Renting hunting grounds

[Tyson0317]

Hi Guys - been a long while since Ive posted...

I am wondering if there is a medium where hunters can find property owners for short-term rentals of hunting grounds. Kind-of like VRBO for hunters. I know some farmers purposely flood their fields to create waterfowl paradises and rent these out for the season for thousands of dollars to groups of hunters. I seriously considered this, but the facts of life are such that I just can't get out enough times to make this worth-while. I would be willing to pay a few hundred bucks for a weekend. But how to find someone with land?

Being a certified 206-er with a house within spitting range of my neighbors, I am stuck to hunting public lands. I'd gone with buddies a few times and the experience sucked. The public lands are just over-saturated with hunters. I am at the point now that I am seriously looking at buying land in the Okanogan, despite the fact that it is a dismal "investment" bordering on an utter waste of funds.

[270Shooter]

Id invest in a boat before land in the okanogan if its for duck hunting. Learn to hunt big water like the columbia or the salt and you will have some great hunts with generally less competition than other smaller inland state and federal hunting units.

Not to say I wouldn't love to have land up north to hunt on, I just think getting a boat would open up your opportunities tremendously.

[Tyson0317]

I got a 3-person canoe, a 12ft inflatable PVC boat, a 15ft inflatable, an 18ft RIB and a 35ft sailboat. I think I'm set on boats man ;-)

None of my boats are really conducive to hunting though. The canoe is bright red, the 12ft is bright yellow, the 15ft is grey but has problems that I dont have time to deal with, the 18 is bright white, the sailboat.... well, it has a 50ft mast.

That said, pretending that I didnt have a boat, I think yours is terrible advice! Any decent boat will cost a few grand. Storage, licensing, maintenance, boat launch fees, etc., will add up to a larger black hole than any piece of land ever will. Furthermore, my few attempts at boat hunting on friends duck boats have not turned out well. Yes, you see giant flocks of birds sitting in the bay, but there is really no way to sneak up on them. I even tried to drift into them - they just drift away from you. Presumably there are good public lands that you can only get to by boat. I've never figured out where these are. Anyone care to share their secret spot?

Back to the question though - is there seriously no market out there for daily rentals of private hunting grounds?

[syoungs]

I got a 3-person canoe, a 12ft inflatable PVC boat, a 15ft inflatable, an 18ft RIB and a 35ft sailboat. I think I'm set on boats man ;-)

None of my boats are really conducive to hunting though. The canoe is bright red, the 12ft is bright yellow, the 15ft is grey but has problems that I dont have time to deal with, the 18 is bright white, the sailboat.... well, it has a 50ft mast.

That said, pretending that I didnt have a boat, I think yours is terrible advice! Any decent boat will cost a few grand. Storage, licensing, maintenance, boat launch fees, etc., will add up to a larger black hole than any piece of land ever will. Furthermore, my few attempts at boat hunting on friends duck boats have not turned out well. Yes, you see giant flocks of birds sitting in the bay, but there is really no way to sneak up on them. I even tried to drift into them - they just drift away from you. Presumably there are good public lands that you can only get to by boat. I've never figured out where these are. Anyone care to share their secret spot?

Back to the question though - is there seriously no market out there for daily rentals of private hunting grounds?

so do what you want and go buy some prime duck hunting land up north 

you missed the whole point of 270Shooters post, get a hunting boat, not an inflateable, and LEARN to hunt big water. you can just motor out and kill ducks anywhere, there is a whole different skill set to master.

[95powersmoker]

If you're willing to pay a few hundred bucks a weekend, go with a good guide when you want to duck hunt.

[Colin]

That said, pretending that I didnt have a boat, I think yours is terrible advice! Any decent boat will cost a few grand. Storage, licensing, maintenance, boat launch fees, etc., will add up to a larger black hole than any piece of land ever will. Furthermore, my few attempts at boat hunting on friends duck boats have not turned out well. Yes, you see giant flocks of birds sitting in the bay, but there is really no way to sneak up on them. I even tried to drift into them - they just drift away from you. Presumably there are good public lands that you can only get to by boat. I've never figured out where these are. Anyone care to share their secret spot?

Basically why I often cringe when I meet new hunters and have to tell them I live in Seattle. Someone gives you a genuine recommendation as an alternative and you tell them its terrible? On top of that its probably what most public land duck hunters would choose to do if they had the funds. Sounds like your looking to go hunt with a guide. They have all the gear, do all the scouting, pack everything in and out, and setup and tear down for you. Basically all you have to do is show up on time and get some good shooting. Sounds like the best option for yah.

To address your original question, to my knowledge there is no craigslist for "renting" land to hunt, well except craigslist... I did see a post or two in CL in the beginning of the season looking for members to clubs and leases, you might check there.

[270Shooter]

Hey man I was just trying to give you some advice. Just telling you what I would do, it sounds like money isn't much of an object for you so why don't you just pay a guide every weekend? If you want to do it on your own you'll have to learn to scout and be willing to adapt to hunt other places. The only other option I can think of is trying to get onto a club on the west side, it'll cost a bunch of money but you seem to be willing to pay that.

