The Lease Is Real. The Landowner Is Not.

09/14/2026

Between 2020 and 2025, Americans reported $65 million lost to rental scams, and the Federal Trade Commission says most of them started with a fake listing on Facebook, according to FTC data reported by WBAY. September is the month hunters wire deposits to strangers for ground they have never walked. The con does not need a single new trick to follow them there.

Pennsylvania Just Made Every Sunday a Hunting Day. Here Is Who Said Yes First.

09/10/2026

Every Sunday that falls inside Pennsylvania's 2026-27 season dates is open to hunting for the first time in the state's history, the Board of Game Commissioners confirmed in its final season approval. The lone carve-out is migratory birds. For the roughly half a million people who hunt the Commonwealth around jobs and school schedules, the number of huntable weekend days just about doubled.

Half a Million Acres of Hunting Cover Come Off the Federal Payroll September 30

09/08/2026

Contracts covering about 1.5 million Conservation Reserve Program acres expire on September 30, and the owners of roughly 518,000 of them never submitted an offer to stay, according to Farm Service Agency figures from this summer's signup. On October 1, a decade or more of federal rental checks stops on that ground, and the cover those checks grew is still standing.

Mallards Just Hit a 33-Year Low. Total Ducks Barely Moved.

09/05/2026

The federal duck report finally landed on September 1, about a week late and carrying the number waterfowlers will argue about all season: 5.9 million mallards, down 11 percent in a year, 26 percent below the long-term average, and the lowest estimate in more than 30 years. Total breeding ducks barely moved, holding at 33.4 million. The headline bird did not.

Hunting News Roundup - August 2026 | HLRBO

08/31/2026

Interior finalized the largest hunting and fishing expansion in Fish and Wildlife Service history, New York tied a second buck tag to a doe, chronic wasting disease turned up in a new Minnesota county and at two Wisconsin deer farms, and drought pushed past half the Lower 48 with the September 1 openers a day out. Here are the stories that caught our eye in the first half of August.

Archery Elk Season 2026: Dates, Drought and Closures

08/28/2026

Colorado's archery elk season opens September 2, 2026, onto ground the U.S. Drought Monitor's map valid August 4, 2026 put at 47.10 percent in extreme drought or worse, more than double the 20.30 percent it carried in the same week of 2025. Six other Western states open within about three weeks of it. Five of the seven hold more severe-drought country than they did a year ago.

Hunting Lease Liability: What Landowners Are On Hook For

08/27/2026

Every state has a recreational use statute limiting what a landowner owes a hunter who gets hurt on the property, and in a good number of states that protection ends the moment money changes hands. That is the whole problem with a handshake lease. Most landowners assume the statute covers them, and most have never read the sentence in it that decides whether it does.

How to Lease Hunting Land for the First Time (2026 Guide)

08/26/2026

Hunting lease rates run from roughly $5 to more than $50 per acre per year, according to Forest Resource Consultants' 2026 pricing guide, and the spread is that wide because a lease is not just rented dirt. If you have only ever hunted public land or the family farm, your first lease is three things at once: a contract, a budget line, and a relationship with a landowner you have probably never met. Here is how to get all three right.

Louisiana CWD Zones Now Redraw Themselves Around Positives

08/25/2026

Louisiana's chronic wasting disease map is now self-updating. On June 2, 2026, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission ratified an emergency declaration that replaced the state's static CWD Control Area with detection-triggered CWD Management Zones, each built from a 5-mile inner zone sitting inside a 15-mile outer zone drawn around a confirmed positive deer. Four zones cover parts of 14 parishes, and the next positive redraws the map without a rulemaking cycle.

Early Archery Season 2026: First Openers and Velvet Bucks

08/24/2026

Florida's Zone A archery season opened August 1, 2026 and closes August 30, and South Carolina and Utah followed on August 15. By the morning of September 6, hunters in five more states will be in the field. Every one of those openers falls before the date the only published U.S. study on the subject says 95 percent of bucks have peeled velvet.

EHD 2026: What Your State Has Confirmed So Far

08/21/2026

Biting midges do their heaviest work in the last stretch of August, and by the time an agency confirms the first epizootic hemorrhagic disease case of a season, the outbreak that produced it has usually been running for weeks. As of August 16, 2026, the 2026 record this piece can vouch for is a single state map, posted by Missouri and stamped August 9, 2026, with no county list and no count behind it. A thin record in mid-August is ordinary, and it is not the same thing as a quiet year. What decides your season is not a national tally anyway. It is what your own state agency has put on its disease page, so here is what EHD does, what it looks like on the ground, and where to go read your state's answer for yourself.

