Not that this has to be an either/or decision in many cases, but let's assume it does in this case for discussion sake. From a hunting/recreation standpoint, which would you prefer? A. A piece of ground to call your own and manage as you wish? B. Quality public ground (1000's of acres) you're able to scout, hunt, and explore, but do little in the way of management? For discussion purpose, let's assume this choice affords you the ability to travel once a year or more to hunt somewhere (whether it's a DIY hunt or guided). I personally have changed positions on this a few times already in life, and more recently I've given more consideration to a modification/combination of both A and B. I've hunted private ground my whole life. My parent's own 90 acres that I grew up on hunting, and now live a mere few miles from. I also belong to a club with 24 other members that own 1200 acres about 20 minutes from here, although the hunting there isn't as good. My father and I have managed their ground for quite some time, and they have leased a large portion to a local farmer for about 25 years. He keeps much of the tillable ground farmed, and so we usually have a year round food source in addition to our plot work. We did a selective timber cut 15 years ago on south facing ridge, and in that 15 years, the under story regrowth has improved the hunting 10 fold. It's a major bedding area year round, and a hot spot for cruising bucks come late October-November. I've found that as I'm getting older (29 :D ), it's quite a bit of work to keep managing ground the way you want it to be managed. It's fun work, no doubt, but work. I have to balance all of the projects I have going on at home (I don't like neglecting my house) with working at my parent's property, and still doing other things such as, well, you know, hanging out with the wife ). I'm sure when I have children, the time spent managing the property will be cut back some and managing that time will be even more critical. It's situations like these where I could appreciate option B, and so I could definitely see why some hunters could enjoy either/or. So, what would be your choice (if given both)? Curious to see how everyone's experience's and hunting style might dictate the choice you make.
After hunting mostly public land in Pa my whole life and lately private land in Ohio, I would prefer owning land in Pa. I am tired of ruined hunts on over pressured public lands. I know not all public land is the same. But the ones I hunt have been getting a lot of pressure. Getting farther off the road doesn't help because the lands aren't "that" big and I end up hitting guys coming in from the other side. I only saw 4 deer the entire archery season last year on public land in Pa. That gets frustrating fast.
Excellent post/question! You make great pros and cons on both. Im 37 married and have a13 yr old son. I'm Going on year 3 of owning my own land, I would answer A, everyday of the week. I grew up only knowing public land hunting on 9000 acres. Dealing with theft, anti hunters harassing us, other hunters hunting your hotspot, going days and days of all day sits without seeing a deer, shaking to the core with buck fever when I see a spike or fork, getting busted by it 2 minutes later, freezing to the core on an all day sit to look behind me and see hunter orange on a hunter in tree 100 yards away, to then own my own land that I always dreamed about to manage the way I want, to harbor shooter class bucks 120 class bucks and this is only a few months after hinge cutting! Also, bowhunting is my life, my one and only hobby, on top of owning my land, I'm also fortunate to be able to go to a DIY outfitter in Illinois yearly first week of November. But again this is my one and only thing I so and want to do. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I would prefer A, especially with my kids involved now. I do however enjoy B when I travel to Ohio and hunt public land. If I had to choose it would without a doubt be A.
I do both, but would prefer hunting new grounds and areas. I get easily bored and have a need to travel and see areas I've never seen before. Frankly, I've lost most of the interest it had for sitting in a tree waiting for a whitetail. Last fall I went back to my roots, picked up my rifle, found an area on the map in Ontario that I know no one had hunted for probably decades and went on an adventure. I can't wait to get back up there and explore more of it that I didn't get to see.
Take me with you. As for me, I'm spoiled with a 100 acre family farm/surrounding good neighborhood farms that we can practice management on (to a point, we're not in Kansas). But I still venture out to public land and hunt. I enjoy running my cameras and managing the property to much not to choose A. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
I've chosen A and have not regretted it. I feel very little urge to branch out outside of my land. I want control; I love to see my family benefit from the hard work. As I pass by spots where memories have been made, I relive those memories and it feels great. It is a personality choice. Dan and I talk about this all the time. He wants to explore and new adventures. I want to concentrate all my efforts into building MY piece of heaven. Something that my kids will someday own and enjoy. Hopefully they will be able to remember me for that. If I want to branch out I always can do local public land which there is plenty of. More than I will ever be able to use. The kids are a big factor in this. No right or wrong answer.
You can carry my pack. We have 640 acres here in Wi and I do like running cams and doing food plots, but I don't have a lot of urge to sit in the stand for hours on end in the fall. I get just as much thrill out of my dad or nephew killing the big bucks as I would had I killed them. For me, hunting is not longer about killing. I could see a day when I hang up the weapons and just travel to see the land.
