Purchasing Hunting Land

[mountainhunter1]

It is not really part of your question, but let me humbly offer you one more vital tip that has helped us time and time again over the years. Whatever piece of land that you buy, set a side a part of it as a sanctuary inside of the overall tract itself - preferably in the middle of the piece of whatever property that you buy. What I mean by sanctuary, is that you do not go into this part of the property period. We would make it off limits. No scouting, hiking, or hunting, - no nothing. Not so critical for turkey hunting, but darn important for deer hunting success. Even on small tracts that we had that were like only 30-50 acres, we would always do this (the sanctuary might only be ten acres or there about), and one might laugh upon hearing this suggested, but man it really makes a difference to the deer when they know they are always safe and unmolested in that location. For this to work, the property still has to have all the needed key elements, such as cover, water and food. But if you have those things, and establish a sanctuary within it, it just takes the potential of that land to a whole another level. 

[eggshell]

It is not really part of your question, but let me humbly offer you one more vital tip that has helped us time and time again over the years. Whatever piece of land that you buy, set a side a part of it as a sanctuary inside of the overall tract itself - preferably in the middle of the piece of whatever property that you buy. What I mean by sanctuary, is that you do not go into this part of the property period. We would make it off limits. No scouting, hiking, or hunting, - no nothing. Not so critical for turkey hunting, but darn important for deer hunting success. Even on small tracts that we had that were like only 30-50 acres, we would always do this (the sanctuary might only be ten acres or there about), and one might laugh upon hearing this suggested, but man it really makes a difference to the deer when they know they are always safe and unmolested in that location. For this to work, the property still has to have all the needed key elements, such as cover, water and food. But if you have those things, and establish a sanctuary within it, it just takes the potential of that land to a whole another level. 

You are spot on. We make the area around our house (which sets in the woods) off limits to hunting. It's an area of about 7 acres and soon as the guns start cracking the deer move in and stay. My wife puts out corn for them and they bed, eat and drink in our pond without leaving until everything calms down again. This year we had 11 staying in the sanctuary,  three bucks. I even pissed off the neighbor when he asked to shoot one and I said no, that's a safe zone. It matters more than you think.

[mountainhunter1]

It is not really part of your question, but let me humbly offer you one more vital tip that has helped us time and time again over the years. Whatever piece of land that you buy, set a side a part of it as a sanctuary inside of the overall tract itself - preferably in the middle of the piece of whatever property that you buy. What I mean by sanctuary, is that you do not go into this part of the property period. We would make it off limits. No scouting, hiking, or hunting, - no nothing. Not so critical for turkey hunting, but darn important for deer hunting success. Even on small tracts that we had that were like only 30-50 acres, we would always do this (the sanctuary might only be ten acres or there about), and one might laugh upon hearing this suggested, but man it really makes a difference to the deer when they know they are always safe and unmolested in that location. For this to work, the property still has to have all the needed key elements, such as cover, water and food. But if you have those things, and establish a sanctuary within it, it just takes the potential of that land to a whole another level. 

You are spot on. We make the area around our house (which sets in the woods) off limits to hunting. It's an area of about 7 acres and soon as the guns start cracking the deer move in and stay. My wife puts out corn for them and they bed, eat and drink in our pond without leaving until everything calms down again. This year we had 11 staying in the sanctuary,  three bucks. I even pissed off the neighbor when he asked to shoot one and I said no, that's a safe zone. It matters more than you think.

My Father got us to doing that back in the 1980's. When we first started, I was a bit skeptical that it would make much difference to set aside such small acreage of 5, 10 or 20 to 30 acres as off limits, but that it did make a huge difference is a total understatement. I learned really quick, the deer knew where that sanctuary was even better than we as the owner of the property did. It works, and if anyone is not doing that on their land, I would humbly suggest that they start.

[g8rvet]

Our 30 acres is behind our old house.  The house are maybe 150 yards apart and there is a 75 yard buffer of thick volunteer pine and scrub.  While the roofer was putting the roof on (there were a few of us on the ground and 3 on the roof) I heard him say "Holy Sh**".  He pointed to that strip and said there is a monster buck bedded down.  This was like 9AM and they had been working for an hour.  Another of the guys up top were looking at him too.  We could not see him and were maybe 50 or so yards from him.  He said the deer got up and just stayed in that little strip and moved away.

[Marc]

Some really good advice given...

Neighbors is huge.
Set aside as a safe zone is extremely beneficial on our duck club.

Were I to have the money to purchase a tract of land big enough for me to hunt turkey, deer, and quail, I would either be looking at a known piece of land that I knew held game, or... I would consider hiring a biologist to help me pick a potential area that would hold the game you are looking to hunt that could be easily managed for game.

As I do not have nearly the funds to purchase a property large enough to hunt the game I would be interested in, I might look to do something similar to purchasing into a duck club.

I am in a duck club, and when you purchase a membership, it is basically a cooperation.  Mine has 12 members with about 360 acres of marsh.  I am an "owner-member" which means we all pay yearly dues and have responsibilities to keep the club running.  We vote on the money spent, habitat improvement, etc., and the cost is shared in the means of yearly dues.  Hunt days, guest privileges, closed zones, habitat improvement is all voted on.

The tremendous benefit with having multiple member/owners is shared cost of money and time.  Even were I to be able to afford to purchase the whole property, I would not be able to afford maintanence, nor have the time to make sure everything was done correctly.

