How many here own hunting property?

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

I am a bunch of years away from owning any hunting land, if I ever do. I currently hunt private land that is almost too good to be true back east and I know that time is limited as the next generation hasn't shown interest in keeping the camp open.

I grew up in a traditional deer camp and want to be able to give my children the same set of memories. It's really nice to have a place to go and can count on not being over crowded as well as able to manage wildlife accordingly.

I would be interested in hearing opinions of owning acreage for hunting and some considerations that might get overlooked.

 

[BuckeyeRifleman]

I don’t hear my own hunting property.

But I do own my own hunting property. 20 acres of woods we are building on. I can hunt whitetails and shoot right out my back door.

Would I like to own more? Sure... but it's enough to fill my freezer. I’d trade it all to live in a western state and have millions of public acres to roam on. Until I can retire and move west it’s pretty damn awesome though.

 

[Mosby]

I have land in PA I bought when my oldest son was 11 and we lived in Ohio. I go back every year and hunt with my brother but I have it up for sale. If something happens to my brother, I won't have any family in my hometown and my wife has never been to the property. If something happens to me, my wife will have to deal with it and locals really don't like "outsiders". My oldest hunts but he likes to hunt out west. My brother is in his 70's, so it seems like a good time to sell it and move on.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I own a bit.

The upside is limited pressure and you can set it up - stands, shooting lanes, cameras, feeding plots, etc. how you want.

Costs - Insurance, maintenance and property taxes - are the main downsides. Dumping and trespassing are a bit of a nuisance. Helps to have someone that can check on it if it is far from home. It also isn’t easy to finance. Land loans are 2-3 years and higher interest rates than dwellings. My buddy has a place in upstate NY with a house on it. He was able to get a resi mortgage for a 200 acre plot. He now rents the house on RBnB which covers the note and expenses and he hunts for free.

Consider throwing in with a group and buying together. As long as you are all on the same page, you can cut expenses and get more and better land.

Final thought - the holy grail is a bit of land next to some huntable public land. Especially on a side with limited access. Another buddy has some ag fields near a state game lands in PA. He can access the back side of the state game lands and also gets deer feeding out of the state land onto his property. Winner, winner, venison dinner.

 

[Salami_Slinger]

I don't personally own any land, but my grandfather does. He is 93 and owns 100 acres of low fence land in the Texas hill country. The property has been in the family for 150 years now. He used to run cattle on it, but is now too old. I am very fortunate to be able to hunt it. The best part is I can hunt it year round. Axis deer all year, turkey in the spring, and whitetail in the fall. I was even lucky enough to shoot a blackbuck off of it that somehow got on the property!

I realize how fortunate I am to have land to hunt on so I like to let friends tag along on hunts and even do some hunting themselves. They appreciate it a lot. My plan is to hopefully inherit the land, keep it in the family, then pass it on to my children so they can do the same.

 

[Beendare]

Currently looking... if anyone sees a good whitetail farm they cant do on their own- but would... PM me please... theres a hunt it it for you.

 

[rooster440]

I have land in PA I bought when my oldest son was 11 and we lived in Ohio. I go back every year and hunt with my brother but I have it up for sale. If something happens to my brother, I won't have any family in my hometown and my wife has never been to the property. If something happens to me, my wife will have to deal with it and locals really don't like "outsiders". My oldest hunts but he likes to hunt out west. My brother is in his 70's, so it seems like a good time to sell it and move on.

What part of PA?


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[come2elmo]

Lots of the good things have been stated above but there Few things to keep in mind.

If you buy land try to keep it under 2 hours away or it becomes a production to get up there. Especially if you have a family tagging along

You will never get up there as often as you would like or need see above and below.

You think you have projects at home try keeping a ranch usable and in good order. Roads get torn up, every fence is in need of repair, don’t even get me started on the damnable juniper and sumac that grows faster then anything.

Debt is bad.

Pluses

You will have lots of firewood because falling trees on your neighbors side are attracted to fences.

 

[Mosby]

What part of PA?


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About 45 minutes North of Williamsport.

 

[Billy Goat]

I own property but it is farmed. Far from just owning the property to hunt it. But it works out ok. I do lease ground just for the hunting.

