Hi Fellows,
I just thougth I'd write to ask if any of you could give me some advice on the following plans to purchase some land.....If any of you could give me pointers on prices, where to look, places to avoid etc, that would be greatly appreciated.
During the last few months I've been contemplating the possibility of purchasing a plot of land for the purposes of fishing/hunting and occasional target shooting. By the latter, I mean some plinking with a .22, occasionally sighting in one or two centrefires, and maybe a few afternoons before the season with a couple of friends and the clay pigeon thrower). Gamewise, I'm thinking of looking for a place with turkeys, deer, grouse, woodcock, rabbits and/or waterfowl. I'd probably do a bit of predator hunting, and have the gear for crows, groundhogs and other varmints as well. A centrefire season for deer would be preferable, but not necessary. If I can throw in fishing (trout preferable, but warmwater will do), that would be an added bonus. In an ideal world, if I could find an area that could hold pheasants, including birds that I'd raise and stock, that too would be desirable, though I suspect that the cost of arable farmland would negate that possibility.
Whatever the habitat, I'd love to be able to perform improvements on the property (i.e. nest boxes for waterfowl, selective cutting to create edge habitat & places for woodcock, food plots, ponds for fish and birds, stream improvements for trout if there's a coldwater stream, etc). Perhaps a property that's about half swamp/wetlands might cost less but provide more opportunities for waterfowl. I understand that some provincially designated wetlands might cost less on the grounds that the property cannot be developed. Similarly an abandoned quarry with ponds might hold potential for an interesting rehab project.
Sizewise, I'm thinking of somewhere from 25-100 acres, within 1.5-4 hours max distance from Toronto, and if I can find land adjacent to Crown land, so much the better. So far the two areas that I've been interested are in the area north of Orillia (south side of Sparrow Lake and the Severn River) up into the Southern reaches of WMU 46, as there's still lots of Crown land in the area, centrefire seasons for deer, and a mixture of wildlife. We also have a cottage lot in the area (no cottage any more though), so I might be able to build a place up there in the future as well. The other area of interest would be further east, essentially the area stretching north of Bancroft up to Barry's Bay, which is beyond the main Toronto cottage crowd but still some distance from Ottawa. As you can imagine, getting away from an area inhabited by the urbanites who don't understand country living, hunting, etc, plays into my interest in the latter option, since I don't want to find myself surrounded by a bunch of upper-middle-class retired boomers from Toronto.
Expanding on the matter of size, I'm open to anything from a well situated parcel of 25 acres (if it's adjacent to Crown Land, or has habitat that draws waterfowl, etc) to about 100 acres (I'd like more, but don't expect to find it for a reasonable price). 100 acres would allow one to get a shooting reserve license to release and shoot pheasants, but unless I could find that for a low price in a suitable area, it's probably just wishful thinking. With the current downturn in the ecomony, I just want to see if I can take advantage of the situation to get something at a reasonable price before the next real-estate boom. I figure that building a cottage on our family lot will cost about the same whatever the economic situation, whereas the price of land may vary considerably in the future.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Frank
I just thougth I'd write to ask if any of you could give me some advice on the following plans to purchase some land.....If any of you could give me pointers on prices, where to look, places to avoid etc, that would be greatly appreciated.
During the last few months I've been contemplating the possibility of purchasing a plot of land for the purposes of fishing/hunting and occasional target shooting. By the latter, I mean some plinking with a .22, occasionally sighting in one or two centrefires, and maybe a few afternoons before the season with a couple of friends and the clay pigeon thrower). Gamewise, I'm thinking of looking for a place with turkeys, deer, grouse, woodcock, rabbits and/or waterfowl. I'd probably do a bit of predator hunting, and have the gear for crows, groundhogs and other varmints as well. A centrefire season for deer would be preferable, but not necessary. If I can throw in fishing (trout preferable, but warmwater will do), that would be an added bonus. In an ideal world, if I could find an area that could hold pheasants, including birds that I'd raise and stock, that too would be desirable, though I suspect that the cost of arable farmland would negate that possibility.
Whatever the habitat, I'd love to be able to perform improvements on the property (i.e. nest boxes for waterfowl, selective cutting to create edge habitat & places for woodcock, food plots, ponds for fish and birds, stream improvements for trout if there's a coldwater stream, etc). Perhaps a property that's about half swamp/wetlands might cost less but provide more opportunities for waterfowl. I understand that some provincially designated wetlands might cost less on the grounds that the property cannot be developed. Similarly an abandoned quarry with ponds might hold potential for an interesting rehab project.
Sizewise, I'm thinking of somewhere from 25-100 acres, within 1.5-4 hours max distance from Toronto, and if I can find land adjacent to Crown land, so much the better. So far the two areas that I've been interested are in the area north of Orillia (south side of Sparrow Lake and the Severn River) up into the Southern reaches of WMU 46, as there's still lots of Crown land in the area, centrefire seasons for deer, and a mixture of wildlife. We also have a cottage lot in the area (no cottage any more though), so I might be able to build a place up there in the future as well. The other area of interest would be further east, essentially the area stretching north of Bancroft up to Barry's Bay, which is beyond the main Toronto cottage crowd but still some distance from Ottawa. As you can imagine, getting away from an area inhabited by the urbanites who don't understand country living, hunting, etc, plays into my interest in the latter option, since I don't want to find myself surrounded by a bunch of upper-middle-class retired boomers from Toronto.
Expanding on the matter of size, I'm open to anything from a well situated parcel of 25 acres (if it's adjacent to Crown Land, or has habitat that draws waterfowl, etc) to about 100 acres (I'd like more, but don't expect to find it for a reasonable price). 100 acres would allow one to get a shooting reserve license to release and shoot pheasants, but unless I could find that for a low price in a suitable area, it's probably just wishful thinking. With the current downturn in the ecomony, I just want to see if I can take advantage of the situation to get something at a reasonable price before the next real-estate boom. I figure that building a cottage on our family lot will cost about the same whatever the economic situation, whereas the price of land may vary considerably in the future.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Frank