Timber Company Hunting Leases: One Landlord, 4M Acres

08/20/2026

On January 30, 2026, Rayonier and PotlatchDeltic closed a merger of equals that put more than 4 million acres of American timberland under a single owner, and a meaningful share of that ground is the kind hunters lease. For the hunt clubs and families who lease it, the owner behind the gate just changed, and in some counties the price on the permit changed first.

Acorn Crop 2026: What It Means for Deer Movement This Fall

08/19/2026

As of August 3, 2026, exactly one state has published a 2026 acorn reading, and it says two opposite things: an excellent white oak crop and a red oak group with virtually no production. There is no national mast picture this year, because nobody assembles one.

North Dakota Deer Season 2026: Fewest Licenses in 50 Years

08/18/2026

North Dakota will issue 39,100 deer gun licenses for the 2026 season, down from 42,300 in 2025 and 50,100 in 2024, the state's lowest allocation in more than half a century. The tags are disappearing. The hunters are not.

2026 Early Teal Season: Nine Days and 4.4 Million

08/14/2026

The 2026 early teal season runs nine days in the Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic flyways, and the reason is one figure in one federal report: 4.4 million blue-winged teal in the traditional survey area. The threshold for 16 days is 4.7 million. The gap is about 300,000 birds, roughly six percent, and it costs three flyways a week of September.

Tennessee Deer Bait License 2026: $50, Private Land Only

08/13/2026

Tennessee began selling a Deer Bait Privilege License on July 22, 2026, and for the first time in state history, hunting white-tailed deer over corn is legal there. The state made it legal by charging for it.

Squirrel Hunting Season 2026: Hunting's Forgotten Opener

08/12/2026

Squirrel season opens August 15, 2026 in Kentucky, August 22 in Tennessee, and has been open in Missouri since May. Georgia's opener is a fixed August 15, though the state has not posted a dated 2026-27 squirrel chart yet. Either way it is the first real opener on the American hunting calendar, the cheapest way anyone has ever learned to hunt, and it gets none of the ceremony.

CRP Program 2026: 2.2M Accepted, Roughly 300K Turned Away

08/11/2026

The Farm Service Agency announced on July 7 that it accepted 2.2 million of the nearly 2.5 million acres offered in this year's Conservation Reserve Program signups, which means roughly 300,000 acres that landowners offered to idle in exchange for a federal check just got told no.

2026 Farmland Values: What $4,500 an Acre Means for Hunting

08/07/2026

The average acre of American pasture is worth $2,000 in 2026, up $80 from 2025, according to USDA figures released at the end of July. That one-year paper gain is more than most hunting leases in the country pay in cash over a full season.

Pennsylvania Rebuilds How Hunters Get Onto Private Land

08/06/2026

Pennsylvania's Hunter Access Program, the 90-year-old system that puts hunters on enrolled private land across the state, is getting its biggest overhaul in decades for the 2026-27 season: three tiers of access, an online reservation system, and a new mapping tool that finally shows real property boundaries. It's the clearest sign yet that states are borrowing marketplace mechanics to organize private-land access.

Hunting Lease Income: The Landowner's Answer to 2026 Costs

08/04/2026

The ground is worth more than ever and has never cost more to keep. In 2026, landowners are treating hunting access as a line item that pays the tax bill.

Hunting News Roundup — July 2026 | HLRBO

08/01/2026

The federal government is moving toward finalizing the largest proposed expansion of refuge hunting access in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service history, Michigan cuts its muzzleloader season to three days, two more states clamp down on baiting and feeding, and drought keeps squeezing Oklahoma. Here are the stories that caught our eye in July.

Can a Game Warden Enter Private Property? PA Now Says No

07/31/2026

Pennsylvania game wardens spent more than a decade walking past locked gates and no-trespassing signs onto two Clearfield County hunting clubs, and on July 21 the state Supreme Court told them, 7-0, that the next visit requires a warrant. One warden left a surveillance camera running on club ground for 78 days without ever asking a judge. On posted private land in Pennsylvania, the court held, that era is over.

Corner Crossing Survived the Supreme Court. Now What?

07/30/2026

The U.S. Supreme Court declined on October 20, 2025, to hear Iron Bar Holdings v. Cape, leaving in place a 10th Circuit ruling that stepping corner to corner between public parcels, without touching private land, is not trespass. Nine months later, the ripples are still spreading, from a Montana courtroom to the Oregon statehouse.

Dove Season 2026: Plan the Opening Day Group Hunt Now

07/28/2026

Dove season opens September 1, 2026, across most of the country, and the best opening-day shoots won't be thrown together in August. They're being organized right now, in July, by whoever locked down the field first.

