August 13, 2025

Demand For Hunting Leases on the Rise

    Landowner standing in agriculture field that he inherited.

    Audio summary

    The source "Demand For Hunting Leases on the Rise - Base Camp Leasing" discusses the increasing demand for hunting leases across the United States, particularly highlighting the Northeast, Southeast, and Midwest as popular regions. This surge in demand is attributed to factors like habitat destruction, corporate land acquisitions, and overcrowded public hunting areas, which collectively reduce the overall supply of accessible hunting land. The article explains how Base Camp Leasing serves as a platform that benefits both landowners, by providing passive income and reducing liabilities, and hunters, by offering access to quality, less pressured hunting grounds. It also touches upon financial responsibilities and options for inherited land, such as leasing to farmers or hunters, while underscoring the benefits of such arrangements.

    By: Josh Honeycutt

    Reasons why hunting land is in high demand, and where it’s most popular.

    Habitat destruction continues to remove important habitat for whitetails and other wildlife. Commercial real estate projects, business growth, housing developments, and other forms of urban sprawl continue to eliminate crucial habitat that isn’t coming back.

    It’s a travesty, but one that continues to feed the supply-demand nature of hunting ground. As a result, available hunting land decreases every year, which only drives up the demand for what remains.

    Base Camp Leasing helps landowners by offsetting costs via lease payments. This helps them keep the land, rather than having to sell. Likewise, Base Camp Leasing helps hunters by preserving quality hunting habitat and providing an easy-to-use platform to find and secure hunting land.

    Lease Demand on the Rise

    As noted above, lease demand is on the rise. It’s largely due to decreasing supply, which drives up demand. That said, it also incorporates other factors, including those outlined below.

    Hunting land demand increase factors:

    • Habitat destruction (development, urban sprawl, etc.), which drives down the overall hunting land supply.
    • Lands being bought by large corporations, which don’t allow hunting.
    • Landowners falsely believing that hunting (even with the proper protections) opens them up to liability.
    • Increasingly pressured private lands hunted by permission (due to more hunters condensed into tighter spaces).
    • Public lands being overrun by hunters (due to less available habitat).
    • And more.

    The Northeast

    The hunting lease concept is newer to the Northeast. Even so, it is an incredible destination for deer hunters. This region offers great opportunities virtually statewide, especially in areas with habitat diversity and plenty of edge cover.

    That said, certain states stand out. In the upper stretches of the region, Maine, New Hampshire, and New York offer great destinations. In the southern half of the region, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, all offer incredible hunting opportunities, too.

    The Southeast

    The hunting lease concept started in the Southeast. In fact, it started nearly 100 years ago. Overall, the region offers great opportunities at whitetails, wild turkeys, and other game animals.

    Those who plan to hunt this region have numerous states to choose from. Each one offers advantages and high points. That said, among the most desirable destinations — at least for whitetails — includes Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Of course, others offer great hunting, too, but with most metrics, tend to fall behind the above group.

    The Midwest

    Perhaps the king of whitetail hunting, the Midwest offers access to some of the biggest bucks in the world. This region provides fertile soils, great genetics, and otherwise awesome deer hunting opportunities.

    Every state within the region offers excellent hunting. That said, historically, some of the most popular destinations include Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. More recently, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma are hotspots. Of course, don’t sleep on South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, or even Michigan.

    Why Hunters Should Lease from Landowners

    Hunters enjoy numerous benefits by leasing from landowners. Some of these include access to better hunting land, longer-lasting access, more deer, bigger whitetails, reduced hunting pressure, and much more. Simply, hunters enjoy many advantages from a hunting lease. Find your hunting lease via Base Camp Leasing.

    Why Landowners Should Lease to Hunters

    Likewise, landowners benefit from hunting leases, too. First and foremost, it generates passive income. Additionally, it reduces trespassing, minimizes unprotected liabilities, and more. Landowners stand to benefit greatly from leasing their land out to hunters. Allow Base Camp Leasing to handle the details today.

    Frequently asked questions

    The rising demand for hunting leases is primarily fueled by a decreasing supply of available hunting land. This reduction is due to factors such as ongoing habitat destruction from commercial real estate, business growth, and housing developments. Additionally, large corporations acquiring land and prohibiting hunting, landowners' misconceptions about liability, and increased pressure on both private lands (due to more hunters in tighter spaces) and public lands (due to less available habitat) all contribute to the heightened demand for private hunting leases.

    Hunting leases offer several advantages for landowners. Firstly, they provide a significant source of passive income, helping to offset the costs of land ownership, such as taxes and maintenance, and potentially preventing the need to sell the property. Secondly, leasing to hunters can reduce trespassing and minimize unprotected liabilities by having authorized individuals on the property. Hunters often have a vested interest in maintaining and improving wildlife habitats, which can align with a landowner's conservation goals and help manage game populations.

    The hunting lease concept originated in the Southeast, where it has been established for nearly a century. The Southeast remains a popular region, particularly for whitetails and wild turkeys, with states like Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas being highly desirable. The Midwest is considered a prime destination for whitetail hunting, known for producing large bucks, with Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wisconsin historically popular, and Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Oklahoma emerging as recent hotspots. The Northeast is a newer but growing market for hunting leases, offering excellent opportunities for deer in states such as Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

    Base Camp Leasing serves as a platform that connects landowners with hunters to facilitate hunting leases. For landowners, it helps generate passive income from their land, offsetting costs and potentially preventing them from having to sell. For hunters, it provides an easy-to-use platform to find and secure quality hunting land, ensuring access to prime habitat. The service aims to handle the details of the leasing process, benefiting both parties.

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