Hunting Lease Etiquette & Tips?

[pbwalker]

So I finally caved in and got on a hunting lease...up in Llano County. My entire life, I had hunted public land or a day hunt here or there, so this is somewhat new to me. I'm one of 4 guys, who all seem very nice.

I have my blind on order and will be picking up a feeder shorty.

I'm looking for information from seasoned lesees. Outside of the standard hunting and gentlemanly etiquette, is there anything else I should know?

[UpTheIrons]

You are 'just' north of us! We're in Gillespie County. Welcome to the wild, hairy world of leasing hunting land We've had ours for close to ten years, and here's some of what we do. Most of it is common sense stuff, and you may already have it on your to-do list.

It is not law yet (and may never be) but there was a movement that no stands or feed pens should be within 100 yards of the property line. We have an issue on ours where the previous lesee set up a feed pen 50 yards from the fence. The other guy is a lawyer, and he got upset this year that we were shooting all "his" deer. We haven't decided if we're going to move it yet or not, since he's being such a donkey's behind about it. Legally, you can set it up next to any fence, as long as it does not touch a property line fence. Not really nice, but the law be the law.

YMMV, but our lease has a (small) house on it that we rent in addition to the lease fees. We do a little general clean-up and minor repairs for the landowner every now and then, plus we check the windmills and turn them on or off depending on how much water is in the tanks. He loves that stuff and it makes us suggesting other things we'd like to see/do a lot easier. Host a steak dinner for the landowner on opening weekend - anything you can do to keep the relationship friendly helps.

Is it a year-round lease? Ours is, so we can come and go at will. That makes some of the general odds and ends stuff easier to do, too, and we're to the point now where we can come and hunt during any season for anything. I'm heading up for some tree rats pretty soon!

Make sure he knows what you means by "trimming some limbs" for shooting lanes. He may want whole swaths cut back, or he may not want things touched at all.

Get to know the neighbors as soon as you can, and ask them now if you can track deer that hop the fence after they're shot (if necessary). We've got a standing "OK" with all the border folks except one (see above) that we can hop across and drag him back if needed. We just call and tell them we're coming so they know what's up. That's only happened once or twice during bow season and rifle season once (when a guy shot out the jugular on a doe and she ran 250 yards across two property lines and the county road!).

I'm sure others will chime in with other words of wisdom. Good Luck!

[bpet]

A few common tips and practices:

1. Give a courtesy call to the land owner prior to going to the lease. It's never good to surprise him while he's entertaining guests at his annual family reunion.

2. Pack out your trash.

3. If the gate is locked when you arrive, re-lock the gate after entering. If the gate is unlocked when you arrive, don't lock the gate until you are sure the land owner or other lessee isn't on the property doing chores for a short time anticipating being able to get out without having to dig for the keys they stashed someplace.

4. Always check burn ban information prior to having a fire and honor the landowners wishes despite the official issuance/non-issuance of a county ban.

5. DON't shoot the cows! Their really tough to clean in the field and the landowners really, really don't like to find the gut piles on a surprise walk through.

6. If you find a deer stuck in a fence, try to free it then let it go if it can still walk. Fix the fence if it's twisted.

7. Don't borrow the landowners stuff without his permission. Bring your own tools, bar-b-que grills, etc. unless the owner has made it clear that you are welcome to use whatever you may need. If you do borrow something, put it away (clean) before leaving.

8. If the landowner happens to live on the property, stop in and say hello when you enter his property to begin your hunt and again when you leave. Thank him for a great time even if it rained the entire hunt and you saw nothing.

9. Be willing to share your stuff with someone who may not have thought to bring his own (but be prepared to give hin/her a hard time about it).

10. Don't use the last of the firewood without gathering more before leaving.

11. Always know where other hunters are. It is poor etiquette to shoot holes in someone's deer blind of set yours up too close.

12. Try not to walk through another hunters area getting to your spot unless they are with you.

Many other common sense rules that will be pointed out when you break them but final and most important, enjoy the company and the hunt.

[Sniper John]

Another I don't see mentioned. Don't drive through the lease during prime hunting hours. If you kill a deer early, just hang out at your stand a while before driving out. Same goes if you accidentally sleep late. If you have to drive through others hunt areas or by other lease members stands, rather than fly through the lease messing up others hunts, just stay in and eat breakfast. Maybe do a late morning hunt instead that day. I do this on purpose sometimes BTW. Some days I will see more deer late morning to mid day when other hunters have returned to camp.

