Let's hear about your hunting property

I'd like to know what type of property everyone hunts. Is it private, public, or something else? What type of terrain, how large, and so forth. As for me in my home state of Indiana, I hunt a semi-private property owned by Purdue University. It is a 200 acre research forest that two other people have permission on, one being the county conservative officer. It is mostly flat and made up of swamps and oak and pine plantings along with every other type of tree you can imagine. It is surrounded by privately owned agricultural land, so there is plenty of food. My place in Ohio is a 1500 acre private farm, which I am the only one who has permission on. It is made up of rolling hills and ag land and is loaded with mature white oaks. Other than being the only one who hunts this Ohio property, my favorite thing about it is all the inside corners. Those are my favorite ambush sights. Well there's mine, tell me about yours!

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Public F&W areas now ... had good private for 18yrs (160 acres) till the farmer passed and it went to his asswipe son who then started letting all his drunk buddies on the place and they ruined it ... killed many good deer off that place ... Ive hunted F&W areas since 1981, I now pack stand sticks in/out every hunt after stands were stolen (only used portables/chained and locked, the thief's used bolt cutters) ... I work my butt off finding new locations and now have over 40 different locations I can get into depending on wind/deer/hunter patterns... caught a guy this year who placed a ladder in an area where stands can NOT be left up (signs stating so all over), reported it to the property mgr, they came and cut it down the next day and the local CO sent a ticket to the clown (had his cust. ID number on it) (bow only area and he was a ML/gun hunter) ... the property mgr said to let him know of any others I may find and they'll come and get 'em and ticket the idiots when they can ....

this F&W area is mixed hardwood/marshes/lakes for waterfowl hunters, corn/beans on the place and surrounding land, some terrain features, but still relatively flat so to speak ....

 

I have 3 different farms I hunt here in IL.

My main farm is a large chunk of privately owned land here in the Chicago suburbs that is primarily a high-end dairy farm and organic composting facility. Through sheer luck, we got permission to hunt there many years ago and have somehow managed to hang onto it for almost 15 years now. The people who own this farm have several thousand acres of land in the area, but I have permission to hunt about 600-ish acres of it. I share that with one other person. Unfortunately, the habitat is pretty terrible, with most of the farm being mature oak forest that is overrun with common buckthorn, bush honeysuckle and phragmites in the lower-laying areas. There is a good amount of tillable ground, much of it harvested for silage to feed the cattle, which provides little to no late-season food. We're unable to do any sort of habitat improvements or plant food plots, so we just roll with the punches and do the best we can to hunt it as-is. Most of our hunting takes place on field edges, swamp edges or in small pockets of buckthorn we've spent hours clearing and maintaining over the years.

I have another local farm that I share with 2 other guys that's about 80 acres or so. It's mostly the same type of terrain - mature oak forest overrun with buckthorn and a few swamps. We are able to do food plots here, which is primarily where we hunt. Not because we want to but because you simply can't see or shoot through the buckthorn thickets. There is tillable ag ground next to us, but not on the property we lease. So it's essentially an 80-acre thicket.

Then I have a 100-acre lease in NW IL that I also share with 2 other people. That's about 60 acres of timber and 40 acres tillable. The property is enrolled in a TSI program through the county, so it's got really good habitat and healthy timber. Although I am starting to see some buckthorn creep in that I've been cutting down and killing when I can. It's an okay farm, but we never really get more than 1 or 2 shooters passing through it each year, and a high end deer is maybe 150. It just doesn't produce big ones for some reason, but it's reasonably priced and a great escape from the suburban hell that we usually hunt.

I will venture onto public land both in IL and WI from time to time, but there isn't much close to home so it doesn't happen as often as I would like. The little bit of stuff that is closer to home sees a good amount of pressure and is so overrun with buckthorn that it's nearly impossible to run-and-gun hunt. Even when you can get in a tree, you can't see or shoot so there's not much point in it all.

 

Dear me, between pics with hunt and land management discussions .. there's not much not known about our place..lol

 

I deer hunt in NC on my private 3ac or public parcels ranging from 9ac-6000. The public land term is nebulous in NC and may include porker owned or leased by fed, state, or companies.

The public land is heavily pressured from back to back hunting, beginning with archery season early Sept through rifle season ending about new years day. Small game and spring turkey seasons then run till May.

The public land is generally not maintained. But there are some parcels with fields, clear cut, even some that hasn't been maintained/timber harvested in 100yrs.

 

2 small private tracts for me.—

One is as cheesy as it gets but I’ve been able to take a couple does over the years.

