Is 80 Acres Enough?

[KSHUNTER]

My wife and I are hunting for are first place, we were going to look at some places that were about 160 acres in size. The primary reasons we are buying land is to: (1) have a place to build a home and (2) (most important) me have my own hunting land.

Well an 80 acre tract has come up for sale, and I was wanting some input from hunters. Our families farm and ranch, so their input is more geared that way, not towards hunting.

The place already holds deer, it primary consist of a large timbered/brushy draw and the remainder is native pasture thats starting to grow up in brush. The propery is kind of a island, a small draw comes in from the west and a small one goes out the east. You can't see it in the pic but the draw going to the east connects to a huge tract of timber, it's hunted hard.

I know 80 acres is not going to hold tons of deer and I know that deer will leave the property. My real question is by applying sound management, providing food, and improving/expanding cover will I see the benefits or am I just wasting my time??

 

[KCCyclone]

We have an 80 acre lease in KS that only has two small (lightly timbered) draws with the remainder CRP. The amount of deer that call this place home is amazing, especially large bucks. There is big timber to the west of us but we found sheds off of 6 150"+ bucks this past spring, if I remember right, in one small area on our lease. If you add CRP and food plots, there's no reason for the deer to leave.

 

[Joey Rott]

80 acres can be more than enough.. if it's in the right location. From the picture it looks pretty good, but I think to answer your question, it depends on the avg deer population in the area, the amt of pressure around you, the amt of effort you can put in the property, and the proximaty to other hunting areas.

One of my best hunting spots is only 1/2 that size, and it consistently produces more mature bucks than the other properties with much more land and timber. And it's almost entirely because of it's location to other nearby properties.

 

[SEIowaDeerslayer]

A mature buck will have about 600 acres that he calls home or his core area. During the rut he'll cover up to 4,000 acres in his quest to breed. Very few people have this type of access to ground. If the 80 acres is exactly what you're looking for, then buy it.

 

[SaskGuy]

What SEIdeerslayer said.

 

[KSHUNTER]

I actually missed my largest deer in the draw to the west last year, a 160+ 10 point. A guy spotlighted a huge 10 point, rumor was 170 class, ( I have a feeling it was the one I missed). GW caught him and I never seen a picture to verify. There also been several reports of some other nice deer in the area. So there seems to be plenty of nice ones around.

The deer population is high in the area, I can't give you a number per sq. mile though. It really is not close to other hunting areas at all, I would say the closest hunting is really almost a mile away, there is probably at best some light pressure in some of the draws. However there won't be a huge influx because the land owner hunts and doesn't allow any deer hunting except for some family. Which I am family to him, but thats about it for other hunters.

All the land owned around is owned by family, but they are trophy hunters and it is just two people plus me. They do not hunt around this property, they have some big creek bottom stuff the hunt.

At this point I only live 10 miles from this property, and have accsess to tons of equipment, my wifes family farms 3000 acres. Plus my dad has smaller equiptment that I can use. I plan on being able to spend tons of time and effort on this place if we buy it.

 

[teeroy]

i say it looks pretty darn nice. a few food plots deep in that timber patch and it will keep alot of deer coming in

 

[bloodhoundhandler]

I wouldnt be worried about qdm planting food plots and hunting on your own ground is worth more than anything makes it lot more special

 

[Jdubs]

KS, I too think 80 is plenty if managed right. I have an 80 piece that is absolutely deer heaven. Road frontage is a must especially when building a house is a priority, but I would look for a piece with frontage on one side only(prferably the short side) with the acreage extending length wise into the block. Please keep in mind this is only my preference and only a suggestion, but the mentioned scenario lets you extend as deep as possible into your piece and the square as a hole with no road access. Imagine the piece you pictured with one road on the short side of the block. Good luck.

 

[archery95]

I agree that 80 acres is plenty of land to be a great hunting property.If it were me I would also talk to the neighbors around it to see what their thoughts are on QDM.If they try to let deer/bucks grow to maturity it would be a perfect size piece of land.If the theory is "if its brown its down" then you may never see the benifits of your efforts.

