Oceana County, MI

[Redman232]

Does anybody hunt or know anything about this area? My younger brother is looking at buying a chunk of land up there mainly for deer hunting/vacations. It's Leavitt Township and surrounded by Federal land.

[Singing Bridge]

I believe DEERSLAYER has spent time in that area... not certain though.

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[G3s]

Oceana is not known as a hot spot for big whitetails. With that said there certainly are some bonuses. It is close to lake michigan and that will help with the winter severity. Close to the lake shore always stays a little bit warmer in winter. The Manistee National Forest is a huge section of land that gets hunted but some rules are different for national forest land...I believe no baiting, no trimming rules apply there. I hunt a bit north of there in Manistee county and have had great success for mature deer, depends on the amount of public land available immediately surrounding the property. Our public land gets hammered and a huge amount of 1 1/2 year old bucks get shot. That county is a bit south of the area that is up for new antler restrictions that are sure to help protect a significant amount of the young deer. There is a proposal getting ready to get going to enact antler restriction in the entire lower peninsula that will be a 3 point on an antler in the northern part of the state and a 4 point on an antler minimum in the southern part of the state. Again if passed those restrictions will help to create a better chance of seeing and shooting more mature deer. Its 50/50 right now if the proposal will pass in my opinion. If I were looking to buy recreational property it would be one of 2 things. Farther southeast in the Jackson/Lenewee/Ingham/Washtenaw counties or in the Northwest corner of the state where antler restrictions are almost a done deal. We will know for sure in May if they will for sure enact the restrictions. If looking in the NW section of the state I the best county is Leelenau, from there I would look towards Benzie, Manistee, or maybe Charlevoix counties for best chances at finding mature deer

[Redman232]

Thanks for the info G3, my brother spends a few weekends a year at the sand dunes which is why he is looking at western Michigan. The public land next to the property he is looking at appears to be mostly swamp ground and a long ways form access points. I will agree with you that the counties in SE Michigan a full of slammers. I travel through there a lot for work and see a handful of really nice bucks every year, specifically Washtenaw County.

[DEERSLAYER]

For the most part I agree with G's except I'm guessing the added lake effect snow from Lake Michigan will offset the warmer temps most years in regards to the Winter Severity Index and baiting is allowed on the Manistee national forest land. While Oceana County isn't known as big buck territory there are pockets with some nice bucks. In Leavitt Township I would be looking for land against Tanner Swamp. Crystal Valley swamp NNW of there is good too. If your brother buys that land and you have a deer camp up there give me a shout and I will stop in and say hi. I spent a lot of years hunting east of there around 37 and plan to start hunting up there again this year.

[Uncle Lou]

If he gets the right price why wouldn't he do it. It is nice to have huge deer, but recreational property in MI is so much more than just about big deer (hope a comment like that doesn't get me banned from the BEAST). Sounds like he likes the dunes too. I think people in this state look for property in places they like to go.

[Redman232]

If the property is still available I think he is going to purchase it. It's only about $1,100 an acre, cash only. I also believe in it adjacent to one of the above mentioned swamps.