Hunt land shopping

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corzatrr

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I'm looking to purchase a small parcel of land to do deer/turkey hunting now that my young kids are showing a keen interest in the sport.

I'm in the eastern Ontario region and land can get pricy out this way. Based on pricing, it seems I'll likely be able to afford between 8-20 acres... Likely closer to 8, mostly bush, forest ..some wetland. Most of what I've seen so far is land locked property along public forests (Marlborough). I find they get overly hunted so my thinking leans more towards getting a smaller acreage adjacent some farmland,creeks, dense clusters of small forests.

What's the minimum space you would hunt on? Would you avoid marsh/wetland all together for deer/turkey? I would be starting fom scratch in terms of getting the deer to the land....it will take some time.

Thanks in advance for the imput
 
Another good source for buying Land is Dignam, I personally bought 76.97 Acres through them, took some hunting to find the right property that suited my needs, but once I had found the property it was painless to purchase. I highly recommend that you research the area and property itself, talk to the township's planning office, etc so you know about any restrictions, by-laws, and so forth.
 
Corzatrr, I have bought two parcels of land in Eastern Ontario, both through a realtor who specializes in land parcels and I have bought the land before it ever went on MLS. They are both about 50 acres and both pretty much rectangular. The first one I bought has been perfect for deer and turkeys. It's back border is a creek/cedar swamp ground which is fantastic as it is good wintering ground and a great sanctuary for the deer. The front end is old homestead and has lots of apples and a very overgrown 3 acres of field. I cleared the field and trimmed up around the apples to allow them to flourish a bit better. I now have food plots, water and cover and the land has produced turkey and deer for me. Neighbor's are important though, unless you can afford big tracts of land you will have to deal with them. I have let deer walk only to have the neighbor's apply the "if its brown its down rule." All in all a good property though. The second property I purchased is a bush and will be a future house for us so a lot more expensive. This one doesn't have the natural water and food sources so I will rely on the surrounding area until I can start to manipulate the land for hunting purposes. all this to say that you either have to look for the game requirements already existing on the land or have a plan to change it for your needs. Good luck with the search!
 
ill second the neighbor comment, in eastern ont, hunting pressure tends to be fairly heavy, all you need is a few ac. if no one is next to you. look for small pieces of bush surrounded by farm land. prices for the smaller pieces is a lot higher, 100 ac pieces of swamp ground, no timber, cost at least $2000 an ac. drive towards north bay, things get cheaper the further you go.
 
Don't rule out private sales or word of mouth as to properties for sale. Sometime people have land they think about selling they just never listed it yet, can't be bothered, whatever. Elderly people that have had land for years, don't even use it anymore, don't even think of selling it because its always just been there.
I had been eyeballing a piece of property since I was about 16 years old, about 8-10 years ago I started casually mentioning it to the owner, and elderly lady whom I have know since I was a kid, that I would be interested in buying her property, and if she ever considered selling to please contact me before listing it. This land was wanted by everyone in the area, everyone was waiting for the day she would list it.

Last November she came to me and said "it's time", I looked after everything for her, had it appraised by a Realtor, made her a reasonable offer, and she accepted it. I kept everything very quiet until the deal closed, and in February of this year I took possession of my dream property. Only 67 acres, but its perfect for me, great hunting, very close to where I grew up, nice building locations on it.
Keep your head up when looking, a place like you want will be there, even if you have to wait for it.
 
When your dealing with tiny plots like that, what surrounds it is key. If feed is abundant in the area you need to focus on having the best cover. If there's nothing but cover in the area, make sure you have the best feed. Sometimes its the water that's at a premium, but in any case there better be something about it that will draw from a large area or be a sanctuary for things to get pushed into.

8 acres is pretty small. It would be hard to walk around that without getting dizzy.
 
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