archery only hunting lease

[tjones96761]

I just spent an hour writing up a great story and it didn't save. Here is condensed version:

A very peculiar in-law of mine has a fair bit of land in the Cimmaron Basin in Payne County, some of which butts up to the river. A lot of wheat ground and pasture, all with cows on it. Very well kept property, all field edges, fencelines and tree lines are well kept. He is not a hunter, nor any of his family. The land has not been hunted since he has had it, and it is probably some of the best hunting land in the county.
I want to help this man manage this untapped income source. He will not entertain the idea of a year round, all access hunting lease. He does seem to be semi-interested in an archery only, Sept-Jan hunting lease, along with the typical (and some not so typical) lease terms. Specifically he doesn't want anyone driving on the property, so it would be walk in only.
It's hard for me to assess what a great property is worth with all the other restrictions. I've heard $10+/acre depending on location. Without the restrictions, I've positive I could get that today. Does anyone have any experience with this kind of lease and how much it could be worth?

 

[AllOut]

first... How big is it
I ask cause if its a large property than being walk in only hurts. If its a mile or so from the gate to an area u might hunt than to carry stands feeder feed and even drag a deer without a 4wheeler would be not so fun. If its small say 80 acre or so than no big deal.
Land owner restrictions are something most leases have but the more u have the less interested people will be or be willing to pay. If its just some awsome hunting and people know it than it can still bring close to top money if u find the right people. Just to give u an idea, my nowata lease is not a year round lease (deer only) and has cows so we were only willing to pay 4.50 per acre. If it was year round without a cattle leaser to deal with it could have been double that.
Give us some more details.... Im am always looking for more leases

 

[tjones96761]

Not sure on the acreage, more than 500 but less than 1000. It isn't all in one piece, so I would think more than one lease agreement would be necessary. I don't think there is more than 160 all together, though there may be adjoining pieces that are separate fenced with separate entrances off the road.
We didn't go into specifics, just very gently touched on the subject because I didn't want to get a HELL NO before I had a chance to explain.

 

[Survivor]

Good advise on how important access is for scouting & hunting. I can understand how the owner would want to have control on limiting the comings and goings and the length of access. But the hunter needs to have plenty of time to become familiar with the land.

Scouting from a distance & observing the habits of the deer & finding where their bedding, escape and travel routes are. Then more time is needed in preparation of the several stands, game cameras and/or feeders (fenced to keep out the cows) and time for the deer to adjust to all the intrusion.

Meanwhile it would be nice to be developing a working relationship with the owner helping out every chance he has to help prove their trust worthiness.

 

[WacosSon]

To be honest with you, as someone who is always looking for a lease, I would not even consider a lease that had more than 120 acres without some kind of drive in option. Its just not worth it. Archery only makes it even worse because now the people who carry the heaviest gear have to walk further. Cows don't help either. 3 HUGE turn offs. You might consider designating one part of the property as drive in, allowing hunters to get closer to where they are going. That would alleviate it a bit. Also, like Survivor mentioned, you really need some time to scout, prep, etc. A Sep-January lease, without drive in access would be an automatic no in my book unless you were willing to let it go for $100 a year or something ridiculous.

I think you need to stress to him the advantages of having hunters on the property. They have a vested interest in it, so they should take good care of it. They'll have a watchful eye over the area, encourage good population growth, be the first to site possible hog problems or trespassers, etc. Heck, a decent lessee will even share meat with the owner and help maintain fences and so forth.

My main point is this: While leases are hard to find, putting too many restrictions on your property will keep you from really seeing that value that leasing can bring you. You want quality hunters in there. People who feel that the money they are spending is worth it. If you put too many blockades on the land, your leasers will more than likely not care about the property.

I obviously don't know much info about your property at all, but if I were you, I would push your in-law for this:

1. Offer several leases depending on land size. No more than 1 hunter per 50 acres.
2. Allow one pre-determined driving access route thru each property
3. Allow access Aug. 1 thru Feb.
4. Allow all weapons access
5. Since you have cows, non-year round access, and depending on the hunt-able terrain, water on-site, etc., I wouldn't expect to get more than about 200-300/gun.

This is just my opinion, and I'm sure there's info I don't know, but I look at ALOT of leases. Good luck on your decision!

 

[handlebar]

Good luck with that