It’s the beginning of a new year, new resolutions and maybe new hunting goals.  If your hunting goals this year include securing a piece of hunting ground and managing the habitat for yourself, now is the time to start working on your strategy.  Maybe you’re not a landowner, but the idea of having a little piece of property to hunt on all to yourself is something you’ve always dreamt about. No more arriving hours before dawn to beat other people to your favorite hunting spot and no parking wars at the entrance to the wildlife management unit you’re trying to hunt. The problem is that owning a property may just be out of reach for many people. While most hunters don’t realize it, hunting leases are surprisingly affordable in many cases. They’re not as exclusive as you might think, and with the right resources, you will have an even easier time getting one.

A hunting lease is the best way to secure long term, exclusive access to private land for you, your family and/or your hunting buddies. Leases are a great alternative to expensive guided hunts and the uncontrollable issues faced when using hunting outfitters. You can experience higher quality hunting with low hunting pressure. Compared to a guided hunt you have the flexibility to hunt based on your schedule and the confidence knowing someone else hasn’t hunted there before you. Scout the lease year-round in person, use trail cameras and strategically set up your stands and blinds wherever you want. You are in control!

Enjoy the core benefits of leasing your hunting ground.

  • Get exclusive access to private land without buying it
  • Put your boots on the ground prior to leasing
  • Manage for older age class trophy deer
  • Implement wildlife and habitat plans that benefit deer, turkeys and waterfowl or any other game that your landowner will allow.
  • More abundant game densities on private lands
  • Better safety and security from knowing who has access to the lease
  • Less expensive than purchasing land or using Hunting Outfitters

You will need to determine what kind of lease is best for you based on location, price, type of hunting allowed and terrain of the land.  Knocking on doors to get permission is not only a tough proposition, but you will probably be sharing that land with other hunters.

You should be able to view aerials and/or pictures of hunting activities and vegetation and the activities the landowner will allow. Once you determine what lease you would like to pursue you can get a connection to the landowner and make sure all paperwork is done and you can focus on what you do best: GO HUNTING!

Hunter demand for exclusive access to private property grows every year. As with all products and services market prices are set based on supply and demand. Lease prices vary by state, county and property type along with known game densities, trophy quality, tag availability and geographic location.

If part of your new hunting goals include upgrading your equipment and hunting apps, you’ll need to figure out how to move your data from one hunting app to the next.  HuntStand makes it easy to move all your hunting data to their platform.

How to Find a Hunting Lease

You think it’s time for finding hunting leases, but you’re not sure where to start. The easiest place to begin is narrow down your priorities by location, species and what you are willing to pay. Using a third-party Hunting Lease Company like Base Camp Leasing can provide professional insight, landowner relationships and streamlined process. They will professionally inspect, document and post detailed profiles of each property online so you can choose the state, county and type of property that meets your personal preferences.

If you’d prefer to strike out on your own, you can identify properties you’d be interested in and just do the old-school method of driving up and knocking on doors. Some landowners really dislike this as they have been burned before, so you’ll probably have to face a lot of rejection using this method. That is why we recommend you work with a professional reputable company that can help you work through finding the right lease for you.

When to Find Hunting Leases

When is the best time to look for and buy a hunting lease? In the most practical sense, the best time is whenever you can afford it! But it does take time to get a hunting lease set up, work through the details, and get your insurance. So if you’re really hoping to get out for opening morning of deer season, and you’re just approaching hunting lease searching process days beforehand, you should rethink your strategy.

Think about what would be most convenient to work around for the landowner too. For example, most row crop farmers are beyond busy in the fall when they’re harvesting their fields and the spring planting season, or if they are summer grazing cattle on the property. You’d want to work through their schedules so you don’t interfere with their job, especially if you are wanting to build a relationship with them and work through details and issues.

Another thing to consider is to look at the start of the year when landowners and hunters will be looking for a change.  Their current lease may be expired or there were some issues in the previous season that is forcing them to find different hunters or landowners to work with.  Many leases may be opening up just in time for you to jump start your new year hunting goals.

Hunting leases don’t have to be as complicated as you think. There are many resources provided in the links below for both hunters and landowners to make the creation of a hunting lease relationship smooth.

How to build a relationship with a Landowner

One of the most important things you can bring to the table is hunting lease liability insurance (i.e., hunting club insurance). Liability is a scary word to a landowner when they’re thinking of allowing a stranger to use their land. Base Camp Leasing’s agreements already contain a $5 million dollar policy to help ease worries.

You can offer to help out around their property (e.g., cut some firewood, maintain some fences, fix something, etc.) as a perk of the agreement.

Clear, consistent communication is also important with the landowner.  Letting them know when you’ll be onsite to be setting stands, planting food plots and hunting helps them know when to look for someone on their property.

Similarly, make it clear that the landowner gets the final say in everything and that you’d be willing to only take does or help with some predator control first – anything you can do to earn your keep a bit.

By starting a mutually respected relationship early in the lease will help minimize problems that may occur later in the year.