Considering leasing out deer hunting land in WI.

Hi Folks,

I’m considering offering a deer hunting only lease on 40 acres of prime land in West-Central Wisconsin for a deer hunting. This is prime hunting-only land in a rifle hunting area of western Wisconsin, about 1 to 1.5 hours from the Twin Cities.

Least I get into trouble here, I’m not soliciting offers on a lease, so please don’t PM me. I’m looking for some specific input.

The land has:

– 40 acres of rolling to hilly terrain with mixed hardwood and dense bedding areas.
– Established food plots with mixed forage crops, redone on a rotation basis.
– Some established stands and other sites for portables.
– Land is in a rifle hunting zone.

I do not have trail cams on the land, but I could do so if it would help the lease prospects. I don’t want to give specifics, but this county is well-known for being prime deer country and for producing large bucks. Obviously, with food plots and bedding areas along with limited human activity, the land attracts and holds deer.

Questions:

– Would it be viable to offer the land on a does or 8+ point bucks only lease? I would like to maintain some control over how the deer are managed and I do not want to lease out to rabid meat hunters that shoot the first buck that they see.

– I would also like to limit the lease to 2-4 hunters only and then only 2-4 deer could be taken by the party. Would this be viable and do you think people would abide by this rule?

I don’t want a situation where I lease out the land and then the party shows up with 20 meat hunting relatives and shoots everything that moves.

– Would it be viable to offer an archery lease to one party and a separate firearms lease to a different party for firearms season only?

– Finally, what’s your opinion of the going rate for a lease on property as described?

Again, I’m not soliciting offers here, I’m asking for opinions. I have long thought that no one would be interested in leasing only 40 acres, but it’s come to my attention that even lesser quality land of that acreage is attracting leasing action.

Your thoughts please.

Grouse

I have been looking for land in wisconsin to lease for my wife and I along with our 13 and 15 year olds for gun and bow and have found nothing so I know that I would definately abide by any rules that a person would have just to be able to have a place for my family to hunt. I forgot to mention that before my last lease was sold we paid $25 per acre. and I would suggest that if you decide to lease it would be better to lease to the same people for both gun and bow seasons just to avoid a possible situation. Just my .02

My thought is, limiting the type of deer that can be shot for a lease 40 is pushing it. Number of hunters, no problem. If you dont care enough for the land to hunt it why are you concerned with the makeup of the herd? I’m sure you will have no problem filling it with your ‘conditions’ though many will not be interested.

First off – welcome to IDO!

I will try and answer some of your questions. I’ve leased land in WI for over 15 years and I currently have 3 leases. Each lease operates a little bit differently and they can be written up to accommodate both parties.

It’s not uncommon for land owners to lease out for bow and gun seasons separately. However, I do feel the ideal situation would be finding someone who would take both (especially for a small parcel of 40 acres). Most hunters will want to scout, check trail cameras and hang treestands throughout the year and this could cause some potential problems amongst the two parties. It’s also easier for the landowner to deal with one party versus two.

It’s not uncommon to write up a lease with the individual names of the hunters on it and everyone else is prohibited on the property unless approved by the land owner. You can also enforce an antler restriction (for example minimum of 8 points) and you can enforce the number of deer harvested per lease or per hunter. Most hunters will abide by these rules if they are clearly stated in the lease agreement. However, the more limitations you put on the lease the harder it will be to find the right party.

As far as price… most leases are priced out per acre. Some include the total acreage and others are only priced for only the acres that are non-ag. Prices vary a lot and it depends on a lot of factors – the area, access, food plots, neighbors, nearby lodging etc… but they range from $20-$50 per acre. For a prime hunting area, for the entire hunting season (both bow and gun), for 40 acres you could probably get around $1500 – $2000. Again, this is for a prime area that holds mature bucks.

If you decide to lease it out, I highly encourage that you write up a lease agreement that protects both parties. If you’re interested in seeing a template – shoot me an email and I’ll send you a copy.

Appreciate the welcome and the replies.

