Field and pit lease pricing into the future

[LabLuvR]

We have had several back to back years with shitty weather. A lot of folks I know have paid out good money for leases only to have horrid years. I spoke with a guide who runs a business in AR and he said it is getting harder and harder to lease fields etc. due to the last few crappy seasons.
My question is how much longer are hunters willing to gamble with leases where they shell out big dollars for such poor hunting. Will lease prices start to slide downwards, my feeling is yes. Hunters aren't going to keep shelling out big money only to take an ass whipping year after year.

[justpracticin]

The farmer I lease from is expecting availability.

[huntinghagen#12]

Shitty fields MIGHT have a downward trend.

The average/above average/good/great fields and properties have plenty of people waiting to scoop them up as soon as someone lets them go.

[FEETDOWN]

Shitty fields MIGHT have a downward trend.

The average/above average/good/great fields and properties have plenty of people waiting to scoop them up as soon as someone lets them go.

Exactly.....

[LabLuvR]

Shitty fields MIGHT have a downward trend.

The average/above average/good/great fields and properties have plenty of people waiting to scoop them up as soon as someone lets them go.

Those folks must not mind gambling then. When place like Habitat and Honeybrake are having rough years, that tells me about all I need to know. But then again, I generally only hunt public. Leasing seems like too much of a gamble anymore, at least until weather patterns change.

[Steelin' Ducks]

If you give up your lease, were you gonna go? And chances are you will not get it back. There is a line of people wanting dirt to lease.

[JABIII]

We are nearing 2 decades past the peak. The overall trend is plain to see...

[PBiz]

Those folks must not mind gambling then. When place like Habitat and Honeybrake are having rough years, that tells me about all I need to know. But then again, I generally only hunt public. Leasing seems like too much of a gamble anymore, at least until weather patterns change.

Ducks would have lay down in the road for you to kill them, I wouldn’t worry about weather trends nor lease prices..

And it’s hunting. It’s all a gamble. Moondick

[huntinghagen#12]

Those folks must not mind gambling then. When place like Habitat and Honeybrake are having rough years, that tells me about all I need to know. But then again, I generally only hunt public. Leasing seems like too much of a gamble anymore, at least until weather patterns change.

It doesn't help that people think that leasing a field is a magical bullet.

I'll use myself as an example, because I know other people that do the same thing I do and have success as well. I lease around 8-10 fields and duck hunting specific properties a year in Arkansas, my club also hunts public when birds are in there. Not all of the fields are great, hell, some are below average. None of my fields are good enough to hunt more than 4 days a week (weeks where there are big migrations exempt), only 1 is really good enough to hunt 3 or 4 times a week. The reason we keep the not so great fields around is because they're usually good for a good hunt once a week at the least. We hunt the biggest groups allowable to make sure pressure is reduced. We don't split up into small groups and burn 3 or 4 fields a day. We try to keep it to 1 or 2 fields a day, with hunting stopping before noon at the latest, we typically do not hunt the same place on back to back days either. In my experience, limiting pressure is key. We killed ducks pretty much every day up until Christmas, even when a lot of people weren't shooting much at all. It did slow down from Christmas until today, but that had nothing to do with pressure ... There were just no ducks around our area.

I've seen good properties go to shit, just because a group will lease it, hunt it all day, all afternoon, every day they can, and then they wonder why the ducks haven't come back.

[JABIII]

All true and even on the same property. I have leased 5 blinds just to get the one that I wanted. Only the ducks know why the other 4 sucked before, then, and now...

[cajunwannabe]

Folks paying stupid money for pit leases aren't concerned about the price, it's a business expense taking clients hunting. Even if birds aren't cooperating the food, booze, bang and blow makes up for it. Deals getting done is what it's about.

[LabLuvR]

Folks paying stupid money for pit leases aren't concerned about the price, it's a business expense taking clients hunting. Even if birds aren't cooperating the food, booze, bang and blow makes up for it. Deals getting done is what it's about.

Good points!

[JABIII]

Yeah, but that isn't totally accurate either. Shiity cold hunts put people in shitty cold moods. Not where you want to be with clients trying to make a deal when you could have them on a boat in Panama catching 25 billfish before lunch...

