit out as I'll be overseas until 2014.

Just trying to get the jist of all this!