How do you find land to hunt? This is a question I hear frequently from friends and co-workers. Well, I wish I could say this is an easy step but it is not. Finding new land to hunt is like your first day of high school. The more you can talk to people, the more friends you make, and the more comfortable you feel approaching people; the easier it is. The more you get to know people and network, the greater the opportunity to find land. First let me share with you some of the details about the land that I currently have to hunt. I will also discuss how I approach the process of finding new farms to hunt.
Experts suggest that you should have at least 100 acres to hunt per bow hunter. If you hunt with two friends, you should have at least 300 acres. It is also recommended that you have at least two separate farms to hunt more than 5 miles apart. This ensures that you are hunting an entirely different deer herd when moving from one property to the next. However, I know of successful deer hunters who hunt on only one farm that is made up of less than 80 acres. They are successful on this smaller property because they own the land and manage it exclusively for bucks. My point is that you have to start somewhere. If your property is small, manage it aggressively and keep the hunting pressure to a minimum.
I usually hunt with my Dad. However, I sometimes also hunt with my brother, cousin and a friend. Sometimes my brother-in-law also draws a tag and hunts with me. There is only about a 10 day period where we may all be hunting at the same time. So, that is why we have 4 farms to hunt. We usually split up to spread out on all 4 farms. This helps to keep the hunting pressure off the deer.
Experts suggest that you should have at least 100 acres to hunt per bow hunter. If you hunt with two friends, you should have at least 300 acres. It is also recommended that you have at least two separate farms to hunt more than 5 miles apart. This ensures that you are hunting an entirely different deer herd when moving from one property to the next. However, I know of successful deer hunters who hunt on only one farm that is made up of less than 80 acres. They are successful on this smaller property because they own the land and manage it exclusively for bucks. My point is that you have to start somewhere. If your property is small, manage it aggressively and keep the hunting pressure to a minimum.
I usually hunt with my Dad. However, I sometimes also hunt with my brother, cousin and a friend. Sometimes my brother-in-law also draws a tag and hunts with me. There is only about a 10 day period where we may all be hunting at the same time. So, that is why we have 4 farms to hunt. We usually split up to spread out on all 4 farms. This helps to keep the hunting pressure off the deer.
Last Season's Farms: Of the 4 farms that I hunted last season, only one of the farms was new to me. The first property (Property #1) was approximately 250 acres of mostly hardwoods, made up of ridges and ravines. We also have a 3 acre food plot on the edge of the hardwoods. My Dad obtained permission for us to hunt property #1 by becoming friends with the farmer who leased the harvest rights to this farm. Although I have taken 3 bucks over 150" from this farm, it has outside hunting pressure and is close to a housing development.
The second farm (Property #2) is a 200 acre farm made up of mostly crop fields but it has approximately 80 acres of excellent creek bottom woods and thick brush running through the middle of it (great bedding areas). The bucks channel through this farm from other areas during the rut to check the numerous bedding areas for does. We began hunting property #2 after the manager of the local Co-op introduced us to the property owner. We have tried to lease this farm for 6 years but the landowner refuses. He likes to be able to tell his neighbors that they can also hunt his property if they ask. This farm is sometimes similar to hunting public ground. We never know who we will run into hunting.
The third farm (Property #3) that I hunt on is made up of approximately 320 acres. The property has everything on it including cedar thickets, creek bottoms, cliffs, flat CRP fields, etc. It is rural and bordered by the freeway to the north and huge crop fields to the south. My Dad and I annually plant approximately 13 acres of food plots on this property for the deer, at the request of the property owner. I found this farm by searching the area on maps that had a lot of woods bordered by crops. When I located a plat map I found the land owner and attempted to contact him. After searching for approximately two weeks I was finally able to make contact with the land owner. This process was more difficult because he did not live on the property.
The forth farm (Property #4) that I hunted last year was approximately 180 acres. The farmer lives on this property which has mostly alfalfa fields for the horses that graze on it. However, the north side of the property consists of heavy thick brush that you can barely walk through (great bedding areas) and large crop fields to the east on the neighbors property. Property #4 was found because the farmer who owns it, used to own property #3. We met the owner of property #4 through the owner of property #3. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? But this was a classic case of who you know.
Quick story- Approximately 5 years ago I was really lucky to find an Iowa property to hunt. My wife's grandfather asked me to sell his pickup truck for him. I ended up selling the truck to the son-in-law of the Iowa property owner. When the buyer came to pick up the truck I met the property owner and we started talking about deer and hunting in Iowa. By the time they left with the truck, I had an open invitation to hunt on their Iowa farm anytime I wanted. Lucky, huh!!