The second is a nice property but gets over hunted with the numerous people who have permission to hunt it. I have learned how to hunt it and have had good success for the most part but they move through the property quick and you have to be aggressive for a buck.


Would love to lease something with better quality deer but have you looked at those prices!!

 

Are there leases around here? I've never heard of any close by.

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No not for our area. Unless you want 110 acres with 105 being tillable
Land leases in the southern part are mostly down by Jennings/Decatur and south of that. Great areas but expensive.
Around our area Jim people either have someone hunting or they don’t allow hunting. There is a great number of deer around Taylor but I can’t gain permission.

 

I know where you're talking about. That's some great looking area around there.

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I've got probably close to 2000 private acres to hunt over an area that spans 100x100 miles.
It's all phenomenal grounds.
But the past couple years, I've basically just hunted my own piddly 32 acres.
I can leave home and be in a stand within 15 minutes on many different properties and have a MUCH BETTER chance of shooting a monster but now days I'd rather drive a 100 miles, spend a day/week/weeks at my cabin and doubtful get a shot at anything over 150ish"

I feel so sorry for you that have to pay $ to hunt or have to knock on doors and "finally" get a yes on a 10 acre private piece.

 

We own 60 acres of mixed hardwoods. It it big woods so it can be incredibly hard to hunt at times. It has been selectively logged over the years and is quite thick which is great habitat. I have a variety of small plots that I have cleared over the years since there really isn’t much for ag fields around, closest being about a mile ad a half away so every little bit helps. It’s a fun little place to hunt. This year I might actually get permission from the neighbors to the north to hunt their 160 that nobody hunts, at least it’s worth a try.

 

Well...one thing is for sure...I have seen enough here to know I have some folks I need permission from! Some of you guys and gals are blessed.

I have my folks place which is 8 acres, basically in town and there aren't any deer threatening any book there. Still killed deer there, so I'm not really complaining. I also own 5 acres surrounded by other family lots of various size (around 150 acres across extended family) where there aren't really any deer. Lol. It's basically a mountain and I sit on the edge at the bottom part and deer don't really travel it.

Anyway, cool thread and I'd kill to own and manage a 40 to 80 acre deer focused plot of land. Some day before I'm a crippled up old fart, maybe I can realize that dream.

 

I have 75 acres of private farm land I hunt, I own 10 of it and have free rein on the the other 65. It’s a mix of field/crop and mature hardwoods with some portions select cut and now are thickets/bedding. Has a pond on the lower half and a spring running from upper field through lower to lake. Hoping to build a house on my 10 within the next year or two and be living on the huntin ground. I also have permission on 90 acres closer to my current house, no one else hunts it. It’s about 60 acres of thicket so tight you can’t walk through and the other 30 is ridge top and mature hardwoods. Holds a pile of deer but it’s tricky to hunt, it’s a killer Morning spot on the ridge. I recently acquired it and still learning it. I also hunt SE Ohio on public and have been doing so for the past 10 yrs, hoping to get some land out there in the near future.

 

I have a 200 acre river bottom lease that I have had for the last 7 years. It has 40 acres of woodline timber along the river and separating the ag fields. It is also surrounded by a river slew that is additional timber.

I also own a 300 acre farm with my brother and sister that the entire family hunts. We have 6 of us that hunt it. It is 70 acres of ag and the rest is classic hills, hollers and creeks. Old growth timber with lots of deer, but not very easy to access.

I have been blessed to be able have this much ground to hunt.

 

Sounds like a place where a deer could grow 200 inches of horn!?!?

 

Just secured a lease today hour from home. Split between me and 2 others. Its 160, 105, and 50 acre chunks. About 60% ag, 40% hardwoods and some crp type grasses with couple small ponds and creeks. A 200+ was killed on it last year and the guy said he killed the smaller of the 2 bucks so idk what to expect but there were multiple 150-170” deer killed on it prior to that.

Aside from that i have 205 acres of private that i hunt 5 minutes from my house. The challenge with it is the landowner and his activities are counterproductive to our hunting efforts. Cant tell him what he can or cant do and there are some great bucks in the area so im still very lucky to have permission. Both bucks i killed this last season were at this spot.

My family owns just shy of 100 acres in the southern tip of illinois about 30 miles from Kentucky border. It is surrounded on 3 sides by a 18,000 acre chunk Shawnee National Forest so thats pretty neat to walk off the property into that and feel like it never ends.

