Looking for a lease Hill country

[NWFA]

I bought over a hundred acres an hour east of Austin with the same dream. All the neighboring parcels were similar size or larger. We had deer, turkey, and occasional hogs. We worked on improving habitat and shot some nice animals.

Fast forward 10 years and many of the neighboring places have been broken into 10.1 acre plots and offered n low down payment contracts to families with limited English.When those folks miss a couple of payments they get tossed and we get new neighbors.

Each family moves onto the land with a trailer or mobile and immediately get 10 cows, 8 goats, 3 big dogs and of course chickens. The goats escape, the cows slowly starve, the dogs bark 24x7, and the chickens get eaten by the coyotes and raccoons.

Before they get tossed, each family shoots a deer or 3, game regs be damned. Now we have no deer, no turkey, but we’re up to our nipples in hogs, dogs, and raccoons. Paradise.

If you’re serious about hunting, be sure you’re buying into a lifestyle your neighbors all share.

I was thinking of buying land to and this post makes me want to cry...it makes sense, sadly. I just pay for hunts since I am never going to hunt enough to justify the 3-5k a year. Plus I don’t plan on moving to the country to live anytime soon.

 

[RevolverGuy]

I bought 30 acres a couple years ago. It was part of 1,000 acres that was parceled out, none less than 30 acres.

We have hogs galore, but good turkey & deer, too.

I grew up about 30 miles southwest of it on the family ranch (sadly my siblings saw only dollar signs once dad passed &
Mom developed dementia.).

I’ve seen “civilization” encroaching over the past 50 years and those fucking wind farms popping up. I can remember as a kid walking out at night and hear nothing but a pump-jack popping in the distance. The only artificial lights were on repeater towers on a tall hill 20 miles away.

Dunno where I’m going with this, except to say that hunting land is disappearing fast, and I’m very sad to see responsible hunters priced out of the market for even a decent lease.

I never thought land in that area would cost as much as it does now. It’s near worthless for agriculture, so the value is almost 100% recreational.

There’s just too damn many people in Texas, and too many rich assholes driving up the price of hunting land.

Damn, now I’m depressed. Time for a drink.

 

[Texasjack]

We had a great lease, but a few years ago the guy who ran it died and the owner (his lifelong friend) decided to sell the property. Most of what made it great was the group of guys on it. People worked together to maintain the place, they looked out after each other, and they behaved like people should. I tried a lease in far East Texas, and pulled out after the first year. The locals on it only wanted to hunt pigs, and they ran dogs and 4 wheelers around the place until deer only moved at night. Opening day, guys showed up with their wives, girlfriends (and wives & girlfriends), kids, dogs, trucks, and you name it. We caught people from leases miles away hunting on the property (with dogs, kids, etc.) What a nightmare. It brings tears to my eyes to look at the feeders rusting away on my deck. Lease prices are just out of my price range. Some of them make you wonder if they feed the deer gold bullion instead of corn. Check out any of the "find-a-lease" web sites and they are either $$$$ or "will take 10 hunters on this 20 acre property".

I wish you luck in finding a place. I'll keep looking - and also buying Lotto tickets. The odds are about the same.

 

[TEXAS "All or nothing"]

I might be up for lease hunts on my 1,000+ acres. I had a real good guy that leased from me, but he cut back on his outfitter. The guy had leases in 4 states that I knew about, but could've had more?

 

[TEXAS "All or nothing"]

Lots of pigs, mules and wt. I need to somehow turn off auto incorrect. All I've been doing is edit lately.

 

[cygunner]

We had a great lease, but a few years ago the guy who ran it died and the owner (his lifelong friend) decided to sell the property. Most of what made it great was the group of guys on it. People worked together to maintain the place, they looked out after each other, and they behaved like people should. I tried a lease in far East Texas, and pulled out after the first year. The locals on it only wanted to hunt pigs, and they ran dogs and 4 wheelers around the place until deer only moved at night. Opening day, guys showed up with their wives, girlfriends (and wives & girlfriends), kids, dogs, trucks, and you name it. We caught people from leases miles away hunting on the property (with dogs, kids, etc.) What a nightmare. It brings tears to my eyes to look at the feeders rusting away on my deck. Lease prices are just out of my price range. Some of them make you wonder if they feed the deer gold bullion instead of corn. Check out any of the "find-a-lease" web sites and they are either $$$$ or "will take 10 hunters on this 20 acre property".

I wish you luck in finding a place. I'll keep looking - and also buying Lotto tickets. The odds are about the same.

Know what you mean about Far East Texas. Guy in Hardin County virtually threatened us back in late 70's as we were riding our horses on a sand road on an oil lease in the summertime yet. Said it was their hunting lease. No hunting anywhere that time of year but he had the 30-30. They dogged deer too, in that club.

 

[Dash Riprock]

I bought over a hundred acres an hour east of Austin with the same dream. All the neighboring parcels were similar size or larger. We had deer, turkey, and occasional hogs. We worked on improving habitat and shot some nice animals.

Fast forward 10 years and many of the neighboring places have been broken into 10.1 acre plots and offered n low down payment contracts to families with limited English.When those folks miss a couple of payments they get tossed and we get new neighbors.

Each family moves onto the land with a trailer or mobile and immediately get 10 cows, 8 goats, 3 big dogs and of course chickens. The goats escape, the cows slowly starve, the dogs bark 24x7, and the chickens get eaten by the coyotes and raccoons.

Before they get tossed, each family shoots a deer or 3, game regs be damned. Now we have no deer, no turkey, but we’re up to our nipples in hogs, dogs, and raccoons. Paradise.

If you’re serious about hunting, be sure you’re buying into a lifestyle your neighbors all share.

Very similar thing is happening to the property adjoining our family land. It got broken up due to an issue with the prior owner's will (long story). In retrospect I wish I'd bought it but it was 12-ish acres of essentially bare nothing that I had no use for. Now there's two trailers, big dogs that roam onto ours, and somehow they're raising a dozen cows. I kick myself every time I go there.

 

[cygunner]

Very similar thing is happening to the property adjoining our family land. It got broken up due to an issue with the prior owner's will (long story). In retrospect I wish I'd bought it but it was 12-ish acres of essentially bare nothing that I had no use for. Now there's two trailers, big dogs that roam onto ours, and somehow they're raising a dozen cows. I kick myself every time I go there.

Every time I go there. Hmmmm what or who is in those two trailers?