Hello all,
I have been hoping and planning for over 20 years to buy hunting & cabin land in southeastern MN by the time I retire. I'm getting very close to being able to pull the trigger. Likely sometime in the next 6-18 months depending on the timing of some investment stuff I have going on. As much as I love this area of MN, the price per acre has gone up immensely over time due to corporate farm demand for land and leases, and recreationalists for the phenomenal white tail hunting. At the same time, at least for the general part of the state where I hunt, turkey hunting success has gone down over time. Maybe it's population cycles, maybe it's hunting pressure, predators, whatever. I have several friends down there and during the turkey hunting season have a coffee break at a local cafe with a group each morning. All of us hunt on private land, and for most of the group, it's their own land. More and more over the years the talk has shifted further to it being "just not what it used to be." Over the last couple of weeks I've been looking at other states and I am seeing that land is significantly cheaper just about everywhere I look, in many cases the price per acre is 50% less or more. It's got me wondering if I shouldn't change my plans. For the money I'd be saving I could easily pay for traveling numerous times per year. So, if you guys could purchase 300-600 acres of turkey hunting land in any state, where would you buy it? I am partial to wooded hills over ravines and river bottoms.
Update because people have asked - I'm not a big deer hunter presently, but may get back into bow hunting in retirement. I do enjoy hunting sheds and have thought about my adding this to my next hunting dog's nose skills. In the future who knows, I may have a son-in-law or grandkid that wants to deer hunt. So, while turkey is definitely the most important fo rme, deer would be good too. Being near fishing would be an added bonus as well.
If you can tolerate the politics.......... PA is full of rolling hills and has pretty decent populations of both whitetails and turkeys in places.
Alabama
Northwestern Nebraska. I love it out there.
I would love to have some hunting ground here in IL, but like you said about MN price per acre is pretty steep. when I am bored at work I will look at ground for sale and it looks like there are some good prices in TN and KY.
I would love to own ground in Iowa but as you have experienced in MN ground there seems to be extremely expensive.
I hunted the SE part of MN last spring and I heard the similar talk amongst the locals in regard to the turkey hunting. It definitely was tough on us and we had access to private ground.
Some pretty ground in that part of your state. Are you wanting this for big deer too? If so I would look at iowa, northern mo, ks.
Iowa
One that has LOT's of gobblers ... LOl... I just love hearing and calling them...Kill is secondary ... Owning hunting ground is not as easy as people think, do you live on the ground or at least have it within a short drive.. Taxes are due each year and if you have a cabin / house on the place you have to protect it from thieves etc... Trespasser's ... I own hunting land and no i don't live on it , but it is a short drive from my house... but i still have to deal with the occasional trespasser ...
Wisconsin, Iowa.
not overpopulated with turkey by any means but southern West Virginia for me. I've yet to be anywhere I liked better.
Texas (for turkey hunting),...because it is close by, has limited public-land hunting, has Rio's, a long season, and a generous bag limit. :icon_thumright:
I have done what you are proposing to do...sort of.
I have land and a cabin that is not in my state, actually its over 1000 miles from where I live. I've hunted there every fall for 36 years now. The hunting is still good, but things do change over the years.
Here are some things to think about in making such a purchase.
I am not a one-trick pony and that has benefited me quite a bit in my hunting at my cabin. When I first started hunting in that area there weren't even turkeys to hunt. That came along in the early 2000.s. I hunt grouse, woodcock, turkey, deer, ducks & geese, and squirrels. The point being if you purchase a place for just one type of hunting, it most likely will change over the years to where it ain't what it use to be. Me having many options of what interests me has made my cabin a good place to go to over the long haul. An abundance of public land has also made it a great place over the years. I'd get bored hunting the same place over & over during the many years I have been there. I don't fish much but that is another interest to think about if you are so inclined, or x-country skiing, or hiking, or whatever.
The hunting and habitat is much different than what's around where I live and that makes traveling to my cabin more interesting just in that sense. I love the woods around my cabin. The waterfowl hunting isn't as good as I have at home but it sure is different and I enjoy that.
