I hunt a 28 acres in Mcgrath, Minnesota during the rut with the in-laws. It's not great property. Not much to draw in the deer. I've started working plots and gonna start cutting to help acorn production. 10 acres are alfalfa and I hunt the woods by a swamp. Father in-law hunts over the feild, a lot of times it feels like we are wasting the rut but it's become expected tradition. The rut is my least enjoyable hunting time do to this. I also hunt public in Northern Wisconsin before and after the rut, woods with lots of wet land and islands. I hunt this alone, it's when I'm truely free and at peace. Lots of deer and not many bow hunters but becomes over run once rifle starts. In Wisconsin rifle is king.
Right now I have a weird hunting experience. Haha. Lots of smaller 200 to 300 acre or so public land spots. Name of the game this off season is to find as many places where I can get away from others as possible.
I pound the ground As the public land ranger Where I roam, no Booner is in danger And yon yearlings here no sound As to full draw I go An arrow is released So on tender vension veal I feast Once a every year or so There’s danger in the woods But no beast or hunter is the grief Better be armed for catalytic converter thief For methheads do not live as honesty should To kill a big buck, every hunter’s dream Is the noble goal, courageous But on public, some would say, outrageous Or it would seem For the public land ranger With bow and arrow a threat be Owns no land and deer be few to see In the land owned by all, one deer is victory
I would love to buy some land within 1/2 or 1 hour drive but property prices are cheaper like 4 or 5 hour drive from my place. Which would be better? Spending more on something within 1 hour drive or getting something for cheaper but having to drive farther? I would be able to get more done in a day if it was closer. I'm sure some of you have dealt with this before. Thanks for any information.
You might be surprised to find something a lot closer, if you aren't in a hurry. When we decided to buy some land we put all the parameters we required into a couple of tools and would go look every week or two. I kinda feel like you may have a bit of time (need lower rates, likely a drop in unemployment and more consumer confidence), here in the states, before there will be another land/building boom, if you've got the $ to buy. We found what we wanted, could afford and meet our needs within maybe 6 months.
Hoping to get out and do some scouting. I have two small WMAs within 10 miles. A large WMA has 350K acres but need to narrow it down to a few places on the topo maps.
I’m pretty fortunate to have the situation I’m in. I hunt around 800 acres of in laws property. My wife and I are pretty much the only ones that hunt it. This is the main farm I hunt bc it’s only 15 minutes from my house. It’s all riverbottom, and there are a ton of animals on it. High end bucks have not been very high end in recent years, but that’s not too big of a deal for us anyways. Just like to hunt mature deer. I also have my farm that I own with my dad and two brothers. That is about 395 acres. There is a decent amount of deer there, with usually a couple good mature bucks in the property. That is all ozarks type ground. My brothers and dad hunt that more than I do since it’s closer for them. That may change in the future once I build a cabin. I also have my dad’s home farm that I hunt every once in awhile. That’s 160 acres of hayfields, row crop, and timber. Decent deer numbers, and usually a good buck or two around. There are other places around that people would let me hunt if I feel like it. I mainly just stick to that river farm though. I also have permission to hunt quite a bit of private in southern IL, but I mainly stick to the public over there. I like being able to go hunt big chunks without worrying about boundaries.
Sounds like you need a new friend. My name is Jake, too. Nice to meet you - Send the address and I'll be down this year.
Wow...it's gotten smaller now LOL...moving in on some public lands...one in application only area and might venture to Ohio public if able. Working always to gain more but been tough - I have to stay somewhat local with family top priority and leaving for hunting trips is just not something I'm usually massively comfortable with multiple times a year.
