The ability to enjoy quality hunting close to home is a dream that most of us share, but it is getting harder every year to find permission to hunt. Additionally, permission brings with it only limited ability to affect the quality of the hunting since we don’t generally have open rein to tear up ground for food plots or improve marginal habitat. To do a good job of producing quality deer hunting, we need to lease or purchase hunting land. In this article, I am going to focus on how to go about evaluating a piece of land for potential purchase — with deer hunting in mind.
Lack of access is the harsh reality of these times. However, the good news is that anyone who has a decent job and is willing to make a commitment to the future can, either alone or with the help of like-minded friends, buy land and turn it into a deer-hunting destination. There is only so much land — it is a finite resource. This land that you are thinking about buying should make a good longterm investment.
EXPLORING THE LEASE OPTION
I’ve never been a fan of leasing because the free market system is ruthless. Here’s an example. I have a friend who leased several thousand acres in south Texas. During the four years that he had the lease, he sacrificed both sweat and money to improve the property and the deer that lived on it to the point that the place gained a local reputation. When his lease agreement came up for renewal, Jack was floored to find that the landowner had dropped him like a hot coal in favor of someone who was willing to pay more than twice as much. You will always fight this when leasing land. I dislike it so much that I’m not even going to discuss it further. Unless you have an unusually strong relationship with the landowner, leasing is not a long-term solution.
BUYING LAND
The days of buying recreational land that will cash flow (pay for itself) in most of the United States are about over. The economy has brought some of the prices back to reality, but recreational land is considered “junk” land by farmers for a reason. It doesn’t produce much in the way of a return — at least not financially. However, undaunted by this reality, I’m going to look first at the potential cash flow that you can achieve to help make the payments.
Cash flow: Typically, there will be little income from hunting property. Most wildlife enthusiasts don’t want cattle grazing in their open areas (which are potential sites for food plots) or their timber and that eliminates two sources of income.
You can sell timber. If you keep your eyes peeled and buy a property with good timber, you may be able to make 10 percent to 15 percent of the cost back with the initial cut and average enough to pay your property taxes with regular timber sales thereafter. That would be a good goal, but it is not always attainable. In fact, this would be the exception rather than the rule, but it pays to watch for such situations.
In most areas with a solid timber market established, timber sales will net you about a two to three percent annual return from forested acres. In southern regions with their longer growing seasons and more aggressive pulpwood markets, that can be more than double. Additionally, bankers I’ve spoken with suggest that you should be able to return roughly six percent to seven percent per year on crop ground in the form of cash rent.
There may be other sources of income in special markets where things such as water are significant. I have never had the opportunity to purchase any land where mineral rights or water rights were part of the cash flow formula. I have even seen situations where windmills, which pay about $1,000 per windmill per year rent, were part of the formula. However, typically you have two sources of income: timber value and crop land rent. You can also add the cost you’ve been paying to hunt elsewhere to the “income” of owning recreational land. That expense is now one you no longer have to incur. From purely a financial standpoint, it would be tough to justify buying recreational land unless there was some hope that it would appreciate.
Capital appreciation: Recreational land is different from pure farmland. Its value is not tied to the price of commodities, but rather to supply and demand and to the overall economy — something we have surely seen this year. Demand is flat at this time as the recession hit recreational land hard. In most areas, it is down as much as 25 percent, making it a good time to consider buying. In talking with a number of realtors on a regular basis, it is clear that the demand is not jumping fast. However, it does seem to be crawling slowly upward. There is at least some buying interest out there again.
Long-term, it should be a decent investment based on the simple fact that land is a finite commodity. There is no more being made. That alone will force it to go up at some point. I have read that certain other investments can outpace land, but I don’t own any of those. I have never made anything on those “other” investments. I have made money on hunting land, however. For me it is a no-brainer. I understand it, love it and know what to look for, so land is a good investment for me. It can be for you too, with some careful buying.
The downside: From a financial standpoint, there is a big problem with having hunting land as your primary investment. The return is only on paper until you sell it —you can’t live off it (in most cases). Let’s say you are saving for your retirement. You have the ability to put $15,000 per year into tax-deferred investments and hope to have a nice nest egg some day, or you can buy hunting land. When you reach retirement
age, are you going to want to sell the land? Just what I thought. That’s when you plan to use it most. Like millions of farmers, you will find yourself land rich but cash poor when you reach retirement. You can’t retire with any comfort if all your money is tied up in land unless you sell it.
It is a very serious consideration, and the reason why hunting land should be only one part of your long-term savings plan. If it is your whole savings plan, you will have to sell it, or at least part of it, when you retire in order to maintain a decent standard of living. As an alternative to this approach, consider buying with partners so no one has to give up their retirement to own the land. Partnerships are fraught with problems of their own (I was in one for nine years), but having a partner (the right partner) is better than driving a long way to hunt or competing for a spot on public land. Plus, in theory at least, it is still growing in value. Just a word or two about partnerships: put everything down on paper first — before you even start looking for the land. That way emotion, or the need to act quickly, won’t tempt you to look past important considerations that will arise as ugly misunderstandings later.
