Paying to hunt in most cases is something I frown upon on big time. Times where tough for many years for many farmers and ranchers, it wasn't until the last 20 years or so and the TV shows and promoting monster this and that, that hunting became a recreational form of fee! My family hunted some of the best white tailed deer ground in the Nation for 40+ years and the landowner never thought of charging us. This area I talk about has been plastered all over the TV hunting shows and yet we continue to hunt free of charge, it is what a landowner wants or expects from people.
If you want a business arrangement the have pay to hunt, if you want to have friendship and see the eyes of kids light up when they take there first rabbit,squirrel,pheasant or big game animal then charging will limit that enjoyment for ALL involved no matter the price!
The President is making more money be had to incorporate into public lands access and more leasing of private for public access as that is the future of hunting in the US, we could become Great Britain where only the wealthy par take or we can keep our American heritage alive and well, where all walks of life have the opportunity of fair chase, fun and excitement and make long lasting friendships with others!
The only pay to hunt I respect for are those that do it right and don't try to make it a 2nd or 3rd or 4th income, play by the rules offer a good guilty hunt and set up your land to hold as much game as possible and keep genetics and habitat at a premium for the wildlife.
Most farmers/ranchers have a great service for no fee offered them through allowing access to hunting they can pick and choose species and numbers and sex allowed, go pay to hunt and see how many want to shoot or pay for a doe/fawn big game? Then your not only hurting your own ground but the surrounding neighbors who don't have pay to hunt and want deer numbers cut way back , they find refuge on your locked land unless wallet is out approach and then winter on the neighbors who is trying his/her best to offer fair and reasonable access to take care of ever grow big game numbers, a cycle that just goes round and round and your Game Dept is stuck in the middle of both sides!
SJ please explain you game dept is the only one charging you to hunt in detail please?