Land Prices

What is the average cost per acre for hunting land in Lowndes and Butler county for Deer and Turkey
There going to $11.50 acre on us

It varies but that’s about right in there. I have leases in the area that range from $4.50-22/acre.

They went up 3.50 this year pretty good jump

Let me guess... RMS?

Yes you are right

Few friends of mine in the area have leases with them. They were hit with anywhere from a 3.50-4.50 increase along with an insurance stipend of some sorts. I know it sucks, but they know someone will pay it.

This is true I had this land for 26yrs to

Heck the dang timber companies are higher than almost all but one of the private landowners I lease from. I’m still going to lease from the timber companies just because leases are almost impossible to come by, but I’m not happy about it.

Around $12 an acre is what I’ve seen.

Paying $ 13 per acre now and hope we don't get a increase. High ground with no year round running water. Roads are terrible after last falls thinning and clear cut project. What were you paying before your increase?

I'm guessing around $8 bucks an acre 😏

It is just making it harder and harder to keep your membership down to a minimal, with the higher prices.
Anytime you have a increase of $3.50 acre it puts a strain on everyone.I appreciate the information on the
Prices everyone is paying down that way.

Way harder to hunt than it use to b r should b - some folks will likely get left out r drop out - hate that

$11.50 for Lowndes county doesn't sound bad at all. Top 10% deer county in the state for sure.

It just forces clubs to put way to many members in there club just to pay for the leases , not many people want to spend $3500 a year just to hunt maybe 10 times a year so it is frustrating. Now on top of that the hogs are taking over a lot of the properties

We just got notified of the same increase as you in Butler County; we have held the lease for 20+ years.

Was paying 13.85 when I let my lease in lowndes co go . Typical timber scalped Rayonier land that wasn’t worth 8/ acre

Rms gives me a $3.50 increase this year they can suck it.

I for the life of me dont understand these companies doing this to people who have taken care of their land for years. Its like penalizing someone that you have a history with....unreal. Most of the time the new guy is not going to take care of it like the guy that had it 20year and there is always the possibility that new guy will shoot the place up and move on.

Probably just a new manager over the leasing division, wanting to make a name for him or herself and told his or her boss that he was taking all the existing leases to "market rate" to make his division more profitable. Anyone that thinks that any company that leases land to you, has any loyalty to you or your club whatsoever, is sorely mistaken. I'll say this also, I haven't seen $8 acre lease prices on land in central or south central AL in a good a while so you can look at it like this, you enjoyed it and reaped the benefits of it while it lasted. Doesnt make it right and hate it happened to you but I've had it happen to me too, and on multiple occasions.

My grandpa used to run a club on some family land about 30-50 years ago. No dues. It was "dog drive Saturday morning at x time. Call your buddy and if you can make it come on".

If you were there you took part.

Boys have those day long passed.

If I get that jump I’ll keep it one last year to take care of everything all right. I’ll kill every deer I see that year then they can have it back.

The man that manages one of my leases told me last year that he was going to run it up to 10 dollars an acre just to get it up to where he thought it should be. I threw a fit, he didn’t give a damn what I thought or had done with the place.
He proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t like it, he’d post it on his website for whatever he wanted to and someone would take it because I already had it ready to hunt.
You can either pay it, or be gone they don’t care! I got a letter from him last week telling me it’s going up 2.5% again this year.

Our place went up $.50 acer. It's worth what we are currently paying. When it gets to where I don't feel it's worth the coin I'll let them have it.

I’d pay him for that last year, shoot everything that moved and in February hire a crop duster and fill that son of a b*tch with Spike 80DF and spray the whole property.

Yep because it's the land and animal's fault...

These lease prices per acre are mind boggling.

Hate to break this to you but land and animals don’t have souls

So how does not having a soul have anything to do with being an ethical hunter and and a steward of the land? Your beef is with the land owner there Updike.

As long as people are paying what land owners are asking prices will be high. At $10-15 an acre someone will lease it. We all have too much invested guns, and another gun sidexsides, campers, cloths, tree stands, hunting trucks, weekends hanging with the gang and pride I’m a deer hunter. The price will be paid by someone.

I know several large landowners who don't allow hunting at all or would rather let someone hunt it for free than lease the hunting rights. And the reason they give is that they got tired of the hunters acting like they own the place. Leasing hunting rights is limited to just that....hunting. You don't own or have the rights to anything else on that piece of land, now or in the future.

