I lease 200 acres every year and the landowner only gun hunts; I am the only hunter allowed on his property because he knows I will take care of it and police it as the same time;

To answer the question, it's becoming a rich mans race for sure; the "big boys" who are able to shell out the dough are getting most of the land that's out there; but here in Arkansas there are literally millions of acres(yes I said millions) that are public land and some pretty good hunting as well;

QuoteThat being said, how does everyone else feel about it?

Leasing = limited / exclusive

There's a lot more people loosing out than winning with this trend.
 
When our working class no longer has reasonable access to quality hunting areas, we will loose a huge foundation of support for conservation and our hunting heritage.
I feel it will eventually erode the hunting establishment in this country.  You just need to look at some of the European countries to see how it has already played out.

Obviously, I'm not a fan of leasing.  One of my pet peeves are guys who get on these hunting forums and whine about loosing their lease to another hunter.  If ya play that game......be prepared to loose.

"There`s a lot more people losing out than winning in this trend"

That pretty much sums it up.

A slippery slope.

Working class? What exactly does that mean? I go to work every day and work hard for my paycheck just like everyone else on this site does.

Every year I am happy to pay for access to hunt good quality farmland close to home. Does this make me a bad guy? Does this make me some sort of "big guy" stepping on the "littles?" I'm somehow hurting the sport of hunting???

Leasing does not always = big money.

Not many folks gonna pass up that basket racked 8 on public land, or the cowhorn for that matter. At least where I live. Only way to have a chance at seeing some decent bucks( I say that with tounge in check, cause out area has never produced any) is to get into a situation where there is some control over what is taken. I know it's expensive, but some folks golf, bassfish, motorhome and what ever. I paid my club dues this year,almost with aluminum cans (most picked up on public land roads). That said, I got out of another club i was in when the dues went up. I think I'll be fine hunting wise though.

I often thought that the money Ive spent on club dues would have been better spent just to take one big trip away every year. Don

Lost my best turkey ground to it and all they do is deer hunt gun season.  BUT maybe if I'd made different choices I'd have had the cash to do the same.  I don't dislike them for it.  I still have good turkey ground and half of that is public so hopefully it won't go anywhere!

"the hunting is better but less enjoyable" Now that is an interesting statement and to me really gets at the core of what is wrong with hunting these days. We measure the success of of being outdoors in pursuit of game by what and how many we bag. In my book the above statement is an impossibility. I think that the business of hunting has caused far more damage to hunting than a thousand PETA's. We have lost our way in an attempt to turn a lifestyle into a sport. I think it is sad that a guy of modest means cannot take his kid hunting because of the cost of a lease or lack of public funds. Sadly I don't think there is much we can do about it because I think most hunters would rather count a score than the hours of being in gods nature.

Wow this is a good one. I lease 300 acres me along with 8 others started out at 1$ an acre 15 years ago it up to 10$ an acre now. Why am I a bad guy for wanting a good place for my son to hunt, yes us leases' can take are kids hunting we only turn into monsters after they go home. We also post the land, oh wait we are told by the land owner we must post, so as he doesn't get sued again.
Come on guys enjoy the sport for what it is, I hunt our lease. I hunt NY, MD, PA, private land, did I have to hunt? oh yes land and permission. That is it, was it hard no not really. Knock on some doors it can be done I did it. Hunting is what you make it, but I wanted my son to see some game. State land here what a joke just ask anyone who hunted state land last year a week, 3 to maybe 6 deer that's crazy. How will that keep my son hunting with me? I know some of you are saying your son would have to hunt and not just kill then. Think, what do you want, this is what I want, we are truly not the same not all of us. Does it help the sport? It makes a difference to my son and that is what I want him to do hunt.
Would he hunt if we went out and hunted for weeks and saw little amounts of deer? We hunt archery he uses his long bow me my recurve, we hunt rifle together and muzzleloader "am I bad" just a thought.
Bruce      
   

One thing I constantly hear..."They took my land away from me."  If you didn't own it, it wasn't yours. Nobody took anything away from anyone. The landowner made a concious decision to use his property as he saw fit and right. Who can argue with that? Who would have the gall to tell a landowner he can't control what happens on his land?

If you let a guy pasture his horse on your land free...another guy comes to you and says "I'll pay you $2000 a year to pasture my horse"...would that not cause you to think?

i myself would NEVER pay to hunt land. thank God i live in an area with alot of public land. as had been stated you will se less and less younger people hunting which is a shame.

I think leasing can be good for the wildlife. I see people  on leases willing to put in food plots, plant hardwoods and do other improvments to the property that will improve hunting for future generations. The people who lease are also in some cases more selective about what they shoot and will hold other member accountable for what they shoot. On public land most people are not going to let a legal animal walk because of the competition. To me it is similar to  owning the land and wanting to improve it rather than just using it. If you can't afford to own it maybe you can lease it. There are always reasonable leases for those willing to look hard enough.

In my area mosts land is private and what gets me is when one person owns 500 acers which contains 150 to 200 deer and they shoot mabey two deer per year. All the farms around them feed the deer all year but are not allowed to harvest any and of course only the two largest bucks will be taken. Not good management.