[SlowDave]

Good points all so far. I'll add a few:

• Have an upfront and clear agreement with your fellow leasees that is also within the requirements of the landowner as to drinking. (None (my pref), only after dark when the guns are put away, etc.)
• Depending on the size of the place and how far apart the blinds are, it is good for everyone to know where everyone is, so before heading out in the morning or afternoon, we have a quick roll call of where everyone's going. This applies when blinds are "community property;" if yours are private (i.e. John's blind, Bill's blind) and everyone hunts the same place everytime, never mind.
• Have an understanding about walk-hunting and other activity going on during prime hunting hours and what the prime hunting hours are. For example, you don't leave your hunting area between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. and xx and xx pm and walk/drive through other's hunting areas.
• Lots of general etiquette and sharing things to sort out if there is a house to stay in. You can work those out yourself.
• If applicable, decide if/when target shooting (i.e. "scope checks") are allowable with respect to the hunt. For example, no scope checks on hunting days, or not within 2 hrs of going on the blind, or whatever.

Some of these may seem over the top, and some may not apply depending on the size of the place and all. But if you don't know the people you're gonna hunt with very well, it's not a bad idea to go out to supper with them and just have a general discussion on some of this topic between swapping hunting lies, er... stories.

Above all, keep the landowner happy to have you there! As someone said, pick up trash, do any small general clean-up/fixing that you see, and treat him with respect and you'll likely develop a nice long-term relationship (and lease)! Some of the folks we've leased from in the past are great family friends now, years after the lease ended. IMO, that's the way it should be.

[CaptWoodrow10]

Good points all so far. I'll add a few:

• Have an upfront and clear agreement with your fellow lessees that is also within the requirements of the landowner as to drinking. (None (my pref), only after dark when the guns are put away, etc.)
[b]
• Depending on the size of the place and how far apart the blinds are, it is good for everyone to know where everyone is, so before heading out in the morning or afternoon, we have a quick roll call of where everyone's going. This applies when blinds are "community property;" if yours are private (i.e. John's blind, Bill's blind) and everyone hunts the same place every time, never mind.
[/b]
• Have an understanding about walk-hunting and other activity going on during prime hunting hours and what the prime hunting hours are. For example, you don't leave your hunting area between 6:30 and 9:30 a.m. and xx and xx pm and walk/drive through other's hunting areas.
• Lots of general etiquette and sharing things to sort out if there is a house to stay in. You can work those out yourself.
• If applicable, decide if/when target shooting (i.e. "scope checks") are allowable with respect to the hunt. For example, no scope checks on hunting days, or not within 2 hrs of going on the blind, or whatever.

Some of these may seem over the top, and some may not apply depending on the size of the place and all. But if you don't know the people you're gonna hunt with very well, it's not a bad idea to go out to supper with them and just have a general discussion on some of this topic between swapping hunting lies, er... stories.

Above all, keep the landowner happy to have you there! As someone said, pick up trash, do any small general clean-up/fixing that you see, and treat him with respect and you'll likely develop a nice long-term relationship (and lease)! Some of the folks we've leased from in the past are great family friends now, years after the lease ended. IMO, that's the way it should be.

When I was on a lease, we had an aerial map of the land that really came in handy. We all had our blinds marked on the map, and would put a pin in the location we would be hunting that day before we all headed out that morning. This allowed us to see where we would be in relation to each other, and helped us stay safe. It also was nice to know where to go if another hunter needed help and we got that barely coherent "monster buck down! I need a couple of young backs out here!" call with no idea where to go.

Also, good relations with your fellow hunters is a must. It makes the hunting trips feel like the vacation it is rather than a social experiment in juvenile behavior.

As for the walk around hunts slowdave mentioned, a glossy map with a dry erase maker showing your projected path might be a good idea, though if your like me, I have no idea where I'm gonna end up when I'm still hunting. Sure, I have a general plan, but plans change REAL quick when you spot something you like.

My .02

[UpTheIrons]

More good hints from everyone.

FWIW, here's what we do with stands on our place.

We have six hunters and seven stands. Each night we draw numbers (1-6, or however many for the number of hunters there) and then we pick which stand we're going to based on number order (#1 picks first, etc.). That way, everyone has a choice and isn't 'stuck' with the last choice by being #6. Usually, once someone has a deer or two in the cooler, he/she declines to draw a number, choosing last by default. Of course, on our lease, everyone knows each other well and since some stands are "more productive" than others, this spreads the thrill of the hunt around to all comers.

This coming season we are also going to post an aerial photo with pins, so that if someone shows up while the rest of us are out, there's no chance of disrupting each other.