EVALUATING THE PROPERTY
The neighborhood: Another decision you will make that will affect your price is proximity to well-known hunting neighborhoods. Without a doubt, you will pay a healthy premium to buy land in high-profile hunting areas where deer management is already prominent. From what I’ve seen in many areas of the country, you should expect to pay 10 percent to 25 percent more when purchasing land that is already in managed neighborhoods; and in my experience, it is definitely worth it.
It is impossible to control your neighbors and what they shoot. The best way to do that is to be very careful in what you buy — more importantly, who you border. Take care of this right up front, because otherwise it will be a potential sore spot with you for years to come.
You can only control your neighbors before you buy — by controlling who you border. Once you sign, you are stuck, for better or for worse. I am absolutely convinced that you are better off being in a great deer management neighborhood than getting a good deal. I know it is a tough pill to swallow, but it is important advice. You can evaluate the neighbor best by simply talking to the neighbors. Don’t do this until you have done all your other due diligence regarding the property. The last thing you want to do is to tell the neighbors you are interested because then one may quickly call his buddy who has been dragging his feet regarding the purchase and tell him to step it up and get in the game.
Just introduce yourself and tell them you are interested in the property and watch their reaction closely. The way they react to you is important as these are people whose land you will border for many years. If you get a bad feeling, let that factor into the decision. Don’t get carried away, but at least factor it in. They may show an attitude right away but soften quickly. That is typical. However, I have walked away from more than one piece of land after talking to the neighbors and realizing I had a potential problem on my hands.
Ask to see the kinds of bucks they are shooting and if they have any shed antlers around the place. That will also give you an indication of their intentions to pass up young bucks. You can overcome many things with a new piece of land, but you can’t overcome a neighbor who shoots the best young bucks that jump the fence every year. That person will drive you nuts and will severely hamper your ability to grow and hunt top-end deer on your property.
Go around and talk to every neighbor. What you learn will be priceless.
The herd dynamics: Most people make a common mistake when they look to purchase their dream property by focusing on trying to border areas with high deer numbers. That is fine if your goal is simply to shoot deer, but eventually you may get the bug to produce quality bucks. These areas also tend to attract a lot of attention and you will have a bigger problem dealing with trespassers and also people wedging in on your boundary wherever they can. Again, it is better to get into a neighborhood where everyone is letting high-quality young bucks go and shooting lots of does, than one with a lot of deer.
HAVE A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT INVOLVING HABITAT
Ideally, your hunting land will have exactly the mix of tillable and timberland that you desire. Personally, I like roughly 75 percent to 80 percent timber for deer and turkey hunting. This permits me to grow plenty of food while still having enough timber to hunt effectively.
However, don’t be turned off by immature timber or pastureland. There are things you can do to dramatically alter the habitat in as little as a few years, but definitely within ten years. Cutting certain trees to open up the canopy for greater production of ground-level vegetation and planting certain other trees and native grasses can change the landscape
dramatically.
If you want an expert opinion on what you might be able to do with a certain piece of ground, hire a private forester to look at it before you make an offer. He or she will be able to tell you quickly if the property will meet your long-term goals and probably also be able to tell you about the potential timber value on the property.
OTHER FACTORS TO CONSIDER
Size: If I had a blank slate to design my ultimate deer hunting property, I would settle on about 600 acres. Possibly a friend and I could purchase it together. In my experience, that is the maximum amount of quality ground that two people can manage properly in their spare time without needing big (expensive) equipment.
Location: Again, this comes back to neighborhood factors, but ideally, the property would be an island of 80 percent timberland in a sea of open pasture or cropland. This would reduce hunting pressure right on the borders.
Topography: A range of topography would be nice, with rolling hills and some rough areas producing nooks and crannies for food plots and plenty of terrain features to funnel traveling deer. A variety of terrain just makes the piece more enjoyable to hunt.
Access: This is probably the most overlooked of all aspects to consider when evaluating a piece of land for hunting. You need to be able to access all parts of the farm without alerting the deer that live there. If that is not possible, you either accept the inaccessible area as a sanctuary or you look for a different piece of land to buy. Sometimes you can get the seller to negotiate an easement from a neighbor prior to purchase, but that is definitely the exception. Don’t overlook access when sizing up the property. In fact, consider how you will hunt the farm before you ever sign the purchase agreement. Don’t buy a farm that is hard to hunt. Keep looking.
CONCLUSION
Owning land requires time and focused attention if you are going to manage it well. Someone needs to patrol it, work with the government on farm programs, plant the food plots, coordinate the farming on tillable acres, buy equipment, perform basic maintenance on the property and equipment, work with timber buyers, manage timber stands, fix fence, mow weeds, shoot does, etc. Of course, these can be rewarding aspects of land stewardship but only if you have the time.
It may take months, or even years, to find your ideal property. But, if you invest the time to do it right you may only have to do it once and you and your family will benefit from the fruits of your labor for a lifetime.