To Suzuki’s question about why would I care about heard management if I’m leasing the property, it’s that I still want some control. The property’s appeal to deer has been built up at significant cost with the management program and I want to insure that immature bucks and up/comming mature bucks are not wiped out. Also, we have a handshake agreement with one neighboring party that is into QDM and I’d like to abide by that.

It is only 40 acres, so capacity is limited.

Interesting the replies so far seem willing to abide by point limit conditions. I thought that would be a tough sell, I just see so many parties that are only into meat hunting and just want to whack anything that moves. And of course, if presented with a field with 10 does an a fork buck, they’ll whack the fork buck.

Grouse

Welcome to IDO as well. I assume with 40 acres, there cannot be more than a couple “Mature” bucks residing in the area during most of the season. Not to say, they do not come through the property, but 1320 x 1320 feet will not hold large numbers of mature whitetail bucks. Is it good go between ground ?

There are so many different variables and factors to consider before even coming up with a price? Can the hunting party who leases park an RV or camper on site? (for example)

Maybe you should just list it on this site and see the type of response you get???

If it’s the right 40, I’m positive there will be a couple of hunters that would be all over this opportunity.

And of course, if presented with a field with 10 does an a fork buck, they’ll whack the fork buck.

Grouse

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Hey, are you my neighbooring property owner?

If you set ground rules for numbers of hunting party, harvest restrictions, etc. It really doesn’t matter. Someone will jump on it. There are TONS of people looking for a hunting lease. Post it and see how fast it goes. I know a lot of people who are looking for land in Jackson and Trempeleau counties.

Famous Grouse

If you decide to lease your property i would like to talk to you about it i have been looking for a lease for some time now i am all about QDM.

This sounds awesome! Exactly what me and my bow hunting partner are looking for. We would be willing to give you a reasonable offer. PM me a price.

I to would be interested in leasing some land, i’m all for letting the small bucks walk shoot me a pm with more info, thanks

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Another thing to consider with only 40 acres is it may only hold 3 or 4 deer. So theoretically a 4 deer bag limit is every deer that you hold on the property. Since deer come and go I would also want to know about the surrounding property.

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We are aware that this parcel does not represent the same situation as having 400+ acres where the deer can live on the property and never leave. With that said, I know for a fact that it holds far more than 3 or 4 deer on the average day.

Our primary theory has been to build up this property by active management of the cover and food. The idea is to provide food and cover that is not disturbed to give the deer a reason to come and then no reason to leave.

The neighboring properties are primairly working working mixed crop/dairy farms with farm dogs running around, lots of activity, etc. In general they are heavily party hunted during the firearms season. Because they are working farms, the row crops are gone in October and the hay ground is, from my observation, not nearly as appealing as our food plots.

Also, the neighbors are not espeically stealthy or mindful of the wind, so while even the blind squirrel gets a nut, in general I would say they help the property by driving deer to it.

Several have forwarded leasing agent info, and I think this winter I will contact some agents to get an idea of current leases.

This property is rarely hunted, so my idea is to explore the possibility of leasing it to generate some operating cash for funding our other properties. My father is the co-owner and he is against leasing because he has a strong dislike of whack-n-stack meat hunters. I will need to convince him that it is possible to keep control of the QDM plan by the terms of the lease.

Grouse

Just to put some perspective on the wack and stack type hunter you speak of. I dont see that nearly as much as I used to. Nobody I know does it anymore although I know they are out there.

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Just to put some perspective on the wack and stack type hunter you speak of. I dont see that nearly as much as I used to. Nobody I know does it anymore although I know they are out there.

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I suppose it depends on the company you keep. As Coppertop’s comment above shows, if the whack-and-stack contingent of meat hunters isn’t represented here, there are at least some who know the type.

Somebody might, at this juncture, be tempted to tell a Finnlander joke. I wouldn’t, obviously, but some might.

Most of the neighbors near our property in MN are, unfortunately, whack/stack meat hunters. As dad has said of one party, they could see a field with 3 deer grazing in it and and manage to shoot all 5 of them.

Grouse