NC's New CWD Deer Rules and the National Picture

07/24/2026

North Carolina wildlife officials have added a special early antlered-deer season, earlier firearms dates, and extra harvest tags across seven counties for the 2026-2027 season, all aimed at slowing chronic wasting disease. It is a local rewrite of the deer calendar, and it looks a lot like what hunters in a growing number of states are seeing.

Deer Baiting Laws Face New Scrutiny as CWD Spreads

07/23/2026

If you hunt Michigan's Lower Peninsula, you've probably already had the conversation with your buddies: can we put out corn this fall, or not? For now the answer is still no, but that could change, and the debate behind it is one deer hunters across the country have a stake in.

The July Playbook: Set Up Your Hunting Lease for Fall

07/22/2026

Deer openers are as little as a month out, 6 to 12 weeks for most, and hunters who fill tags in November are working in July. Here is the checklist.

Duck Hunting 2026-2027: What the Surveys Tell Us

07/21/2026

The 2026 breeding-survey field reports are in, and the headline for duck hunters is patience: a delayed spring and a patchwork of wet and dry ground up north, paired with another liberal season framework heading into fall. The official population numbers are not out yet, but the early field notes and the season rules already tell you most of what you need to plan around.

HLRBO in the News: Fundraise Announcement Sparks Media Interest

06/22/2026

When HLRBO announced its $2.5 million funding round on June 3, the story quickly spread beyond the hunting industry.

HLRBO Summer 2026 Update: Fall Is Closer Than It Looks

06/04/2026

HLRBO is entering summer with more land, better tools, fresh funding, and a bigger voice in the private-hunting-access conversation. For hunters, that means more ways to search, compare, and secure private land before the season. For landowners, it means better tools to list property, manage interest, and connect with responsible hunters.

Feds Release Trove of Public Land Access Data

06/01/2026

The government used to do a pretty good job with mapping our country. For decades, the official U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Forest Service paper maps were as good as it got.

Hunting News Roundup — May 29, 2026 | HLRBO

05/29/2026

Here are the stories that caught our eye from the worlds of land, hunting, and conservation for the week of May 23-29th. Wildlife refuges opening to hunters, a new Texas state park, a new MeatEater store, and more.

MeatEater's Retail Ambitions Grow with Minnesota Store

05/28/2026

MeatEater, the hunting and outdoor media company built around Steven Rinella’s writing, television work and podcasting, is taking another step into physical retail.

This CAD Designer is Helping Hunters Find Hunting Access in the Mid-Atlantic

05/26/2026

When most people think of New Jersey, they picture the Jersey Shore, the Turnpike, and crowded suburbs, not prime hunting country. Greg Henderson knows better. As HLRBO’s Field Rep for the Mid-Atlantic, he works a region of sprawling farmland, pine and deciduous forests, cedar swamps, and saltwater bays and marshes that produces trophy whitetail deer and some of the best waterfowl hunting on the East Coast.

We spoke with Greg to learn more about the area, his role with HLRBO, and why he thinks there's so much untapped potential on the East Coast when it comes to private hunting leases.

New Tool to Improve Hunting Habitat without a Costly Consultant

05/21/2026

Many landowners and hunters dream of turning their hunting grounds into the ultimate big buck paradise. The challenge, however, is finding the time and money to make all those tweaks. And then hoping they actually work.

How North Dakota Plans to Fix 'Checkerboard' Land Issues

05/20/2026

'Corner crossing' on public lands has gotten a lot of attention in media and the courts the past few years, but not much has been done to address the root of the conflict: the checkerboard land-ownership pattern in the West. North Dakota is doing something about it with the federal North Dakota Trust Lands Completion Act, which lays out a plan for making state, federal, and tribal lands more contiguous.

Hunting Lease 'Shared Access' Lets Multiple Parties Book Individual Spots on Private Land

05/19/2026

Imagine a landowner who owns 400 acres of prime whitetail land in northern Wisconsin. For years, he has leased the land to a single hunting party. But for many weekends, that exclusivity feels like overkill.

Lawsuit Targets Corner Crossing Confusion in Montana

05/15/2026

The debate over the legality of "corner crossing" isn't over, but a lawsuit in Montana hopes to force the issue. Two public-land access groups sued Montana this week, arguing the state has no legal basis for treating “corner crossing” as trespass — a dispute affecting access to roughly 871,000 acres of federal land.

