Which property would you buy?

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Boogieman1
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Tue Jul 20, 2021 8:27 am

I’ve never purchased any hunting property but have got permission to hunt a heck of a lot of small acreage. My advice is based on strictly a hunter perspective. In my experience over 90% of a property of any size doesn’t benefit a bowhunter. Biggest challenge with smaller parcels is being able to enter/leave the property without blowing the deer out. If I purchased land I would make sure it set up well to be effectively hunted. It doesn’t take much land to guarantee yearly opportunity. But it must be the right property that stacks odds. Personally I would chose 3 or 4 different five acre properties of exactly what Im looking for over a single 100 acre property.


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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby muddy » Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:13 am

No way I'd buy property that had multiple public access boarders. Line sitters and trespassers are going to F you in the A every single year. No way..
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby tim » Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:03 pm

muddy wrote:No way I'd buy property that had multiple public access boarders. Line sitters and trespassers are going to F you in the A every single year. No way..

Absolutely 100 percent agree with this right here!
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby phade » Wed Jul 21, 2021 12:40 am

Public makes it hard to address recurring issues; private, you know who owns it and can at least attempt resolution.

I hunted a private piece that bordered a no hunting park of 800 acres. Great hunting. But, I'd lose a cam nearly every year or every other year at shed hunting time. Got pics of people clearly shed hunting, but you can never really get a lead on them because they dropped in off the public. Still, it was good hunting.

Just something to be aware of. People are fearful of bad private neighbors, but its 6 in one, half dozen in the other, with neighbors you don't know and probably never will. John Q. Public.

I'm also more of a fan of having multiple smaller pieces as that is what I hunt now. 50-100 acres is nice, but unless it's in a prime spot with the needed characteristics, I prefer having the rotation capabilities. We have one 40 acre lease with a 6 acre woodlot on it. Rest is hedgerow and ag. Every other year, we pull a good buck or encounter out of it. In the off years, it just hasn't proven to backfill it fast enough or has a three year old that is up and coming. Rotations allow for one or two pieces to burn out, rest, or have a "down year." IMO.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby PAbowhunter10 » Wed Jul 21, 2021 1:52 am

muddy wrote:No way I'd buy property that had multiple public access boarders. Line sitters and trespassers are going to F you in the A every single year. No way..


Yes I agree to that. You will always get that on public land that borders private. But you also need to figure out who your neighbors are before buying, even if it’s completely surrounded by private. Walking the property lines can determine if the adjoining neighbors hunt the property line or worse claim your land as their own. My dads property would be awesome if the neighbors didn’t completely surround the property line and over hunt the area. It seems like every year they shoot deer on the property line and walk through all the bedding areas tracking. I don’t spend very much time at my dads 120 acre farm anymore because of this. There is public close by that gets less pressure than the area surrounded by the farm.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Hawthorne » Wed Jul 21, 2021 3:51 am

I bought my property back in 2013. Across the road is a 1200 acre sanctuary and high deer density but the other three sides has heavy pressure. Doesn’t affect the my 23 acres much. It’s all high stem count and the deer know there isn’t human scent there.I spend very little time there thru the year. It’s only good for about 3 hunts a year with the right wind. Usually take one decent buck off it. I travel to other areas of the state to do public land hunting. Would be cool if all my hunting was centralized with my private and public. A lot less traveling. So think about that
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Rich M » Wed Jul 21, 2021 4:28 am

It depends what you really want and the prices for each property.

I'd be sure to have a water source and some privacy. Deer are a bonus.

Boogie makes a good argument about having several diff small parcels.

I really just want 5 acres adjacent to some land that isn't gonna be developed and will hold a population of deer to feed the freezer form time to time.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Fri Jul 23, 2021 1:30 pm

What a great discussion. I don't have much to add, but read the whole thing and just couldn't not comment.

My good friend Dan has a hunting camp up north, northern lower Michigan. 40 acres with Huron National forest to the west. Private to the east, and another private piece due north then back in the forest, road to the south and more private. I mostly hunt the forest, but we do get line sitters, the north private was a longtime friend of Dan's who truned into a complete idiot (shot who knows how many deer on block permits the last 3 or 4 years. We get line sitters, the deer numbers are way down due to the idiot, and we still have fun.

