Lease - Whoot!

[mitchntx]

Hog population is growing and land owner is wanting the hunters to step up hunting them.
The blind site I want (not the old one) is about 100 yards from water.
So I think it a pretty good site

VERY hard to find ...

Axis have been harvested, but rarely.

 

[35Remington]

Finally had the opportunity to visit the lease site.

There are so many things that have fallen into place for me to have this opportunity, yet there are a couple things that just keep nagging at me.

First, the camp site is right on a public access road.
While on the lease, it's a county maintained road.
So Lance Armstrong and Evel Kneivel cruise past all the time less that 20' from where my camper will be parked.

Deal breaker?
The lease manager and good friend claims the only issue they've ever had was a hunter's camper was unplugged ... multiple times over a weekend.
Public or lease drama?


Second, my blind site is 300 yards off of the primary access for the rest of the hunters.
The feeder location is another 150 yards away.
Other hunters moving around and past my spot can spook animal activity.

Deal breaker?
If the other hunters are respectful, it probably wouldn't be an issue. But ...


Third, a father/son team have been on the lease for a while.
According to the lease manager, the father part is great. The son ... he's come close to being kicked off on several occasions.
And I'm taking the spot of one of his "buddies" who DID get removed.

Deal breaker?
Unknown drama ...


The pros are:

Lease cost ... 1/2 the cost of surrounding leases and a long waiting
Lease expense ... a bud has blind, feeders, cameras, hog lights all free for the use.
Location ... 2 hours from my door, 45 minutes to Marble Falls, San Antonio and Austin
Access ... year round

Cons:

I can fund a weekend pig hunt at the resort the wife and I visited last year for the cost of this place.
http://www.texasguntalk.com/forums/...booked-pig-hunt-35th-anniversary-present.html


So the reason I'm posting this is am I being a little bitch and worrying about crap that really amounts to nothing?
My buddy pulled some strings to get me on the lease and I also feel some obligation.

Do it for year and then you'll know more. That's my two cents.

 

[mitchntx]

Kind of what I was thinking

 

[mitchntx]

A few photos ...

This is looking mostly north from the blind site.
The oaks seen are about 75 yards away.
Grass is thick and lush.
See the creek to the left?

Here the shot just beyond the trees described above.
The creek is really carved out and there is a significant elevation change on both sides of the creek.

This is from the level spot next to the creek looking back towards the blind site.

And here is the creek a week after the last rain.
That hole is about 3' deep and is a huge mud hole
The fence across the creek is the property line to a neighboring ranch that has no hunters.

On the other side of the creek is not accessible except by crossing the creek.

Distance from the blind site to the water is about 200 yards.
I plan on putting a feeder in the flat area next to the oak trees on the bank.
That's about 150yds at the most.

 

[Reelthrill]

My $.02. Our lease has similar rules, and I don't find them bothersome. None of your rules seemed like deal breakers to me. You could ask the others people on the lease to add a rule that may not be there to your benefit. Since they all have to pass your blind and feeder area, setup up some mutually agreed to "no travel times" For example no more travel past you 1 hour before sunrise; no more travel after 4p.m. for the evening hunt, no returning to camp until at least 8:30 in the morning or at sunset for the evening. This way, there is an hour of silence before your feeders go off.

One thing I have noticed about the deer where we hunt is that they get used to road noise. If cars, trucks, trains, atv's, etc. keep on moving and don't change their pattern, the deer don't typically get spooked and run away long term.

Your pictures look nice, I like the area. Have fun with it, but spend your time getting it ready. For example are there cattle on the land? If so, setup pens around your feeders so they don't knock them over. We feed year round. Our timers are set for 7am and 5 pm, and we don't adjust the timers for daylight savings, keep it consistent. In the off season (Jan. - Sept.), the timers run for 2 seconds. First week in Oct., we bump them up to 6 seconds and run that until the first week in January, when we back them off. We use bucknuts (corn with soybean mixed in for protein) from April to Sept, all other times corn only.

I am happy for you, enjoy the opportunity, it can be very rewarding for lot of different reasons.