If you could own turkey hunting land in any state, which would it be?

[Timmer]

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.

[Yoder409]

If you can tolerate the politics.......... PA is full of rolling hills and has pretty decent populations of both whitetails and turkeys in places.

[fmf]

Alabama

[dixiemagnum80]

Northwestern Nebraska. I love it out there.

[jimmyg97]

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.

[squeaky]

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.

[Hook hanger]

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.

[Bowguy]

Iowa

[Greg Massey]

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 ...

[Dtrkyman]

Wisconsin, Iowa.

[sswv]

not overpopulated with turkey by any means but southern West Virginia for me. I've yet to be anywhere I liked better.

[GobbleNut]

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. 

[Treerooster]

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. 

[Tail Feathers]

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.

[idratherb]

About 1,000 acres in Iowa would be nice