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    Any regrets?

    So this yr. I am at the fence. I am currently on a lease. I have been on some sort of lease for at least the last 16 yrs or so. Age is creeping up on me.

    I can say my leases have been more fail then wins. Just not many animals more so deer etc. The lease I am on just does not have much deer. Plenty of everything else, hogs, turkeys, varmints, waterfowl etc.

    I have spun this thought around and have gone back and forth. I have thought of just quitting the lease part and trying public land or draw hunts.

    For those of you that gave up on private lease and went to public what are your thoughts? Yeah I have heard of the nightmares, people everywhere, stealing stuff etc. I just keep thinking with bummed leases I have been on, I really do not have something to lose.

    Before anyone says why don't you look at a package hunt that you would spend on a lease. I would not get much in a package,more so antlers.

    #2
    Well, I'll be venturing back out to public again this year. If you're committed and put in the scouting time you can be successful. Good luck !!

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      #3
      I'd be thinking about all the other animals you see on your lease that are game. If the lease allows hunting them, you might be kicking yourself if you have less opportunity at all game when you were disappointed about one of the many things you can hunt. I try to think in terms of efficiency, depending on what your lease costs vs the gas to drive to all the public places for different game animals, time it'll take to scout those new areas befoee you're hopefully successful, etc. Just something to consider.

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        #4
        You may go years without getting drawn.

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          #5
          Why don’t you do both? Keep your lease, apply for any draw hunts, if you don’t need get drawn you still have a place to hunt?

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            #6
            Originally posted by JES View Post
            Why don’t you do both? Keep your lease, apply for any draw hunts, if you don’t need get drawn you still have a place to hunt?
            true

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              #7
              I can tell you hunting public gets tuffer with age. Packing everything in and out, trying to get to spots where no one else is, packing game out. It's much tuffer the older I get, every year now. It's becoming a young man's game. I always hunted it because I could not afford a lease most of my life.

              The fish are biting, and there's hogs to be kilt. Gotta go!
              Last edited by Texas Grown; 01-13-2018, 08:54 AM.

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                #8
                Originally posted by JES View Post
                Why don’t you do both? Keep your lease, apply for any draw hunts, if you don’t need get drawn you still have a place to hunt?


                This would be my route in your position. I would rather have a place to go sit in a stand and not see anything than not have a place to go.

                I hunted on family property for at least 15 years never seeing a deer I could shoot. Killed hogs and varmints but no deer. I wouldn’t trade that for the luck of a draw. I don’t know about you but my luck plain sucks.

                Good luck with your decisions


                Sierracharlie out…

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                  #9
                  Well, public is not easy. My dad is gaining a little age and he doesn't have the drive he used to. All the things you mentioned are true, sometimes it sucks. You just have to want it. If you don't really want it, you might as well keep the lease to hangout.

                  Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

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                    #10
                    What are you hunting for? Just to hunt or a trophy? It sure is nice to have a place go and get out in the country. I am blessed that I have a family farm to go hunt. Not very productive but I see animals and shoot one every now and then. If I get the trophy itch I go on a paid hunt which cost about the same as a lease and feed bill for a year.

                    So if you are just there for the hunt go public and get outdoors. If you get the trophy itch, whether it be deer or exotic use what you spend on a lease for that.

                    Good luck

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                      #11
                      I've only hunted public land. It's usually not crowded except for opening weekend. I do fairly well on public land also. It's hard to find a huge buck, but every year I pass up on legal bucks.

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                        #12
                        You can get as much out of it as you put into it. It takes a lot of work scouting, walking, walking and walking a little more to be consistently successful. You have to learn the woods and be ready to make adjustments or completely move areas at any given time.

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                          #13
                          No Ragrets!

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                            #14
                            Hunting is hunting, a lot of factors go into meeting your expectations. I've hunted both public and private. For me, it's less about the kill and more about the experience and time away from work. I think both public and private hunting is better when you can share it with family and friends. However, based on your question, if you're after a certain type of animal or a meat hunt, have limited time and energy, I'd recommend a package or guided hunt. There's lots of affordable options for non-trophy animals.

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                              #15
                              I see that you live in Midland. There is not much public land in midland but if you are willing to travel you can get some good hunting through out the year. There is more public land in the northern and central part of the state. Take Amistad lake for example. I have never leased and I always get drawn somewhere. Sometimes it not in a convenient location but I get to hunt.

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