Camping on Hunting Lease Property

[wasanah2]

Has anyone considered camping on hunting lease property?

Depending on the hunting lease, one can rent unlimited use for as little as 500 for the entire calendar year.  That averages out to less than 42 dollars a month!   If you found an area you really liked, it could be the go-to place during the year and it can kind of be home base.  I found one hunting lease that is 500, but I've seen others too.  There's good water on the land (spigots) and power is on your own and likely a generator.  Vault toilets.  It's deep forest (the type of camping I like).  You can stay and camp as long as you want during the year.  Also if you want to, no one cares if you put a few improvements on your site.  So if you wanted a storage shed or little shack, you could put one on there. 

I'm not a hunter, but I do like to shoot... so all I'd do is camp while I'm there...and I can probably make sure I'm not there during deer and bear season, not that I would be mistaken for either one, but I would just want to get out of the way since I'm not hunting.

So I'm kinda thinking of doing this for home base and have a permanent site there.  For 500 a year, no cop will tap my glass when I'm asleep in the night and ask me what I'm doing.   I think I'll ask to camp there a couple nights to make sure I'd like it.  Has anyone ever tried this?

 

[rayrey]

Well I guess no one said you have to be a successful hunter. lol

It is cheap enough and you can use it. You could likely save the money by not driving all over finding new camping. Finding someplace usable year round might be a issue but you could travel in the winter and come back when it was comfortable at the lease.

 

[Thirsty Boots Nomad]

Would be most concerned about other hunters/shooters and where they choose to do their hunting/target practice ...

 

[RVtrek]

I'm always looking for reasonably cheap ways to find "guaranteed" parking places where I won't be kicked out that aren't RV parks. I'll look into this.

 

[user 423]

Which state has the $500 yearly fee?

 

[Kia girl]

Look at some of bobs videos. If I remember right he has one on camping at $500 a year. He also showed other ones that were reasonable.


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[wasanah2]

Which state has the $500 yearly fee?

Go to Craigslist and put in the area you're interested in and put in "Hunting Lease."  They are everywhere.  The particular one I'm looking at is in the Allegheny Mountains.  What it is is a person who owns a large tract of land and cordons off an area for the hunters to camp and then they can hunt on that land.  You lease your spot for the year.  Most of these places don't have a lot of camping amenities, but it's 500 a year and in the deep forest.

 

[wasanah2]

Look at some of bobs videos.  If I remember right he has one on camping at $500 a year.  He also showed other ones that were reasonable.


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Yep, I saw that but it's not habitable all year round without some A/C, and they (if I remember right) didn't have electric at that price point and it was in the desert.  For my personal preference, I wouldn't live in the desert when I can camp in a lush forest in the 3 temperate months and head to FL for the winter.

I don't remember Bob showing any hunting land though.

 

[wasanah2]

Would be most concerned about other hunters/shooters and where they choose to do their hunting/target practice ...

Usually they have a designated area for camping and you get your own site for the year.  The shooting range usually has a back stop for practice rounds and hunting is further out.  People generally don't get shot when they join a hunt club.  They figure these things out.  Just the same, I would pull out (since I'm not a hunter) and give them more space during the major hunting weekends.

 

[highdesertranger]

so they lease out the land when it's not hunting season? hunting season is only a couple of months a year. so they lease the land all year for a hunting seasons that lasts a few months? seems like a strange deal. are you sure they just don't lease it for the season. highdesertranger

 

[wasanah2]

so they lease out the land when it's not hunting season?  hunting season is only a couple of months a year.  so they lease the land all year for a hunting seasons that lasts a few months?  seems like a strange deal.  are you sure they just don't lease it for the season.  highdesertranger

No, HDR, they rent you the ability to hunt and/or camp on their land all year long (you hunt within seasons but can camp all year).  But you're able to set up your deer stand or camp or target shoot against a backstop within the confines of the land.  They allow just so many hunters per club and then you get a campsite, key to the gate and a list of rules and regs. 

So they allow you to hunt, but no one MAKES you hunt.  You can just use the camping portion.  Some have ponds or lakes and you can fish and camp right on the water.  Some are called GUN CLUBS and the amenities vary depending on what the owner has to offer.

 

[DLTooley]

Out west I am not aware of these sorts of operations. There are hunting focused dude ranches but those are higher dollar places.

Hunters do seem to get preferential treatment on public land re stay limits.

On private land it might make the rv park land use regs easier. A 'religious ' retreat center perhaps even more so.

There is a provision in Forest Service law where a religious or educational organization can be given a few acres land on the District Ranger's authority. Otherwise it takes an act of Congress.

 

[wasanah2]

Out west I am not aware of these sorts of operations. There are hunting focused dude ranches but those are higher dollar places.

Hunters do seem to get preferential treatment on public land re stay limits.

On private land it might make the rv park land use regs easier. A 'religious ' retreat center perhaps even more so.  

There is a provision in Forest Service law where a religious or educational organization can be given a few acres land on the District Ranger's authority. Otherwise it takes an act of Congress.

Just like it's Best Foods on the west side of the Rockies and it's Hellman's mayo in the East, it appears that you might have to look in the West for Gun Clubs.

