Hunting lease?

[Maverick30]

Anyone have suggestions on where to find hunting leases? I know we probably should've got started months ago but my father-in-law and I are looking for a lease for this upcoming deer season. Looking to stay around Brown/Morgan/Johnson/Putnam/Monroe/Bartholomew/Owen counties. Thanks!

 

[42769vette]

Anyone have suggestions on where to find hunting leases? I know we probably should've got started months ago but my father-in-law and I are looking for a lease for this upcoming deer season. Looking to stay around Brown/Morgan/Johnson/Putnam/Monroe/Bartholomew/Owen counties. Thanks!

This is as good a place to start as any.

High Quality Hunting Leases for Deer Hunting | Base Camp Leasing

#1 in Hunting Leases. The best landowners. The best land. The best process. The best hunters.

www.basecampleasing.com

 

[Maverick30]

This is as good a place to start as any.

High Quality Hunting Leases for Deer Hunting | Base Camp Leasing

#1 in Hunting Leases. The best landowners. The best land. The best process. The best hunters.

www.basecampleasing.com

I checked them out and I think they had one property in Putnam and that was it.

 

[Jeepster48439]

I checked them out and I think they had one property in Putnam and that was it.

I'm surprised they had that many.

 

[42769vette]

I checked them out and I think they had one property in Putnam and that was it.

They are typically scooped up pretty quick. I have a buddy who works there. If it were me I would give them a call, tell them what your looking for, and mabye you could get on some kind of list. 1 in the county your after is pretty good, they only have 2 in the state right now.

 

[Maverick30]

They are typically scooped up pretty quick. I have a buddy who works there. If it were me I would give them a call, tell them what your looking for, and mabye you could get on some kind of list. 1 in the county your after is pretty good, they only have 2 in the state right now.

Yea, I told my father in law that we should've jumped on it as soon as the season ended but here we are.

 

[trimman83]

I have been a big advocate of hunting the thousands of acres I am part owner in. I hit the out of the way spots at the optimum time, and usually on weekdays. Never to the same spot more than 2 or 3 times a season.

I have also lost private spots that went to a lease. I've never much liked the idea of a brokered lease, because it puts money in the hands of the middle man instead of the landowner. I'm sure brokers do their part as a real estate agent/broker does their part to sell a property, but the money goes to the wrong person.

The "permission" properties I lost, I had it coming to me. Why should I benefit from the hard work of the landowner. I've had a change of mind on how I approach private land owners to use their spot for my benefit. It is easy to find the cost of the tax bill on the land I want to hunt. Usually, I want to use the land year round also. I like to approach the landowner with enough money to cover someplace in the neighborhood of 1/2 to full tax liability on the acreage. I like to have permission for about 4 hunters so I can split the cost. I also don't want to do this on more than one or two spots. My pockets are shallow, and my arms don't reach the pockets very well.

You can do homework on OnX and Google Earth, as well as county harvest records, and approach the landowner/landowners yourself. Good or bad, we all have lost permission properties to leases. Maybe even consider paying your permission property owners before someone else does.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Good luck. I have 1 property in Monroe Co. I hunt and have lost others. I use the County GIS maps, find likely properties, write very nice letters including an aerial photo of the site, include a liability release form, portions of the state code describing how they are not liable if I am hunting with written permission and even offer to pay the property taxes in exchange for hunting opportunity. In the last 3 years I have sent close to 40 letters to property owners in Lawrence, Morgan, Putnam, Parke and Montgomery counties. I have received a grand total of 6 letters back (I include a self addressed stamped envelope with each inquiry) telling me in a very polite manner that the property is either leased, hunted by a relative or otherwise unavailable. I am assuming the other 34 letters were not returned for the same reason.

Dirty Steve

 

[Leadeye]

Last year I was surprised that no one was hunting at the entrance point to the HNF on my road. Walked down there and noticed the drug dealer had put up a bunch of no parking signs. He's got more signs there again this year, hunters must make his customers nervous.

 

[ws6duramax]

I have been a big advocate of hunting the thousands of acres I am part owner in. I hit the out of the way spots at the optimum time, and usually on weekdays. Never to the same spot more than 2 or 3 times a season.

I have also lost private spots that went to a lease. I've never much liked the idea of a brokered lease, because it puts money in the hands of the middle man instead of the landowner. I'm sure brokers do their part as a real estate agent/broker does their part to sell a property, but the money goes to the wrong person.

The "permission" properties I lost, I had it coming to me. Why should I benefit from the hard work of the landowner. I've had a change of mind on how I approach private land owners to use their spot for my benefit. It is easy to find the cost of the tax bill on the land I want to hunt. Usually, I want to use the land year round also. I like to approach the landowner with enough money to cover someplace in the neighborhood of 1/2 to full tax liability on the acreage. I like to have permission for about 4 hunters so I can split the cost. I also don't want to do this on more than one or two spots. My pockets are shallow, and my arms don't reach the pockets very well.