I hope you pick a piece you enjoy. There is something about owning land. I only have a 20 acre piece in the Upper Peninsula, and I just consider it a base camp (when I used to go up there).
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Moose » Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:16 am

There's good and bad to both scenarios. There's alot that goes into owning ground. Every individual has different needs, money, time for up keep etc. Sometimes it's best to wait if your not 100% happy with the choices you have. Never know when your dream property will come along. Check the taxes, neighbors, Access and so on. Awesome advice from everyone so it's difficult to give a cut and dry answer. Good luck on your decision, they both sound nice.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Jul 24, 2021 4:56 am

Funny I been looking for property also . But Im just looking for a small 3-5 acre parcel to put a camper on- not to hunt it. Somwhere near the public I like to hunt. But anyway- I think a lot of the replies here hit it on the head. What are you looking to get out of it? and neighbors are key too. Private land pressure can be as bad if not worse than public. My sister and bro in law have 40 acres and get TONS of pressure from neighbors, and the neighbors shoot at anything. Plus he had run ins from trespassers and an altercation with a neighbor across the street not allowing him to retrieve a deer. Not to scare you away- but just giving you some tidbits from what I have witnessed. With that said- property #1 sounds pretty interesting with that amount of acreage and dense cover on the public surrounding. That can deter a lot of the hunters to access it.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Jul 24, 2021 6:43 am

Another good idea is maybe talk to the neighboring property owners (If its legal) and do a casual interview- get some info from them. Just mention your interested in the property and wanted to know their thoughts and if there has been any issues etc. Plus theyll want to know about you as much as you would like to know about them I'm sure.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby ObsessedPublicHunter » Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:29 am

Ive been working 12s the past couple nights and so haven't been able to respond. Thanks for all the feedback, definitely lots of interesting things to consider.

My father is actually going in with me for land and wants to wait. And so I will keep looking for new parcels in the meantime.

The idea of several smaller 5-10 acre parcels is interesting to me. I have found several smaller parcels online with decent buck photos. Wouldn't be against the idea of owning a couple smaller parcels and putting in some work, such as food plots etc. Hunt when conditions are right.

My biggest concern with property #2 is not being able to sneak in and out undetected. The tillable field isnt that wide and the public road is raised off the ground maybe 3 feet. Very easy for deer to be seen and see any vehicle. Ive been trying to think of switch grass or other methods of screening. Definitely more limited access and would have to be careful.

Otherwise the most stressful part of finding land seems to be finding a property that can be setup to where your access is undetected. Property #1 would be great for that but line sitters do worry me.

Anyways we have decided to wait for now. We definitely will be buying some land within the next year, and so I guess having more time rather than rushing it before hunting season can give me more options.

Thanks again yall! I will keep reading new posts if anyone else has anymore advice.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Sat Jul 24, 2021 12:27 pm

My input is if you want to kill big deer you have to hunt big deer. If the bluff country has the big deer that would be what I’d be after especially if the neighbors are killing big deer and letting young deer walk. I’d prob knock on a few doors and have a few conversations to see what the neighborhood is hunting.
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Re: Which property would you buy?

Unread postby 1STRANGEWILDERNESS » Tue Jul 27, 2021 7:32 am

Being on public border is relative to the area. I mean I’ve lived/hunted places I wouldn’t even think about it and I’ve lived/hunted places where it wouldn’t bother me at all. I’m fact it’s would be a bonus. Each season a wildcard can show up and mess things up. But like say here in the UP. Nobody wants to come hunt because it’s too hard, they don’t see anything and in my general area all trails have been blocked off from side by sides etc. guys don’t want to hunt these tracts. Bumped into one guy in the last five yrs while hunting public. I love the solitude but 130-150” aren’t common. Oh well. 100-120 will do, I don’t have anyone to show it off to anyway :lol:

I’ve got a lot of acreage I live on but the public offers better opportunities.

Make sure you get something that holds deer. Good bedding and cover. If they are coming from somewhere else you’ll be pulling your hair out. That’s how my property is. Though I have tons of cover, apparently too much to feel comfortable with the wolves or something. Luckily I bought it more for living than hunting.

If you’re buying in a foreign area I’d put a lot of time into learning the area. Network and find people local to the area. You may learn something that will tilt you either way.
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