Cows and Hunting Leases - Do They Mix?

Leasing hunting land is one of the most popular methods of acquiring access to some of the best deer hunting in the country. Most of the time, this leased land is either used for farming or ranching (or sometimes both). This means if you are hunting on leased land, you may have some run-ins with cattle. Many hunters are always concerned about this, and worry that cattle could negatively impact their hunt. 

So do cows and hunting leases mix? Or should you expect your hunt to be negatively impacted if there is cattle on your hunting lease? Well yes and no. The answer is complicated, so let’s dig into it! 

Types of Cattle Operations

There are a few different types of cattle operations that you will run across, and some might be better than others when it comes to hunting. For example, large cattle ranches are big properties that are focused on the production of livestock. As you can probably guess, this means a ton of potential cattle in the area. Other smaller farms might have several different uses for their land in addition to cattle, so there will generally be much less cows running around. 

Your hunting lease might be on a property with few cows, or it might be overrun with them. The size of the property may not entirely depend on the number of cattle on it, it can be a good indication of what to expect. When signing a hunting lease, it is a good idea to ask about cattle on the property and what to expect. 

Cows and Hunting

So can cows ruin your hunt? The answer, unfortunately, is yes. While not always the case, cattle can always seem to show up in the most inconvenient times during a hunt. Cattle can show up on your trail cameras, eat all of your bait, and spook off all the deer in an area during a hunt. The more cows that are on a property, the more likely these things are to happen. 

Luckily, just because cows are on a property does not mean they will ruin a hunt. There are times when you will not even notice cattle on a property, and they will stay away from your hunting areas. Sometimes deer will become accustomed to cattle in an area, and they will tolerate their presence. In fact, it is not uncommon at all to see both cows and deer feeding together out in a field. So if you do have cattle on your hunting lease, all is not lost! Just keep on hunting as usual, and they may not be a problem at all. 

Final Thoughts

While having an abundance of cows on your hunting lease is not ideal, it does not necessarily mean that you will have bad hunting experiences. Cows and deer coexist in all parts of the country, and most deer will not even notice them during their normal routines.