Hunting Lease - A Second Perspective
Hunt Quality
Do it yourself hunts on private land hunting leases in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa for deer, duck, upland and turkey. That is what we offer and it sounds simple enough until examined more closely.
Hunting leases are often believed a mode by which greater hunter success rates can be achieved and that is the primary motivation for their purchase. It is believed that running some leases means above all else productive land that is left for the exclusive use of those who pay the cost. And, it does take hunting leases, meaning multiple, to make for a good season and that exclusive use facet while attractive is also limited.
MAHA Lease Land Results
First big greenhead day!
Pressure +
The experienced hunter will quickly agree that limited hunter pressure on any of the variable type of hunting leases that exist is not enough. The true answer is that all hunting leases to be worth the money paid for them must have a habitat specific to the hunting discipline of choice, within the right region that has a production history of wildlife of choice and have limited pressure. Leases of such nature begin to slim down the options.
Regional production decision criteria are often flawed through overly inflated data of a narrow range. Trophy whitetail deer give us the most illustrative example of this point.
Where to find information about the most likely area to provide the greatest opportunity to harvest a trophy racked buck? Add to that a self guided hunt for a trophy whitetail? The quick answer is the P&Y and B&C book. The correct answer is that those references provide limited data on reported not actual or complete accounting of all harvested trophy deer. There go they may serve as contributory decision lease location criteria, but not the most heavily weighted criteria for a lease purchase.
The problem grows as illustrated by Missouri’s introduction of the point restriction zone. Immediately on announcement of that zone, costs for hunting leases increased. However, we have a more defined area of potential trophy deer quality with additional accompanying consequence of increased costs generated through increased lease competition.
Magazine article writers also do a dis-service for hunting lease research by overly advertising a small area of better upland bird, turkey, deer or whatever production along with detailed descriptions of public and private land options. Typically, these articles are written in exchange for a free hunt with the article providing advertising to the outfitter or guide that handed the hunt to the author. This level of information does not lend further definition of where to lease land but diffuses where to look as magazine articles are far more where that author received a free hunt than regional quality.
Regional Hunting Lease Land Diferences
The comment above about Missouri's 4 point one side restriction zone has more behind it than a randomly selected region.
The older Missouri four point zone show is more trophy whitetail deer productive than the newer zone.
Our hunting leases in this area are not by accident and we have had hunting leases in this area since the 1960s. What the MDC has done is to select a region that will greatly demonstrate the value of a point restriction zone though greatly increasing the many pre-existing good racks in this region to undisputable trophy size. Once that reputation is set we expect MDC to expand the restriction 
zone to include all the northern half of the state as well as SW and the very SE corners, or Missouri's agricultural region complete with its better deer quality. This expansion will be welcomed to reduce the hunting lease pressure.
These are the regions of 55% crop field land use, prime for hunting leases. The remaining portions of south central Missouri are 70% + forested and that region is well known for poorer, frequently describe as "spindly" racked deer. This latter area offers the cheapest hunting leases to be found and when anyone buys cheap the results are the same.
Typical Missouri deer ground and typical of our deer leases. Row or grain crop valleys, small wood patches and ridges compartmentalized with tree lines and wood lots. Many loafing spots with food and water always nearby. This aerial shows very well that food plots are not a benefit to our leases. The crop fields are large and the edge browse runs for miles. The wide dispersion of food availability means the deer do not concentrate on anyone food source.
The Problem
Then we have the savvy landowner that realizes that when it comes to hunting leases there are legal issues.
“Many states have a "recreational user" statute that relieves the landowner of any duty of care when the property is used for recreational purposes and no fee or other benefit is received by the landowner. The purpose of this law is to encourage landowners to open their property for public recreation. This law does not apply to hunting leases. When landowners offer hunting leases and accept a fee (or any other benefit) for hunting on their property, they take on legal responsibility for the safety of the hunters. The paying hunter becomes an "invitee" and the law states that landowners have a "duty of ordinary and reasonable care" to their invitees.”
"... one of the most important facets of hunting leases: A lessor should try to ascertain whether the lessees are honest, careful, trustworthy and compatible with the lessor. It is more important to have good people participating in the lease than to receive maximum income from a lease. Choosing the right lessees will help avoid many potential problems in managing the lease."
MAHA screens its applicants and not all that apply are allocated memberships. Further, we do dis-enroll members for cause. In our case the lease is always superior to the member.
Hunting leases also carry second order effects. These effects range to the performance of any hunter paying for or operating any of the variable types of leases extends beyond the safety of the immediate hunter to that which may be harmed by that hunter’s actions. The savvy landowners work around these technicalities.
What the savvy landowner seeks is a no record cash payment. By not having a paper trail he can claim no compensation of any kind was received and the hunter was not on his land by permission. The landowner has insulated himself from any consequences, or for that matter any performance responsibility, of his relationship with that hunter. The contract lacks proof.
The perceptive hunter on the other hand will quickly raise that he would not enter into any contract unless written even if the payment was by cash. Such contracts are readily available through magazine articles (again written by authors seeking to fill pages for payment) or on-line. Some state DNR web sites even promote their version of well written leases. All this of course is meaningless to the savvy landowner as he knows that he will find some hunter or hunters that will pay cash and there go no liability relationship. The landowner simply waits.
What is lacking is liability protection in the form of bonded insurance that protects the landowner. The problem is that such hunting lease insurance is beyond the means of the average hunter. If that insurance is provided then the landowner is secured from liability and the hunter has proof of contract complete with landowner performance requirements.
There is a lot more to the do it yourself hunting we offer than just tags and bags. Days when setting back and watching nature unfold is as enjoyable as all else. Those that agree will find much enjoyment with the hunting we offer. Those that don't will find frustration for the reality of hunting is to experience 98% failure while working toward those special days of 100% success even on the best hunting lease.
Ducks on one of our wetlands.
The Solution
What is the good answer to all these lease issues -- Mid-America Hunting Association. We provide liability protection to the landowner that leases his land along with a redundant hunter release of liability form.
Additionally, we have a lawyer on retainer that relieves all of this concern right down to include all the technical lease language that makes for bulletproof leases protecting the landowner and our business relationship. This allows the hunter to simply hunt and more importantly have a self guided hunt on private lease land with less pressure than public or any of the other types of leases he may individually enter into.
The skeptical hunter may at this point state this article is nothing but self-promotion. And, that is true. What is also true is everything written in this article, and the perceptive hunter will agree to that.
Spend your time hunting rather than hunting for a place to hunt!