NEED YOUR ADVICE!!

[MILLER TIME]

I live on an acreage that I own that is surrounded by about 200 acres of grass, gravel pit and swamp land. The owner wants to sell it and has given me a chance at buying it but I am sure after the appraisal I wont be able to afford it! So the next in line is pheasants forever. Please don't get me wrong about this but I don't want hunters in my back yard with slug guns. I am a very avid hunter myself but there is responsible hunters and very irresponsible ones as well. I have a dog and 2 young children that I worry about. Does anybody know if I have any rights here besides the 500 foot boundary? Is there anyway that I can protect my family besides forking over a lot of money just to keep us safe? How does this affect the value of my home? I am all for public land but not at the risk of my family. please any advise or comments welcome.

[expl]

If you are so worried about irresponsible people hunting near your home how are you ever able to leave your house?These type of people whether they have guns or not exist in everyday life doing all sorts of dumb things.Drunk drivers,texting drivers,rapist's and murders,dont forget burglars,aggressive dogs,icy sidewalks,the list could go on forever.If your so paranoid about people shooting guns or huntng on land that isnt even public land yet then I suggest you build a bombshelter and take your family and go live in it,there you will be safe from pretty much any harm imaginable.

[shortfatguy]

500 foot boundary?

Pretty sure it can be hunted to the property line. The 500 foot thing is for public right of ways. Not public or private land boundaries.

[Jameson]

500 foot boundary?

Pretty sure it can be hunted to the property line. The 500 foot thing is for public right of ways. Not public or private land boundaries.

Not land boundaries, but we got to be 500 feet from a residence (house) to shoot guns unless you are on property you own. If you are on property you own their is no rule about how far from a home you need to be to shoot a gun. Best to read it in the regs, as I am sure what I wrote is not 100% accurate.

Edit: I did attempt to apply to hunt in a city once where we did indeed need to hunt 500 feet from any property line due to city ordinance. Most properties in the city were unhuntable.

[Jameson]

...Is there anyway that I can protect my family besides forking over a lot of money just to keep us safe?...

Money makes the world go around, unless you can do the work yourself.

What can you do with YOUR land?

Build a berm on the edge and/or plant trees to stop bullets.

Move to the city.

Go on vacation during gun seasons.

[MILLER TIME]

Expl. I guess you have know idea on this topic or have any useful information about anything. So keep your s--t to yourself. For everyone else thanks. I was also thinking about a fast growing tree hedge.

[leech~~]

Expl. I guess you have know idea on this topic or have any useful information about anything. So keep your s--t to yourself. For everyone else thanks. I was also thinking about a fast growing tree hedge.

More edge trees and some nice big bright No Hunting-Trespassing signs posted higher so they can be seen a good ways back along your line. The really scary ones work to keep me away! As I don't want to meet up with the crazy that owns it!

[mechanictim]

If you can't afford the whole two hundred acres maybe just buy the area right around your property. You could then fence it and rent it out as pasture to someone with horses or cattle during the fall months. That would give you some additional distance between any hunters and your house and yard.

[Tom7227]

I doubt that you can build enough of a berm to provide you with the protection you desire, and I also doubt that the current owner would be willing to split off part of the parcel and sell it to you and the rest to PF.

I wonder (without wanting to get confrontational) how great is the real potential for danger vs the perceived potential for danger. Without knowing the layout of your parcel and the other piece, distances, topography and vegetation it is hard to get a feel for what could happen.

I do not intend at all to try and diminish your concerns. A neighbor was horrified that pellets from duck hunters 150 yards away would land on his home. Not a real danger but the neighbor could not be convinced of that. I don't know how far a slug can be a danger but I don't think I would want to be near one even at 200 yards.

Maybe talking to someone at PF to see what they propose and how the land is likely to be used once the DNR takes it over?

[smsmith]

What kind of acreage do you own? Maybe P.F. would be interested in buying you out as well. Take the money and find a parcel where the chances of facing similar circumstances in the future are low to non existent.

[MuleShack]

I've seen on some WMA's that they put up no shooting signs due to houses on the next property. So people can still do dog training or bird watching, but no shooting in the buffer zone.

FYI

[BuckSutherland]

Buy the land yourself and then put it in RIM or CRP or take some of the acreage and make yourself a buffer and then sell the rest to PF, but at least you gain yourself a buffer.

If there is gravel there it could be worth some good coin. Many ways to buy it and flip it. You just have to be creative and need someone to co-sign with you. Maybe PF would.

[MILLER TIME]

Well the acreage that I live on is basically right in the middle of the said property with my driveway as the major enterance, there is another one . I never thought about moving or selling the property till now. Tomorrow I will meet with owner and see if I can buy atleast a little buffer zone and the driveway and then plant some trees. Unfortunately the land is unable to be put in any programs and the gravel has basically been depleted that is why he is selling it. I am starting to except the fact of this being public land which generally I am all for but this land was the main reason I built here is cause it was quite, and I love to hunt. Thanks to all for the ideas!

[shortfatguy]

hunt it yourself as much as possible. Also have people you trust hunt it often. If someone is there most of the days, that you know, other hunters will probably keep driving.

[nofishfisherman]

Well the acreage that I live on is basically right in the middle of the said property with my driveway as the major enterance, there is another one . I never thought about moving or selling the property till now. Tomorrow I will meet with owner and see if I can buy atleast a little buffer zone and the driveway and then plant some trees. Unfortunately the land is unable to be put in any programs and the gravel has basically been depleted that is why he is selling it. I am starting to except the fact of this being public land which generally I am all for but this land was the main reason I built here is cause it was quite, and I love to hunt. Thanks to all for the ideas!

Sounds like the land might not be that useful to most people. Also I wonder what Pheasants Forever would think about purchasing land with a home right in the middle of it with the major access point being the homes driveway. Not sure what they look for in land but this might not be what they want to deal with.

try to figure out what other options the guy is considering. If he's gotten everything he can out of the land and he just wants to off load it you might be able to buy the entire thing for well under market value. If he's willing to sell cheap and work with you a little it could be a very good investment for you. If you can buy it and work on improving habitat over time you could potentially sell your home and the new acreage for a very nice profit. Then find your next dream home.

[chasineyes]

I wish I could find a way to copy a satellite image of the area I hunted last weekend down by Le Center. There is a HUGE home right in the middle of the Cordova WMA. I was shocked to come out of the cattails/slough and end up on a driveway leading to this house. For the life of me I cannot figure out WHY you would want to live there. My fear is also that over time someone, whether current of future owners, will start to push for NO HUNTING on that land...

http://goo.gl/maps/rBe2Z

Sounds like the land might not be that useful to most people. Also I wonder what Pheasants Forever would think about purchasing land with a home right in the middle of it with the major access point being the homes driveway. Not sure what they look for in land but this might not be what they want to deal with