Wanna buy land?...Get over it!

[Polar Bear]

There has been much talk the last few years about how the price of recreational land has gone through the roof. I would like to remind everybody of just how much public land there is out there that rarely sees any hunting pressure.

I just returned from a week in the Black Hills of Wyoming and only met one other hunter in the woods, and he was on a horse with a pack mule in tow! True, the roads were fairly busy with road hunters but only a quarter mile from the roads I was virtually alone. Likewise, 4 of my buddies spent 4 days hunting somewhere south of Remer and none of them saw any body else in all 4 days of hunting! This was all on public land too. A guy I work with hunts public land somewhere in the Kelliher-Northome-Waskish area and he only saw one other guy in the woods last weekend. We all got deer and saw many more.

I went through the "land lust" thing myself a few years back. But after saving money, dreaming and planning I came to the realization that you simply don't need to own the ground to have a great hunting experience. After all, we don't own the water we catch our fish on and still we manage to have a blast fishing and duck hunting. Hunting land is the same thing.

I'm always surprised at how you can get off the roads a few hundred yards and almost never come upon human tracks in the snow. It seems to me that most guys might just be too intimidated by the woods to get too far from the truck.

If I could give a little advice this would be it: Do your homework and find the area you want to hunt. Get some good maps of the area you want to hunt. Buy a good GPS and learn how to use it. Get off the roads at least a quarter mile. Carry an extra jacket,water and emergency supplies in a day pack. Grab your rifle and go have fun. Put the money you saved on land in a reputable, broad-based, indexed mutual fund!
Polar Bear

[korn_fish]

Hey Polar, SHHHHHH!!!!!

The same is pretty much true for some of the public lands around the metro area as well. All I can say is I just found a new bow hunting paradise this weekend withing 20 minutes fom my home in Hopkins. Just two miles away, there was 15 vehicles from other bowhunters. When I stopped to look at where they were walking in, the foot prints indicated they were all following the main trail in the woods.

However, don't knock the purchasing of land. In many cases, that land will bring back higher returns on investment than ANY mutual fund. Plus, who knows what personal rewards you can get by having your own private land to take your kids, family out to experience the outdoors rather than just the hunting experience.

I have my own private land, but I am finding that I enjoy private and public lands nearly equally..

[This message has been edited by korn_fish (edited 11-23-2003).]

[Steve Foss]

Polar Bear and korn-fish:

You both are right!

I too lust after woodland acreage. I like the idea of managing land the way I want, instead of the way the government wants.

But there is so much excellent public land out there (I live on the edge of the BWCAW and the Superior National Forest, for example), and by far the majority of hunters I've seen stay on or by the roads. Walk in half a mile at the very most and you're basically alone.

Another curious fact. All the days I spent hunting the Echo Trail this season I saw 95 percent of the hunters leaving the woods and hitting their vehicles by 3 p.m. Say what? That's just when things start getting good as the day begins to fade.

Fear of wolves? Fear of getting lost in the wilderness? Oh well, more deer for me.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[Sinker]

Yeah, after every deer season I kick around buying some land but after reality sets in after seeing the prices,I just stick to the public land I've been hunting for years.I've done fairly well over the years on the public land.I live and hunt in WI. and every season that goes by there seems to be less hunters.I didn't get one this year but I saw bucks that didn't offer shots opening weekend.After that I was practically the only one going in to a huge chunk of land and the deer just wouldn't move.There were plenty of tracks but they were moving at night.Needed more hunters to keep the deer moving.Even so,I still like the solitude and saw turkeys,grouse,pilated woodpeckers,eagles,geese,etc.My daughter got her first deer so that was cool.Take it easy.

[Doop]

Just curious guys, what is wooded land going for these days? Sinker, where in Wisconsin do you live? I am contemplating moving to the LaCrosse area. Any public hunting opportunities there?

I too have the "own my own land" fascination for many of the reasons everyone has already mentioned. Hope that dream comes true someday.

[BDR]

Don't know about southern MN but in the northern forest 15 miles from Leech land is all $1000 per acre.

Brian

[bass-o-matic]

Last I heard, land down in the LaCrosse area goes from anywhere between $1500-$2500 per acre. Relatively speaking, there is little public land in that area, and the public land that is available gets hammered. I grew up in that area and still hunt down there. Private land is the norm and is extremely difficult to find unless you have connections.

[Swamp Scooter]

I bought land about 4 seasons ago in N. WI it was a must do thing. Surrounded by county forest on 3 sides and national forest ofn the fourth. a private logging trail goes through it and it is about 3 miles from the nearest piece of tar. I found a guy who needed the cash due to poor snow conditions for the previous 3 seasons. it was less than 1k / ac. I never thought it would happen but I kept looking and found it in the paper. I agree it is out of sight for prices but if you are diligent you may get lucky. MN land was even higher priced. I hunt public forest in MN and then my land in WI. To me the real deer hunting IS going to the public land and getting back in to un-molested woods away from others and getting your deer.