I will, for the most part, avoid the hornet's nest on this discussion. I do understand both sides of it, really do. I also agree that our current Pres being a disaster for this country. Anti-capitalist. A view opposite of Pres- I do see leasing as "capitalistic" in nature though & if Obama got involved with hunting & leases would do away with them any private property would probably go by-by & everyone gets the same & can hunt the same- anywhere.
Like I said, I see both sides. Some things to at least consider in the old lease debate.... A 200 acre farm likely costs a guy down there around that $400,000 to $800,000 range. There's a lot of expenses, huge payments if an average guy is borrowing to make ends meet, taxes, huge up front down payment costs & years of saving to buy the land. If a landowner chooses to lease his/her ground, who am I to judge that? Who am I to tell him/her they should or shouldn't? If it doesn't work out or doesn't make sense, I'm sure they'll quit doing it. I just feel uneasy about knocking someone that spent half a million bucks on some ground & couldn't benefit from $2k a year to help cover some costs or get a tiny return on investment (which on $500k is .4% return from lease). I wouldn't expect the farmer let me farm his ground for free & I respect the rights of any landowner to do what's reasonable, ethical, legal & in the best interest of all parties.
I do get the other side of this discussion too, I know this is a heated one, I get it. Folks still do, and in my OPINION, will always have the opportunity to knock on doors, etc or worst, travel to some large public land tracts. A compromise with that is maybe helping the farmer do some work??? Everyone is quick to say that & claim they will but after 10 years of owning land, I've had maybe 10% of those say they'll help out with some work actually do it.
Another question to ask- what is the cause of leasing? Why do guys want to lease? I personally think it's to insulate themselves from all the yahoo's, poor management mindset of many, if it's brown it's down mentality, groups that have no concern for biology of herd or management (only their own self glory & enjoyment alone), ruined hunts, getting peace & quiet, safety, etc. I personally will say the #1, by far, thing I don't like about hunting is the issues involving people, some legal, some not: poaching, killing every young buck a group sees, not managing does properly, trespassing, SHOOTING AT ME WHILE I'M IN MY STAND - YOU DON'T SEE ME AND START SHOOTING AT A FRIGIN FOX SQUIRREL WITH A SLUG GUN, GUN 1 SEASON (3 years ago, happened & Since then have had bullets wiz in air past me), walking to spot 1 hour after light, shooting multiple bucks most folks get done passing up, hunting the land like an idiot- running the deer out or making the smart ones nocturnal, etc, etc. I can take bad weather, coyotes, slow movement, but- people can make hunting very frustrating though. Can we all at least agree on that??? Probably not a big mystery why the motivation to lease ground exists is it?
I don't lease my land or charge anyone to hunt there. I have a very select few friends I want to hunt there and coincidentally, they are a rare group that actually has helped me by picking up a chainsaw, helping with plot work, helped with fencing while many others (majority) were MIA.
Trying to be at least somewhat of a unbiased side to this & not dive into that debate full force BUT we have to think through this a little & hope possibly a few of my points may make someone think a little differently? Good luck whatever you folks decide to do and where ever you choose to hunt.