Hunting Property Purchace?

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GregL

Active member
Looking for some suggestions on how to insure a property will pan out.

After yet another very very slow first 1/2 of the duck season, I can see it's only going to get worse in my area. I have been on 4 major marshes within 2 hours of home both days of the weekends and seen no more than 2 dozen birds since the start of the season.

Most of these birds were just flying off somewhere else. I know some are going to say start knocking on doors and getting permission. I've done this several times and have just giving up, I've only been successfull at this twice in 20+ years on 2 properties and that was through a friend or family.
Eventually they were sold and developed :(

In my area guns and hunting are frowned upon and most land owners are already tied up with others or have moved there from the city and want nothing to do with these activities.

With that said, I've been seriously considering buying a piece of property with a marsh or pond on it. Most of the properties I'm looking at are 3-4 hours away in order to keep the price fairly affordable.

I really enjoy duck hunting and working with the dogs. I don't care about limits but it would be nice if my dogs I work so hard to train all year actually get some birds!

So for anybody who has purchased a hunting property in the past. I have have questions.

1) How did you make sure there was actually birds there before investing into the property?
2) Did you feel it was a worth it or did you sell it a few years after?
3) What distance did you drive to get to it?



Any advice is greatly appreciated!
 
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1) I had seen birds on it several times while scouting and had actually hunted it once a few years before I purchased it.

2) Best decision I ever made. Tons of hours a year spent maintaining/improving the property but worth every minute to me. There is not a more rewarding feeling than after putting in all the time, effort, and resources on your property to harvest a few birds from it. Never harvest a bunch of birds from my property but every one is like a trophy to me. Also love the fact that I dont have to beat someone to a spot and/or participate in a daily draw. Makes it all worth it to me.

3) 2 miles from my house.[cool]
 
Greg,

What state are you in?

One question to ask about a piece of property is where the ducks will come from that will visit your patch of habitat? Is it close to big water, roosting areas, daily "flyways", refuges, ag land, etc..
What is the surrounding property like? Is your target property going to become an island in a sea of houses? Or is it one small pond in a area full of good duck habitat? Either one fo these can be good or bad depending on how big your place is, where its located, hunting pressure on surrounding lands.
Do you plan to only hunt ducks or deer & small game too?
Can you control access?
Lots to think about.
 
2 miles!! MAN! 2 miles from my place is mall! UGH! LOL!.. I have a min 1 hr drive.

I thought about asking if I could rent the place for a weekend at least then I could see if it holds grouse and maybe see some sign of waterfowl. With it being 3-4 hours away makes it impossible to scout it :(
 
Don't really have advice on the buying of property but I'd think about how far are you willing to travel regularly to hunt? How often will you plan on hunting the property? Will this be your main hunting spot? If you have to do mainly one day or two day hunts, how much of your day are you willing to spend driving each way? If 3 to 4 hours is too much, then I'd look closer to you.
 
I'm in Canada. All great points Carl, thanks!!

One property i'm look at is 14 miles NW of a big marsh that is a popular ducking hunting marsh, but its 3.5 hrs north of me.

What makes me nervous is I see so many ponds up north that just look so "birdy" but never see any birds on them. I think I'd hang myself
if I bought a property for bird hunting and there were no birds using it HAHA!

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Hi Dani,

Ya this is a big concern as well, If it was just a hunting property and we had game using the property. I'd probably hunt there most weekends up until freeze up and if I went up it would be for the weekend. Go Friday come home Sunday night type deal.
 
Have you considered a piece of property near Long Point or Rondeau? I believe you're in the GTA, if you're willing to drive North for a potentially shorter duck season I'd consider coming further south. Let someone else manage the ducks for you, with a boat blind you have a lot of options in both spots. Long Point offers an option to park a camper trailer in the park for a few hundred bucks during the hunting season.

It's also a goal of mine to own a piece of property for dog training, but technical ponds and habitat management don't seem to go hand in hand.
 
Ya, I'm in the GTA. Oh man would I love to own property with tech pond for dogs!! That would be awesome, but I doubt I could properly groom it while working full time.

I haven't looked in those areas because I figured property values would be sky high, and would be looking to get away from public marshes but I might have to consider this!!
 

just my 2 cents

No matter where you are with a waterfowl property purchase, or lease. You are always at the mercy of the birds. Ya sounds corny but is true.

Some folks try to remedy that in different ways, some good, some bad.

Better if the land and water offers other critters to hunt, and fish for fishing.

Don't put all yer eggs in one basket.


