Property size

[FirstBubba]

I make my living in the hunting industry. I have watched prices for everything all around the world shoot up over the last 30 years. Some things have doubled and tripled (Cape Buffalo). Some have gone up 5 to 10 fold (Stone sheep and Lion)

When value is assigned to the game, it is managed and protected. While it may be rough for those who can't afford to hunt private land, the wildlife will always benefit when you assign a dollar value to the animal.

There has NEVER been any species assigned a hunting season that has gone extinct!

 

[shorthair1]

There has NEVER been any species assigned a hunting season that has gone extinct!

Pretty close but we still have to minimize poaching for profit.

 

[Wendell Reich]

Pretty close but we still have to minimize poaching for profit.

Yep. And the higher the value of the animal, the more money there is to do anti-poaching and conservative efforts.

 

[Mcranch]

^^^^THIS^^^^

Back in the 40's and 50's, family's held hundreds and thousands of acres of "ranch" land.
It was a hard scrabble life of protecting your cattle from rustlers, predators, diseases and parasites. Maintaining fences, windmills and what little equipment you could scrape together!
You only got one paycheck a year....."IF" the cattle market was good!
Quite often, landowners fed their families venison because they preferred to sell the beef.
THEN ONE DAY.....one uv them city fellers came by and offered to pay for the right to hunt deer!
All of a sudden, those old ranchers who had scratched out a living on a couple of thousand acres of rocks, mesquite and cactus had another "cash crop" that had been under utilized for decades!
The "DEER LEASE" was born!
THEN....corporations figured out that leasing property to entertain clients could be written off as a "business expense"!!!
Some of those folks had big businesses building bunkhouses and lodges on their property.
My youngest has a friend who works on a cattle/whitetail breeding operation near San Angelo, TX.
A "paying" client spent something like $25,000+ for a 3 day hunt that included ONE deer.
The deer cost trophy fee, $X/inch of antler, processing, etc...
Not only that, the guy reserved 3 spots for the next season. He wanted to bring his 2 kids to hunt!!!

Back in mid eighties land was cheap in the San Angelo Fort McKavitt area. There was a down turn in the market if you got 200 dollars for a five weight calve you were doing good. Some land was posted from 150 to 200 an acre. Lots of land changed owners during this time period all over Texas. I wasn't financially ready then so all i did was look and dream. Price that land now and it will shock you.

 

[Wendell Reich]

Back in mid eighties land was cheap in the San Angelo Fort McKavitt area. There was a down turn in the market if you got 200 dollars for a five weight calve you were doing good. Some land was posted from 150 to 200 an acre. Lots of land changed owners during this time period all over Texas. I wasn't financially ready then so all i did was look and dream. Price that land now and it will shock you.

Yep. Price 5 weight calves too!

 

[FirstBubba]

Yep. Price 5 weight calves too!

Wylie took a load of calves to the sale barn. When they ran them through the ring, he PO'd them because the price was so low. He loaded them up and headed home when a wheel bearing went out on his trailer. He parked it on the side of the road, went and got the parts to repair the bearings.
When he got back, his load of 12 calves had turned into 18!

A cattle raiser in the Trinity River bottom ran a classifed ad in the local paper for hunters!
"Kill a deer, cow, armadillo, one anything: $100!"

 

[shorthair1]

Wylie took a load of calves to the sale barn. When they ran them through the ring, he PO'd them because the price was so low. He loaded them up and headed home when a wheel bearing went out on his trailer. He parked it on the side of the road, went and got the parts to repair the bearings.
When he got back, his load of 12 calves had turned into 18!

A cattle raiser in the Trinity River bottom ran a classifed ad in the local paper for hunters!
"Kill a deer, cow, armadillo, one anything: $100!"

Slow Elk big Antelope.

 

[Wendell Reich]

Wylie took a load of calves to the sale barn. When they ran them through the ring, he PO'd them because the price was so low.

Ha! Not today! I'm selling a few culls next week. Six of them. I expect they should net $1600 ish.

 

[Mcranch]

Ha! Not today! I'm selling a few culls next week. Six of them. I expect they should net $1600 ish.

Kinda hard to hold back heifers when the sale barn is getting what they are.

 

[tony d willIiams]

Accurate but a sad commentary on the social and tax/political reality in America.

Sad story, but a way to survive. My uncle thought about it when offered. He decided no.
They enjoy venison now and then. Fish from the ponds, the streams.
Signs up where the cottonmouths are known to be. Many seniors take ditch days on local ranches.
He changes animals, or crops each year to meet what he believes the market will be. He also works the road crews as a semi steady job.
Harvest time, road work goes on hold. Still a small town community. Where my wife came from, they still allow most workers to hit the sheds during harvest time.

 

[shorthair1]

Sad story, but a way to survive. My uncle thought about it when offered. He decided no.
They enjoy venison now and then. Fish from the ponds, the streams.
Signs up where the cottonmouths are known to be. Many seniors take ditch days on local ranches.
He changes animals, or crops each year to meet what he believes the market will be. He also works the road crews as a semi steady job.
Harvest time, road work goes on hold. Still a small town community. Where my wife came from, they still allow most workers to hit the sheds during harvest time.

I've done predator control for a fair number of ranches since the 60's, mostly coyotes and feral dogs and caving / lambing season the ranchers are very happy to have someone who can kill coyotes without shooting any stock and keep the dang gates closed. I used to think closing a gate and being able to identify a cow without gutting it first was not such a big thing but according to several of the ranchers it does seem to be rare.

 

[FirstBubba]

Kinda hard to hold back heifers when the sale barn is getting what they are.

Even harder to sell one when you consider the cost of "purchasing" replacement heifers!

 

[Mcranch]

Even harder to sell one when you consider the cost of "purchasing" replacement heifers!

You have have a very good view point.