 

[jruff002]

I live in AR where i grew up, I have 20 acres and a small cabin near buffalo river that I primarily hunt the public from and have just a couple places about 50 acres private I can still hunt but finding private land to hunt anywhere by door knocking has about became impossible. About every farmer I’ve talked to last several years throughout Midwest has they’re land leased for hunting or they’d let u hunt Me and my wife a year ago bought 50 acres in northern MO and wish I woulda done that years ago. My wife goes everywhere hunting with me so even to go turkey hunting public land outta state got ridiculous when we were hitting sd, ne, KS, and MO. I have payed to hunt a couple semi guides type hunts out of state for turkey but I have the huge Midwest whitetail dream like every other serious hunter so I looked, got a great deal on great piece of land, and it’s a great asset. Ya it cost me a lot of money to drag my tractor 6 hours north for food plots and work but the return is worth it, land ain’t getting no cheaper it’s only gonna increase in value over time IMO. Me and wife have doubled on MO opener for turkey both years and both tagged out as well and just being able to do that and see her excitement on a good hunt and same thing when age shot a nice buck last year u can’t put a price on.

 

[Scottyboy]

One day, it’s a dream of ours. Public land is garbage in Minnesota, over crowded is putting it mildly. Sure...there are some decent spots in the northern most part of the state, by in large...horrible. Getting permission from someone without any prior connections, good luck.

Trying to find a lease that runs longer than our gun season, which if I find one runs about $5000 for a year long lease, even though I only want it for bow hunting. I’ve been turning more towards NR OTC hunts; wife and kids like the travel...I like the opportunity to see more game in a day then I do in a season back home.

 

[buckwalleye]

Wife and I live on about 120 acres in upstate New York. We bought the house and property about 2 years ago. I found 3 tree stands and a ground blind while first walking the property. I slapped posted signs on the offending trees and had a guy show up several weeks later, saying he's hunted there for 10 years etc etc. I was nice and said sorry, but properties change hands over time, I am a hunter, and we bought the property for our family to enjoy. He was nice enough about it, and left saying he hunts the _____ property anyway, which borders ours. This neighboring property gets hammered with pressure, and come to find out later members of this property have gotten into trouble over the years for various hunting infractions. Be prepared for neighbors to hang treestands right on the property line too. My advice is try and figure out information on properties that border yours. Talk to your neighbors and get a feel for who's hunting and how they hunt.

All that being said it's been our dream to own our own chunk of ground, and we love it. It's really awesome walking out your door to go hunting. We have 2 small children and it's so nice to get out in your own woods with them, show them animal sign, hop on the atv, go for a walk, etc. Yes it's a lot to maintain, yes taxes suck, yes your neighbors can be an issue, but it's worth it.

I was listening to a podcast recently and the guest said something to the effect of "it doesn't matter if you have 10 acres or 10,000 acres the neighbors always want to hunt the line...its always better hunting on the other side of the fence"....use it to your advantage and enjoy it!

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[Crippledsledge64]

Part of a family share in the UP of great grandfathers homestead. Wolves have decimated the hunting though.
Grew up on farm in the LP, probably didn’t appreciate the private land enough until getting ready to move this year

Like to own least a forty someday but that’s probably a few decades or lottery ticket off.

 

[flatlanderhuffandpuff]

I don’t hear my own hunting property.

But I do own my own hunting property. 20 acres of woods we are building on. I can hunt whitetails and shoot right out my back door.

Would I like to own more? Sure... but it's enough to fill my freezer. I’d trade it all to live in a western state and have millions of public acres to roam on. Until I can retire and move west it’s pretty damn awesome though.

haha, fixed it. I hardly ever do that!

I agree about living out west but that will never happen. My wife and I are too attached to family back east and our business isn't able to move. The occasional vacation/hunt will have to do until I'm retired.

 

[FLAK]

I've had acess to "family" land for quite a while how, 52 acres w/deer and turkey. Looks like a divorce is about to screw that up.

 

[rodney482]

60 acres of woods thats the heart of a 200 acre section.

 

[rodney482]

My hunting buddy owns in green

60 acres of woods thats the heart of a 200 acre section.

 

[Vandal 44]

I just bought 25 acres that border up to 700 acres of BLM land. I plan on building a small house on next spring, I can hunt whitetail and turkey. I didn't purchase the land to hunt that's just a bonus

 

[ChrisS]

13-acre hunting club that is in the middle of 125,000 acres of state-designated wilderness. My best friend owns 75-acres that adjoins 250-acres owned by a couple from NJ who only use it for a snowmobile camp and occasional summer weekend. A couple of friends and I hunt that one as well. The deer aren't great and rarely do we get 3+ year olds. I basically use it for archery to kill a doe or two before heading up north for rifle in November.