Here's one in Spokane.  It's $65a year and lifetime membership if you are 62 or older is $325.  Camping is FREE if you are a member.  Free lifetime camping after you pay $325 sounds like a great price!   Even if you aren't old enough, $65 is pretty cheap for a year of camping and shooting. Here's the URL:
http://www.spokanegunclub.org/

Gun clubs are everywhere out west.  And you'll have to look at the area you're interested in--some have camping and some don't and the prices vary.  I'd google "gun club" in the area you want to be in.  I love the Spokane club--if I were a westerner and old enough for the lifetime, I'd be all over that.  Free for the rest of your life!  Also, shooting is more interesting to me than hunting.  I love to target shoot, shoot bowling pins and expired soda cans.  LOL 

I'm searching now out east.  There are a few gun clubs in the east--just as I found a strayed jar of Best Foods in NY last year.  Here's one in Wisconsin that also has fishing.  Membership is $30 a year and camping is $5 a night, so one month would only be $150 for each month you'd be there.  The nice thing about this one is you can catch your supper as it's a rod and gun club, which might offset the fact that you have to pay $5 a night.  Plus the yearly membership isn't high.  It's on a lake. https://westbyrodandgun.com/the-range/

Here's one in Medina, OH.  The initial fee is high $535.  Then annual dues is 160.50.  If you work 8 hours a year (maintenance stuff) you can save some money on that.  Once you're in, camping is free.  So after your initial fees, 160.50 a year for unlimited camping.  http://www.ashlandlakegunclub.org/

Another thing I found out is that some gun clubs have activities, pavilions if you hold a reunion there, potlucks, some had dances!  I mean, it's up to the owner's preference.  I did run into some that were dry only (no drinking), so if that's important to you, be sure to find one that doesn't shun alcohol.  I can see banning it on the range, but banning overall is probably a mistake.

 

[John61CT]

I would **definitely** prefer a dry place where so many guys with guns are involved.

 

[highdesertranger]

see did you read the rules for the Spokane Gun Club. there is a 14 day limit for camping and you must get permission from the board of directors for stays longer then 14 days. basically the campground is for members during events. highdesertranger

 

[Matlock]

I'm searching now out east.  There are a few gun clubs in the east--just as I found a strayed jar of Best Foods in NY last year.  Here's one in Wisconsin that also has fishing.  Membership is $30 a year and camping is $5 a night, so one month would only be $150 for each month you'd be there.  The nice thing about this one is you can catch your supper as it's a rod and gun club, which might offset the fact that you have to pay $5 a night.  Plus the yearly membership isn't high.  It's on a lake. https://westbyrodandgun.com/the-range/

Here's one in Medina, OH.  The initial fee is high $535.  Then annual dues is 160.50.  If you work 8 hours a year (maintenance stuff) you can save some money on that.  Once you're in, camping is free.  So after your initial fees, 160.50 a year for unlimited camping.  http://www.ashlandlakegunclub.org/

Another thing I found out is that some gun clubs have activities, pavilions if you hold a reunion there, potlucks, some had dances!  I mean, it's up to the owner's preference.  I did run into some that were dry only (no drinking), so if that's important to you, be sure to find one that doesn't shun alcohol.  I can see banning it on the range, but banning overall is probably a mistake.

I've spoken to several members of gun clubs in Ohio, Pa, Virginia, WVa that offer a reasonable membership and some of their members own property that they lease for hunting. I've spent some time on them over the years. Between the Elks Club and the occasional Gun Club there are all kinds of very reasonable deals to be had for a home base type location. These properties are absentee owners and like having someone keeping an eye on things. Lease amenities are few but that's not an issue for me. Just ask for them to sign a permission slip in case someone wants to have you run off. It worked for me.

 

[wasanah2]

see did you read the rules for the Spokane Gun Club.  there is a 14 day limit for camping and you must get permission from the board of directors for stays longer then 14 days.  basically the campground is for members during events.  highdesertranger

No, it's just that for stays longer than 14, they want to make sure you're not hogging the best sites.  You aren't kept from staying there as long as the campground is open and as long as you're not keeping others from being able to camp.

 

[wasanah2]

I've spoken to several members of gun clubs in Ohio, Pa, Virginia, WVa  that offer a reasonable membership and some of their members own property that they lease for hunting. I've spent some time on them over the years. Between the Elks Club and the occasional Gun Club there are all kinds of very reasonable deals to be had for a home base type location. These properties are absentee owners and like having someone keeping an eye on things. Lease amenities are few but that's not an issue for me. Just ask for them to sign a permission slip in case someone wants to have you run off. It worked for me.

This is like a big secret or something.  I've been researching most of the day today and really, especially if you're in the east, you're going to find a lot of opportunities.   Also at Gun/ Sportsman's clubs.  I'm amazed.  I think I'm going to join about 2 sportsman's clubs and 1 lease all along where I want to travel.  It'll be very cheap, under 1K for the entire year and no cops knocking on the window!.  Also, I love to shoot and fish.  I'm not a hunter.  But some of these sportsman's clubs have trout streams and firearm ranges of different types.  Check out my related thread on Camping on Gun Club Property in this same category.

 

[wasanah2]

I would **definitely** prefer a dry place where so many guys with guns are involved.

I don't drink, but I'd say that responsible gun owners who also drink responsibly and they do it while they don't have a firearm in their hands are OK by me.    A guy having a couple of beers at camp after he's been out doing all kinds of physical activity all day deserves his beer.   Again, the campgrounds are away from the range and hunting areas.  It's just like any other camp place in many ways. 

Members of the lease I'm looking at do have to have a background check.  So if you are an alcoholic, you've probably got a record and they'll find your infractions of the past, and likely you won't be admitted.

 

[John61CT]

Just stating my preference, would be a **big** plus.

For me.