What to look for in hunting land

[hoytshooter]

I am seriously looking at a couple of pieces of property to buy. They are between 40 & 60 acres, and if I purchase on I will eventually build a house on it, but for now it will be strictly for hunting. I was just wondering what all of you would look for in hunting land, if you were in my situation. The one that I am most interested in right now has a fair amount of swampy land, and a lot a hardwoods that are bordered by crop lands.

[Kevin]

My answer is fairly close-at-hand because I (along with some of my family) have been shopping along these lines.
I would definately look for hardwoods (deer love acorns, and I am told turkey roost in hardwoods as well).
Fruit trees somewhere is also big.
I look to have a property that is not all one elevation. Ravines, hills,and gulleys help.
A swamp in some section of the property is huge, preferably with cedars.
Certainly some water source.
At this day and age, you have to worry about what you back up to of course.
Is it like-minded hunting land owner, state or federal land, or land soon to be turned industrial :(.
Another big consideration for us, is it close enough to get up there on a regular basis. - We set our compass at a two and 1/2 hour radius away from our home(s) in Oakland County.
My-.02

[Tom222]

Food sources, bedding areas, and if you have a funnel area, you have a bit of paradise. It's also nice to know how heavily the area is hunted. Look for runs, rubs, and old scrapes.
What are the neighbors like? If you won't be living on the land right away, you may have a problem with the locals hunting your property. The further you live from your property, the harder it will be to control who is on it :mad:
It may also be wise to check the tax base in the area.

[shooter921]

Look for deer signs. Scraps, footprints, bedding areas, rubs etc. I would also look for some thick areas where the deer can go and hide. Hardwoods are great because deer love to eat acorns, as do turkeys. Fruit tree's are usually big, water, and a bordering crop field. It sounds as if the property you described just might be what you are looking for.

80

[Slugshot1]

Of course all the advice you are getting is good, but Amos and Tom touched on something very important. I personally think your neighbors' attitudes are very important. Will they oppose your interests? Will they complain if you sight in on your property? Are they anti-hunting? Do they trespass? Do they subscribe to QDM if that is important to you? Of course I could come up with all kinds of flaws, but you get the idea. You can change the habitat somewhat, but changing attitudes can be more difficult.

[fishstew]

I totally agree with that. We own 120 acres that is bordered by 6 other land owners, 4 of them hunt. We never have had a real big problem with people trespassing. I think a big part of that is the fact that we know the people around our land. The hunting is only average but it's nice to walk out to hunt and know that there's not going to be someone out that's not supposed to be. Good luck on the land. The more we hunter's buy the less the developer's have to build on.

[Neal]

I agree with all of the above, most important to me, habitat, neighbors, distance and of course price. Good luck Hoytshooter, let us know how things work out.

Neal

[hoytshooter]

We have decided to pursue this property a little further. There are some things that we need to be sure of legally before we make a commitment, like perk tests and the such, since it will be a future building site. I think that you have all given good advice. I will let you know how it turns out.

[Pinefarm]

I agree with hilly and different types of woods. A nice mix of hardwoods, some pines, some cedar swamp and maybe a few openings. Don't get anything next to state or federal. We've got alot of federal land around us and a 320 acre chunk on my west line. It's nothing but trouble. Plan on a gang sitting on the line and trying to hunt your property every rifle season. And plan on small game hunters shooting up the woods until an hour before dark. Of course, with the small game guys, that's on the weekends and I no longer bother with weekends. If you're interested in QDM, it's much easier with private neighbors. I know guys that are 15 miles from me that have no federal land nearby and all the shoot is 8 and 10 pts. They've gotten together with their neighbors and are into QDM. Since much of the land around me is public, we still try, but most bucks still have a hard time making it past Nov.16. Don't be swayed by some who say that you can hunt that public land too. If you're gonna do that, why bother buying your own? My dream looks like it's going to come true this year and much of that land on my west line is going to be timbered off this winter. Maybe now there won't be 45 guys on 320 acres come Nov.15. Last year, between two camps, I think there was 42. Trust me, run from public land. At least if it's easy to get to, like the acres next to me. Maybe something in the UP and 10 miles away from pavement would be OK. But not 40 miles from Grand Rapids and on a good road.

[hoytshooter]

Well the original property that we were looking at did not work out, but we found another very nice piece of property that is a little smaller. We will be purchasing 23 acres in southern Barry county. The land is on a dirt road, and about as far of the beaten path as you can get for the Southern part of the state. We have reached an agreement and the financing is in place.

The property is rolling hills with nice high ground near the road for the house, hardwoods at the back, a few acres that I will plant with clover, and the rest is swamp. The swamp is very large and stretches across several other properties, but we have the southern most part of it, and the spot where it funnels down into the hardwoods. The back edge of the property has a seasonal road that goes back to a couple of summer cottages on a lake, the North end is mostly bordered by swamp, the south end is bordered by hardwoods and a corn field, and the property across the road is owned by a private hunt club, this is nice because they are are pheasunt hunting club that plants food plots and habitat that they leave stand, even through the winter.

We are set to close not later than September 3rd. I just thought that I would give you all an update, and thank you all for the input.

[Bob S]

There is nothing like having a place of your own to hunt.

[Tom222]

Almost sounds too perfect. You must really be wired for deer season. Good luck!
By the way, it's proper ediquet to invite all those who gave advice, to hunt your land LOL.