Buying hunting property

ctsnow

Six Pointer
Unless you are going to live on the acerage or love to piddle, or need to spend cash; your money may be better spent on outfitted hunts.

100 acres x $3000 per = a lot of nice hunts.
I agree to an extent. But after buying around 100 acres last summer and having a place to call my own, there is something to be said about being able to whatever you want whenever you want on your own place
 
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TheCloudX

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I agree to an extent. But after buying around 100 acres last summer and having a place to call my own, there is something to be said about being able to whatever you want whenever you want on your own place

This. I don't own land but it's a goal. On paper, yes, it would be cheaper just to go to an outfitter 1-2x a year. But, if the land is used more than just hunting 1-2x a year, than it's more than just a hunting property. Growing up we had 50 acres in East Texas where you'd be lucky to see a deer. We'd spend holidays out there, and meet up just to relax. Getting away was amazing. Some great memories were made there, and not just ones spent in the deer blind.

I eventually went out and got my own deer lease. It had 4-5 members on it depending on the year, but in 5 years I can only remember really seeing 1 other member - a great guy with kids that were a blast to hang around. The couple that managed it were salt of the earth that I literally talk to almost daily to this day. I truly see them as an extended family. Before I moved out here, I was on the lookout for land to pickup around them so I can have my own slice of heaven. On the lease, there was a little "cabin" that was falling apart but offered heat/air/water with a place to sleep. Even though it was 3 hours away, I would drive up just to get away. It's hard to put a price tag on situations like that. I have a great lease with even better people here in NC, but do miss the cabin. Having my own piece of land is the next step in my journey. A place I can take the misses and the niece/nephew, a place we can just load up into the truck, arrive and get away without a second thought. To me, if that's what you use the land for, you can't put a price tag on that (to an extent).
 

Southern

Ten Pointer
On paper, for most people, most tracts of land are marginal when considered as investments long term if analyzed correctly. Houses are too but you have to have a place to live. I apply the same logic to land.
 
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JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
On paper, for most people, most tracts of land are marginal when considered as investments long term if analyzed correctly. Houses are too but you have to have a place to live. I apply the same logic to land.
If you don't look at is as an investment, but look at it compared to an RV or Boat, (which is why many folks buy raw land,) then it doesn't look so bad.
 
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ctsnow

Six Pointer
Starting to look at purchasing a piece of property to work on my game management skills, and enjoy a secluded hunting property.

What are your ideas on minimum size, pretty much just me and a couple friends, so not much pressure?
How much per acre would be a good deal?
Any precautions or insights would be appreciated.
My wife and I went through this process last summer. A couple of things we really like about our property:
  1. We have around 100 acres and and 75% of that is surrounded by creeks bigger than 15’ (this is a great trespassing deterrent)
  2. The remainder of the border is already fenced in. We would have had to spend several thousand dollars to get that done.
  3. On one side of our property there is an upper scale neighborhood that is in the city limits ( these people stay on there side of the creek so it works out well)
  4. The other end of our property is ~300 acres and is owned by the county so that land should never change hands.
  5. The remainder of the bordering land is owned by the biggest farmer in the county so it should never change hands either.
  6. Every bit of our land (minus 5 acres where we will build) is either in a forest management plan or in agriculture use (this helps tremendously for tax purposes)
  7. Make sure you take in to account timber value. We have around 30 acres of mature oaks and poplars. There is about 25 acres of a 25 year old Hardwood planting. We kind of see these as a savings account in case we ever get in a pinch and need money.
  8. Lastly, our property has one access point from a road. It is not a deeded right of way, but we actually own the driveway coming in so we never have to worry about that. There is only one other house on the driveway so they make sure to tell us whenever they see a car they don’t recognize.

As far as size goes, I would say 50 acres is a minimum in my eyes. My wife originally though 20-30 would be plenty. I took her to a field that was exactly 30 acres and she quickly realized that it really wasn’t that much land.

And although it’s highly based on location, I think we ended up paying around $2,800/acre in northwest NC.

Hope this helps and feel free to ask me any questions.
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
On the argument of land cost vs guided hunts each year, I had this same debate when buying my land. I can see both sides of it and evaluated the pros and cons but what I ended up settling on was a mixture of both. I found a lower cost piece of land that provided plenty of opportunity for me to play and hunt. I got a 30ac piece on the river which allows me to hunt, make food plots, shoot, kayak, fish, etc. 30 acres isnt a lot but its a long narrow property which allows me to do different things with different parts. Its also a tree farm so that helped with the taxes. Originally I wanted as large a tract as I could find and afford but when I realistically looked at how much land I could manage with my work schedule as well as the taxes each year, I ended up downsizing my plan to a more manageable size of 25-50 acres. This also left room in the budget for me to go on out of state hunts ever 1-2 years. So now I get to hunt deer, duck, and turkey on my land and hunt mule deer, elk, moose, and bear in other states.
 

PSell

Four Pointer
On the argument of land cost vs guided hunts each year, I had this same debate when buying my land. I can see both sides of it and evaluated the pros and cons but what I ended up settling on was a mixture of both. I found a lower cost piece of land that provided plenty of opportunity for me to play and hunt. I got a 30ac piece on the river which allows me to hunt, make food plots, shoot, kayak, fish, etc. 30 acres isnt a lot but its a long narrow property which allows me to do different things with different parts. Its also a tree farm so that helped with the taxes. Originally I wanted as large a tract as I could find and afford but when I realistically looked at how much land I could manage with my work schedule as well as the taxes each year, I ended up downsizing my plan to a more manageable size of 25-50 acres. This also left room in the budget for me to go on out of state hunts ever 1-2 years. So now I get to hunt deer, duck, and turkey on my land and hunt mule deer, elk, moose, and bear in other states.
I am in that same boat with you as far as size goes.
Now that I have my land criteria checklist, excited to scout some available properties and see pros and cons from the ground level.
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
I've had it abutting National Forest and liked the access from the "far side" of most public access.
 

