Hunting Leases/Kids Hunting/Drury Syndrome

[Nuts]

Hunting Leases. It seams that we are torn as a community about how this has hurt things. For me I have come full circle. I have access to lots of family/friends property. With most being farmers its good hunting. However in PA we have antler restrictions. And now everyone wants to grow bucks like they are the Drury's. All the properties I can freely hunt have hit lists. How do we engage the next generation of hunters if they cant shoot 99% of the bucks they see and cant commit the time often needed to try and get lucky enough to harvest something on the hit list. That's assuming an adult takes them at all if chasing big ones. I do enjoy hunting hit list bucks and have been lucky enough to get a few. But I now lease 300 acres of really good hunting land. Not for big bucks but to allow my kids and my friends and their kids to shoot whatever is legal and makes you happy. It seams to have brought some excitement to things again for them and allows them to pull the trigger. I think as a community there is a fair part of us missing this. I did as well for a while. I lease from the farmer who has significant crop damage. He is all for it. The neighbors who are managing for trophies not so much. I will still take a couple days a year to chase big ones on family property but the rest of the time it will be in a stand or blind with a newer hunter/kid trying to get them on a legal deer. I encourage everyone to think about the future of our sport. If as a 12yr old you had to deal with what our kids do in PA would you have stuck with it?

 

[Nick87]

Hunting Leases. It seams that we are torn as a community about how this has hurt things. For me I have come full circle. I have access to lots of family/friends property. With most being farmers its good hunting. However in PA we have antler restrictions. And now everyone wants to grow bucks like they are the Drury's. All the properties I can freely hunt have hit lists. How do we engage the next generation of hunters if they cant shoot 99% of the bucks they see and cant commit the time often needed to try and get lucky enough to harvest something on the hit list. That's assuming an adult takes them at all if chasing big ones. I do enjoy hunting hit list bucks and have been lucky enough to get a few. But I now lease 300 acres of really good hunting land. Not for big bucks but to allow my kids and my friends and their kids to shoot whatever is legal and makes you happy. It seams to have brought some excitement to things again for them and allows them to pull the trigger. I think as a community there is a fair part of us missing this. I did as well for a while. I lease from the farmer who has significant crop damage. He is all for it. The neighbors who are managing for trophies not so much. I will still take a couple days a year to chase big ones on family property but the rest of the time it will be in a stand or blind with a newer hunter/kid trying to get them on a legal deer. I encourage everyone to think about the future of our sport. If as a 12yr old you had to deal with what our kids do in PA would you have stuck with it?

Unfortunately leasing is becoming the norm. I hate it. But ive considered it several times. I dont think the problem you are talking about is leasing exactly more so everyone wanting to play deer manager. Whether they lease or just have permission or whatever. If there was a button buck in front of my kids that I somehow knew was gonna grow into a 200" deer and they wanted to shoot. I couldn't tell them to take the safety off fast enough. Thats just me though. I know a few guys who own some good property and dont shoot anything younger than 4.5 however the grandkids can shoot whatever buck they want. I think thats a pretty good rule.

 

[Gellar]

Living in pike county Illinois during the early 2000s I have seen brothers come to blows because of their differences on leasing the family farm.

 

[338win]

Just another step in our march towards becoming euro trash where the hunting is for the elite

 

[Nuts]

Just another step in our march towards becoming euro trash where the hunting is for the elite

I understand the statement. Any better ideas or what is the solution?
I can agree in theory. Being blue collar my entire life though I think we work for and spend on our priorities. I dont consider that elite. In this case I choose sacrifices, extra work hours and side jobs to allow others to hunt private land without cost.

 

[Nick87]

can agree in theory. Being blue collar my entire life though I think we work for and spend on our priorities. I dont consider that elite. In this case I choose sacrifices, extra work hours and side jobs to allow others to hunt private land without cost.

Im in the same boat but there's only so much of that to go around. Its not something we can make more of and its dwindling for multiple reasons besides competition just for hunting.

 

[The_Jim]

But I now lease 300 acres of really good hunting land. Not for big bucks but to allow my kids and my friends and their kids to shoot whatever is legal and makes you happy. It seams to have brought some excitement to things again for them and allows them to pull the trigger. I think as a community there is a fair part of us missing this.

I love this, in 50 years those kids are going to be telling their grandkids about their friends deer camp they shot their first buck on. I bet the hit list guys would get more fulfillment from their leases if they treated them like you do.

 

[SaskHunter]

I understand the statement. Any better ideas or what is the solution?

It is illegal to pay for hunting access in Saskatchewan and Alberta. This is the only solution to prevent what you fear from happening. It might not happen in your lifetime, but it probably will happen in the next.

 

[seeth07]

It might not happen in your lifetime, but it probably will happen in the next.

Definitely not. There is no way in a capitalist society down here that a law will ever go into place where you can't lease hunting access.

 

[SaskHunter]

Definitely not. There is no way in a capitalist society down here that a law will ever go into place where you can't lease hunting access.

I meant the "Euro trash" system of pay to play... I'm not naive enough to believe more jurisdictions would make it illegal to pay for access...

 

[seeth07]

I meant the "Euro trash" system of pay to play...

It isn't all pay to play. @devon deer for one can probably tell you that his neck of the woods, free access can exist. I also have a buddy that last year went to Sweden moose hunting and didn't pay for access. He was able to secure free access to hunt on private land.

The way things are in NA now, there honestly is quite the closing gap between the opportunities to hunt that one has.

 

[Nick87]

It is illegal to pay for hunting access in Saskatchewan and Alberta. This is the only solution to prevent what you fear from happening. It might not happen in your lifetime, but it probably will happen in the next.

I like that. I'd imagine its pretty easy to get around though. However it would sure cut out the middle man/land broker which would be a win in itself.