The Complete Guide to Leasing Hunting Land, Starting Hunting Club

You reached your stand undetected. It’s November 9, and reports are that the bucks are running like crazy. You’re all settled in and waiting for the buck parade to unfold.

Half an hour after first light, another hunter appears, and despite your efforts to get their attention, they don’t notice you and climb a tree only 100 yards away. Even worse, their scent is blowing toward where you expect the deer to come from. 

Whether you hunt on public land or private land that you gained permission to hunt, perhaps you’ve encountered a scenario like that. Maybe it even happens regularly. Conflicts with other hunters or even recreational land users can be a headache. Owning hunting land sounds pretty inviting, doesn’t it?

Even if you have the place to yourself, perhaps your current hunting location isn’t producing the level of hunting that you desire. For example, if you aim to hunt for and potentially kill a 170-inch whitetail, it isn’t possible if the neighborhood’s largest bucks are 140 inches. You’ll have to hunt where such opportunities exist.

Now, not everyone has the finances to purchase a deer-hunting property, maintain it and pay the property taxes (where applicable). However, quite a few folks, even blue-collared guys and gals, can afford to lease property or start a hunting club to help soften the lease’s financial blow.

If you’re unsure what those avenues entail, National Land Realty’s Aaron Sutton can help shed light on the subject. Sutton not only serves as the company’s director of leasing, but he is a deer hunter, too, and has personal leasing and hunting club experience in Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri and North Carolina. So, buckle up, and let’s learn some ins and outs of the hunting-lease world.

What You Need to Know About Leasing Hunting Land

First and foremost, not all hunting leases are equal regarding hunting quality. Do your research to avoid paying too much for a property that under-delivers.

“Talk to somebody in the business,” Sutton suggested. “Most land brokers know folks who are leasing out properties. Better yet, work with a company that specializes in connecting landowners and tenants. Sometimes, you can find leases on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, but those are a little riskier. Buyer beware. A national brand such as National Land Realty simplifies and streamlines everything so that you know what you’re getting yourself into.”  

Once you proceed with a lease agreement, there are some dos and don’ts. Sutton explained that having insurance on the property is crucial. In some instances, it is negotiable whether the landowner or tenant carries the insurance, but National Land Realty always requires the tenant to carry insurance either through National Land Realty or another third-party liability insurance company. 

Sutton briefed on a few more points, such as avoiding breaking any state or federal hunting or fishing laws. “That’s the biggest one,” he explained. “Next, treat the property with the same respect you would if you owned it. Don’t do anything that you wouldn’t want done to your property. If the lease agreement only includes deer hunting, don’t turkey hunt on the property. Don’t leave trash around. Keep paths mowed and saw up trees that have fallen over paths or roads.”

Concerns From the Landowner’s Perspective

From a landowner standpoint, you first have to answer the question: Am I OK with someone else being on my land? If so, to what extent do you want someone else to have access to your land? Once you settle on that, consider pricing.

“Pricing varies by location, of course,” explained Sutton. “In the Southeast, the going rate is about $10-15 per acre. If the property has a cabin or equivalent, you can bump that up a little bit. In the Midwest, prices range from $40-100 per acre depending on the tract’s features and location. If someone is willing to sign, let’s say, a five-year lease, you as the landowner might consider a little bit of a discount because of the security — you know you won’t have to turn around and market your lease every year.”

Sutton mentioned that a longer lease agreement also benefits the tenant. “When you’ve put a lot of work into a property by cutting paths, planting food plots and hanging stands, a one-year lease is a poor idea because the landowner could sell the property and benefit from the value you’ve worked so hard to add,” he said. “With a five-year lease, you know that your hard work will improve the hunting potential and that you’ll actually get to benefit from it.”

From a legal standpoint, Sutton said that hiring an attorney is unnecessary unless you want one to review the contract. “The problem is that attorneys often scratch up a contract and re-write it the way they want it,” he explained. “It’s aggravating. I don’t suggest hiring an attorney. Read the agreement carefully and make sure that you understand it entirely. National Land Realty’s lease agreement is very detailed and well-written. If you’re working with someone else and the agreement is rather vague, I’d suggest tightening it up so that everything, such as the number of people allowed on the property and the game that can be taken, is spelled out.

“A national leasing company such as National Land Realty is the liaison between the landowner and the tenant,” Sutton added. “If the tenant has a problem, he calls me. If the landowner has a problem, he calls me. It takes the headache away from the landowner. It’s the wisest way to do it.”

Should You Start a Hunting Club?

If you want to lease hunting property but have found the prices are too steep to achieve solo, hunting clubs are a viable avenue. It allows two or more hunters to split the leasing costs. Suddenly, what felt unattainable is now within your scope of reality.

“Land is expensive,” Sutton shared. “Let’s say you’ve got 10 buddies who you want to hunt with and you get a $5,000 lease. That’s only $500 per person. Most people can afford that. Contrarily, far fewer hunters can afford to swallow the $5,000 alone. A hunting club is a price-point way to lease land.”

Before you start rounding up a posse to create a hunting club, consider the cons.

“Anytime you get a bunch of people together,” Sutton said, “it’s common to get a bad apple. The next thing you know, someone is throwing beer cans in the ditches or driving on crops. Also, if you have one really big buck on the property, friends can turn on one another and be at each other’s throats competing to hunt that buck. It can cause strife and drama, which defeats the purpose of having a hunting club. In some instances, it can even sever lifelong friendships.”

Sutton also mentioned that folks might not value the land as much as they should if they’re only paying $500 to join the hunting club. You have to be very careful about who your members are, and if you believe having fewer members and paying a little bit more per person can help avoid some drama, consider taking that route.

“Birds of a feather flock together,” Sutton detailed. “Pick guys and gals who are like-minded and have the same goals as you. If you like to bowhunt and you pick a handful of members who are gun hunters, you already have some separation amongst the group. If you want to have standards as far as animals that are harvested, select members who share your standards.”

Sutton finished our conversation by saying that the more expensive clubs tend to have bylaws that keep everyone on the same page. “I’m part of a hunting club in the Midwest that costs $50,000 between six of us,” Sutton said as an example. “We have bylaws, including a fine for shooting a buck smaller than the standard detailed in our bylaws. Your lower-tier properties tend to be simpler. Everyone shows up with their fee, shakes hands and then enjoys the property.”

Wrap Up

Having the keys to the gate of an awesome hunting property feels great, but there is more to it than paying some money and heading afield. This article was designed to help shed light on what leasing a property or starting a hunting club entails. Hopefully, you now have a clearer understanding of the ins and outs, and that should help point you in the right direction as you embark on a journey toward getting some new property to hunt on this fall or in the future.