Purchasing hunting land

[180splitg3]

Hey guys. I have been dreaming about buying some hunting land for whitetails for a while and I'm looking for input as there seems to be a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum! I hunt mainly in SE MN and own two small parcels. Looking forward, I would love to possibly buy a smaller piece in another state. I would like to stay relatively close to SE MN. The prices right now seem high to me but I really don't know if they are going to be dropping significantly anytime soon and interest rates are very low right now. My question is, if you had to choose between ND, SD, WI, IA, MO, IL, KS (or a state I'm overlooking) - what would be your choice? I'm looking for something that will be a long term (10 years plus) investment that I can also hunt. I'm would be hoping to get something with some tillable and/or timber value to help offset the cost of the property. Iowa is an unbelievable state but, as most of you know, their draw system is not great for non resident hunters so I would most likely end up leasing it out for two out of three years if I owned land there. I appreciate your input/feedback!

 

[timmymac24]

I will give you some insight to IL. You need over 40 acres to qualify to hunt your own property as non resident and get archery tags for $210 and gun tags for $175. In my opinion good neighbors are priceless since you aren't going to be around often and people will know that in the area. I have been doing this same thing since 2006 in IL and living in So Cal. I have family and friends where our farm is but still have issues with trespassing and stands being stolen. Good call on trying to get tillable to help offset cost. Land prices in my home county have not really cooled down even with grain markets, trade issues, etc. PM me if you need any specific help. I follow the land sales pretty close in my area in north central IL. There's nothing better than having your own farm to hunt and work on though pretty grateful to have enjoyed it for the most part.

 

[180splitg3]

I will give you some insight to IL. You need over 40 acres to qualify to hunt your own property as non resident and get archery tags for $210 and gun tags for $175. In my opinion good neighbors are priceless since you aren't going to be around often and people will know that in the area. I have been doing this same thing since 2006 in IL and living in So Cal. I have family and friends where our farm is but still have issues with trespassing and stands being stolen. Good call on trying to get tillable to help offset cost. Land prices in my home county have not really cooled down even with grain markets, trade issues, etc. PM me if you need any specific help. I follow the land sales pretty close in my area in north central IL. There's nothing better than having your own farm to hunt and work on though pretty grateful to have enjoyed it for the most part.

I appreciate the info! Have you been happy with the quality of hunting in IL? I feel like IL was a hot state several years ago but I haven't heard as much about it recently. I know it has a great history of producing big deer though...

 

[Outlaw99]

I’d purchase close to wherever your primary residence is if that’s possible. For reference, I’m a Landowner (farmer) from Iowa. If your land holds deer, someone besides you is going to know about it. If your land doesn’t hold deer, and you purchase it and put the work into it so that it now does hold deer; someone else is gonna know about it. No matter where you live in the U.S., there’s always gonna be dishonest people. That might not mean they outright trespass to hunt, but they might trespass to shed hunt, or just to keep a steady pressure on the animals to bump them off your property onto theirs. I guess my point is, at the end of the day, “your” land is only gonna be as good as you can babysit it.

 

[NYyotekiller]

I would say Kansas is your best bet for a multitude of reasons.

1. possible to draw a tag every year.
2. high quality deer hunting that only pales to Iowa.
3. long seasons that are favorable to non residents.
4. Reasonable cost of smaller tracts of land.

 

[Squincher]

North Missouri has good deer hunting, reasonable prices, and you don't have to draw a tag.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Last 2 post get my vote. But I don’t see deer in either! Haha

 

[Ndbowhunter]

there’s a lot of public land ranch within 6 hours of you that doesn’t require massive input of capital. And no pressure.

and cheap tags.

Probably not what you want to hear but I think it’s true.

Then again, our family owns thousands of acres of prime midwestern cropland with no one hunting it... and I still don’t care to kill whitetail. So take that grain of salt too.

 

[180splitg3]

there’s a lot of public land ranch within 6 hours of you that doesn’t require massive input of capital. And no pressure.

and cheap tags.

Probably not what you want to hear but I think it’s true.

Then again, our family owns thousands of acres of prime midwestern cropland with no one hunting it... and I still don’t care to kill whitetail. So take that grain of salt too.

Yes, you are probably correct. Part of my reasoning for buying land is that it is typically a good investment. I'm just concerned that we are at a peak in land value at this time which is never a great time to buy - impossible to know what the future holds. If you need a responsible archery hunter to alleviate some whitetail browsing pressure from your farmland, you let me know!

 

[Throwin Darts]

You mentioned earlier that interest rates are very low right now. In my opinion they only have one direction to go and that’s up.

Land prices could decrease while interest rates rise. Unless you’re paying cash then you may end up paying more for land when factoring in interest even though prices come down.

I purchased a ranch 3 years ago. I wouldn’t want a place that is more than 2 hours from my home. Spending that much money on hunting dirt is tough if it’s so far away that you can’t enjoy it often.


