Deer Lease Etiquette

[retrieverman]

For lack of a better term, I’m going to call this deer lease etiquette. My family has hunted a 400 acre tract beside my parent’s place here in east TX for about 30 years, and when I only lived a mile away, I was on the property every day. Now that I live 20 miles away, I pretty much only go over there just before and during deer season, BUT my brother and his family live on my Mother’s property that adjoins it. When I lived there, I kept the roads cleared and mowed year around, but over the last several years, my brother has done the mowing (since he lives there) but only just before deer season and only on the side of the place where he hunts. My brother was whining a couple weeks ago about not having time to mow, but he didn’t tell me he was taking his THIRD vacation this year to Mexico last week. I haven’t hunted this place much since I became the sole caretaker of the OK place and also moved 20 miles away, but I planned to give it a shot this year and at least try to kill a few pigs.
I took the skid steer over there yesterday afternoon and got started on the roads, but I only got part of it done and am going back this evening to do more.

My question for the group is how big of an @sshole would I be if I only mowed the roads on the side of the property I hunt and made my brother mow his side?
I also want to clarify that he has three tractors and mowers, so equipment isn’t an issue. But being a lazy @ss is.

 

[SPDguns]

That's a good one. I have a lease I share with my brother. He thinks it's "our" lease but it's not. It is my lease and he is a guest.

 

[Dorkus]

I would let it go. My thoughts are it is not worth the family drama.

I see the same thing as I do most of all the maintenance, blind work, camera checking and other prep on our property. However, I do it because I like to and it gives me something to do during the off season. I have no hard feelings at all for the imbalance because it is my hobby and “personal therapy”.

Choose your battles, I don’t think this is one you should fight or will win.

 

[TedKennedy]

I would let it go. My thoughts are it is not worth the family drama.

I see the same thing as I do most of all the maintenance, blind work, camera checking and other prep on our property. However, I do it because I like to and it gives me something to do during the off season. I have no hard feelings at all for the imbalance because it is my hobby and “personal therapy”.

Choose your battles, I don’t think this is one you should fight or will win.

This x 2

 

[cowadle]

Use his equipment? And fuel?

 

[tynyphil]

not worth the angst or family effects.....do what makes you happy

Similar....I live on a 1/2 mile gravel road with 12 other 5 acre homesites. We must maintain the road ourselves. I mow the sides/ditches of 1/4 mile from my home to the main paved road. Tho' others benefit I do it for ME. I don't like having to drive that 1/4 mile with an overgrown road edge. I also broadcasted wildflower seed in that area for ME and others to enjoy. I also do not mow the area until the flowers have headed/seeded out. Therefore it gets it's first mowing sometime in July.

 

[turkeyrun]

I would START with what I needed to get to my area and as time permitted, expand.

If the subject comes up, mention the time constriction, 3 vacations, distance, available equipment.

My guess, since you feel strongly enough to post the issue, this isn't a 1st time
or isolated occurrence. Don't drop it, but think about hard you want to push it.

 

[retrieverman]

I would let it go. My thoughts are it is not worth the family drama.

I see the same thing as I do most of all the maintenance, blind work, camera checking and other prep on our property. However, I do it because I like to and it gives me something to do during the off season. I have no hard feelings at all for the imbalance because it is my hobby and “personal therapy”.

Choose your battles, I don’t think this is one you should fight or will win.

I have 970 acres between 3 tracts in two states that I have hunting rights, so I get plenty of “personal therapy” from keeping them up.

Use his equipment? And fuel?

My equipment and my fuel. So far, I’ve run 25 gallons of diesel and am probably only halfway done.

 

[undeg01]

Not worth the family drama and IMO, you are not your brother’s keeper. You do you.

Similarly, my brother in law and I shared a lease for several years. I would work on it year round and he would go out a month before season to put up stands and would complain, “You have already claimed the good spots.” Those are good spots because I put in the work to make them good. Covid comes along and like many others, he lost his ever loving mind. He demanded that the whole family get Covid tests before we get together for any reason and refused to join us for holidays unless we got vaccinated.

Come January, I told the land owner I was not going to renew my part of the lease with my brother in law. His response was, “You are the only reason there is a lease and you are the only one I ever saw that cared for the property, so I am going to terminate the whole thing.” My brother in law was pissed when he got word from the land owner. I didn’t lose any sleep over it.

 

[dennishoddy]

We have a neighbor that does nothing to share in our 3/10 mile private gravel road nor help with the mowing or maintenance of tree limb removal.
In fact when cutting the limbs back because UPS and FedEx drivers said it so overgrown they might have to stop delivery, she drove down the road to chew my a$$ out for killing trees. (Can you guess who she votes for?)
I’ve been grading that road for 30 years to the point it’s as smooth as glass most of the time with a proper crown on it to shed water, yet she tells everyone I don’t know what I’m doing.
For years I was constantly angry about that Danged road.
A couple years ago the wife sat me down and said from here on out, just act like we are the only people living here and it’s our total responsibility to maintain the road both financially and physically. She isn’t going to help, so forget about her and move forward. The stress isn’t worth it.