How much land is enough for you

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I was talking with my dads 72 yr old best friend up in Northampton county the other night. We got to talking about deer hunting. He said he had actually gotten back into deer hunting this year after 25 years of not hunting. He went onto tell me how he was tired of guys hoarding up land around there. He told me of 2 hunt clubs trying to get more and more land and bickering with each other all over a friggin deer. He told me of a mutual friend that went from having no time and no land to hunt 20 years ago and now he also is trying to buy up or lease up alot of land .
That's a shame I thought . He went on to tell me that after dealing with hunters and landowners with leases for 35 years that he has learned one thing about deer hunters, they can never have enough land to hunt.
He farmed for a long time and had many a problem with renting land every year because of deer hunting. It is a shame i told him. He told me anytime I wanted to come up and hunt what little land he had to come on.
I am sure some of yall have seen situations like this occur over the years hunting. My dad always said it had more to do with CONTROL over the land than actually hunting the land. This is just one more problem with why hunting and hunters are declining.
You get a few folks controlling thousands of acres of land in one area then that don't leave much room for new hunters unless they give the OK. I have never hunted much public land but it is a good thing that we have it.
 
Last edited:

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
We, as a club, only have 16 beds in clubhouse(No campers allowed). We have had the same 800 acres for 40 years. We only moved up because 250 acre farm attached to ours came available. It was a must have because it brought duck hunting to the table. Our dues are 800 each. We do not want to raise the dues to get more land, and we only have a small surplus of money at the end of the year. We are about 50/50 between deer/ turkey hunters so the clubhouse doesn’t get crowded very often. We took around 15 deer this year. 7 bucks if I remember correctly. I think 6 Gobblers were killed last April. Nice amenities/ decent land/ 1000 acres is our magic number.
In our area, I think land is stale. Nothing being given up and not much changing.
 

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
My 7 acres works just fine....you guys can have your thousands of acres/dollars a year leases, cant eat antlers
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
My 7 acres works just fine....you guys can have your thousands of acres/dollars a year leases, cant eat antlers
It’s not right to talk the club scene down ...... if you have never hung around the skinning rack and heard your Dad or your friends or your kids tell their story of how they got their buck...... the meals prepared as a group...... the words of wisdom while preparing for the hunt or sighting in a rifle..... the thrill of helping a friend kill their first turkey. These are just a few of the things that keep me coming back. I cook big meals to this day and feed everyone in camp.... it keeps us united...... the reason we don’t allow campers...... it causes separation..... we had it in our previous club when I was a little fellow and I hardly knew any of the club members because everyone was in their campers..... never been an issue in our current club! Sorry you have not had the same hunting experiences I have had..... you missed out on a good time! Enjoy your 7 acres.
 

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
i own 160 acres surrounded by thousands, i had 2 stands, put a third up last year that i couldn't get to this past fall. If i had more land i would be second guessing every day i sat in a different stand.
I would like another small piece along a roadway so i can put my camper there, and maybe a shed or pole barn.
@ScottyB i miss the camp life, had some good memories at deer camp
 

Deerhuntr

Ten Pointer
Where I live there’s certain individuals that try to lease or buy every acre they can to keep others from hunting even though they only hunt their home farms. One of the reasons I drive a minimum 45 minutes to each of my hunting properties.
 

buckshooter

Old Mossy Horns
It’s not right to talk the club scene down ...... if you have never hung around the skinning rack and heard your Dad or your friends or your kids tell their story of how they got their buck...... the meals prepared as a group...... the words of wisdom while preparing for the hunt or sighting in a rifle..... the thrill of helping a friend kill their first turkey. These are just a few of the things that keep me coming back. I cook big meals to this day and feed everyone in camp.... it keeps us united...... the reason we don’t allow campers...... it causes separation..... we had it in our previous club when I was a little fellow and I hardly knew any of the club members because everyone was in their campers..... never been an issue in our current club! Sorry you have not had the same hunting experiences I have had..... you missed out on a good time! Enjoy your 7 acres.

I can personally vouch for ScottyB’s place. And his cooking. Had the privilege of spending a couple of days duck hunting there.
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
I hunt what I can find and afford. I hunt hounds too, and we need as much property as we can get to avoid conflict. Finances are the limiting factor though. The flip side is those that lease the property to try and run us out, by not having enough property. Yes, deer hunting has gotten vicious. It saddens me to say that, because it don't have to be that way. I remember a time, when it was not like this. I still say the commercialization of deer hunting started it all. I remember hunting 1000's of acres where some still hunted and several groups ran dogs. We all knew each other and got along fine, hunting the same properties. I lease to much land for myself, one tract I hunted 3 times. I killed one of my two bucks there this year though. I don't want to give any lease up, because if I do it is likely I will never be able to set foot on there again in my lifetime. I have lost many a place to hunt due to these changes over the years. Now, I do and will hunt public land. There are some public lands that I absolutely love to hunt and not all are permitted hunts. I'll likely be part of a club forever, I like hunting with others, I like the camaraderie.
 

aya28ga

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
One thing's for certain.

If you own it, you control it. No surprises, no worries about lease prices going up or being sold out from under you, or finding out that your prime spot has been clearcut.

My advice to young hunters has always been: "Forego the new trucks, boats and guns. Marry a woman with the same interests and goals as you have, work hard and plan carefully, and buy land."



Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

nhn2a

Ten Pointer
I have 30 acres that I bought and have struggled with this question for many years. Its funny you ask that question the way you did because I've asked myself how much is enough. I've always wanted more land and would like to have hundreds or thousands of acres but at the end of the day, me and my boys get so much enjoyment from my 30 acres farm that I've never pursued getting more. I also augment with hunting public land on Fort Bragg or surrounding gamelands for a change of scenery now and then but overall I've found myself content with what I have.
 

adkarcher

Six Pointer
I would hunt public land more but extremely limited with the 3 day per week BS for the game land close to me and no Sunday hunting....about as restrictive as you can get for the working man. I hunt it some, but have a small 40 acre parcel a landowner lets me hunt and then 3 of us lease about 290 acres, more than enough for us.
 

HotSoup

Old Mossy Horns
It’s not right to talk the club scene down ...... if you have never hung around the skinning rack and heard your Dad or your friends or your kids tell their story of how they got their buck...... the meals prepared as a group...... the words of wisdom while preparing for the hunt or sighting in a rifle..... the thrill of helping a friend kill their first turkey. These are just a few of the things that keep me coming back. I cook big meals to this day and feed everyone in camp.... it keeps us united...... the reason we don’t allow campers...... it causes separation..... we had it in our previous club when I was a little fellow and I hardly knew any of the club members because everyone was in their campers..... never been an issue in our current club! Sorry you have not had the same hunting experiences I have had..... you missed out on a good time! Enjoy your 7 acres.

I havent talked anything down, I just dont have the want or need to pay so much to deer hunt. Yes, I enjoy it because its MINE.
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Most of my life, I've had to beg, borrow and plead (so to speak) for land to hunt. I've only been a member of 2 hunting clubs for short periods of time. The rest of the time, I have been fortunate to have friends and family with land that have allowed me to hunt for free...but under their rules. That's fine, and very appreciated. However, sometimes those "rules" get a bit cumbersome, and sometimes prohibitive. Well, with my move to Bladen Co. last summer, I now have 50 acres of my mom's land that I control, plus nearly 140 more of directly adjacent land belonging to my uncles that I have access to. Nobody else in the family hunts any of it. Then, I have about 200 acres of access to the family farm near E-town controlled by my cousins, another 200 acres in Columbus Co. belonging to another cousin that lives in Alabama, and I also have access to several large farms up in Warren Co. controlled by friends, plus 10 acres I own myself. I think I'm good!
 

MJ74

Old Mossy Horns
Can never have enough and around here I never find any available to lease.....never

Sent from my LG-US996 using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: jug

Stix11

Spike
[QUOTE="aya28ga, post: 802716, member: 1272"

My advice to young hunters has always been: "Forego the new trucks, boats and guns. Marry a woman with the same interests and goals as you have, work hard and plan carefully, and buy land."



Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
[/QUOTE]
My wife and I did this. Bought 127 acres 2017 and built a house on it in 2019 and most of my hunting is in my back yard. Id love to own more but don't know I'll ever be able to afford more and the amount of projects I have on current piece keep me more than busy.
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
It all really depends. 5 acres, in the right location, may be better than 5000 acres somewhere else.

I will take public land over the leasing game, any day. I have leased some prime land here in NC, and it was nothing but hassle and heart ache. Im much happier hunting public.

I will buy my own land one day. I think 50 acres should be about right. Will buy more if I can offord it, but 50 is my goal.
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
Don’t deer hunt anymore but when I lived out of state I liked public land for the same reasons I like my love life..... I can look at a new piece every day, and it’s gratifying to score on the first sit in a new spot. Sound logic on both parts I think....
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Jug, sorry for the rant/hijack
No I want every ones input. I was just stating the obvious. I have no problem if you want to hunt 2 acres or 2000.
I know a gentleman here in Harnett that has over 800 acres leased here in Harnett. Leases another 400 acres in Missouri. Owns a ranch in the Texas panhandle. He and he alone hunts all that land.
I am happy with my little here in Harnett and Rockingham county . I would like to have more time though. Set in the stand only 10 times in Rockingham county and 26 times here in Harnett.
Would be nice to have a place in Henry county Virginia but I would not have the time unfortunately.
 
Last edited:

JONOV

Twelve Pointer
Enough to shoot a couple deer every year? Or enough to hunt at your leisure and pleasure and grow big deer? If you have a vested interest in cultivating big racks, I'd say 1000 acres contiguous, more or less, and everyone on board with the management plan.

If you want to fill the freezer a parcel of 10-20 is probably fine.

If you want to hunt big bucks, creativity, never overlooking a small parcel, a willingness to get in a canoe and paddle across the lake, etc, will go a lot further than amassing land.
 

ncstatehunter

Twelve Pointer
If I had to hunt the same 50-100 acres every time I went hunting I’d go crazy, heck I’d probably go crazy on anything less than 500-1000 as I like to roam and hunt new places. I grew up hunting public and it’s all I hunt now, although I do want my own acreage one day but I won’t hunt it exclusively. Just something for a quick hunt or occasionally. Part of the fun for me is figuring out a new place, Making a plan and having it come together on different land.
 

adkarcher

Six Pointer
I hunted a lot of public land when I lived in NY and loved it. Had a 2000+ acre piece of state land that was lightly hunted and 10 minutes from my house. But the biggest benefit was being able to hunt it 7 days per week, along with no motorized vehicles, so that eliminated the ATV crowd.....

I was also fortunate to have a 40 acre private piece of land that I could bowhunt only, belonged to a hunt club that cost me 100.00 per year and a couple of work days and gave me access to 300 acres, and then an old farm that was around 400 acres that I almost exclusively hunted. Land access was much easier in Central NY than it has been here in NC, so I feel very fortunate to have what I have here to hunt.
 
Top