I am retired now but was lucky in that I could take a few weeks off every fall to hunt where and when I wanted.
I started out camping, then put up a mobile home, and finally built a log cabin. Got 70 acres now too where I started with 5.
Cabin enjoyment. :)
S. Texas. Four bird limit and lots of them in the right places. Add in some big deer in the same area and it's a hunter's dream. But you would likely have to own a pretty big parcel.
About 1,000 acres in Iowa would be nice
MO, Ozarks area. Such pretty country.
Depends.
Do you want it as an investment to at least offset the yearly costs? If so, I would think timber as well. If you manage it correctly and time everything to be the right seasons, you can timber and burn land so as not to affect your turkey population in a bad way.
Another way to offset costs is to buy land that has good turkey population and then, once you meet locals and get to know some folks, lease the deer rights to someone you trust.
Are you going to live there? Will need to be able to build so as to not affect your hunting. The shape of the land and how it is laid out will affect that as well.
I would like to do the same, but the wife wanted a townhouse at the beach. She does not ask me for much, so we have a deer huntable place we live and a place an hour away at the beach. I would have rather had turkey ground, but momma is happy.
Landwatch is a good place to start. Believe nothing on their descriptions, but if you learn the area you can find if a good turkey population exists. Local real estate people often know zilch about hunting and will tell you anything you want to hear. "Hunting? sure, it will be great for that. You like Cape Buffalo and Elephants? Sure, it is loaded with them." Places with less expensive land take longer to rise in value, but it depends on how much it is an investment and how much you just want to retain value.
Good luck in your search. That is half the fun. Took me 5 years to find the perfect place at the beach.
A big chunk of the ozarks
Quote from: Treerooster on February 27, 2023, 01:05:28 PM
I have done what you are proposing to do...sort of.
I have land and a cabin that is not in my state, actually its over 1000 miles from where I live. I've hunted there every fall for 36 years now. The hunting is still good, but things do change over the years.
Here are some things to think about in making such a purchase.
I am not a one-trick pony and that has benefited me quite a bit in my hunting at my cabin. When I first started hunting in that area there weren't even turkeys to hunt. That came along in the early 2000.s. I hunt grouse, woodcock, turkey, deer, ducks & geese, and squirrels. The point being if you purchase a place for just one type of hunting, it most likely will change over the years to where it ain't what it use to be. Me having many options of what interests me has made my cabin a good place to go to over the long haul. An abundance of public land has also made it a great place over the years. I'd get bored hunting the same place over & over during the many years I have been there. I don't fish much but that is another interest to think about if you are so inclined, or x-country skiing, or hiking, or whatever.
The hunting and habitat is much different than what's around where I live and that makes traveling to my cabin more interesting just in that sense. I love the woods around my cabin. The waterfowl hunting isn't as good as I have at home but it sure is different and I enjoy that.
I am retired now but was lucky in that I could take a few weeks off every fall to hunt where and when I wanted.
I started out camping, then put up a mobile home, and finally built a log cabin. Got 70 acres now too where I started with 5.
Cabin enjoyment. :)
Great feedback. I enjoy getting out in the woods for various reasons, and I enjoy working on the habitat as well. Lots of hobbies to be had.
Quote from: g8rvet on February 27, 2023, 02:07:02 PM
Depends.
Do you want it as an investment to at least offset the yearly costs? If so, I would think timber as well. If you manage it correctly and time everything to be the right seasons, you can timber and burn land so as not to affect your turkey population in a bad way.
Another way to offset costs is to buy land that has good turkey population and then, once you meet locals and get to know some folks, lease the deer rights to someone you trust.
Are you going to live there? Will need to be able to build so as to not affect your hunting. The shape of the land and how it is laid out will affect that as well.
I would like to do the same, but the wife wanted a townhouse at the beach. She does not ask me for much, so we have a deer huntable place we live and a place an hour away at the beach. I would have rather had turkey ground, but momma is happy.
