It’s definitely not screwing people over if there is a waiting list for people to spend the money that you won’t.

And just like Rarebreed said, the timber company is doing exactly what you do. They are giving you a fair price and if you pay it fine, if not there is a line of people waiting to pay it. Just because it’s higher than you want doesn’t mean it’s not a fair price. Fair price is dictated by the market, not feelings.

The only way to solve the problem you are addressing is to buy hunting land. Compared to what some folks are paying for a lease, a person could own a small tract in a few years. Most flooded creek property here is around 5,000 per acre and I have seen 5 acre tracts sell. That total price would be 25 and you would own it forever. If you can afford to lease it, you can up the ante and afford to own it.

Just mt $0.02

If you owned big chunks of land and a life changing event happened and you’re unable to work or you just decide one day you want to lease the hunting rights so the land would pay the taxes. Let’s say the land in your area is leasing for an average of $15/ac. Would you lease your land at $15 to maximize your return or would you lease it at a way lower price, let’s say $7.50 because you think big landowners and forestry services are charging way to high and screwing the hunters? I dang sure know what I’d do!!

I have noticed that for years on aldeer. And often the posters who are as far right politically as it's possible to be are full on Democrats when it comes to hunting. I really don't understand that. It seems they will give up any freedom for the chance at a deer with larger antlers.

Idk- i guess i just think different than some of yall. Ive never gave a shucks about being mega rich and maximizing profits to the core. Guess I would suck as a company CEO. Shareholders would hate me😁. Im happy with enough to pay my bills and do some nice things. I lease 2 farms in Kentucky. They go up 5% every year no questions asked. Im at the max I am going to pay for them. They are not worth it to me to pay any more . I could but I wont. I will probably get multiple messages from people that read this wanting info on leasing them. One or 2 things will happen on leases in the next 5 years. Either folks will stop paying outrageous lease prices and they will correct to a decent level or only people with deep pockets will be leasing and the common man will be hunting WMA’s or shitty timber land for 100/acre or giving up hunting all together.

I think you are spot on....lease prices will continue to go up and the highest bidders will win out....it gets to a point that the average man will not continue to pay for them, but the deep pockets will....

Yep. That’s how supply and demand works.

My lease goes up 3% a year. From a price perspective, it doesn't have a huge impact on what I charge. I will adjust it depending on members, or every 3 years.

I have pondered what I would do it my lease sells to a developer. Would I sell my tractor and stuff and get a boat? Would I look for more land to lease somewhere else? Join another club?

I used to fish, and I know what that looks like on a weekend too. Deer woods are crowded, but once it gets to February, fishing tournaments start to kick off too. That makes finding a fishing hole tough. And alot of these tourney fishers are rude and will fish on top of you. I don't do that, but I have had people do it and have asked them if they thought it was ok. Most think it is. Unless you are doing it to them.

Another club would need to be well run.

Maybe we could change the rules where there would be more supply.......oh wait.

It’s a rigged game when rules are set in a way that intentionally drives the supply down and the price up…….When supply decreases and demand remains the same then the price goes up…..The fewer areas of good hunting there are the higher the price to be paid which sets the price for everything else……If the good land is jacked up to $25 an acre then the average land will be $15……..

Less hunters equals cheaper price for the most part. So if you change the law to one buck and one doe per season, will a lot of hunters stop hunting? I think they would.

All for a goat with antlers on his head. Its really ridiculous if yoy think about it😁

So more hunters also equals higher prices……..which is what we have now, increasing hunter numbers…….Is letting the pendulum swing until we have to correct it with 1 buck and 1 doe really the smart thing to do when we have the ability to moderate it before it goes that far?? ....But you're correct, that's the road we're headed down.

But not one single one of em will admit it. Closet democrats

This is what I’m talking about Pwyse……This aint just “free market” when the rules made by the DCNR is manipulating supply and demand.

It will correct itself with lease prices I believe. How are you suggesting we moderate it now? Fewer out of state licenses?

These same guys who complain about what going out to eat costs or how much fertilizer costs are the same ones in this thread saying it’s ok for hunting club prices to be at an all time high. That’s just capitalism. SMH

The supply and demand rule will still apply no matter what the rules are. Maybe I’m not following what you saying. I’m not picking up what you laying down homie.

The "rules" are dictating the amount of supply (deer) and the amount of demand (hunters) and we have it set in a manner that is the least favorable for the deer and hunters and the most favorable for $$$$.....Let’s hypothetically say that we change the rules so that we max out the deer population in the state….there’s deer out the wazoo in every county …..Do you think lease prices will continue to rise the same??......No, because you flooded the market with supply…..The same works in reverse when you drive supply down.

At the heart of it…..its not really just that the DCNR is poorly representing their main “customers” ie the Alabama hunters……It’s just money doing what’s best for money and the people behind it just going along with whatever path that may take them down because I suppose they believe that’s best way or maybe greed is the underlying driver….I don’t know……I guess some folks get richer off of it in the end…..some millionaires somewhere have a few more digits in their account….but if you really care anything at all about the Alabama resource of deer….and turkeys and whatever else for that matter……then you would put us on a different path than this purely profit driven stuff we have now……or people will just continue to be people and let money do what money does. It’ll just be a new name and face to fill the slots while money drives the bus.