Tips on buying or leasing hunting land

[KyDeerSteward]

I lost my permission spot to hunt this year. I am not the first and I'm sure I won't be the last. It gives me a bad taste toward leasing companies. I am on a tight budget and did not look for a new lease or permission for this season for a number of reasons. I am torn between wanting to join a lease with friends for the "deer camp" experience, vs just buying a smaller piece I can call mind and manage. Both would be ideal, but not in the budget right now.

What I would really like probably isn't that uncommon, to find my own affordable lease or permission spot where I could form more of a relationship/partnership with the landowner than just competing against the highest dollar, or better yet, some sort of purchase option.

I held a real estate license for a short time, I've worked in the civil engineering/surveying field for nearly 30 years, and have done mapping and property research across the state, so I have some relevant experience in finding my own spot, but given a number of pressures, just knocking on doors doesn't seem the best here in KY.

What sorts of tips, ideas, advice would you give on finding an "off the beaten path" bargain that's perhaps not the most ideal piece of land to others, but might be turned into a decent hunt camp?

 

[Turkey Creek]

I am eager to learn this secret as well!

If someone is leasing their land it will be tough to build a relationship they have already indicated the kind of relationship they want. Finding a place to hunt by asking permission will most likely give you a chance to build a relationship with the owner. However, if somebody comes along waving a handful of cash after you have implemented your habitat improvement projects you might be $hit out of luck as well. I think most of us are in the same boat as you, it just sadly isnt the world we live in anymore.

 

[rustybucket]

ok, so I'll share what has been successful for me over the years.... The bottom line of my method assumes that everyone is out for themselves. Hunters who are seeking permission are always out for themselves first and the landowner second. Landowners who are being asked are always in it for themselves and their property first, and the people whom they are granted access second....

I have learned that, especially when dealing with smaller properties (<100acres) money doesn't really matter... I mean really what is a few hundred dollars to someone who owns 75 acres? Everyone who has EVER asked them to hunt, just blindly asked to hunt or offered them a few hundred dollars.... You have to be different than everyone else.

With that core premise in mind, I never approach a landowner and simply ask to hunt. Recently we gained access to 35 acres north of us. I didn't ask to hunt the parcel until after a year of building a relationship with the landowner. How did I do it?

Well, the first contact was made when we bought our property, he was an absentee landowner, I reached out to him, told him who I was, that we had purchased a property bordering his and asked him if he needed/wanted anything from us pertaining to his property? Want me to call him if I see someone on it? If I see the gate open? If I hear anything? Generally, does he want me to help keep an eye on his property while he is not there. I NEVER mentioned hunting, or fishing (there is a pond on the property) Graciously he accepted and thanked me many times and that he was pretty sure other people were using his property without permission.

Fast Forward to January/Feb when I'm doing tree plantings on our property. I purposely purchased more seedlings and seeds than I planned on planting on our place. Called he, and the other surrounding landowners and told them I had some seedlings leftover and if they wanted them, or even better, if they wanted me to go plant them on their places. I spent probably $50 on seedlings that I planted on his place. That $50's of good will earned me thousands of dollars of trust.

Literally these people were flabbergasted... lol, it was like they didn't know what to say... Can I pay you? How much do I owe? At least let me pay for the trees? No, no no... You're my neighbor, if your property improves, so does mine, I've already paid for these it's either plant them somewhere or just let them rot.

Fast forward to late summer. I'm planting food plots on my place. Call the neighbor to the north and ask if they are going to hunt any this year and if he wants me to plant his plots for him. He says they want to hunt a few times but don't have time to deal with food plots, supplemental feed or putting up stands.... Here is where I strike the deal.

I will plant your food plots, maintain your stands, put out corn (we are allowed to hunt over bait), mow your roads/access trails. In exchange we can hunt the property. If you ever want to hunt just give me some warning, I'll let you know what the deer are doing, where we are seeing them, and we will stay off the stand for a period of time and make sure corn, water...etc is full and ready for you. Basically, you just show up and hunt. ON TOP OF THAT.... if you want to hunt the creek (our property) or need another stand for a guest/family you can hunt on our property.

Every time I've done something like this I get resounding thank you's and yes's. Make your efforts about the landowner, their land...etc and your success rate will be MUCH higher. Also, don't expect something like this to happen overnight, build relationships and dare I say, friendships. Show them you care about them and their land. Respect them, and their land.

 

[KyDeerSteward]

Rusy I really like your approach. One of my ideas is to buy 10-30 acres if I could find some affordable that could at a minimum give me some access, but moreover, give me the doorway opening to do something like you are doing. Thank you for the feedback! I know I'm not alone, it's happened to so many friends.