QBD2

Old Mossy Horns
I can't afford enough to suit me, so I'll keep paying dues.

Let me rephrase. I'm not willing to let my family suffer the sacrifices it would take to make it happen.

I like the options in club life anyway. If the hunting falls off, I just relocate.
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
In 1992 and 1993 the NCWRC made it a point to emphasize that hunting in NC was gonna get harder in the future to come. The article was in the NC game and fish.
They insisted that folks who enjoyed hunting need to start looking at buying 20 to 40 acre tracts for hunting.
That was over 25 years ago and man they were right.
I found out that you don't need alot of land to hunt. The big secret i found out was try to buy land with access to other tracts.
I learned this by mistake actually. My dads best friend up in Northampton county who was a farmer was selling one of his small farms in 2000. He offered it to me first. Anyways it was only 15 acres but because of its location he said I would get access and permission to hunt the surrounding farms which totaled about 180 plus acres.
Being one of the 'neighbors' now gave me certain privileges.
Well fast forward to now. I sold that farm to one of my neighbors in 2012 who had let me hunt his 56 acres . Took that money bought a 35 acre tract up in Rockingham county. Again being one of the 'neighbors ' and not a guy with permission or leasing hunting property, allowed me certain privileges. I immediately got permission to hunt my neighbors 75 acres and the 100 plus acres on the other side of me. So 35 acres has turned into over 200 acres....
To actually hunt.?
Alot of people will give you permission to hunt once you become their actual 'neighbor ' .
 
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nhn2a

Ten Pointer
In 1992 and 1993 the NCWRC made it a point to emphasize that hunting in NC was gonna get harder in the future to come. The article was in the NC game and fish.
They insisted that folks who enjoyed hunting need to start looking at buying 20 to 40 acre tracts for hunting.
That was over 25 years ago and man they were right.
I found out that you don't need alot of land to hunt. The big secret i found out was try to buy land with access to other tracts.
I learned this by mistake actually. My dads best friend up in Northampton county who was a farmer was selling one of his small farms in 2000. He offered it to me first. Anyways it was only 15 acres but because of its location he said I would get access and permission to hunt the surrounding farms which totaled about 180 plus acres.
Being one of the 'neighbors' now gave me certain privileges.
Well fast forward to now. I sold that farm to one of my neighbors in 2012 who had let me hunt his 56 acres . Took that money bought a 35 acre tract up in Rockingham county. Again being one of the 'neighbors ' and not a guy with permission or leasing hunting property, allowed me certain privileges. I immediately got permission to hunt my neighbors 75 acres and the 100 plus acres on the other side of me. So 35 acres has turned into over 200 acres....
To actually hunt.[emoji6]
Alot of people will give you permission to hunt once you become their actual 'neighbor ' .
This is a great point. On my 30 acres, I've gotten permission to hunt two neighbors that have a combined 60 acres so by buying 30 I got access to a total of 90 so far. I didn't even ask for it, they would see me driving by and I'd stop and strike up a conversation. I even helped one of them get their tractor unstuck just because I could see he needed help. It definitely helps to be a neighbor and not a complete stranger.

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double

Twelve Pointer
I can only tell you one thing about land. They aren’t making any more of it so if you see what you want you better get it.


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PSell

Four Pointer
Is there a recommended resource (person or agency) that can help develop a land management plan for a property...how much to timber harvest, where to establish food plots...etc?
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
Is there a recommended resource (person or agency) that can help develop a land management plan for a property...how much to timber harvest, where to establish food plots...etc?
The forestry service will help you with creating a forestry management plan for a nominal fee. They actually come out and walk the property as part of it. I think I paid like $120 to get them to do one. I don't think they will officially recommend things like food plots but the guys I've worked with are extremely friendly so I'm sure you could ask their opinion. Otherwise if you're looking for food plot recommendations you could probably call and ask QDMA or NWTF for recommendations.

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ctsnow

Six Pointer
The forestry service will help you with creating a forestry management plan for a nominal fee. They actually come out and walk the property as part of it. I think I paid like $120 to get them to do one. I don't think they will officially recommend things like food plots but the guys I've worked with are extremely friendly so I'm sure you could ask their opinion. Otherwise if you're looking for food plot recommendations you could probably call and ask QDMA or NWTF for recommendations.

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I think ours was $5/acre.
 

para4514

Eight Pointer
Contributor
Is there a recommended resource (person or agency) that can help develop a land management plan for a property...how much to timber harvest, where to establish food plots...etc?

Who you reach out to for management guidance should be directed by your objective., and you can get multiple folks involved. The forest service, soil and water district, and cooperative extension are all options. NWTF has 1 biologist and 2 foresters that work in various parts of the state. Quail Forever will soon have a biologist working in eastern NC. Often overlooked, the Wildlife Resources Commission has private lands program staff that can assist with development of a land management plan free of charge and are pretty well versed in cost share programs. It is important to remember that "habitat management" is more than just food plots.

Info on WRC private lands program can be found at: https://www.ncwildlife.org/Portals/0/Conserving/documents/CURE/2018 WRC_Privatelands_Brochure4_25_2019.pdf

It is important to know your options and understand the impacts of management before implementing a practice that may impact the property for years to come.
 
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