B. Especially in my area. Deer densities are low, and there's no soil to speak of, so working the land is tough. Like Dan, I enjoy finding a new areas to tackle. Plus, part of me really likes the idea of beating a whitetail on their own turf rather than modifying the environment and bring them to me.
That would be a tough call but since you didn't specify deer only, I'd take option B. I'd love to travel to new places and hunt new animals.
I’ll take option A all day long. I hunted for 20 years on public ground and know of places that never sees much pressure. There are average deer there at best. I think this is mainly due to food, genetic & age structure on the public ground. I have plenty of public ground for option B if I had any inclination of hunting average deer. I also use to do a DIY hunt every year in NE Missouri. (Lancaster area) I was spending $1500 – 2000 for that week of hunting. Saw some toads on those hunts but nothing better than what I have at home. I decide to spend that money closer to home by starting a lease. Option A for me is the 300 acre family farm that I share with 6 other family members/hunters. We have managed this farm for 20 years by selective harvest of 8 PT or better, and do doe management. The farm is 35% cropland 65% big woods. We have never taken a buck above 150 off this property. Here are the best bucks from the farm (circa 1985-1998) I also have a lease – (almost an option A) it’s 3000 acres in 3 different counties that I share with 14 other members. This lease has produce bucks in the 50 to mid-70’s. Link to lease post At 55 years old and my health is not what it should be due to genetic degenerative arthritis and old sports injuries. I still love to put in the time it takes to manage our places. Just wish I was 40 again and didn’t hurt so bad at the end of a long day!
I love having and managing my own land. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I can't wait to retire and live there full time.
Thought of you especially when I made this post. You definitely have put the work in, that's for sure.
Tough question. Would really love to have a nice piece of land to manage and call my own. Maybe some day. I hunt plenty of private now, and help landowners to manage. We do food plots and have minimum standards for shooting bucks. I've also ventured into hunting on some public ground. It's a whole different ballgame! I'm enjoying the excitement of scouting and finding deer on pressured public land. I shot a couple on public this past season and was thrilled. A doe and a 7pt. He wasn't trophy class for a lot of hunters, but he made my day He put on a great show tearing up some tall weeds and stuff before I shot him. It felt good to scout, decide that spot was good, and get him down. Like said above, there's no wrong answer. Anytime you actually ENJOY your hunt is the right answer
Great question. One that takes awhile to think about since there's a lot of variables that go into each choice. If I had to pick one, it would be option B. Yes, I love managing a property but a lot of money and work goes into it. Loving the adventure side of the outdoors, I couldn't stick to one piece of property for the rest of my life. Having to decide between 100 acres or millions of acres is an easy one. Add to that the choice to hunt whatever game you choose, tough to do that when your property only provides whitetails. The great thing is I dont have to choose one of the other. This year I will be living the best of both worlds. Scouting different spots on public land and improving the land that I hunt. It would be great to be able to say that I took a mature buck from my managed property, and took one on heavily pressured public land.
I choose option A. I hunt almost exclusively on my 40 acres, even though I have 3300 acres of public land less than 4 miles from my house. I keep telling myself I need to spend some time over there to take some pressure off my property, but when the time comes to get out in the woods, I just feel more comfortable in my own back yard.
Access to hunting land can take many forms and the most common are by purchasing the land, leasing the land, utilizing public land, using an outfitter or by being given permission by the person in control of the land. I work in real estate and have worked with and seen many recreational property pursuits and purchases and even the people who have tons of resources don’t want to squander their money on bad choices. At first glance everyone assumes a purchase is the best course and sometimes it is, however I have seen bankruptcies, divorces, foreclosures and changes of priorities affect land purchases in a short amount of time. I know of several situations where people have hunted the same properties since the late 70’s because they are family friends and no money has ever traded hands. Long term leases allow great access without the risk of purchasing a large tract of land and usually you can maintain it as you see fit while you are leasing it. If you can find public land that is not hunted to death and it offers a decent chance at harvesting deer, then to me this might be the best access there is. If all you are after is the antlers, by all means I think outfitting is the best choice. The handshake of 30 years ago is not common, financial situations are vulnerable; owners change their minds, governments change laws constantly, etc. When it comes to deer hunting, there is no one size fits all and that is ok. Do what enables you to be happy and best meet your goals and as you progress so will your hunting opportunities and access. (In my opinion “B” under the right circumstances would be the best.)
All that travel is a waste of time and money that you could be hunting or experiencing other things on property that is nearby. That's my thinking!