What the South African Wildlife Model Can Teach Us

05/12/2026

The idea that hunting is the best way to sustain wildlife populations can be a counterintuitive pill for non-hunters to swallow. But in the U.S. and Canada, that's exactly how we brought wild animals back from the brink of extinction due to the excesses of colonizing the continent.

Most American hunters are familiar with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, which holds wildlife in the public trust as a shared resource and funds conservation largely through hunting and fishing. But Africa boasts its own wildlife success stories and the robust wild mammal populations enjoyed there today are the result of much different practices.

Feds Kill Rule Allowing Conservation Leasing of Public Land

05/12/2026

When Americans think of "public lands," many people picture iconic National Parks such as the Grand Canyon or Yosemite. But the 640 million acres owned by the federal government is much more diverse, with millions of acres managed by the Bureau of Land Management and open to private leasing for uses such as oil drilling, mining, and livestock grazing.

Hunterizer App Now Covers 40% of Nation's Hunters

05/08/2026

Information is easier to find than ever, but--somehow--knowing what you can legally hunt in a given area on a given date isn't easy info to come by. The startup Hunterizer app aims to put that data at your fingertips and is rapidly expanding their coverage area, recently adding Idaho and Tennessee to their app.

Debunking Hysteria Over Deletion of Hunting Rules for National Park Lands

05/06/2026

Pearl-clutching alert! A May 4 New York Times article took an alarmist approach to sharing details of internal Department of the Interior documents rolling back restrictions on hunting and fishing in National Parks.

Wilderness Won. Will Hunters Have a Place in It?

04/30/2026

If you follow the battles over public land, you get the impression that our shared wild places are constantly under threat. A few patches of nature barely holding out against the inexorable march of subdivisions and strip mines.

A Record $52 Million Committed to Walk-In Access Programs

04/29/2026

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is ponying up $52 million to expand public access to private lands through the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). Commonly known as "Walk-In Access" programs through state wildlife departments, this program wasn't funded in 2024 despite high demand from hunters hoping to access private parcels for free.

Feds Give Hunters Another Seat at the Table

04/28/2026

The Department of the Interior and USDA just announced a new advisory group giving hunters a federal foothold: the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation and Access Council. In plain English, it’s a panel of hunting, conservation, and industry voices tasked with advising federal officials on everything from habitat policy to public land access.

The Federal Plan That Almost Outlawed Your Hunting Dog


04/23/2026

A sneaky Farm Bill provision with implications for hound hunters was averted this week as House lawmakers officially stripped "anti-hunting" language from the 2026 Farm Bill draft. 

The move follows a mobilization by conservation groups who warned that a provision intended to protect greyhounds would have unintentionally criminalized traditional bird dog training and field trials nationwide.

Platform Update: 10 Reasons HLRBO Just Got a Whole Lot Better

04/22/2026

America has roughly 800 million acres of private land. Most of it sits idle every hunting season. Not because landowners don’t want to lease it, and not because hunters don’t want to find it, but because the tools to connect them never existed.

Hunting with Drones Authorized for Big Game Recovery

04/21/2026

By Seiji Ishii

The whirring buzz of a drone is not a common sound in the hunting world. But, increasingly, state agencies are being forced to pay attention and pivot laws as camera-equipped drones become more common in the woods.

Land Access is Key to HLRBO Field Rep's Work and Urban Hunting in Georgia

04/17/2026

 A lifelong outdoorsman, hunting content creator, and contractor, John "Billy" Mullinax brings a rare combination of passion for the outdoors, hustle, and camera skills to HLRBO.  Mullinax added Field Representative duties for HLRBO to his plate in 2025 as a natural extension of his outdoor lifestyle that includes hunting, fishing, and documenting his adventures on video.

College Student Bringing His Dad's Shotgun Training Tool Idea to Market After a Decade

04/16/2026

A 23-year-old college student in Minnesota is developing a youth shotgun training device designed to show young hunters exactly where they aimed when they pull the trigger. It revives an idea first conceived by the founder's father more than a decade ago.

Proposed White House Cuts Threaten Wildlife and Conservation

04/14/2026

Wildlife is a public resource in the United States, which means it requires public funding. Cuts to conservation programs proposed by the White House across multiple federal agencies could have massive implications for the animals we hunt and observe on both public and private lands.

While the executive branch can't unilaterally cut programs and Congress will ultimately need to pass the next budget, conservation groups are sounding the alarm due to roughly $1.76 billion in cuts to wildlife and conservation funding in the next fiscal year.

State-By-State Guide to Big Changes to Hunting Laws

04/09/2026

Spring is turkey season, but it’s also rule-making season for many state wildlife agencies. These changes to state hunting rules and regulations can have massive impacts on your fall hunting experience.