I've never bought hunting property, but have been in on many waterfowl leases, and clubs. All offered other critters to hunt not just waterfowl, and that saved the day many times. Not for what I killed, but that I was able to hunt, for me much more important.


For the first time in all my years of hunting, I'm on a deer lease, 1.9 miles from our home. Yes I am now spoiled after having to drive for hours, as your age must be considered. Thank goodness it also offers very good squirrel hunting, some turkey, and many other critters for me to enjoy watching.

I do not equate what I put in the freezer, and on the table with what I pay. I pay for the privilege to hunt.

Boils down to personal enjoyment and satisfaction.
 
I agree Vince, really my big priority is getting work for the dogs. I would be great if I could find a property that also had a grouse population, which is probably why I have been oogling northern properties! Man maybe I should just retire HAHA!

I get to this point, this time every year for the last 4-5 years, getting harder to drag my but out of bed at 2:30 drive 1.5 hours to see no birds. ugh! HAHA!
 
Both of those photos sure look inviting for ducks, grouse and deer! Maybe bear too.
How much acreage do you think you can swing?
 
Greg -

It is good that Canada still has lots of Ruffed Grouse.

Many states had their Ruffed Grouse populations ravaged by West Nile. Now Penn State is studying it's impact on turkey.

My plan before I retired was to enjoy grouse hunting as much as possible. My favorite upland bird in the east.

Due to very low populations in PA, NY, and Ohio my plans were foiled. The talks I have had with biologists have been very grim when it comes to Ruffed Grouse, even with habitat restored.

Hopefully Canada will be spared.

The wonderful things about Ruffed Grouse hunting are, no early morning wake up, very little equipment, long walks, hopefully a good grouse dog, and mighty fine birds.

Instead now I grab the .22, and hunt squirrels. So much for the best laid plans of mice and men.


Don't wish for or rush retirement, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Do what you love, and want to do now.


Hope everything works out for you.
 
GregL said:
That Lot is 160 acres for 130,000 if memory serves. Not cheap that's for sure LOL!
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That's cheap in my area. Typical duck hunting lowlands around here start at $3000 per acre and go up real quick, and I mean REAL QUICK, like $5000 or more if it is proven for ducks.
 
Not sure you can find land anywhere in the lower 48 at that price per acre anymore!
 
Greg,
First, I am surprised that you are having these issues in Canada, which for many of us is a destination to find better hunting areas. Perhaps you are in the Toronto area? Nevertheless, hunting opportunities are generally much better up there than down here.

For those of us below the border, I'm surprised more US hunters don't buy or lease land in Canada. That $130,000 CDN would be 25% less in US funds.

Larry
 
Greg, you might ask around and find out what kinds of natural feed you can play with that will make the area attractive to fowl--not just seasonal, mind you--What can be grown there that will keep birds interested? Can you do rice, pondweeds, etc? Might be fun to mess with. Woodie boxes? Is the area already attractive to waterfowl, or is it off their stopover list?
 
I looked at the ad again and they have it listed for US dollars. and is 175,000 so not a good deal anymore :(

There are lots of birds in Southern Ontario that is for sure, it just seems like maybe their flight pattern / holding areas have changed in the areas I hunt. I think the massive introduction of housing being built here has changed where they are hold.

I was thinking that might be what to do plant some feed to hold them on the property. Though I would really need to look up the rules for that because I know you there is some minimum distance you have to be from a baited
area for waterfowl and would a planted crop or planted while vegetation count as a baited area.
 
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Greg

My 2 cents worth. I am very lucky that my Mother owns a small farm in eastern NC that my Dad and his friends started goose hunting on in the 50's. Dad and his friends made an informal club. I was raised by all four gentlemen. Fortunately my Dad and his close friend are still hunting Dad is 88 and Jack is 91. We maintain small flooded impoundments on the property that we duck hunt on these days. Land and access here is crazy now. 15,000+ an acre for proven impoundments crazy.

To me working on and maintaining the property is like building duck boats or making decoys. It keeps the sport alive all year round. My Dad still drives the tractor and works every weekend. I love spending time there with him. I raised three boys hunting there. One is as crazy as I am and still comes 12 hours to hunt a couple of weeks a year. The right property is priceless due to the experiences it allows. Even if you don't shoot any ducks.

My Dad still talks about when in 1975 he spent 15,000 building our first impoundment with out any idea if it would would work. He says he was mighty relieved to see ducks the first time.

That said in Canada I might be looking a camp that I could use as a base of operations to hunt public opportunities. Best of luck
 
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