looks like my hunting days are numbered..........
hillbille
Member Posts: 14,461 ✭✭✭✭
we have an old log cabin on the original family farm and 35 acres, surrounding it are about 600 acres of used to be public hunting. It is owned, or was by Pulp and Paper co, then they changed their name to Meide? then I think it is Heartland LLC now, same outfit just keep changing names, they are lumber co. They started leasing the hunting rights about 20 years ago, now they are starting to sell the properties off. we have about 30 people in our hunting club mostly family and close friends, as we lease close to 500 acres surrounding our cabin.
got a call yesterday from my cousing who takes care of money for the lease he had just sent it in for this year. He ran into a guy out at the cabin saturday who was looking for any of our family. seems he just bought all the property we lease! he is supposed to close on it June 6. Long story short guess I am out of a hunting area, was getting close to hanging it up with my health and all but I wanted to keep at it for the grandkids my stand is big enough to sit 2 comfortably and I would love to be there when one of the grandkids shot their first deer. guess there are a lot worse things in life though, just hard to imagine not hunting/playing poker ect with the guys after 40+ years out there............
Comments
I understand your sadness for such a drastic change in the lost acreage Hillbillie. I was just wondering why the 35 acres that you own could not provide a fairly substantial place to hunt. You certainly would have to make adjustments to your methods and placements and even perhaps delegate your family members to share different time schedules.
I am a solo hunter using my own private 6 acre parcel but have been very fortunate with my successes nearly every season.
YEP, sucks not being rich enough to OWN the land. I had the same thing happen a few years ago. I hunted this land for 18 plus years, my wife had hunted it for her ENTIRE life. The owner had around 3,500 acres and let my wife's family hunt for free.......... well they managed the land and kept an eye on everything and farmed it. The owner sold the land, so now we lease 190 acres for $2,000. So we still get to hunt but it was a LOT better when you could choose stands from 3,500 acres! Sorry to hear, but maybe the new owner will let you lease enough to keep your grand kids hunting.
Brooks, Oakie our property borders a gravel county road for the most part it is two hundred yards of hillside on each side of road straight up, then forks off over top ridge to big flat spot few acres around. I have one cousin who has had a stand there for years, he does the same for his grandkids. I wouldn't feel right putting stand up near his and cutting in on their hunting. the rest is just hillside looking down on the county road. this is one of the reasons we leased the surrounding land, we still hunt first few days, then all get together and drive the different hollows for the rest of the week. this is the part I will miss most, I used to do a lot of the walking/driving and just loved to jump a deer towards on of the standers with kids just hoping they would get it. I have shot enough deer in my life, I would much rather watch one of the younger kids/hunters get one nowdays. then we would sit and play poker after dinner, it is just the gathering of friends and relatives I think I will miss more than the actual hunting for me anyway..........
I'm spoiled as far as hunting land goes but it has it's costs. I can't imagine having 30 people hunting on 500 acres(maybe they don't all actually hunt?). As for 35 acres of land (especially if split by a road), we don't have more than one stand per 160 acres.