Even thought I have been successful in finding places to hunt, I have been turned down probably 30-40 times by property owners. I also have previously hunted 5 other farms in the past. However, 2 of them were sold and the 3 others did not have good hunting on them. I don't know if I will ever be completely satisfied with the farm that I am hunting until I own it. Unfortunately with my salary, that will not be anytime soon.
The second farm (Property #2) is a 200 acre farm made up of mostly crop fields but it has approximately 80 acres of excellent creek bottom woods and thick brush running through the middle of it (great bedding areas). The bucks channel through this farm from other areas during the rut to check the numerous bedding areas for does. We began hunting property #2 after the manager of the local Co-op introduced us to the property owner. We have tried to lease this farm for 6 years but the landowner refuses. He likes to be able to tell his neighbors that they can also hunt his property if they ask. This farm is sometimes similar to hunting public ground. We never know who we will run into hunting.The third farm (Property #3) that I hunt on is made up of approximately 320 acres. The property has everything on it including cedar thickets, creek bottoms, cliffs, flat CRP fields, etc. It is rural and bordered by the freeway to the north and huge crop fields to the south. My Dad and I annually plant approximately 13 acres of food plots on this property for the deer, at the request of the property owner. I found this farm by searching the area on maps that had a lot of woods bordered by crops. When I located a plat map I found the land owner and attempted to contact him. After searching for approximately two weeks I was finally able to make contact with the land owner. This process was more difficult because he did not live on the property.
The forth farm (Property #4) that I hunted last year was approximately 180 acres. The farmer lives on this property which has mostly alfalfa fields for the horses that graze on it. However, the north side of the property consists of heavy thick brush that you can barely walk through (great bedding areas) and large crop fields to the east on the neighbors property. Property #4 was found because the farmer who owns it, used to own property #3. We met the owner of property #4 through the owner of property #3. Sounds complicated, doesn't it? But this was a classic case of who you know.
Quick story- Approximately 5 years ago I was really lucky to find an Iowa property to hunt. My wife's grandfather asked me to sell his pickup truck for him. I ended up selling the truck to the son-in-law of the Iowa property owner. When the buyer came to pick up the truck I met the property owner and we started talking about deer and hunting in Iowa. By the time they left with the truck, I had an open invitation to hunt on their Iowa farm anytime I wanted. Lucky, huh!!
Even thought I have been successful in finding places to hunt, I have been turned down probably 30-40 times by property owners. I also have previously hunted 5 other farms in the past. However, 2 of them were sold and the 3 others did not have good hunting on them. I don't know if I will ever be completely satisfied with the farm that I am hunting until I own it. Unfortunately with my salary, that will not be anytime soon.
Research: Begin your search by determining how far you are willing to travel to hunt. I used to try to stay within 1 hour of drive time. However, we now have a camping trailer that my family uses during hunting season. So it would be okay for us to hunt a farm further away if the farm possibilities were worth the drive. What leads do you have? Think of friends and relatives that live in the country. Do your friends or relatives know others who live in the country. Start by making a contacts list of possibilities.
What if you don't know of any landowners? Well then you have a little more work to do. Figure out an area or county that you want to hunt. Then I would suggest that you get on Google Earth and start looking for possibilities. Look for large areas of woods that are isolated from homes, busy roads, and towns. You can also look for large wooded fingers that weave through crop fields. Once you pinpoint a wooded section that will hold deer, switch from aerial maps to the topo maps feature to look for draws, ridges, creeks, etc. Find at least three separate areas that you are interested in and then order a plat book from the county courthouse. This will show you the property lines, size of property, and names of the property owners.
So what do you do once you find a nice piece of ground. Well, you are going to have to talk to the land owner (I will discuss in my next article- Step 6) but there are a couple of things to do first. Is this property worth your time? Is there good bedding areas, food sources, water sources, and access for stand locations? Is there a high potential of trespassers or the competition of other hunters? Does the farm have good potential? Can you convince the landowner to let you plant food plots? Many of these answers will come once you talk to the landowner and scout the farm. Finding a good farm that isn't already being hunted is going to take a lot of persistence and a bit of luck.
If you are looking to purchase a farm than your timing couldn't be better. There are real estate companies like "Whitetail Properties" that list hunting properties exclusively. With a little time spent on the internet you should be able to find a reputable real estate agent. The number of properties for sale continues to increase because of our current economy. Prices have also dropped so you can find some good deals. Investors sometimes buy hunting properties, manage them for a couple of years, then sell them to buy bigger farms with their profits.
If you are looking to purchase a farm than your timing couldn't be better. There are real estate companies like "Whitetail Properties" that list hunting properties exclusively. With a little time spent on the internet you should be able to find a reputable real estate agent. The number of properties for sale continues to increase because of our current economy. Prices have also dropped so you can find some good deals. Investors sometimes buy hunting properties, manage them for a couple of years, then sell them to buy bigger farms with their profits.
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