Sorry im spoiled for being born in a good whitetail state....well use to be not anymore. No deer in kansas.

You sure are. At least you know what u have!

The spoiled part comes in with those that say " I ain't paying money to kill a deer."

But, those same people will join a country club to hit a dam little ball around on a lawn.

To each his own!

I was born in Florida but I cant afford to buy a house on the beach....lol

Most leases are leased by the acre.

I have 2 leases along the same river. Two different owners. Opposite sides of river. One tract is 400 acres and is $4.50/acre.
Other is 866 acres and is $11/acre.

I have 8 member, plus me, in the 866 acre lease.

I have 0 members in the 400 acre lease....just me.

For $500,,,you can sit in MY stand for a day.

In all fairness I’d have said I was spoiled for hunting living where I do, but thought I’d get jumped all over. I’d pay to hunt what I don’t have.

So on the bigger lease it figures out to about $350 a person that's not much really for the amount of land. Here where I'm able to hunt I stay in the lower pasture mainly and it's just me but that is only approximately 40 acres or so. The upper pasture is I'd say 150 to 200 acres and the other guys are up there. We can go back and forth but other than talking to the one guy every year I haven't seen anyone down by me for a few years. The landowner and his family come down and do a drive through on their UTVs usually on the second day of gun season and yes they do hunt. It's usually 6 guys. They have another farm that they hunt primarily. Yes they will shoot deer down there if they get the chance. They own the land not me and I know I'm lucky enough to be able to hunt there.

Although no money changes hands I give them quite a bit of brats, deer sticks, summer sausage and a meat and cheese tray every year. I also work for a large global company that every person has heard of. They get some items that they would use or have to buy anyways and I can get them for less than the retail price. I will estimate I'm in that area of $300 to $400 a year for the 40 or so acres I hunt. I think it's a bargain in the times were in. I also as far as I know am the only one that does this. I started doing it a few years ago and as I've had more sausage products made the more I've shared with them. It's a bit unconventional to some people I'm sure but it works for us and I hope it continues. I've hunted that property for over 40 years and my dad's ashes are spread down there along with a memorial plate for him on a log. I try to treat the land like it's mine and respect the landowner.

Bigger lease (866 acre tract) is a little over $10 grand annually. I forgot to add in what the timber company charges us for 3.5 acres of openings we took out of pine production to have food plots. Yeah...they make us pay that.

So, each of the 8 members pay $1100 +/- each annually. I dont pay annual dues. The lease is in my name, I handle the annual payment admin, and I bushhog all the roads, trails, and plots annually. I hunt there some but not often. Deer and turkeys. Utilize river access and trap the property.

Not sure where you come up with $350 each.

My personal lease (the 400 acre tract) costs me just under $1800 annually just for the lease. I spend that much more on food plots, corn, tractor fuel, stand upkeep, etc.

Also, the 866 acre lease increases up to 5% annually. The 400 acre lease increases about $.50/acre every 3 years.

I dont pay to hunt deer. I dont feel bad about it. I aint rolling in the money to go on many guided hunts. The one time i did go i ended up with the biggest poacher in oklahoma lol. I want to chase elk here soon. Would live to take a grizzly with a bow but thats 20,000+ dollars. Take me my lifetime to save up pocket change for that. Elk i can do bymyself.

I used $4.50 acre for both and missed the $11 an acre for 866 then divided by 9 people. My mistake. I am fortunate I can hunt where I can and have a long history with the landowner.

I don't play golf or pay landowners to do them a favor

The $4.50/acre price is one of the lowest lease prices in this area (timber company rep gave me their company employee pricing 30 years ago...lol.) Most properties are $6 plus/acre. A few are more than double that...but those properties are usually very good and in good locations with outstanding habitat.

Deer & bear are hunted with hounds due east of me in a 30 mile stretch of timberlands. Several of those individual leases are over 15 thousand acres in one contiguous tract. Their annual lease cost is 6 figures, but they have 40 to 60 members that pay a few grand each annually.

A couple counties west and north of me $20/acre is common for the better tracts with a long history of producing large bucks....ag country with interspersed woodlands. Generally, these are tracts of a few hundred acres in size.

I'm gonna assume you don't deer hunt much (and you could not care less if you ever went again) or you go and share public land. Or, you have freebie properties. If so, take up golf as those freebies may end if landower changes or decides his son-in-law's cousin's uncle wants to hunt there and you probably ain't related to none of 'em.

I don't know a timber company in my area that considers deer killing a favor to their company's existence. Most other landowners here hunt themselves.....they don't need or want any favors.

Last year. No trophies. Just groceries. I like hunting. Not enough to pay for it. Would make venison priceyer than beef. I drove about 8 miles. Used a rifle I bought about 50 years ago. If you're willing to pay its fine by me. I just don't understand it. Same with golf.

Every man has his true likes!

I'd do the same if I had your setup.

We definitely agree on hitting that dam little ball around on a lawn....

I confess, I pay to golf.

I love to hunt them, but I do not pay to hunt whitetails, some of the best whitetail hunting in the world I will add. Yes, I know I am fortunate.

Saskatchewan whitetail hunting is on my bucket list.

And South Texas free range whitetails.

I suspect you have far more deer to look at where you are. I feel like the quality though cannot be matched anywhere when it comes to free private land access.

We have good deer numbers. On my place and surrounding properties, probably about 40 plus psm.

I dont have a lease to hunt. Watched friends get a property about right and get the lease pulled out from under then when they started killing nice deer after 5 years or so tof management.

I could say I dont pay to hunt since we hunt a lot of public land early season on friends family farm and I own a small farm. When we hunted out of state we hunted public land While it may be technically true in not paying to kill deer as in a lease I payed for my land, the up keep and taxes each year that cost many times more than leasing a hunting spot this size would cost. The kids help the friends family with farming things when they need it and hunting public land can be an hour plus driving each way eating up a lot of time and fuel cost.

Hunting cost regardless. Deer is some of the most expensive meat I eat. Heck a cheap x bow bolt with broud head is $40. Saw some at the shop last week prices 118 for a 3 pack of bolts then add in your choice of head. X bow can be found from 300 to over 4 k. Bows probably about the same i have not priced them in years.

Add up your time and cost honestly and divide and time your hourly rate $ per lb of meat. If its all about economics going to work and buying a cow is cheaper than hunting. But its about more than economics at least for us. I just like being outside. More and more im realizing thats more important than hunting to me. But killing a squirrel now and then and taking a rifle fore a walk gives getting up early and out a purpose.

A lease can makes since for some people. If my kids didnt hunt I would probably lease out my farm if I got the right offer. Or maybe offer guided youth hunt packages. Considering how much I could care about killing another whitetail myself I would get more enjoyment geting youths educated, shooting well and successful on their first deer even if its a trophy yearling with faded spots than killing a 200" deer myself.

How much property is accessible to the hunter/renter?

Good area or elite area for whitetails?

Just providing the cabin and land or are you helping track/haul/process/store critters, offer input on locations, patterns, etc

I've done leases before where we just had access to a guys land and he let us park behind his barn and I've done them where he had maps, cameras, advice and helped us after we drew blood and had chest freezers for us until we left.