You can do homework on OnX and Google Earth, as well as county harvest records, and approach the landowner/landowners yourself. Good or bad, we all have lost permission properties to leases. Maybe even consider paying your permission property owners before someone else does.

This is good advice to an extent , but it also depends on how it's taxed . I have several hundred acres set aside in classified forest and taxes are under $200 for the year . No way I'm letting someone loose for $100 , let alone 4 hunters . I would suggest finding out roughly what some of the leasing companies get per acre and be in that ballpark .

 

[shibumiseeker]

I’ve got 15 acres n Kentucky I’m considering leasing out. Now, that doesn’t sound like much, but it borders Mammoth Cave National Park. What I am most interested in though is keeping the ******* neighbor off of it. If the lease can pay the tax, more the better.

 

[smittygj]

I've posted this before, but this is what I did when I was living there in Indiana (2002 -2015). For the tax records, to see the property, use GIS for the county you are looking at.

Here is what I did. During the off season, I drove around and used google maps to
find property that looked decent to hunt, and had no houses on them (vacant land).
I researched the tax records to find the owners, and sent them a letter letting them
know who I was, a little about me, and requested permission to hunt on their property.
Enclosed was a map of their property from google maps, and a permission form with
dates listed from and to that I was requesting to hunt (basically firearm and muzzle
loader season) and a self addressed stamped envelope for them to send me back the
signed form.

I sent out 8 letters, and got 3 back giving me permission to hunt three places here
in Monroe county with a total acreage of about 600 acres. Yes, on two of them,
there are two or three other hunters that also have permission to hunt, but in no
way are we crowding each other. If I go hunt and see their vehicle on one side of t
he property, I just drive over to the other side and hunt there."

Thats what worked for me! None of them asked for any money, and
only asked that I respect their property and two of them asked that I kill
as many coyotes that I can call/see. It can't hurt to do some research,
and for the cost of some stamps and some time, you would be amazed
at the results you might have.

 

[Rookie]

Smitty touched on something I've noticed. Personally, I don't deer hunt. I do enjoy coyote hunting, so I've asked for permission from a lot of property owners. I'm pretty much at 90% successful. When I ask permission, I make it clear that I have no interest in deer hunting. Now, here's where it gets interesting. I've had two property owners call me up and practically beg for me to hunt deer on their property. It took about a year for them to call me and in that time, I would stop by from time to time to say hi, update them on my coyote success stories, and ask if they need help.

I still tell them I'm not interested in deer hunting, but one has gone as far as asking me to fill depredation tags for him while I'm coyote hunting. They're all over his property. A few weeks ago, we counted 30 in one of his fields. BTW, this owner told me he was getting ready to throw me off his property because he thought I was going to ask to hunt deer. I haven't decided yet because I'm still not sure what I'd do with the meat.

TL/DR? Try asking for permission to hunt varmints and predators first. Build a relationship, then ask about deer.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Resurrecting an old thread....

I finally had success in securing a new lease property for 2021 by sending letters to property owners using aerial photos and County GIS maps to find owenership, tax info and likely locations. After sending more than 40 letters over the last 3 years, letter number 44 found the right owner at the right time. I walked the property last Sunday and the amount of deer sign was incredible. It is an absoluet honey hole. I'll put in a plug for OnX maps as well. That handy little app kept me oriented and on the property all day.

Dirty Steve

 

[Timjoebillybob]

I still tell them I'm not interested in deer hunting, but one has gone as far as asking me to fill depredation tags for him while I'm coyote hunting. They're all over his property. A few weeks ago, we counted 30 in one of his fields. BTW, this owner told me he was getting ready to throw me off his property because he thought I was going to ask to hunt deer. I haven't decided yet because I'm still not sure what I'd do with the meat.

You might have to drive a bit, but there are places that take deer to process for food pantries. Unfortunately none in Howard county that I can find. But to keep the farmer happy I'd take a couple and am willing to drive, and I'm sure I can find a few others that will take 1 or 2. Heck I'd be willing to drive and pay for the ice to take a pickup truck load to a processor to keep the farmer happy. And yes I'm serious.

Indiana Hunt for Hunger

The Sportsmen’s Benevolence Fund is a program to help get venison to those in need. Find a processor/butcher in your area.

www.in.gov

Hoosiers Feeding the Hungry – Providing nutritious protein…One Pound at a Time.

www.hoosiersfeedingthehungry.org

 

[Hookeye]

I think Hollands on 24/31 corner in Miami County and Simpsons in Young America do Hunters for the Hungry. Not far drives if blasting bambis in HowCo