If im lucky, A good friend of mine usually invites me up to a primo property he owns in Calhoun Co. which is just about as good as Pike co. before pike was ruined by outfitters. Its 550 acres of QDMA managed property that is surrounded by thousands of acres of private farms with the same standards. Its jaw dropping to see really.

As lucky as i am to have these private spots i still will hunt some public. The best bucks i have seen on stand have been on public ground in Southern IL. If i didnt have any private i would pound the public like it was going away. Which sadly it may someday.

 

Man just two years ago this list would be three times as big....but right now:

I own just shy of 23 acres and it is essentially an urban type spot with houses north, businesses West and 50 acre overgrown non-built up piece to east that has a creek bottom...south is road and further houses and about 140 acres of ag and some creek bottom not developed...farther out than that is essentially industrial parks or residential developments speckled throughout with some 3-5 acre home parcels.

Permission farm that is about 75 acres with only 24 or so acres of non ag fields...supposed to be just Pops and I in all bow seasons but lately dealing with a grandson that is ruining it (hunting stands, hanging stands, hunting when he doesn't have permission...all that normal good stuff LOL).

Pops has a 27 acre riverbottom parcel I have permission too but this was just second year of him owning and I never made it there...it is a passthrough with not even good cover as we gotta clear canopy (tree eradication) and logger is supposed to be coming out asap.

Have a three acre parcel near where I grew up I can hunt too....but with homes popping up more and immense hunting pressure there its been a few years since I hunted it.

 

I have 4 spots right now.

I share 80ish acres with Tommy Alford and Zarr that is close to our house in Northern IL. There are always deer there, but we struggle with getting them past 3-4 years old and it’s pretty hard to hunt. The whole piece is cover and there is very little edge, transition, or topography. I don’t spend much time there but all of us have our boys hunting it with us so it’s good for that and a backup plan if we need to hunt close to home and can’t travel overnight to my main properties.

I also own 6 acres where our primary house is. It’s suburban hunting at its finest and we only hold bucks for about 3 weeks out of the year. We do get 150”+ deer in there most years but they are roamers and inconsistent. I’ve put in food plots which hold does year round but we still only hunt for and shoot bucks in there. The plots make the doe movement very predictable which helps narrow down the buck movement during the rut. It did produce my best buck to date in the 2021 season and we’re very fortunate to have a place like that right out the back door.

I share a 330 acre lease with another buddy (Franki Clark) in West Central, IL. It’s a great farm, consistently holds great deer, and is laid out right to hunt efficiently. Most years we have 2-3 over 150 and one over the 170” range. We can’t do plots or other management there, but it’s a great early season and rut hunting farm. This is where I killed the wide 8 pointer this season and my 10 point in 2020. I also spent the majority of my 2019 season hunting a 190”+ giant there but was never able to lay eyes on him before he disappeared.

Last but not least my wife and I bought a 100 acre farm in West Central IL about a year ago. The farm is laid out great for hunting and we’ve done a lot of management work, but it’s still recovering from a case of EHD that hit it in 2020. The farm and surrounding ground has produced a number of great deer in years past so I’m hopeful that once the age class of bucks matures a bit we’ll have some great hunting next year and beyond.

 

I have 125 acres, which is owned by my cousin and I. We bought part of our grandparents' farm so we have been hunting it for over 20 years. It has 20 acres of ag, probably 80 acres of woods consisting of sidehills, a ridge, and a draw. The rest is overgrown pasture ground that we have carved out 5 acres of food plots. Most years we have at least 1 150+ running around and I feel blessed that we have taken some special deer off this land including a 187. Our goal is to harvest 4.5 year old deer which normally we stand a decent chance of doing.

 

I hunt 52 acres in central MN that the in laws own. I’m the only one that has hunted it for probably 8-9 years. 23 acres of farm ground that has always been 1/2 corn and 1/2 beans. The woods are really not the best with few oaks and a lot of buckthorn. Very thick in most places. A small portion of it is low lying willow swamp.

Land is landlocked that I access via a small service road that no one else has access to outside of the farmer who manages the farm ground. I have never done a food plot but am thinking of trying this year or doing a buy back on a few acres of corn and beans.

I’m blessed that it’s landlocked and surrounded by private pieces (a lot of which are big swamps). The swamps are perfect habitat for big bucks and our place is perfect habitat for bedding does next to beans/corn.

I’ve always had big deer on camera and have had opportunities at big deer almost every year.

There is a 450 acre piece of public a few hundred yards away that is mostly willow/cattail swamp that gets pressured every year that helps push deer our way almost every year.


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