It's weird, all I hear is about recruiting new hunters, yet most of the hunters I know keep losing their places.

 

[rustybucket]

Rusy I really like your approach. One of my ideas is to buy 10-30 acres if I could find some affordable that could at a minimum give me some access, but moreover, give me the doorway opening to do something like you are doing. Thank you for the feedback! I know I'm not alone, it's happened to so many friends.

It's weird, all I hear is about recruiting new hunters, yet most of the hunters I know keep losing their places.

Note: I've done the same stuff I listed above before I ever owned land. The idea is to find someone who owns land, likes to hunt some, but doesn't have time to hunt a ton, and definitely doesn't have time to do food plots, deal with stands or tree plantings...etc. You turn it into a situation where you are basically a land manager, in exchange for rights to hunt. And when they want to hunt, you essentially become their guide to a certain extent, b/c you have been on the ground and know where the animals are.

 

[j-bird]

I'm sorry but I'm a skeptic. I'm not saying it won't/can't work, what I am saying is that you still do not have 100% control. I know of people that have done exactly what was described only to still get the boot simply because the land changed hands or there was an influx within the owners family. The only way to have total control is to own it. Now that poses it's own issues so you have to consider your needs.

Leasing/hunting club - this is essentially a rental agreement - temporary in nature - this means you have limited control, but you also are not locked in and can get out fairly quickly/easily.

Ownership - this is a long term thing, but you have control over at least your ground. The trick here is buying the right piece.

In any case there are some things that can make or break any hunting property.
#1 - size - the bigger the better. The more land you have the more you can accomplish.....sometimes just having as much buffer from neighbors as possible is a big help. However 50 acres fo prime ground is far more worthwhile than 100 acres of crap ground.
#2 - location - physical location as to what state, county and even surrounding properties can have a big impact. Do you want a small block of woods surrounded by 100's of acres of ag or do you want a wooded piece right next to a state forest. It can also impact the cost/value of the land as well.
#3 - layout - cover types, terrain and orientation. If you can't access it well or use it well then what is the point? Working against mother nature long term is a loosing proposition. Deer are adaptable, but you can't move mountains or rivers within reason and you can't grow a forest over night. No point in putting a ton of work into a place that you can;t hunt effectively because the access is terrible.
#4 - Neighbors - this is a true wild card. Good neighbors are great, bad neighbors will make you pull your hair out! Some neighbors will let dogs run, poach, trespass and otherwise do just about anything they can to break the law and drive you crazy.....and once you get the law involved it can escalate quickly. Even good neighbors with a different mantra can give you fits. Some neighbors are just great.....and then firearms season rolls around and they property is covered in hunters (family members or buddies that don't live there) and bait piles and they shoot every deer they see - they see no need to put anything into the land and they are only interested in killing deer. I am very fortunate to have pretty good neighbors. Some hunt - but don;t both me while others don;t allow hunting, but I am allowed to retrieve downed deer if needed. Having good relationships with your neighbors can make this so much easier and peaceful. Even when an issues arises - it's so much easier to resolve with good neighbors.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I too have went the route of doing good deeds to gain access to get this "family ground". I painted 3 barns on the property, cost me approx. $1500 in material and a week of time. I hunted that property until mid November then had that ground stripped from me because my cousin decided that he didn't want anyone hunting it. I explained to him that you have people hunting it anyway, you just don't know it. But, if I am hunting it those trespassers will not be in there. I lost the battle and he then in turn leased the property out to cash paying guys.

This brings me to where I am now. I purchased some land and as my family grew It still wasn't enough for all of us to hunt without pressuring the property. I then began paying for leases to cover the extra ground that we needed.

This brought me to last winter. I had the option to lease some ground. The problem was I had to lease it all to get any of it. If I don't lease it I lose it to a local outfitter. Some of this property joins family ground of mine so I did not want that to happen again. I know how ground can potentially be treated if not the right outfitter running it. So long story short I leased the entire 20,000 acres and of course have to sublease and run a few hunters to pay the bills. Basically in this day and age if you don't pay you don't play. At least this is true in my neck of the woods, as sorry as that is. Some of the ground I have leased was ground that I used to be able to hunt for free, this isn't the way it is anymore around here.

 

[KyDeerSteward]

Thanks for all of the great feedback. I've been leaning towards buying a small piece to start for a few years, but had a doe hunt spot which I lost this year to getting leased out. So like Blizzard said, no pay no play. Have access to a lease with a great group of guys, it's a little pricey for the distance and would delay buying even further. There is value in the deer camp environment and camaraderie. Definite security and financial advantages to buying