Deer Lease with Axis?

[Els16]

I do not have a lot of axis to begin with but my lease hunters are limited to native animals only. If we had large herds I’d include it the price but it would not an extreme increase. They are sensitive to hunting pressure and will move out of an area if spooked/shot at. They do roam and can cover a lot of ground.

[Spiderpig1776]

We have axis on my place and I honestly wish they weren’t

[Matt_C]

[QUOTE=sideways;16029802]I’m in the front of that line dibs lol


I'm second..

[dcnitro]

We have them on a place I manage as well and what I negotiated between my landowner and my hunters is the following. I think its a fair price and likely better that what you will find anywhere. As mentioned above, if you don't do it someone else will.

Does = $200 a piece

Axis Bucks Under 30 = $1250
Axis Bucks Over 30 = $1750
Axis Bucks Over 34 = $2000

[PBUCKSHOT]

4 of us pay around $1900 each for 1200 low fence acres. It’s loaded with whitetail, black bucks and axis. We can harvest exotics if we decide and just pay a harvest fee for them. I like it that way. Might be something to consider. I took this guy this year. It’s kind of nice not to have any pressure to shoot one but the green light when the right one gets your blood pumping. I’ve seen herds of over 30 on our place. Beautiful animals ti have roaming around every day.

[Trapper76]

It’s been said, the land owner wants more money and knows what axis are worth. Work out a deal y’all can agree on, or start a new lease search thread.

[Capp35]

Have you ever told your land owner "I have as much right to these axis on your property as you do and if you ever change your mind about us having to pay to shoot them you can screw right off"

I never said it that way.
My argument if I read it right is, after he told the OP and his buddies to shoot all the nuisance Axis, he then told them after the end of season for payment.
If he wants to try and increase rates for next year, that is his business, but don’t do it at the end of the year after you have already paid him.
My rates have gone up several times over the last 25 years and I have always been told before the new season.

Quoted above…
“ So we started shooting those Darn Axis when we saw them. Not many opportunities to shoot the axis but we did when we saw them, just helping the landowner out. I should have asked, and the landowner should have stated if he wanted extra money for the axis. Well now the landowner wants a Fair Price for the Axis.”

[Capp35]

I doesnt sound like the landowner is wanting to be paid for the ones that were already killed. But wants to up the lease price because they are there.

Jut saw this. If that is true the landowner has every prerogative to raise his rates. It’s his land and he can ask what he wants for people to hurt on it.
But that was not the way I read it and the OP seemed upset saying that he wouldn’t have shot them if he knew.

Hopefully the OP (thebowhunters) will chime in and clear this up then.

[careybirdwell]

I've seen several ranchers asking for guided hunt prices to shoot axis on the deer lease. Maybe some people are paying it. But it makes no sense to pay the feed bill, pay the deer lease, buy all the blinds and feeders, do all the work associated with all of that, and then pay full retail guided hunt prices to shoot a bonus exotic. It does make sense to pay more than just a whitetail lease price to shoot exotics. But it should be something reasonable in that type of situation. If the landowner wants to receive guided hunt prices, then he should furnish the blinds, feeders, feed, lodging, and come out and guide the hunt and gut/skin the animal.

This is the way I see it. I know the land owner has the upper hand, but the hunters are probably the ones feeding them.

[Tx-Burt]

Axi$

We have roaming herds cut through our place, none really staying on it, just a couple 100 acres real close to creeks and river. We used to pay 10 yrs ago, 300 for does 750 for Bucks. Then it went to does and spikes free, bucks still pay. Then it went to shoot everyone one of those darn things you see, free. But the lease price went up last year, and we paid it and I did pay for 1 doe and 1 trophy at that price back then.

There supposed to be a study going on for them in the Hill country, I think the guy was at Texas Tech. He was collecting ear lobe cuts for running genetics or something. Should be publishing something soon about them and their negative effects on native whitetail. We gave him 3 or 4 cuts. Said the population in Blumenthall area was 4 thousand. They're smart and move under pressure, but absolutely destroy the fields at night when they herd up together. That was before the freeze. We did not shoot any this year. In the past shot minimum of 3 max 1 yr of 6, seen herds of 50 to 75 come through a couple times.

The ranchers are saying they are doing more damage than what they are worth and I guess like pig management, hunting is not keeping the numbers under control.

Hard to put a price on low fence free range exotics.

[Shane]

Yep, when hunters have to pay a kill fee to shoot one, it reduces the kill rate. So, more axis eating grass.... A lease that includes axis/exotics is definitely worth more than just whitetail. What has worked best for us on the leases we've had with axis is just an annual lease fee that covers trophy, cull, and doe whitetail (with stated annual bag limits) and then just shooting however many mature axis bucks we get a chance at while killing as many does as we could eat and/or give away.

The landowner is happy, because he gets extra money for exotics. And the hunters are happy, because they get to kill plenty without breaking out the checkbook again every time. And that makes the landowner happy aga8lin, because more axis get killed with that system.

You just have to arrive at a reasonable dollar figure to cover a wholesale value for the exotics, as opposed to full retail.