Land owners can and will lease to whoever they want (if at all), cut timber when they want, check cows when they want, plant whatever crop they want, when they want, etc. And most would rather pull a lease from you and let their neighbor's son hunt it for free than have someone tell them what they can do on their own land. Hunters who think they have some kind of power over these owners or companies are sadly mistaken. You are most often dealing with millionaire individuals or corporations who aren't going to be bossed around by threats from someone paying them a few thousand a year to hunt deer. Don't ever get emotionally attached to a hunting lease. It is not yours and never was.

10/acre is a bargain anywhere in AL these days...

Great attitude right there.

Dead Eye I enjoy hunting today but I sometimes miss the old dog hunting days u mentioned - back then you always had action even if u did not see a deer because u had the dogs and when somebody killed a deer it was divided up among the club members - it was more a we atmosphere back then - Today we hv made it more me type atmosphere

Bring on the hate, I thrive on it

I don’t say a word about hating anyone but nuking someone else’s property isn’t cool

Neither is being greedy with lease prices

What price is being greedy? I own land and lease land and the prices most people (including me) are paying wouldn't even make me consider leasing my land out. Not worth the hassle for a relatively low amount of money.

Well that’s your opinion and I got mine. I promise you.... you ain’t changing mine or the way I feel about it. The example ol boy gave above was greedy in my opinion. If you don’t agree then kiss my grits, you can’t do anything about it

I don't have a problem with you having your opinion. I was actually wondering what was greedy. I hate when my lease prices go up too. I was just pointing out in the whole scheme of things, lease prices are relatively small in comparison to land ownership. On one of my leases, the road work and and land taxes likely ate up every dollar we paid. If the owner wanted to, they could certainly justify raising the price and if we didn't pay it, someone would.

Take this advice.^^^^ and pay what you can afford, for as long as you can afford it. When you can no longer either afford it or justify the money you spend on it, someone else will.

It's called Capitalism. And it has created the highest quality of life in history.

The cost per acre has passed the ridiculous point. Paper company land in Butler county is leasing for 16 dollars an acre, which is hilarious. I’ve learned to not get attached to a piece of property and I’m dang sure not spending much of my time and hard earned money improving a timber companies land. All the work days and all that jazz,,, piss on that. I’ll cut a few limbs out of the road and buy some seed, but no way I’d rent equipment to fix roads and clean up brush piles for the paper company after already paying them 2 mortgage payments just to have a key to get in the gate. I’ve seen people get burned after spending thousands of dollars fixing up a paper company lease. Once that moneys spent if you can’t get on the property you get a net zero return on that “”investment “”.

The value of anything is what a person is willing to pay. If a property isn't worth $14/acre, then no one will pay $14/acre. If someone is willing to pay $14/acre, that means the value is $14/acre.

From the owner's perspective: if a fella owned a thousand acres and can get $10,000 annually or $14,000 annually from someone for the privilege to go shoot pine goats on it, you can't blame him a bit for getting the most he can.

Anyone that is currently (or ever has) selling anything at all, and tells you they aren't trying to get the top dollar for whatever they are selling is probably lying. We may reduce the price a little to incentive a quicker sale or encourage a risk from the purchaser, but that is a calculated trade-off. Why do we hold landowners to a different standard?

Buncha democrats up in here. Dont worry, everyone in the US is going to get a taste of what socialism is really like over the next 3.5 yrs. He can charge anything he wants for the land. If you want to pay it, do it and hunt it. If you dont want to pay it, find something else or dont hunt. I hate where lease prices are going too but it is what it is and I do not begrudge any landowner from trying to maximize his return on the property he owns. Americans are their own worst enemy. Everyone wants to complain about new 4x4 trucks being $60+K, yet they still buy them by the millions and complain about what they just paid for it. If it is overpriced, dont buy it or dont lease it. If enough people have the same philosophy, then none will sell or lease and the manufacturers/dealerships and landowners will cut the price until they start to sell. Anybody really think that it costs the mills $60/sheet to make 3/4" plywood? Capitalism. As long as someone will pay it, that's the going price.

Yep, you’ve got me nailed DA. Capitalism and greed aren’t mutually exclusive. Capitalism isn’t always pure and it’s often used as a cover for just outright greed. For instance, in the example above that I made the comment on the landowner did NOTHING to improve the value of his property. He allowed the leaseholder to do all that for him, at the leaseholders cost, while harvesting a natural resource owned by the taxpayers yet he raises his prices..... what’s the justification? The property owner isn’t keeping the roads up, trimming trees, clearing roads, mending fences, repairing gates, putting lime in the ground.... that’s the leaseholders. So yea, I 100% stand behind calling him greedy and you can take Democrat and shove it up your a$$.