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[Silveroddo]

Buying land as in investment isn't what it used to be, There are so many factors that go into land as an investment that for the average guy its not realistic anymore just on the principle that "it always goes up". I've listened to a pod cast or 2 and read an article about "Hunting land as an investment" and while there may be some places the math works, I would love to see them take their generalizations and put their own money into it and show me a return. If you find tillable land that has some kind of rental value, its sale price will be tied closely with its rental value. If its cheap land your lucky to get enough rental off of it to cover the taxes. Timber is another one of those pipe dreams that seldom amounts to much. If there is marketable timber in any quantity the current owner will have it harvested prior to sale 9 times out of 10. I'm not trying to be negative, I'm just trying to lay out reality. Interest rates are low so everyone and their brother is looking at every way possible to make money on their money, leaving very few opportunities to put your nose to the grindstone, borrow some cheap money and make money without having a real game plan or inside track.
After all of that if your still dead set on it, go to the bank, figure out what the terms of your financing options are, look at your amortization tables and find your taxes and interest over the course of the investment (Knowing that your real estate taxes will probably increase over time) add it to your sale price after closing and ask yourself if there is still a realistic R.O.I. and why.
If you just need to tell your wife its an investment and you already understand all of this, than that's an entirely different story.
2 more pieces of advice:
*Hunt an area and find something that excites your prior to purchase. I've got some buddies that bought a cheap 60 acre parcel surrounded by public land, built a huntin' shack, put in food plots and I think they're on year 6 without shooting a thing.
*I own some land and have access to several hundred acres of family land surrounded by state forest, the state forest land can be just as productive as the private if a person spends the time figuring out travel patterns and pinch points.

 

[timberland]

If you want to manage your land which is most of the fun, then look for smaller parcels with high deer densities. I have bought three pieces with this in mind. 40s in high density QFM areas (buffalo Co, western WI) and have not had trespassing issues because everyone knows and keeps an eye on each other's parcels. Stay far away from public land, look for good neighbors that own larger pieces=less hunting pressure). I now of some of these pieces now if I new your budget in WI.

 

[Ranger619]

I don't know if you plan to hunt with rifle, bow, or both but east river South Dakota will be archery only for a nonresident. Nonresident rifle tags are only available after the first 2 draws, which pretty much means never. At least this is how it used to be. I haven't looked for a while.

 

[SoDaky]

Ks.
PM me if interested in a smaller piece there.

 

[coloyooper]

there’s a lot of public land ranch within 6 hours of you that doesn’t require massive input of capital. And no pressure.

and cheap tags.

Probably not what you want to hear but I think it’s true.

Then again, our family owns thousands of acres of prime midwestern cropland with no one hunting it... and I still don’t care to kill whitetail. So take that grain of salt too.

If you need somebody to hunt it, my PMs are open.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Since you already own two parcels where you can hunt whitetails, I would look somewhere totally different, with different species......like mule deer, elk, bear, etc....

 

[Shepherd]

Wisconsin is a very good whitetail state that you can hunt every year as a NR. As you mention, the prices are pretty high but I don't see them going down in the near future. Generally speaking land prices have held strong even when farmers are struggling, and hunting land in this area (and NE Iowa) tends to move with farmland prices.

And I agree with Silveroddo's comments on hunting land as an investment.

 

[180splitg3]

Since you already own two parcels where you can hunt whitetails, I would look somewhere totally different, with different species......like mule deer, elk, bear, etc....

Love this idea! - what's holding me back this is that most of these other animals roam a larger area vs a whitetail. Even if I bought let's say a 120 acre piece it might be tough to hunt it...

 

[180splitg3]

Wisconsin is a very good whitetail state that you can hunt every year as a NR. As you mention, the prices are pretty high but I don't see them going down in the near future. Generally speaking land prices have held strong even when farmers are struggling, and hunting land in this area (and NE Iowa) tends to move with farmland prices.

And I agree with Silveroddo's comments on hunting land as an investment.

Wisconsin has been towards the top of my list because I'm so close and there are nice deer. I totally agree with those who have said to try to stay close to whatever land it is. With my other obligations it will be a challenge to get stands done, trails, etc. My only thought about Wisconsin is that it seems to have a ton of hunters. I've bow hunted there a few times on the public ground and there were people all over the place. Maybe I just needed to go somewhere else but that was my impression. From what I've heard, their gun season is absolutely nuts as well - I'm looking for mainly bow hunting so this is not as big of a concern. Maybe I'm off base here and someone can correct me. Thanks for the comments so far!

 

[timberland]

Wisconsin has been towards the top of my list because I'm so close and there are nice deer. I totally agree with those who have said to try to stay close to whatever land it is. With my other obligations it will be a challenge to get stands done, trails, etc. My only thought about Wisconsin is that it seems to have a ton of hunters. I've bow hunted there a few times on the public ground and there were people all over the place. Maybe I just needed to go somewhere else but that was my impression. From what I've heard, their gun season is absolutely nuts as well - I'm looking for mainly bow hunting so this is not as big of a concern. Maybe I'm off base here and someone can correct me. Thanks for the comments so far!

the 40 I bought, (check out "shed thread") is surrounded by private land. to the south is 360 acres that has 4 bowhunters plus a couple more that come in for rifle season. next to us is 160 acres, 4 rifle hunters, no archery. behind me is 120 acres, half field, no hunters bow or rifle. 95% of the people near me only want one deer, even though we get like 8 tags between the two licenses. I usually shoot one doe and target a mature buck. There is a real opportunity for a 150-160"+ every year, but if that doesn't happen, I may shoot a late season doe. Remember, we have 3+ months to get it done. I can hunt any day of rifle season and see bucks, 10-15 deer, in normal fall patterns, chasing does etc. NOBODY RIFLE HUNTS MUCH PAST OPENING DAY AND THANKGIVING MORNING. And now DNR is talking about a 16 day rifle season to get more participation.
I have 40 acres for sale in Buffalo Co, and that is the same way. Everybody wants to shoot a big buck, so the pressure is cyclic, opener, rut, rifle opener, than no activity. Even on my 40 acres, I keep about half as a sanctuary, and I know for a fact right now there is 15-30 deer laying in there, with 5-7 bucks that are 2 1/2 or older.
Stay away from the public land and nobody drives or party hunts because they don't want to push deer around.