Landwatch is a good place to start. Believe nothing on their descriptions, but if you learn the area you can find if a good turkey population exists. Local real estate people often know zilch about hunting and will tell you anything you want to hear. "Hunting? sure, it will be great for that. You like Cape Buffalo and Elephants? Sure, it is loaded with them." Places with less expensive land take longer to rise in value, but it depends on how much it is an investment and how much you just want to retain value.
Good luck in your search. That is half the fun. Took me 5 years to find the perfect place at the beach.
All good thoughts. We would probably put a camper and/or small shed on it. I would consider the value of the timber if it was very responsibly harvested. I'd also be open to some portion of it being crop area to lease out.
If not my home state of SC, then Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, or Kentucky.
Check the availability of NR licenses. I would not want hunting property in a state that I could only draw every few years
Best Bang for buck ...you want a tract of private property that butts up to ..or is situated inside another very large tract with low or zero hunting pressure ...state reserve , private property etc...
Next best thing is a lease situation where you lease the property yourself , then sub lease all the deer hunting rights off (but not the turkey ) and keep that to yourself..that way the deer hunters pay for your property ...you have to get that in writing so they don't show up with puppy eyes on opening weekend ..
For me Florida...but everything has a dollar price on it and when the property is worth hundreds of millions of dollars ..you know the end result
Tejas, no contest, hands down...
I think a mountainous state with Merriams turkey. I think Colorado or Montana I know they are native to Colorado and have been transplanted to Montana, but I have always dreamed of living in Montana so that would be a big draw. I have not looked at the numbers for them though so that could change. If a state held a decent population of another subspecies that could swing it one way or another.
Of course if Alaska had a good huntable population.........
For deer and turkey , South Texas hands down.
Virginia
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Mine would probably be in central or northern Missouri. That way I'm not far from Rios in Kansas and Oklahoma or Merriams in Nebraska or the Dakotas. I love deer hunting too and there are great bucks there also.
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400+ Acres in Turkey Rich Southren New Jersey. That would be a slice of Heaven.
Quote from: GobbleNut on February 27, 2023, 12:21:36 PM
Texas (for turkey hunting),...because it is close by, has limited public-land hunting, has Rio's, a long season, and a generous bag limit. :icon_thumright:
Exactly my thoughts
South of 70 in FL.
Being a resident, I'm obviously partial, but western Nebraska is about as close to God's country as I've found. Plenty of Turkeys, Whitetail and Mule Deer, Antelope, you name it. And the best part is, not many people. What's not to love?
Pine Ridge area of Nebraska. A friend's family has a 3k acre ranch out that way, and I love the area.
Mountains of TN, GA or SC. May just pull it off.
If you want hills and bang for your buck, Ozarks. Manage the timber correctly along with fire and you'll have as many turkeys as you can handle.
Are you referring to the Driftless area? That's God's country. First time I visited that area on a fishing trip my Wife called to check on me and I told her I don't want to come home, just saw a house for sale on top of a hill overlooking a stream and timber, get online and buy it, meet me up here.
She had a good laugh over that one.
Hawaii obviously!
Crossed that state off the super slam list a couple springs ago and it was the best vacation I have ever had in my life!!! I'd happily live in Kona for the rest of my life.
It would probably be where I'm at, right here in Iowa. While I enjoy turkey hunting, my favorite hunting is bowhunting deer. I use to hunt big racks, but anymore I'm happy with any buck 2 1/2 and older(preferably 3 1/2). If the property offered the chance at ducks & Pheasants it would be even better. I know there are places with higher turkey and deer populations, but to me the quality we have here out weigh the quantity of other places.
Iowa
I love the Ozarks too.
TN would be a spot to look, but recent season changes would be difficult to swallow.
I'd say it would have to do with a person's current situation.
Meaning, if I lived up north, I'd want a place down south, and vice versa. This would extend my season. I'd also want a place close to a lake or other point of interest, like an hour drive close. Close to a state line where I could maybe join a lease or have public ground to extend my potential limit and season also.
Quote from: Sungrazer on March 04, 2023, 04:58:28 PM
Are you referring to the Driftless area? That's God's country. First time I visited that area on a fishing trip my Wife called to check on me and I told her I don't want to come home, just saw a house for sale on top of a hill overlooking a stream and timber, get online and buy it, meet me up here.