Instead of purchasing 500 acres for instance, 10 (like-minded) people could purchase 5000 acres.

The HUGE downside, is the more people, the more rules necessary to make things run smoothly...  And, things will be voted on or against that you strongly disagree with.

[Greg Massey]

Good hunting land isn't cheap.... IMO....

[Shiloh]

I am not opposed to an equity club like you talk about above.  I was in one for 10 years and I think it can be an excellent option.  On the other hand it can be a train wreck.  I would suggest moving slow and doing your homework. 

[kytrkyhntr]

The right 20 acres is better than the wrong 500 acres

[Marc]

You can lease hunting rights...  You can own or buy mineral or water rights to property...  I have wondered about purchasing and owning hunting rights?

I would think that you could purchase the hunting rights to a good piece of the right property for a fraction of what you would pay to purchase the land itself?  Those rights would be owned and passed on just as mineral or water rights would.

You'd have to have a savvy attorney, and a savvy realtor.

[arkrem870]

Purchasing enough land to kill turkeys consistently is tough financially. Lands is so expensive now it's nearly impossible to afford 5-600 acres.

[GobbleNut]

Purchasing enough land to kill turkeys consistently is tough financially. Lands is so expensive now it's nearly impossible to afford 5-600 acres.

I was thinking along this same line.  Obviously, is someone is financially able to afford purchasing enough land,...and with the right conditions and habitat to be feasible as a viable hunting option,...then I could understand the desire (I wonder how many of us here fit that description?...) .  In addition, the idea of a purchase of this sort being an investment opportunity should certainly be considered.

However, in my own mind, I find myself asking whether buying (or leasing) land for something as specific as having a place to go hunting would be more expensive (and more of a long-term burden) than just finding property owners/outfitters and paying to hunt. For the price of buying a sizeable piece of land for the sole purpose of having a place to hunt, it seems to me that a guy could go on a lot of paid hunts around the country and still come out far ahead,...and with not nearly the amount of headaches.  ...Then again, perhaps my reasoning is in error, but I would most definitely be evaluating all the factors (including other financial considerations in my life that might be more important) in making such a decision.   

Carry on....

[Marc]

Purchasing enough land to kill turkeys consistently is tough financially. Lands is so expensive now it's nearly impossible to afford 5-600 acres.

I was thinking along this same line.  Obviously, is someone is financially able to afford purchasing enough land,...and with the right conditions and habitat to be feasible as a viable hunting option,...then I could understand the desire (I wonder how many of us here fit that description?...) .  In addition, the idea of a purchase of this sort being an investment opportunity should certainly be considered.

However, in my own mind, I find myself asking whether buying (or leasing) land for something as specific as having a place to go hunting would be more expensive (and more of a long-term burden) than just finding property owners/outfitters and paying to hunt. For the price of buying a sizeable piece of land for the sole purpose of having a place to hunt, it seems to me that a guy could go on a lot of paid hunts around the country and still come out far ahead,...and with not nearly the amount of headaches.  ...Then again, perhaps my reasoning is in error, but I would most definitely be evaluating all the factors (including other financial considerations in my life that might be more important) in making such a decision.   

Carry on....

Jim,

Private land use for hunting for daily trips has gone up considerably, and will continue to do so.

Before I was married, I bought into my duck club for $30K...  Cost for my membership currently is $120K.  Were I to have put that same money into good investments, it could be upwards of $240K (figuring a good investor doubles every 6 years or so).

But...  I probably would not opt into a similar club at the current cost...  So it was a better investment than leasing.  I considered it a recreational investment.  I still hold equity, and were times to turn hard, I still own and could get that equity.

As the population grows, and less land is available to hunt, the cost of hunting private lands will dramatically increase, with far less opportunity to hunt public lands...  Hunting is well on its way to becoming an elitist activity.

As I posed above, I wonder about the opportunity to purchase (and own) the hunting rights only...  For instance, a large cattle ranch that goes for $25mil...  Maybe hunting/fishing rights go for maybe $1mil?  $25 mil is not attainble for the likes of myself, but $1mil could be in a group/coorperation setting.

Not sure if it is feasable, but were I looking to buy into something, it is an inquirey I would be making on attractive large tracts of land.  Were the deal to go through, I would also spend the money for a very good attorney to set it up (and make sure my investment is protected).  Land owner basically gets a good sum of money for doing absolutely nothing.

Neither the cost or the opportunities for hunting are likely to improve in the coming years.  Having equity in something that cannot be taken away could be a generational investment...  Which would of course become worthless if hunting were ever done away with.

[FL-Boss]

""As the population grows, and less land is available to hunt, the cost of hunting private lands will dramatically increase, with far less opportunity to hunt public lands...  Hunting is well on its way to becoming an elitist activity""

This ^  You either hunt in the public land $hit show .. which will no doubt continue to get worse each year, or pony up big $$$ to hunt private.

[nativeks]

The right 20 acres is better than the wrong 500 acres

This is the truth. I stumbled into the right 35 acres. I've owned the property since 2013 and I have bow hunted since 2016. I've got 2 deer over 160 (one like 161 and the other mid 160s). Several over 130. When turkeys existed here I routinely could fill 2 tags by calling them off the closed to hunting neighbors onto my place. I've built a pond to hunt waterfowl. I've usually got a covey or two of quail. That said it takes alot of work. I have removed thousands of trees, restored native grass, planted back native wildlife friendly trees, etc. Its definitely a labor of love.