All of this is perspective. I agree with a lot of what you say Ferb. And, I don't find leasing evil. although I wish it weren't happening. Depending on what a person wishes in regard to hunting experience and harvest opportunity, two hundred acres may not be enough land to create the situation that many might wish to create because surrounding landowners on a piece that small can have a significant impact on that property and the deer available. Additionally, if a guy pays for a lease and EHD hits really hard, then that too can leave a very bad situation. The problem with the middleman in these leasing situations is they provide nothing more then access, unless I don't understand the model. And eventually, in true farm country, the majority of the land will be owned by large trusts, managed by Wall Street, and those trusts will hire their own leasing agents and if the investors in the trust don't want the vast properties hunted, they won't be hunted at all. Hunting in those areas will be at risk twenty years from now.

Now, $1,500 for a thee day hunt may provide a more "quality" hunt to many because they might actually see a lot more deer, have a much better opportunity to harvest a deer of the size they wish to harvest and have, in essence, a sense of a vacation with tremendous hospitality, great food and potentially a very good memory created. As we have seen from many, many comments over the couple of months, there are quite a few guys who hunted hard throughout the season, probably spent a lot of money on gas and such and had a horrible experience. Hunting is simply being redefined in many ways.

If the sport continues where its headed, you will see outfitters start posting pictures throughout the year of their managed properties showing their inventory of deer. Some are already doing this. There are also a growing number of people, in my opinion, that don't want to sit in a tree every weekend and when they run the numbers and put a value on a 3 to 5 day hunt, $3,000 isn't much if the experience is good. Heck, take a three day trip to Chicago, stay in a nice hotel, go to a nice dinner every night and you likely have spent close to $1,200 for that. I believe that in the next twenty years, hopefully I'm wrong, that a huge percentage of folks hunting today won't hunt any longer because the sport will price them out. Good for the landowner and good for those with the disposable income to spend on hunting. What I've learned from following a couple of outfitters who offer 3 and 5 day hunts in "good" deer areas is that there is an abundance of guys who are willing to pay close to $3,500 to have the opportunity to see and possibly shoot a 150.

I hope everyone finds their place in wherever hunting is going.