She had a good laugh over that one.
Yes, that area is where I have been hunting, both in MN and WI for nearly 25 years. It's where I always envisioned me owning a cabin, and potentially moving to after retirement. It's beautiful. I love the wooded hills. The fishing is great too! I am worried that I'm in love with my history and my dream more than the current reality, at least as far as the turkey hunting aspect goes.
Tennessee
My head is telling me Wisconsin for the purpose of subleasing out the deer hunting and then have all the turkey hunting for me and mine.
My heart is still a true ARKANSAS boy to the core. I already own/have access to 160 acres, but I'd like to get the piece next to us that would get that up to around 300 acres. We'd only have a couple of birds a year, but I've been hunting that land my entire life. Killed my first turkey, deer and squirrel there. Had high school parties out there and wrecked a few four wheelers. That place has so many stories I could write an entire series.
My two cents for your situation would be another vote for Missouri. It's not terribly far from southern MN, plus they have some of the best turkey hunting in the country. Also Missouri has great deer hunting, fishing, a few million acres of public ground, every state that joins it has pretty good hunting also (except AR, haha) so you wouldn't be far from another adventure!
I'm from Arkansas and my family has land here, but we also have had land up in Missouri for over 20 years....home is home but everything is always better in Missouri!
South Florida because hunts with outfitters have gotten to out of hand!
New York. Love hunting the Mountainous Gobblers in the ridges of the big woods......
Kansas - so that I could bow hunt deer, as well.
Southwest Mississippi...in the swampy, moss-laden oak flats along any river!
Kentucky...the birds are huge and there isn't a pine tree in sight!
Quote from: Greg Massey on February 27, 2023, 11:18:15 AM
One that has LOT's of gobblers ... LOl... I just love hearing and calling them...Kill is secondary ... Owning hunting ground is not as easy as people think, do you live on the ground or at least have it within a short drive.. Taxes are due each year and if you have a cabin / house on the place you have to protect it from thieves etc... Trespasser's ... I own hunting land and no i don't live on it , but it is a short drive from my house... but i still have to deal with the occasional trespasser ...
I'm afraid that dream is in real jeopardy of being a thing of the past. I have a nice track of land that joins the National forest/WMA, so I'm not being sour grapes. But - the squatter issue is becoming such a problem across the nation that having a cabin or second dwelling that sits empty for weeks or months on end is going to be a tough thing to maintain.
I am blown away at the woke leadership across the country that is letting the squatter issue literally run people away from their own property. A lot of folks are losing places they own and have paid for with sweat and blood to folks who have not paid a dime for the place, and our government is letting it go on. If folks are not aware of what is going on and the unbelievable amount of litigation that takes six to eighteen months to get a squatter off their place, they need to read up and take a lot of extra precautions to make sure they are not the next victim. Twenty years ago, the police would show up and drag the guy away and throw the book at him for being in your house. Today, that same person has more rights than we do. It is really sad.
The pine tree part cracked me up in the last comment, haha!
Pine trees = tough huntin....usually
I feel your pain brother!
Interesting question. Assuming the money and acres is unlimited as if this is a dream question. It would probably be my home of Mississippi. Throw a dose of reality into the equation and it would probably be more like north Missouri.
Black Hills region and NW Nebraska would be my pick, beautiful turkey country.
Alabama, Tennessee or Missouri
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I own ground in Ohio about 90 min from me. Seems like the turkey pop can vary by county drastically....even in the SE Ohio sections. One county can be on a down year and go two counties over and it's birds everywhere. I am seeing that right now in our scouting adventures over 3-4 different counties.
I have dreamed of a cabin, but at least around where I am, if you don't live there it will get vandalized or worse. I go back and forth, but if I built something it would always be on my mind not living there full time.
I feel like Merriams are a lot of fun each year, but there really is nothing like Easterns. So for me, it'd be in Eastern country. Northeast Iowa up by Dubuque potentially. That or Maine