• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

BaseCamp Leasing - any feedback?

sureshotscott

sureshotscott

Moderator
Staff member
SH Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2017
Messages
1,972
Location
SE MI
My knees are objecting more and more to the sometimes crazy far hikes it takes to get away from others on public ground. There is also the issue of the few interesting terrain features on some properties getting hammered as others discover cyber-scouting.

So I'm entertaining one of the higher tier memberships at basecampleasing.com. A neighbor of mine is a big fan. Another friend has expressed interest in splitting costs. Guy who processed my Indiana deer said most owners of large acreage in his farming community are leasing thru basecamp to boost income.

So any basecamp customers out there care to share their experiences, good or bad?
 
My thoughts on Basecamp, I used them for five years but didn’t this year just because the guys I was leasing with got busy and didn’t want to spend the money.

-Basecamp doesn’t decide what properties should lease for, the market does, so it’s pointless to complain about the cost. If it’s a good property it probably going to be leased in 5 minutes, so the prices must be right.

-Unless demand has changed Id agree on the criteria that you a d friends are looking for, buy the premium membership a d be ready to make a deposit the instant each batch of leases comes out. The good ones are gone fast, you likely don’t have a half hour to call your friends and deliberate. It’s crazy.

-If you don’t do this you will get whatever’s left over.

-Like any search be open to being in it for the long haul, the property you find first may or may not be what you’re looking for, The first two years our property was so-so, the next three years - different property - was awesome. In both cases the farmers we were leasing from were great guys.

Overall my experience with Basecamp was a thumbs up.
 
neonomad said:
My thoughts on Basecamp, I used them for five years but didn’t this year just because the guys I was leasing with got busy and didn’t want to spend the money.

-Basecamp doesn’t decide what properties should lease for, the market does, so it’s pointless to complain about the cost. If it’s a good property it probably going to be leased in 5 minutes, so the prices must be right.

-Unless demand has changed Id agree on the criteria that you a d friends are looking for, buy the premium membership a d be ready to make a deposit the instant each batch of leases comes out. The good ones are gone fast, you likely don’t have a half hour to call your friends and deliberate. It’s crazy.

-If you don’t do this you will get whatever’s left over.

-Like any search be open to being in it for the long haul, the property you find first may or may not be what you’re looking for, The first two years our property was so-so, the next three years - different property - was awesome. In both cases the farmers we were leasing from were great guys.

Overall my experience with Basecamp was a thumbs up.
Click to expand...

Thanks this backs up what I've heard from some others.

So it sounds like you don't have an opportunity to go over ground rules before committing? Met some guys last month hunting the same public piece I was who said the owner of their lease brought in loggers over the summer and it jacked up their hunt plans. They got a small refund but basically lost everything else. :(
 
You could ask Basecamp ahead of time what is typically permitted, or not, and some things might be lease specific. You could read the lease template ahead of time. I found their customer service and our leasing agent to be very responsive.

It’s kinda funny how you assume something about an experience (like I need to go lease a piece of sweet land), and then reality and the learning curve sets in... and in my case it was the reality of the competitiveness of the leases, just like a new house search. We burned up two deposits on properties that we ultimately didn’t take, but we were in it for the long haul and the third property was money.

Good luck and just let me know if you have any more questions.
 
I didn't know this concept existed. How long has it been around? Crazy that I had an idea for such a service two years ago when thinking about how the S&D for huntable land access could be leveraged through digital/mobile technology. Kind of a mix between OnX and Ebay.
 
Can you guys also list the states where you leased? Just curious if basecamp is pretty state specific or not
 
Leasing......the end of the Knock on Doors permission era.

Best of luck though as i totally get why someone would want to lease to get some decent hunting. With all the Youtube guys giving out all the secrets to finding deer i’ve seen people in spots i’ve NEVER seen them before in decades of hunting.

I may just throw my hat in the leasing ring myself as my son gets more interested in hunting so we can actually hunt deer instead of avoiding pressure.
 
I’ll just reiterate as you check out their website, the name of the game with Basecamp is subscribe to their premium subscription and hit the Jeopardy button the fastest when the newly available leases are published each week; demand is outpacing supply. When you browse the website you’ll see that most properties are already leased.
 
neonomad said:
I’ll just reiterate as you check out their website, the name of the game with Basecamp is subscribe to their premium subscription and hit the Jeopardy button the fastest when the newly available leases are published each week; demand is outpacing supply. When you browse the website you’ll see that most properties are already leased.
Click to expand...
Sounds like the price per lease needs to rise... to attract more land owners and to moderate how quickly properties get snatched up. Standard price mechanism to cope with scarcity.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Sounds like the price per lease needs to rise... to attract more land owners and to moderate how quickly properties get snatched up. Standard price mechanism to cope with scarcity.
Click to expand...
30-50 dollars per acre is high enough. I pay seven per acre for mine.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
Sounds like the price per lease needs to rise... to attract more land owners and to moderate how quickly properties get snatched up. Standard price mechanism to cope with scarcity.
Click to expand...

Yeah that’s what’s crazy, they could probably charge even more. Wonder if things ever turn around again where simple Joe can go knock on doors. Those days might be over forever, unless you get lucky.
 
neonomad said:
Wonder if things ever turn around again where simple Joe can go knock on doors. Those days might be over forever, unless you get lucky.
Click to expand...

Theyre over i think.

5-6 years ago a friend and i were determined to find a spot and spent the day knocking on every door that had a promising looking spot, nothing.

We even started by asking if we could earn the right to hunt their land instead of just “can we hunt” and they either had someone or just plain didn’t allow hunting.

I haven’t tried since.
 
neonomad said:
Yeah that’s what’s crazy, they could probably charge even more. Wonder if things ever turn around again where simple Joe can go knock on doors. Those days might be over forever, unless you get lucky.
Click to expand...
Asked my buddy about him and I leasing farm by his dads. He said they have a waiting list. I used to knock on doors out of state and have had luck. However I talked with a guide and he said if there's good property, its leased. Those outfitters can offer big money to swipe all the good stuff.
 
It sounds like a cool concept, especially if it helps you avoid the long hikes and crowded public grounds. I haven't personally tried it, but I'm intrigued by the idea of accessing private properties and unique terrain features. Splitting costs with a friend also sounds like a smart move to make it more affordable.
By the way, I recently came across a Mortgage Broker in Wigan who offers fantastic assistance with mortgages and loans. They could be a valuable resource if you're looking to finance any hunting or outdoor-related endeavors. It's always good to have reliable professionals who can guide you through financial decisions.
 
Last edited:
Never heard of this either and I’m probably too cheap to try it but one never knows. How far away are you guys leasing property from your home base(s)?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top