 

[Dave Deutsch]

We've got a 20 and 70 and they both hold quality deer. The 20 is an area that has 800 of have QDM ground on all sides, what more could a guy ask for.

The 70 is a new piece but we are working on it, been seeing a lot of deer and the most of the neighbors are practicing QDM so that helps too.

I'd say it if meets your needs and the price is right, buy it!

 

[Bow Jangles]

We have an 80 acre lease in KS that only has two small (lightly timbered) draws with the remainder CRP. The amount of deer that call this place home is amazing, especially large bucks. There is big timber to the west of us but we found sheds off of 6 150"+ bucks this past spring, if I remember right, in one small area on our lease. If you add CRP and food plots, there's no reason for the deer to leave.

Yep, our lease might have 10 acres of timber on the whole thing, but damn does it hold deer. The bulk of the property is planted in tall CRP, and the deer love it. Now that I've hunted it for a couple of years, I'd take that tall CRP over big timber anyday. On 80 acres, you can create a habitat that deer will love. Add in some food plots and you will have a dream property for big whitetails. We've gotten sheds and regular trail cam photos of at least 9 mature bucks that regularly visit that property.

You'll be happy with it for sure!

 

[KSHUNTER]

Thanks for giving me a boost guys! I wasn't sure if it would be enough to see benifits of my efforts but it doesn't look like you guys think it is an issue. I love hearing all the stories about your guys acreage that hold deer.

I wish it only had road frontage on one side, but I feel the pros here should outwiegh the cons. As for the neighbors, they are trophy hunters, every piece of land that you can see in the picture is owned by family. They don't practice QDM in the fact that they don't control the doe numbers very well. I do know they would rather have an unfilled tag than shoot a younger deer.

Now it is decision time and price negotating! Hopefully everything will work out good, but we will just wait and see.

 

[iowaqdm]

My recommendation is to be sure the property has food, water and cover. Ideally year round water. If I had my choice I would have as little road frontage as possible to deter poaching. Other than that buy what you feel is the right piece for you and your wife. Good luck.

 

[KSQ2]

My recommendation is to be sure the property has food, water and cover.

Well said. If you were a PMA member you could see the buck my wife shot off our eighty acres here in SE Kansas. It was a young buck, with quite a rack. We've seen three legitimate shooters in the past week of hunting. Surrounding hunting pressure is the key, and it sounds like that part is favorable for you. I'd say jump on it! The pasture area will probably be covered in cedars in just a few years, and that's deer heaven. Keep some areas clear for small food plots; with the surrounding crops, you probably won't need a "main" food source. I'd do my best if I were you to have at least 10-15 acres of really nasty stuff that you NEVER go into. After looking at your pic again, I think it's already been touched on, but the only drawback I see is the amount of road frontage you have on this property. Of course that can be eventually taken care of with some well-placed cedars. Do you have power lines on that long stretch of road on the east side? Electric coops sometimes have trees and brush sprayed under power lines.

 

[KSHUNTER]

One good thing I do have going on this place is that the road sides are very grew up and the property kind of falls off in elevation. I know that when driving the roads you really can't see much of the property from the road. My thinking is that is if I plant poacher screens and I live on the place it could detour alot of poaching. You guys have any experiance with the effectiveness of poaching screens?

At this point in time there is no food sources and no water source besides a small creek, that im sure only runs when it rains. So there will be some improving to do to make it the best I can. I hope I can go walk it this weekend and get a better feel for it.We are defintly not set on this property, it is just the best that has come up in our area in a long time.

Thanks for all the input, I really appreciate it! I might to take some pictures this weekend while Im there if it works out.

 

[KSQ2]

If access to the property is cut off, locked gates, etc., poaching screens can work great in my opinion. You living on the property will be the best deterrant; but those idiots can be pretty bold at times, especially at night -- spotlights don't shine through cedar trees!

Btw, it you get the property, or any other for that matter, keep a close eye on the management forum on this site. Dbltree and company have helped me out a lot the past couple of years!