How Do I Determine How Many Hunters to Allow on a Lease for My Property?

Setting the maximum number of hunters who can hunt your land. 

Landowners are increasingly seeing the benefit of leasing their land to hunters. Oftentimes, their vacant land is perfect for serving as viable hunting leases. That said, leasing comes with numerous boxes to check. One includes knowing how to determine how many hunters to allow on a lease. If that’s you, here’s what you should know.

Editor’s Note: This is not legal advice. Those seeking legal advisement should consult a qualified attorney. Share your legal concerns and questions with qualified professionals who understand law, liabilities, and the intricacies of land. Consult your personal lawyer for legal advice and input regarding addressing potential attractive nuisance issues.

Assessing Current Deer Densities

The first step in setting the right number of deer hunters is assessing the current deer densities. Higher deer densities can handle greater numbers of hunters. In fact, that’s oftentimes encouraged to help bring numbers back down to better levels. By studying the number of deer on the landscape, you can aptly assign a maximum number of hunters on the property.

Determining the Property Carrying Capacity

The flipside of the deer density coin is observing the property’s carrying capacity. It’s OK if deer numbers are higher as long as the habitat can sustain it. Because when numbers are above the property carrying capacity, ag crops and plant foliage suffers. Thus, when studying deer densities, it’s also important to analyze the habitat, too. Set hunter numbers accordingly.

Projecting Neighborhood Impacts

Does the neighboring already have a lot of hunters? If bordering lands already experience heavy hunting pressure, it might mean fewer hunters on the property in question (and vice versa). After all, deer have large home ranges, and in areas with smaller tracts, spend time on multiple landowners. Keep that in mind when determining hunter numbers.

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Assessing Potential Safety Elements

Another aspect of neighborhood assessment includes observing potential safety elements. For example, are there a lot of houses around the perimeter? Does it make hunting a certain section of your property more challenging to put higher numbers of hunters? If so, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s unsafe to hunt, but it might limit the number of hunters who can hunt there.

Figuring the Maximum Number of Lease Hunters

All things considered, figure out the maximum number of lease hunters the property can adequately support. Then, keep that number at, or preferably slightly lower, than that figure. This ensures the maintenance of healthy deer, other healthy wildlife, and healthy habitat structures.

Let Base Camp Leasing Handle the Challenge

If you don’t want the hassle of assessing and setting the proper number of hunters, let Base Camp Leasing handle the challenge. By leasing your land through Base Camp Leasing, it removes numerous hurdles you’d otherwise have to navigate on your own. They’ll assist with finding hunters to lease to, contract details, insurance setup, and much more.

Secure a Great Liability Insurance Policy

The final (and perhaps most important) step in a hunting lease relationship is securing a great liability insurance policy. This protects the lessors and lessees from potential liability concerns. It’s an important part of easing the minds of participating stakeholders. Without question, a top-tier insurance policy can provide peace of mind for those who worry about things going amiss.

Of course, it’s important to know that, statistically speaking, hunting is significantly safer than most believe it to be. Even so, for the rare occasions, a good insurance policy can provide much-needed coverage.

Thankfully, AHLA offers insurance for vacant land and hunting leases.

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