The changes can also influence your planning for fall hunts, especially if you take part in point-based applications common in Western states or if you hunt out-of-state often.

This Chiropractor Taught Herself to Hunt to Feed Her Family During COVID

04/07/2026

Some people used the COVID years to nurture a sourdough bread starter. HLRBO Field Representative Heather Morales used the lockdown period to dive headlong into hunting to provide for her family.

After teaching herself archery and hunting basics, Morales discovered HLRBO and saw an opportunity to leverage her interpersonal skills talking to landowners about leasing their properties to hunters. It also gave this newer, self-taught hunter a chance to hone her ability to read the land and identify animal sign.

Proposed Farm Bill Could Hamper Hunting with Dogs

04/06/2026

A newly added amendment to the House version of the 2026 Farm Bill is drawing raised eyebrows and formal rebukes from hunters, dog trainers, and sporting organizations nationwide. These groups are warning that the language could unintentionally restrict long-standing hunting practices involving dogs.

Try This Thai-Inspired Fish Fry from a Pro Chef

04/02/2026

When I think of summer I think of fried fish. I love catching bluegill, perch and trout, but with the heat being what it is I avoid the traditional beer batter and go for something different. Something more in-season and that means spicy, light, and that packs a punch. This is my Thai-inspired fish fry.

This Country Megastar Spent 3 Years Developing Turkey Hunting Clothing

04/01/2026

Hank Williams, Jr. sang about "country boys" skinning deer and fishing in the rain decades ago. The connection between the outdoors and country music is as strong as ever, leading Luke Combs – a hunter and one of Nashville's modern icons – to his own line of hunting gear.

Are Roads Helping or Hurting Your Hunting Lease?

03/31/2026

With the Roadless Rule under threat, conservation organizations are stumping hard for the benefits of walk-in only wilderness for wildlife and hunting on public lands. Especially in the West, elk and deer are much more comfortable in large roadless areas, but the calculus becomes more complicated on private land.

Georgia Loosens Hog Hunting Rules to Combat Damages

03/26/2026

For hunters, wild hogs are one of the few species that can be hunted year-round, providing a challenging hunt (and a chance to refill the freezer) in the off-season. For farmers, ranchers, and landowners, hogs can be a destructive nightmare, causing an estimated $1.6 billion in damages every year, according to surveys from the goverment's National Feral Swine Damage Management Program.

HLRBO Rep Ricky Bell Lives the Lowcountry Life

03/24/2026

Ricky Bell lives and works in the Lowcountry of South Carolina

The South Carolina is an incredibly diverse state with salt marshes near the ocean and timbered mountains to the North and West. This creates a rich mix of pine and oak timber, agricultural fields, and varied habitat that supports everything from deer, doves, and turkey to waterfowl and hogs. 

Based in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, Ricky Bell serves as a South Carolina Field Representative for HLRBO, where he focuses on building relationships with landowners and helping bring new properties onto the platform. HLRBO is an online hunting lease platform, but Bell works face-to-face—meeting landowners, walking properties, and getting a true feel for the land.

Politicians Trying to 'Evict' Bison From Montana Public Lands

03/23/2026

Over the 100 years between the American Revolution and the late 19th Century, as many as 60 million American bison were hunted and wantonly slaughtered until just a few hundred remained. The near-extirpation remains one of the saddest tales of Westward expansion across the United States.

Did Ben Franklin Really Prefer the Turkey as Our National Bird?

03/20/2026

With turkey seasons underway in Florida and other Southern states, it’s worth revisiting one of the most persistent myths surrounding the star of spring hunting: Did Benjamin Franklin want the wild turkey to be America’s national bird?

The short answer is: no. Franklin wrote an excellent roast of the bald eagle in a letter to his daughter that gets quoted every Thanksgiving, but he never actually stumped for the game bird to become a national symbol.

These Are the 8 States That Have Spring Bear Hunts

03/16/2026

Spring is (almost) officially here, and while many hunters will start their 2026 hunting season by chasing turkeys, there’s a big game hunt that often gets overlooked: spring black bear.

Many states skip spring bear season, but there are 8 U.S. states with black bear hunts available between April and June: Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon, and Wyoming.

What Does 'Make America Beautiful Again' Mean for Hunting?

03/11/2026

You’ve heard of President Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again”. United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy, Jr. has “Make America Healthy Again”.

Now, “Make America Beautiful Again” is taking on public lands and outdoor recreation.

To date, "MABA 250" is largely plans and rhetoric, but hunting and conservation groups are applauding its goals.