Also if I was looking to buy land for waterfowl hunting okanogan county would not be my first choice, maybe look into the Columbia basin around tri cities or Moses. Even so, you'll still have to have someone farm your property for you and find a way to flood it so you can hunt it. On top of that, just because you have a cut field to hunt does not mean the birds magically appear out of thin air and you're going to shoot limits of greenheads everyday. Field hunting is very hit and miss, hence the boat recommendation.

Good luck, I hope your hunting season is better than your attitude is.

[GregFowler23]

Couldnt of put it any better 270. Great advise! This guy obviously doesnt understand.

[Patarero]

Back to the question though - is there seriously no market out there for daily rentals of private hunting grounds?

Move to Texas, plenty of that there.  A trend that I hope never develops here.
 

[Spuddieselwwu]

Hey man I was just trying to give you some advice. Just telling you what I would do, it sounds like money isn't much of an object for you so why don't you just pay a guide every weekend? If you want to do it on your own you'll have to learn to scout and be willing to adapt to hunt other places. The only other option I can think of is trying to get onto a club on the west side, it'll cost a bunch of money but you seem to be willing to pay that.

Also if I was looking to buy land for waterfowl hunting okanogan county would not be my first choice, maybe look into the Columbia basin around tri cities or Moses. Even so, you'll still have to have someone farm your property for you and find a way to flood it so you can hunt it. On top of that, just because you have a cut field to hunt does not mean the birds magically appear out of thin air and you're going to shoot limits of greenheads everyday. Field hunting is very hit and miss, hence the boat recommendation.

Good luck, I hope your hunting season is better than your attitude is.

Sunland, WA.  Property is cheap right now w/ Wanapum being drained down.

[Bucks2Ducks]

Back to the question though - is there seriously no market out there for daily rentals of private hunting grounds?

Move to Texas, plenty of that there.  A trend that I hope never develops here.

Seriously! This is the last thing we need up here, over crowded public land and weekend rentals! Go over to Moses and do a guided duck hunt.

[bobcat]

I think your best bet would be to join a waterfowl hunting club on the westside, for the entire season, not just a weekend or two.

[Tyson0317]

Not sure why I am catching so much flack. 270, I do appreciate the post but it's on par with a guy asking for a shotgun recommendation and getting a reply about why one should buy a rifle.

Per Texas - no thank you. Second biggest state in the Union and 98% of it (actual fact) is Private. The 2% remaining includes government buildings, military bases, schools and parks. Effectively, no public lands to hunt, hence the system in place. I am not advocating auctioning all public lands, but it would not hurt for property owners to have a way for people to rent their fields for a few days.

Per guides. A buddy did that once with Turkey hunting. He didnt get jack, spent a bunch of $$$ and didnt get much out of it. If you guys have recommendations and experience with good guides (who I assume have access to private land) - that would be valid 'shotgun advice'.

Per Okanogan. Duck hunting is the most miserable form of gaming that I can think of, and when I say this I am counting winter SCUBA spear-fishing within that statement. I do enjoy it when I don't come back empty-handed. However, I also enjoy turkey, deer, grouse and would like to get a bear sometime. Okanogan provides all of that and with a pond, a chance to set up a blind and shoot some ducks - so it's a compromise.

[EWUEAGLESHUNTER]

Sounds to me like you have made up your mind and do not really need our advice........ I have made some posts on here and had responses to my topic/question that I was not really digging for, looking for a shotgun and told I should buy a rifle kind of thing. However, being new on here Tyson0317 understand, everyone's advice is free, and 99% of the time it is well meant advice that all of us take the time to type out hoping to help a guy out. So just be careful shutting down peoples idea, because next time you have a question and really want help people might not respond.

Now my response to your topic. My family are farmers, we operate on over 5,000 acres of land, and I still hunt public property and wish I had the money to buy a nice flat bottom duck boat to hunt and fish out of. Having your own private land or even having access to it does not always provide you with automatic success. However being willing and able to hunt water and land and spend time scouting and finding where the ducks, geese, deer etc.. are helps increase your odds. O and when your a land owner, 90% of the time that big buck you see on opening morning, its on your neighbors property! lol

[h2ofowlr]

I got a 3-person canoe, a 12ft inflatable PVC boat, a 15ft inflatable, an 18ft RIB and a 35ft sailboat. I think I'm set on boats man ;-)

None of my boats are really conducive to hunting though. The canoe is bright red, the 12ft is bright yellow, the 15ft is grey but has problems that I dont have time to deal with, the 18 is bright white, the sailboat.... well, it has a 50ft mast.

Look at a duck hunting boat like some had said.  Your "set" on the wrong type of boats for duck hunting.  Learn spots when you have a boat.  Look at maps, watch birds, look at various sites.  You have to be willing to do some homework.  If your not willing to learn, than your stuck where your at.  They do have QH fields and reservation sites that you can sign up for.  Otherwise, I don't know of any spots that you can just rent for a weekend.  If your in SW Wash.  you can pay to play at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge or Sauvies Refuge in Oregon.  It's like $10 a day per person.