figured i'd ask here because most of my hunting has been done on my grandparents land (168acres), then owned by my dad, and now being sold. now i am looking at trying to buy some land for myself, possibly split the cost with my brother which would increase the chances of more acres. i'm looking in wisconsin, if that really makes a difference. and this is all just a dream at this point, but i have to start somewhere. ? what's the minimum # of acres i'd need for a decent hunting area. i know the bigger the better, but what in your opinion would be the bare minimum? i really, for the most part, only care about bow hunting, however i like gun hunting almost as much and want to do it also. bow season 1 hunter most of the time, but 1 - 3 people gun season 1 - 4 hunters thanks for your opinions :D
If it were just me bowhunting the land I could probably get by with around 50 acres but, even then, I wouldn't be able to hunt as much as I would like without burning up the spots. No matter the acreage there are only going to be so many good deer hunting spots and you can only hit those so many times before burning them up to the point they are no longer good deer hunting spots. Of course the more acreage you have then chances that the deer will start using other spots on your land are better but then you are talking, IMo, 150+ acres per person.
For hunting, 80 or more would be nice as a minimum. Obviously a smaller tract in the "right" location would draw my attention.
Location. Location. Location. I can take you to a 5 acre woodlot I'd LOVE to own. Right place......I'd buy 5 acres. GregH killed a wall-full of bucks off a 37acre piece of land with +/-13ac. of woods on it. Food for thought.
I have 30 acres and in general, its not enough IMO. But, my land is an island of trees in the middle of a field. If it were 30 in the middle of 500 acres of timber, it would probably suffice.
My X brother in law has a 40 in Kentucky that 2 people can hunt without hurting it to bad, but like shed said it's got to be the "right" location.
But how often could you hunt that 5 acres before the deer began to avoid it? Yes, if you have plenty of other places to hunt then, at least for me, 5 acres would work but, if that were my main hunting area, then It would not work out, for me.
I'm not making light of Greg's old place. He had a great one, and I don't begrudge him that. But................If I'm not mistaken, he hunted over SEVENTY times in that woodlot in ONE season. Right wind? Right spot(s)? He could answer your question better than I.
Way too many variables to establish a minimum. If you were attempting to have the property at least in part "self sustaining" then I'd say 250. But if you just need a place to hunt with room for up to 4 guys, probably 20 is your bare minimum.
Ive always wanted to have 160 acres, still do. However, this past fall I bought 45 acres that is surrounded by woods on three sides and ag fields on the fourth. Being hilly, it seems larger than it is and at least two people could hunt it comfortably. It is 97% wooded and full of game. I lucked out. In the future I will be on the lookout to purchase any adjacent land if it becomes available. Good luck.
A small tract of really good land is better than a large tract of just ok land. My uncle owns 200 acres bordering our farm. Of this 200 only about 30 is wooded with another 5 being thick nasty briar patches....and it is the best little honey hole you could possibly imagine.
Like others said, the right 10+/- acres will do the job just fine. You'ld have to plan carefully and only hunt it when it's right but how is that different than 100 acres? You just need some other spots to hunt when conditions dictate it's not right for the 10 acres.
Begrudge him? Who amongst us wouldn't hunt that 37 acre tract? Isn't that what we spend our time looking for, the Holy Grail for bowhunters! !
I just went back and figured this up...... My '06 and '07 eight-pointers were taken from the same 6 acre woodlot. My '08 six-pointer was taken from a 20acre woodlot...of which I have access to about 17acres of. My '09 7-pointer was taken from a 15acre tract, of which a little more than 2/3 of is hunt-able. I have access to 4-500acres of land, here....and I hunt most everywhere within that expanse (if you can call that amount an 'expanse'...lol). But, I've had my most success in the smaller tracts. Now.....the 6acre woodlot abuts 230acres of county parks land that no one is "allowed' to hunt (it still gets hunted, I'm sure). The other tracts either abut the larger tracts I have access to....or they're very close. I'm with Rybo (and others), also.......I'd want a larger tract, if I wanted to try to hold any number of deer. A friend of mine hunts a 90acre tract, about 45min. from here. I can tell ya......90 contiguous acres IS a lot of land. We hunted it 5-6 times last year.....and we only hunted <1/2 of it. 90 acres of wooded land is a lot of land to this hunter.
Are you planning on buying it up north and only hunting it on weekends? Or is this going to be something close down here by us and and you want to hunt weekdays as well? If you are only going up weekends then you can get by with a smaller piece of land before "burning" it out.
i plan on hunting it as much as i can. it'll most likely be more of a weekend or long weekend thing. more than likely it'll be at least a 2 hour drive up to 5-6 hours away. it seems the farther north you go the cheaper the land is, now many things can make this vary, but this is for the most part of what i've seen. unless i hunt public property it'll be the only place i have to hunt. i may be foolish but i'm not too worried about burning out the land. when i hunted the 168 i killed 14 or so of them in one spot, 2 in another, and 1 in another spot. and most of the last 5 years i hunted the same stand or 2 stands each time out. i know it is not the accepted norm to sit the same stand all the time, but if you play the wind, take as much care as you can of scent control, i personally think it's fine. but that's just me, i know many would say i'm ruining my hunting this way, but i am first and foremost a meat hunter, the size of the deer is important to me, the rack is just a bonus.
I know a spot because of location, shape, and access that I would Buy in a Heartbeat. It's only 20 acres. I hunted it one year and killed a 150+ 9 point. It is a very nice spot, in an unreal location with perfect access. Dan
I strongly disagree with the above! IMO, that is a perfect situation. Leave the middle for a sanctuary. And hunt the outer edges, with the wind blowing out into the areas the deer aren't! That is my dream piece! We have 125 acres. 93 tillable - which is fun to hunt and and heart warming when we get that 5 digit check every year! If I were you, I'd agree with Jeff and get the location correct. MAKE DAMN SURE it hunts well with the prevailing winds and allows for easy access. Income and neighbors are biggies, too. Our property borders 640 acres of "unhuntable property" (It's hunted...HARD in some areas, lol.) and sets up great for W and and NW winds. Good luck!
You wanna buy it? Only about 14 acres is timber and there is no middle. I've killed 2 of my 3 biggest bucks here, but there is ALOT of timber nearby to hold the deer. I get the deer that are on their feet, few if any call my ground home.