How a Son Brought His Father Back to Hunting After 20 Years

03/10/2026

Tom Westhoff was listening to his buddy’s hunting stories and realized he hadn’t been out hunting in almost 20 years.

“It kind of hit me,” Westhoff recalls. “I used to love that stuff. I started wondering, why did I ever quit doing it?”

'Free' OnX Tools to Help With Big Game Applications

03/06/2026

It’s Western big game application season and the glory of fall hunts starts with sifting through draw odds and staring at maps. It all can be headache-inducing with each state having different complex schemes for allocating tags that demands more math and spreadsheets than doing your own taxes.

Thankfully, you may already be paying for a tool that can streamline the process: onX Hunt.

Former 'Texas Untamed' Host Brings Old-School Values to HLRBO Team

03/04/2026

Mike Johnson grew up hunting before land leasing was popular and, as a result, brings a unique perspective to HLRBO’s modern model of finding access to hunting land. In his second year as an HLRBO Field Representative, Johnson has excelled in a role that blends relationship-building, land knowledge, and a passion for the outdoors.

His former life as a hunting TV show host doesn't hurt, either. 

The Silent Approach: How E-Bikes Are Changing Hunting

03/03/2026

By first light, hunters are already in the woods, having covered miles of ground. Usually that means long hikes in the dark or the rumble of an ATV or truck. Increasingly, though, another option is rolling quietly down forest trails: the electric bike.

E-bikes are a hunting transport option that sits somewhere between walking and motorized vehicles. They are fast enough to cover distance, but quiet enough to keep the woods calm. Even if you drive to your hunting grounds, an e-bike can be a quieter way to cover the final stretch to your deer stand or glassing spot.

D.C.'s Biggest Wildlife Decision of 2026 Isn't What You Think

02/27/2026

The Farm Bill is one of the most important laws for hunters in America, even if most don’t realize it. By directing billions into private-land conservation programs that shape habitat across most of the Lower 48, it exerts more control over wildlife habitat than any other federal law.

This massive bill addresses crop insurance and farm subsidies, but it also usually updates voluntary private-land conservation programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program.

HLRBO 'Reserve Lease' Feature Simplifies Land Leasing

02/26/2026

You are planning a hunt, browsing listings on HLRBO. You find the perfect piece of land. Now, it’s time to
message the landowner and hope you can get the lease.

The Mailman Who Maps Hunting Land

02/24/2026

Before he became one of the earliest field representatives for HLRBO, David Marrero was simply a New York hunter and USPS Letter Carrier who loved being in the woods.

SHOT Show: 10 Top Hunting Gear Picks for 2026

02/20/2026

New rifles, optics, packs, boots, trail cams, and ammo… the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas is a mecca for hunting gear. This year, the HLRBO team was on the show floor to meet with brands. We scoped a few top picks of gear to watch for this upcoming hunting season.

A Beginner’s Guide to Shed Hunting

02/19/2026

For hunters, the end of deer season leaves a void. Rifles and bows get put away and the long wait until next fall begins. But for a growing number of hunters and outdoorsmen, winter and early spring mark the start of an adjacent hobby: shed hunting.

Animal Rights Group Seeks Ban on Wildlife Fur in Colorado

02/18/2026

As a pretty reliably “blue” state with tons of public land and a strong hunting economy, Colorado has become a battleground state for anti-hunting initiatives. The latest is a petition that an environmental group plans to present to Colorado Parks and Wildlife in early March.

This New York Hunter-Chef Elevates Plates and Properties

02/17/2026

Fidel Torres didn’t grow up hunting, but it’s become a passion that’s part of both his work and play these days.

As the New York State field representative for HLRBO, Torres spends days on the road meeting landowners, hiking boundaries, studying topography, and assessing the potential of properties that may one day be someone’s perfect hunting property. His job is equal parts scout, photographer, and wildlife observer—someone who can see land from every angle and present it honestly.

These Are the States with the Least Public Land

02/13/2026

Public land is an incredible resource for hunters, but it’s not distributed evenly around the country. The West generally has much more public land than Eastern states, but not always. For this article, we mined government and HLRBO user data to dive into the numbers (and found some surprises along the way).

Crop Fields to Trophy Bucks: Austin Rose’s Nebraska Playbook

02/12/2026

In Nebraska, rolling fields and timber breaks produce the kind of terrain hunters see in their dreams. Austin Rose, HLRBO field rep for the region, has a front-row seat, and he’s helping open the door to hunters around the state.

