For reference; I (unfortunately) live near Chicago. I currently hunt in both WI and MI. I'm looking to buy some land, minimum 40 acres, no more than 5 hours away. All else being equal; lands a lot cheaper in WI than MI. I can get 40-80 acres of comparable terrain, access to food, water, etc in north central MI for similar prices that would get me 60-100 in north central WI. My big question is CWD. In MI, it's still very rare. In WI, obviously not so much. Is it only a matter of time before MI has it all over? Is the threat overhyped in WI? Or neither? All other habitat issues aside; knowing what we know about CWD- would you buy a huge plot in the middle of the WI hot zone or a smaller plot in MI ?
I can't lend much advice on the situation sorry. But I can say that you should purchase land here in oklahoma and I will take care of it for you!!!
Setting aside CWD for a minute. Are there other compelling features of one tract over the other (water, wood mix, etc). Apart from hunting how else might you use the land? Perkable if you homestead? Tillable if you plant? Tax considerations? CWD is somewhat beyond your control. It seems to increase from prion concentrations...so if somebody had bait/attractant piles it could be more prevalent. All other things being equal I think you need to view thru the investment lens.
I personally feel cwd has been incredibly overhyped in wisconsin. And the wisconsin deer herd has been terribly mismanaged because of it. The cwd cases in Wisconsin were very concentrated and really have not spread to other parts of the state other than a few rare cases I'm sure. It wouldn't even be a thought in my mind even if I was buying land in the part of the state where cwd was at its worse. Non factor in my mind.
CWD Is at a minimal right now and I believe the MI DNR and our hunters here are going to do fine controlling it. IMO, SW MI has the best hunting in the state but it's at the cost of $2500 an acre on average. Only thing about central MI is the amount of pressure from state land hunting, a lot of it in central MI.
We have a 275 acre farm right in the middle of the cwd "hot zone" (Dane County). My dad and I put a lot of time in the stand and also run a lot of trail cameras. For the past 12 years neither of us has laid eyes on a "sick" looking deer on the hoof, and have only captured 1 photo of a deer that appeared sick. We also walk the farm each spring and find very few carcasses, if any. With all that being said, I believe the whole situation is very overhyped. The deer herd is finally bouncing back again here after the DNR came in with sharpshooters and killed a lot of deer. I would not hesitate buying more land Wisconsin
CWD would have little bearing on my decision to purchase or not in WI today. If it was me, I would be looking for a chunk of land that is either already or that could be put in Land management to reduce property taxes.
Agreed. My wife and I are planning to buy land the next year or two in either PA or OH for a camp, but our decision will be based upon price and quality of the land. Good luck in your search!
I wouldn't worry about the CWD in making a choice. If you are strictly buying land for hunting I would say WI over MI. Yes there are great deer in MI its been proven time and time again just like WI. But due to the hunting pressure from high number of hunters per square mile the odds of catching a mature deer in daylight are lower then other states. You can only control what happens on you land but its not easy to keep a deer on a small tract of land. It really all comes down to what your over all expectations are to get out of this land purchase.
Yeah, I was asking this question as all else being more or less equal. I'd love to find about 100 w/30 or so tillable to lease to a farmer, but more likely I am going to "settle" for all timber and make some food plot clearings throughout. Thanks to all for the responses. I'm from MI and have hunted there most of my life, so I know what I'm getting into as far as pressure, etc. I've never lived in WI and have only been hunting there for 2 seasons, so wasn't really sure if CWD was mostly hype. Seeing as how I am buying only to hunt it, CWDs purported prevalence in WI was pushing me toward MI. But if land is about 20-25% cheaper in WI and CWDs not all it's cracked up to be, well....seems like a no-brainer.
Setting a return on investment aside I'd rather buy all timber and create my own plots then be stuck with tillable ground where it isn't necessarily in your best interest on a piece of ground that size. To further clarify most ag fields on a property of this size are going to be up against the road. I'd rather have pockets of food plots throughout the timber. Basically you get a blank canvas and can design it to funnel deer where you want them to be. Granted it is more work....
You have any idea what property taxes are in IL??? Plus I refuse to give this state one more dime than I have to.
Don't make your land purchase based on CWD I have never seen a case nor have I known anybody that has shot a deer with CWD. It was big in some areas around the 2007-08 area I believe and is just has been blown out of proportion. I'm glad the DNR has finally discontinued the earn a buck program which will hopefully see a large rise in the deer population in southern wi over the next 5 years! Having not hunted Mi I can not say as land quality but here in WI if you have food water and bedding you will have deer. Also depending on the agriculture aspect if your looking at land in the Adams co area it is lower ag acres compared to Jefferson or Dodge. It's just all the minor things to look at. But you can get 60-100 acres in east central wi cheaper than you can in west central wi. Just some things I thought I would state. Sent from my arrow using Mathews!