You need to get laid dude

Always, but I’ll still call stuff like I see it. We’re a bunch of men right? Why beat around the bush

I’d pay him for that last year, shoot everything that moved and in February hire a crop duster and fill that son of a b*tch with Spike 80DF and spray the whole property.
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Now this makes zero sense.. Taking your beef with the property management out on the wildlife & land? That's Some liberal democrat philosophy at its finest..

🤣🤣🤣🤣

So free state if somebody flew Spike across your own land you’d just chalk it up well I guess I was a greedy dick head and be ok with it? 🤦🏿🤦🏿🤦🏿

Just burn it.. maybe I’ll get it the next year

he doesn't need spike on his lawn to be a d.ck head...

That’s right. You need a tissue Nancy

Lots of ways of looking at things. For one I'm glad we can still hunt. And I can already hear someone saying "Oh that will never happen here! " Don't know about all that, especially when I see all these people in our Country who are being led around by the nose. Can't think for themselves and some would be just fine with the Government running their pitiful lives. By the way, that's a Government that can't even run their own Financial House. And they are gonna take care of us ? Sure they are ! Do you realize that the Assets of the People of the United States is nearly 70 Trillion Dollars ! So whose door do you think the Government is gonna come crawling to one day ? Enough on the State of the Country. As far as our hunting goes in the short term it appears the Anti's don't outnumber us yet. So we that hunt and lease land and sometimes pay more for it then it's worth still can enjoy this wonderful sport. I lease here in Bama and TN. Have in Illinois as well. Hunted pretty much from one end of Alabama to the other in my 45 plus years of deer hunting. And of all the States of hunted I enjoy Alabama the best. And to me it is one the most over rated. Many of the people who hunt here are just to put it plainly, ignorant asses. You can sell them on just about anything. They have listened to so much BS about our deer quality, numbers,harvest data,etc. If I were to put one my properties up on the internet for lease and tell them it's in Lowndes County. They would lease it sight unseen and give me a few more dollars for it if I show them a good trail cam buck. And yes Lowndes County has some good hunting in spots. But there are some Dud areas there too. But when these guys here one of our more well known counties, it's billfolds opening and begging time ! So because demand is so high in Bama for a lease. So is the price. I lease land in TN that is very good for $4.50 per acre. Why is that. Because it not nearly as in demand. Just look on Facebook at all the folks begging for a lease here. And any of these forums and far as that goes.
So how much is Al. land worth ? That's a matter of perspective. To me land that doesn't have quality deer and good numbers isn't worth much of anything. I have a tract in Bibb county that I have a few hunters on and it hasn't produced a decent buck not has any of the guys even seen one in the 2 years I've had it. But guess what ? They want it again next season. I wouldn't hunt it if you paid my gas and bought my Supper ! In Al. if you have a property that can produce a 125-135 class 🦌 you have a good place to hunt. I know there are 150 class deer here but most of the hunters here have never and will not take one. Gotta be realistic in your expectations. So If I have to pay 10-15 per acre here, that's one thing. But if I pay that, and the quality and good deer numbers are not there. It's time to get my head checked !

Go frak yourself. Most on here will agree you’re the DA. Buy your own freaking land then you won’t have to worry or complain about lease prices . Why does a landowner have to do anything to add value to his property?. He owns the damn land, he can just sit back and watch the trees and grass grow, or he can burn it all to the ground if that’s what he wants. You and your attitude are prime examples of why a ton of landowners will not lease hunting rights on their land. Some charge higher prices just to weed out trash and others say it’s just not worth the hassle. You, just like everyone else on here are entitled to your opinion, but that doesn’t make it right.

Well unlike you I couldn’t care less what anyone on this site thinks about me. It’s an INTERNET MESSAGE BOARD. Good grief, I’ve never seen a bunch of so-called men get so butthurt. I don’t know how any of y’all make it through real life and overcome actual adversity. And your comprehension is terrible because I never once complained about lease prices, I just said in the example above that I thought the dude was being greedy and about ten of y’all started crying.

Trees grow and the value of land goes up with (or without) roads, fences, and gates. A skidder don't need a road, fences are just another thing to tear up when falling trees, and without roads/fences, there is no need for a functional gate. And unless the lime was being spread across the entirety of the property, it did not help the land as a whole, just the plots that the hunter wanted to use.



Another way of saying that is he allowed the leaseholder to do minor modifications to his property for the leaseholder's own benefit.

Weyerhaeuser just bought our lease, now we are waiting to see if/and how much they will raise prices, we’re in Wilcox county, I think we’re about 10 an acre now, know guys in Mississippi paying 17 🙁

Westervelt about 20/acre