New Sitka Film Shares Personal Stories of the Threatened Boundary Waters

02/05/2026

With all the threats to public lands in the past few years, it's easy to tune out the news about the latest public lands "emergency" as abstract political fights. This type of outrage burnout is understandable, but it doesn't help the cause of public lands.

Minnesota to Lift Decades-Old Rifle Ban for 2026 Deer Season

02/04/2026

In a shift for Minnesota’s hunting landscape, state officials have finalized plans to end the "shotgun-only" zone, allowing rifle hunting statewide beginning in the 2026 season.

The Battle for Catalina: Film Rekindles Fight Over Deer

01/30/2026

Catalina Island is home to an estimated 2,000 mule deer that live in isolation and have grown well beyond what land managers consider sustainable.

The Man Behind Our Wisconsin Trophy Deer Leases

01/29/2026

When most people think of Wisconsin, they picture cheese, beer brats, the Green Bay Packers, and not much else. But for savvy deer hunters, they know Wisconsin is trophy whitetail buck country, and some of the most sought-after hunting in the nation.

This App Tells You What You Can Hunt—Right Now

01/28/2026

Press a button on your phone, and Hunterizer tells you exactly what game you can hunt. The new app uses your location and timing—even “Right Now”—to show what’s in season and permitted in real time across the U.S.

Built by two Stanford-trained PhDs, Vlad Powerman and David Boinagrov, Hunterizer simplifies the dense web of hunting regulations into clear guidance. It helps hunters find legal opportunities and avoid accidental violations by consolidating season dates, legal species, weapon types, zone-specific rules, and shooting hours into a single, easy-to-navigate platform.

Matt Rinella Hates ‘Pay-to-Play’ Hunting—But Is Private Leasing to Blame?

01/27/2026

Private land hunting has always carried connotations of elite privilege, but social media has turned those tensions into a daily public fight online. Influencers, private leases, and accusations of “pay-to-play” hunting now collide in the dialogue, raising a bigger question: is private land hunting expanding access, or quietly locking it away for the 1%?

Demand for Private Hunting Land Hits Record Levels

01/23/2026

HLRBO closed out 2025 with more than 6,200 active hunting leases covering over 1.5 million acres across the U.S. and Canada. It marked a record year for the Minnesota-based land leasing platform.

Welcome to the World’s Biggest Hunting Trade Show!

01/19/2026

HLRBO will be on the ground in Las Vegas this week for the SHOT Show, which runs January 20–23, 2026. It’s the largest hunting and firearms trade event in the world, though one that most hunters will never attend.

Wildlife Photographer Mitch McPherson lives on the road

01/15/2026

Mitch McPherson lives on the road. A wildlife photographer by trade, he makes his living chasing animals, light, and landscapes with a home base in a roving 2020 Mercedes Sprinter van.

No More $200 Tax Stamp on Suppressors in 2026

01/13/2026

As of January 1, 2026, suppressors cost $200 less to own thanks to a 2025 bill that dropped the federal National Firearms Act’s tax stamp. Improvements to government turnaround times by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms also mean that buyers are waiting days instead of the months it used to take to get a suppressor.

Corporate Life to Hunting Land: How One Man Landed an Outdoors 'Dream Job'

01/08/2026

Stephen McNeil moved to Georgia after more than 50 years living, working, and hunting in Colorado. Seeking land, he found himself on HLRBO.com looking for a place to hunt.

Four years later, he’s now working for the company in a leadership role. The job as Field Representative Manager puts McNeil in charge of a fleet of reps vetting properties around the U.S.

Bill Forces Feds to Bring Public Waters Data Online

01/06/2026

Hunters used to have a hell of time not trespassing or otherwise breaking the rules hidden in pages of regulations that govern hunting. Digital mapping tools such as onX and BaseMap have made ignorance almost inexcusable, given that you can use GPS to check your location and find information such as property ownership and hunting unit information with a click.

Plan for the 2026 Big Game Season Now

12/31/2025

HLRBO is loaded with great properties where you can try to fill your big game tags, but they won’t do you any good if you don’t have a valid tag in your pocket come hunting season. In the West and some midwestern states, hunting deer, elk, and other big game often requires applying in winter or spring for a fall tag through a point-based draw system.

Landowners Can Help Save Wild Turkeys with Simple Projects

12/26/2025

"There just aren't as many birds as there used to be" sounds like the excuse of a bad turkey hunter. But if someone said that in the past 10-15 years, there's a good chance they were right.

Wolves Move Closer to Delisting (Again)

12/22/2025

Anyone who lives or hunts in wolf country understands that wolves in the United States are no longer “endangered.” At least in the classic understanding of the word. 