[TXFowler]

It doesn't help that people think that leasing a field is a magical bullet.

I'll use myself as an example, because I know other people that do the same thing I do and have success as well. I lease around 8-10 fields and duck hunting specific properties a year in Arkansas, my club also hunts public when birds are in there. Not all of the fields are great, hell, some are below average. None of my fields are good enough to hunt more than 4 days a week (weeks where there are big migrations exempt), only 1 is really good enough to hunt 3 or 4 times a week. The reason we keep the not so great fields around is because they're usually good for a good hunt once a week at the least. We hunt the biggest groups allowable to make sure pressure is reduced. We don't split up into small groups and burn 3 or 4 fields a day. We try to keep it to 1 or 2 fields a day, with hunting stopping before noon at the latest, we typically do not hunt the same place on back to back days either. In my experience, limiting pressure is key. We killed ducks pretty much every day up until Christmas, even when a lot of people weren't shooting much at all. It did slow down from Christmas until today, but that had nothing to do with pressure ... There were just no ducks around our area.

I've seen good properties go to shit, just because a group will lease it, hunt it all day, all afternoon, every day they can, and then they wonder why the ducks haven't come back.

Yeah, seems like most are those that can afford it and have only been in the game for a couple of years and would rather throw money at their lack of experience and willingness to learn instead of looking for places to build their own (You’d know better than me).

If I had the opportunity, I would find a few small tracts in the upstate and flip them into great duck holes. Do the work the first year and by year 5 they would be thick as mosquitos. IMO you wont see Western states’ numbers, but you can draw nearly every bird that passes over with food. Around here, flooded duck food is practically non existent...that can be used as a plus if you put in the time, I’ve seen it first hand in places that you wouldn’t expect to see any critters, much less a duck. Just my thinking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JABIII]

There are places in the upstate that have been doing it for a long time, with huge budgets, coming up short. 10 years ago they were kings...

[Duckkiller]

Yeah, seems like most are those that can afford it and have only been in the game for a couple of years and would rather throw money at their lack of experience and willingness to learn instead of looking for places to build their own (You’d know better than me).

If I had the opportunity, I would find a few small tracts in the upstate and flip them into great duck holes. Do the work the first year and by year 5 they would be thick as mosquitos. IMO you wont see Western states’ numbers, but you can draw nearly every bird that passes over with food. Around here, flooded duck food is practically non existent...that can be used as a plus if you put in the time, I’ve seen it first hand in places that you wouldn’t expect to see any critters, much less a duck. Just my thinking.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’ve been doing it right since 03’-04’. Added another impoundment in 14’. This is our worst year ever. We don’t pressure it, and only hunt two guns. Mine are small compared to some of the upstate impoundments. I agree, build it and they’ll come. But they aren’t here this year. We went from holding 400-500 ducks to 50 in a week. Without pressure.

[Duckkiller]

And way fewer off ducks. Off ducks being anything but a wood duck

[LCO]

I believe after seeing the amount of money people shell out for these leases, I'd keep my money and take a last minute guided trip or two whenever the conditions appeared to be right and a guide announced an opening.

[Remy]

I believe after seeing the amount of money people shell out for these leases, I'd keep my money and take a last minute guided trip or two whenever the conditions appeared to be right and a guide announced an opening.

I've moved my thinking to this as well, and not just for ducks. The amount of time and money needed to keep up a nice place isn't worth it to me in my stage of life. I'd rather just have a few nice trips a year and not have to put up with the constant "something" of keeping a place up.

[huntinghagen#12]

I believe after seeing the amount of money people shell out for these leases, I'd keep my money and take a last minute guided trip or two whenever the conditions appeared to be right and a guide announced an opening.

If someone is only hunting a few days a year, that is definitely a better choice.

If you're hunting even 10+ days a year, it makes a lot more sense to join a club with multiple leases. When you get into 20, 30, 40, 50, or a full 60 days, it would be financially stupid to pay for a guide service instead of leasing or joining a club.

Rarely does 1 person lease a field or two. It's usually a group of guys or a club. A collection of fields isn't that bad when it's split up between 10+ people.