Reading Deer Sign: How to Decode Rubs, Scrapes & Trails on Your New Hunting Lease (2026)
You just signed a lease on a property you've never hunted, and the deer have been leaving you a written record the whole time — rubs, scrapes and trails that …
Casey Cutshall
Casey Cutshall has spent a lifetime chasing whitetails and wild turkeys through the woods and fields of Frederick County, Maryland, and built HuntLease after years of watching ground that was once open on a handshake disappear behind No Trespassing signs. Writes here on lease pricing, landowner liability and the practical side of getting access to private land.
101 posts published
North Carolina Hunting Lease Prices 2026 | Complete NC Guide to Rates, Counties & Laws
Ask ten North Carolina deer hunters where the best ground is and most point east — but the state holds roughly one million whitetails across 100 counties, and the smart …
How Much Does It Cost to Join a Hunting Lease in 2026? A First-Timer's FAQ
Ask ten hunters what a hunting lease costs and you'll get ten different numbers — and most of them are guesses. The honest answer is that a lease can run …
From Public Land to Private Lease: What Actually Changes When You Make the Switch
You've hunted public land long enough to know the drill: arrive at the trailhead an hour before shooting light, and someone's already there. Two trucks. Sometimes five…
Best Hunting Knives, Sharpeners & Field-Dressing Kits for 2026: A Lease Hunter's Buyer's Guide
Here's a number that should change how you pack your kit: a mature whitetail buck field-dressed within the first hour holds far more salvageable meat than one that sits while …
Alabama Hunting Lease Prices 2026 | Complete AL Guide to Rates, Counties & Laws
Ask a Midwesterner where the giant bucks live and they'll point at Iowa or Illinois. Ask a Southern hunter who has actually killed a 150-inch deer in the last decade…
Best Rangefinders for Bow and Rifle Hunters (2026 Guide)
You've spent weeks scouting food plots, hung your stands in the right trees, and waited for opening morning. Then a shooter steps out at 60 yards — except you're not …
What Happens If a Hunter Sublets Your Land? How to Enforce the No-Transfer Clause
You leased your land to one hunter. Three months later, there are strangers you've never met setting up stands on your back ridge. Here's how to stop it…
Per Hunter vs. Per Acre: Which Hunting Lease Pricing Model Earns Landowners More?
Two adjacent 200-acre tracts, same county, same deer pressure — one landowner collects $1,200 a year; the neighbor pockets $4,000 from the same ground. The pricing model made all the …
Hunting Blinds: Pop-Up vs. Box vs. Tower — Which One Is Right for Your Lease? (2026 Guide)
Most hunters grab a blind based on what’s on sale. On a private lease, you can do better — here’s how to match pop-up, box, and tower blinds to every …