Last-Minute Christmas Gifts for Hunters

12/19/2025

Hunters are some of the easiest people on Earth to shop for. Their passion requires lots of stuff and they’re always looking for the next piece of gear that’ll be the difference-maker on a hunt.

A Young Boy With a Gun. 1950 Image Refuses to Fade

12/17/2025

A hunting photo of my dad goes viral. I interviewed him to find out why.

University Publishes Statewide Look at Hunting Leases

12/15/2025

A University of Nebraska–Lincoln report offers a rare, statewide look at the hunting lease market, an area of rural economics that is seldom measured in academic research.

‘Inaccessible’ Film Highlights Land Access Challenges in Western U.S.

12/10/2025

While most hunters are all too familiar with navigating public and private land boundaries in pursuit of game, backcountry skiers are relatively less impacted by access issues. The mountains where skiers trek away from chairlifts are more often in National Forests and other public lands and accessed along known routes and trailheads.

Congratulations to the HLRBO April Contest Winner

05/05/2023

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11/22/2022

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11/20/2022

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11/20/2022

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Review - Savage Arms AXIS II XP TrueTimber VSX Bolt-Action Rifle

10/20/2022

One of the activists, named Gianluca Grimalda, glued himself to the Autostadt floor and decided to also go on a hunger strike. He said in a Twitter video that 12% of the CO2 emissions come from the car sector and pointed out that a change needs to happen. Grimalda spoke for the entire group and argued that there is a real link between CO2 emissions and rising global temperatures. He says decarbonization is important, and it must happen as fast as possible because the target for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions set through Roadmap 2050 is too far off to have a meaningful impact.

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05/05/2022

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05/05/2022

The idea here being that any signs of slowing growth (especially in the labour market) is perceived as good news for markets as it would suggest the hawkish Federal Reserve could be getting a step closer to the long-awaited dovish pivot. The idea here being that any signs of slowing growth (especially in the labour market) is perceived as good news for markets as it would suggest the hawkish Federal Reserve could be getting a step closer to the long-awaited dovish pivot. The idea here being that any signs of slowing growth (especially in the labour market) is perceived as good news for markets as it would suggest the hawkish Federal Reserve could be getting a step closer to the long-awaited dovish pivot.

HLRBO Super Headline

05/05/2022

The White House defended Biden’s comments, saying, "That kind of irresponsible rhetoric we have seen is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak, and that’s what the president was making very clear." The White House defended Biden’s comments, saying, "That kind of irresponsible rhetoric we have seen is no way for the leader of a nuclear-armed state to speak, and that’s what the president was making very clear."

Congratulations to the HLRBO April Contest Winner

06/11/2019

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders slammed Democrats on Tuesday over their inaction on the border crisis and claimed that Mexico is doing more about the problems than Congress. During an appearance on "Fox & Friends," Sanders said Democrats and Congress have done "absolutely nothing" while Mexico has stepped up to negotiate a deal with the administration to curb the number of migrants at the border.

Yet another headling

05/05/2019

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04/14/2019

Newly available net worth data from the Federal Reserve suggests that the “left-behind” contagion has spread to all Americans aside from the top 10 percent. While still wealthier overall than most other groups, even the upper-middle class is feeling the pinch of income stagnation. The growth rate of this group’s incomes is lagging behind that of those both lower and higher on the socioeconomic ladder.

Final News Article Headline

04/14/2019

Newly available net worth data from the Federal Reserve suggests that the “left-behind” contagion has spread to all Americans aside from the top 10 percent. While still wealthier overall than most other groups, even the upper-middle class is feeling the pinch of income stagnation. The growth rate of this group’s incomes is lagging behind that of those both lower and higher on the socioeconomic ladder.

Another Test Headline

04/12/2019

Microsoft has started notifying some Outlook.com users that a hacker was able to access accounts for months earlier this year. The software giant discovered that a support agent’s credentials were compromised for its web mail service, allowing unauthorized access to some accounts between January 1st and March 28th, 2019. Microsoft says the hackers could have viewed account email addresses, folder names, and subject lines of emails, but not the content of emails or attachments.

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05/05/2002

For the past week, chess enthusiasts around the world have been looking in St. Louis’ direction with raised eyebrows after accusations of cheating rocked a tournament at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Elon Musk has even weighed in on the situation, supporting an idea that anal beads were used to facilitate cheating. For the past week, chess enthusiasts around the world have been looking in St. Louis’ direction with raised eyebrows after accusations of cheating rocked a tournament at the Saint Louis Chess Club. Elon Musk has even weighed in on the situation, supporting an idea that anal beads were used to facilitate cheating.