Missouri Hunting Lease
Missouri's popularity as a hunter and hunting lease friendly state is due to over the counter tags and licenses. This allows any lease holder both resident and non-resident to have a place and license to hunt every season every year.
Missouri Hunting Land
It all comes down to the right habitat within the right region of Missouri that has a history of production. In the case of this lease pictured it is for deer and turkey hunts, and it is private land.
Both pictures are of the same farm and wood lot taken from two views. While a great example of Missouri deer and turkey habitat within the agricultural region of Missouri we have found through the years that the human perspective on what looks to be better habitat than other spots just isn't true all the time in terms of the highest scoring deer.
A case in point are that most of the Association B&C class bucks taken over the last 10 years have been by hunters that did not know that buck was in the area and on land with far less wood cover than seen in these pictures. This lease does have deer and turkey, no doubt about it. It is also true that many smaller wooded areas have deer and turkey to include trophy whitetail.
A dynamic that is hard to overcome are those that road and aerial photo scout their deer hunt spots. The dynamic is that these type of hunters typically categorize best to worst land that has the most woods to the least based solely on what can be seen from the truck seat or photo. This lease is such a case.
A more effective method of aerial photo scouting in terms of eyes on wall hanger racks is to identify cover spots regardless of type of trees or brush or size that are isolated from regular direct human observation from roads and farm yards or other locations of regular, meaning local year round, human movement. A topographical map containing ridge line elevations is as valuable as an aerial photo for finding those isolated spots. The ranking of these leases from best to worst includes the more isolated the cover the better.
For the longest time we felt the explanation immediately above was enough to gain reader understanding. Over the years of working with many good deer hunters we come to add the following when evaluating isolated cover spots:
1. The worst direct line of sight of human activity is a road. It appears movement more than just mere human presence has a greater affect for driving away deer. All roads are not equal. Paved and gravel the worst, dirt (meaning mud or scrape roads void of gravel) not as bad.
2. Farm yards are second worse. Farm yards can be more or less active. A farm yard with a cattle feedlot or milk barn that has more daily activity is worse than a farm yard of a grain farmer.
3. Row crop (grain) fields surrounding the isolated cover spot better than forage crops or pasture. Forage fields of brome or alfalfa provide less during the deer season food and more summertime human activity than row crops. Pastures have frequent human activity of checking fence, checking cattle, feeding cattle, moving cattle and so on.
4. Year round water source of a pond in proximity to the isolated cover area better than a stream as aerials and topos do not always accurately indicate year round streams vice a drainage. A water source away, but within reasonable distance to the isolated spot is worth scouting as well.
5. More than woods better that just a wood lot. Brushed in drainage's and tall grass are the prime bedding areas, not clear wood stands.
The concept is human observation avoidance, better food, low to the ground cover and localized water.
Regional Difference
Missouri Hunter Assessment
I just wanted to let you know that my hunting partner, Brad, and I just returned from a hunting/scouting trip to many of the farms located in [location deleted] and [location deleted]. Let me tell you…we had a wonderful time! Our hopes were to get maybe a bird each in each state, and get a leg up on the upcoming deer season. Well…we more than did that! We found some really nice areas that we liked for deer, and scored on 5 different birds – all adult birds, with the smallest being 20 lbs, ¾ spurs and 10 ¾ beard and the largest being 27 lbs, 1 ¼ spurs and 11 inch beard. My Kansas bird had 2 beards, which is something I have always wanted to get. So…if the deer season is any where close to the turkey season…sign us up for life! I know that’s maybe hoping for a lot, but, for 2 Georgia boys, just seeing some Pope and Young bucks will be more than we've seen in awhile. I always say it’s not all about the killing, but it’s about the encounters and that’s what we live for.
Again, Brad and I would like to thank you all for pointing us in the right direction and for making it possible for us to hunt the Mid-West - the way “we” want to hunt and at a cost we can afford. Great job and please keep up the great work.
Good Hunting, Scott C
Missouri's geography affects hunting lease costs and quality. Several geographic considerations will quickly focus any hunter where to lease land.
The first is to understand that Missouri has the Ozark Mountain region of 70% forested land with the remainder in agriculture and the most common Ozark region farming being cattle ranching. This area has great cover habitat and will hold plenty deer and turkey and their quality is less due to the lack of body building food sources. The Ozark region has no upland birds as well as drains far too quickly for decent waterfowl experience. On the other hand, this area will allow for plenty of acreage for lease at low cost.
The next region is the 55% agricultural region where row crop farming is king and larger grain crops of corn and soybeans the primary money makers. The benefit is plenty of food and the deer and turkey grow to the trophy quality we all seek.
This same crop area has tree/brush lined drainage's bringing cover habitat as they cut through the food sources of grain fields makes for a lot of quail hunting. Finally, the low elevations of the flatter agricultural region provides plenty of manmade and natural standing water structures attracting much migrating waterfowl. The consequence of this region is that farming is king and wildlife cover non-existent to limited to good depending on where a hunter looks.
Missouri deer hunters find the four point restriction zone has become a first choice destination. This region has been in existence long enough that deer hunters seek to lease this land in greater numbers than before and lease costs per acre have risen.
The bottom line is that Mid-America Hunting Association knows where these broad Missouri regions of mountains, farming and point restriction exists. MAHA further leases for the right habitat within the better agricultural region. And, we know the price to pay and what not to. The short answer if looking to hunt private Missouri hunting lease land for the self guided hunter we have it by the tens of thousands of acres that allows choice during the season of where to hunt. We have done the work and all that our hunters do is hunt without the administrative hunting lease management work. Self guided hunts
Missouri waterfowl hunting includes several facets relative to the Mid-America Hunting Association different than what appears on most other waterfowl web sites. We offer several insights into the pride of ownership, work and commitment to the hunters.
Missouri Duck lease
Missouri is one of those rare parts of the country where floodable land is prime real-estate due to Missouri's position on the Mississippi Flyway. Any duck lease in Missouri is high cost and those within the local or micro flyways of the three Lower Missouri River sub-basins all the more so. On most Missouri duck lease web sites. are hunters shown with piles of dead ducks. We seek a different type of hunter, the ones that enjoy the hunt rather than just bag limits. To that end we will show as many pictures of our wetlands and blinds as harvest pictures.
What is routine drudgery for us we are often reminded that to others it is interesting work.
Cutting Rippy Grass for duck blind camouflage.
Future MAHA owners/operator Jon Jr and T.J. paying their dues. Wage less labor for the Association. The temperatures were high, the humidity kept clothes soaked and the gloves required by the rippy grass serrated edges.
After cutting, collection and hauling to storage, the next step of covering the blinds makes all of this earlier work appear easy.
Rippy grass is used for our duck blinds for several reasons. It is a locally grown product. It is durable. It has length and flexibility to weave onto the blinds. The downside is, it is hand labor intensive to sustain the characteristics that make it good for blinds.
