camo658
New Member
I've got the right girldon't you worry about that!
Hope Your right, TH. I hope you don't fall into the trap of putting her on a pedestal and experiencing later that she wasn't what you pictured her to be.
hoosierhunter
Active Member
The best advice! Don't make any rash decisions.
When right is right, the world knows it. Your family, her family, both your friends.
loneranger
Well-Known Member
My dad always said, wait until you are 60 yrs old or so before you get married,,then if you don't like it,,you don't have that long to put up with it!! I waited until 50...
I guess we're kind of off the original topic but many a young buck out there are not familiar with family law and the ramifications of divorce. Remember, most states are no fault divorce states; which require all assets acquired, or paid for, while married to be split upon separation. Puts a hurtin on a guy if the farm has to be sold to give mamma her half. Many states are requiring engaged couples to complete a family law class prior to marriage to avoid the shock factor in the areas of alimony, child support, custody and asset division, if things go south.
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DannyBoy
Well-Known Member
Lots of factors to consider, here. The right 20 can be dynamite, the wrong 640 can leave you scratching your head!
I'd settle for a 40 or old-fashioned 80 to start if I were you. Inquire about the neighborhood, make sure you have multiple points of entry for hunting different setups, etc. Find one that needs lots of improvements and get them done, build up that equity, then unload it to buy bigger!
I'd settle for a 40 or old-fashioned 80 to start if I were you. Inquire about the neighborhood, make sure you have multiple points of entry for hunting different setups, etc. Find one that needs lots of improvements and get them done, build up that equity, then unload it to buy bigger!
I bought an 80 out of college and that's all I could afford. Didn't think I'd ever sell it. Fixed it up into the dream 80. Some good neighbors, some not good. Got an offer from local to sell about 5 year later (after I bought another chunk down the road) so I added on to chunk down the road. So, I guess, I'd buy any size I could afford & try and get in good area. If you're not married to it (which most guys do get married to whatever they buy, which is just fine, I'm not saying anything against that) you could later move into bigger & likely better if you do your homework. Moving into bigger for me really never came down to money, I reinvested every nickel - I just wanted more an area I could manage & monitor and not have "stupid stuff" go on. Happy with the moves I made but doing it all over again, I'd start with a 40 acre parcel if I needed to.
bkcrrtnps
Well-Known Member
I've got the right girl
Doesn't matter how right she is if her dad ins enough ground and she's an only child lol
Truth&Honest
Member
If you can't own at least 300, with 500-600 being better, it's all about the neighbors. Fence sitters and trigger happy neighbors can knock your land size down quickly. It takes a lot of land to hold deer. Better to pay a premium for that perfect 80 situated between several large land owners that practice management.....assuming they don't buy it first.
nemohunter
Member
Maybe it's been mentioned but buying a flat piece of ground is going to hunt a lot smaller than buying land with varying topography. 80 acres that's got some hills will hunt a lot larger and will feel a lot bigger than 80 or whatever the parcel size is.
Daver
PMA Member
Along these same lines...I would rather have 40 acres in the right neighborhood, than 120 acres, or even more, in an "anything goes" neighborhood.
But one very interesting thing that I have seen now over several years is that some bucks will commonly range over several hundred acres and some others are much more likely to spend 90%+ of their time in just 20-40 acres. Every year there are recognizable bucks that one or more of our neighbors also see and get pics of and then there are also some that seem to never show up on neighbor's properties, even just a couple/few hundred yards away.
I would love to participate in a tracking survey some time, I am really intrigued with natural buck movements.
chipterp
PMA Member
Bordering properties with large neighboring landowners.
I agree with chip. Again, I lucked out in that my neighbors east and west own 800 and 600 acres respectively and neither allows hunting with the exception of a couple of relatives. They've been approached by outfitters and apparently declined their offers. Allegedly one was a recognizable outdoor tv show but they held their ground, thank God. Absolutely makes the difference.
Daver
PMA Member
Bordering pieces essentially IMO. Good realtors will know where the good neighborhoods are too.
I have got lucky & bought in "sleeper areas". If u could get lucky and find a guy that "doesn't like hunting & won't allow it" or "my nephew only hunts it". I've seen pretty big tracts like that if u get lucky. Often cheaper than the "highly managed areas" but it's more risky if u really want to be in the best situation.
One other thing that's hugely overlooked & very hard to determine.... How good are the genetics of that area in general? I assure u- on average, there are vast differences all over. Even between 10 miles. I have a lot of reasons I think play into it but I'm 100% convinced u can be in exceptional areas with consistent good gen bucks and areas that consistently produce low quality gens. I've seen farms where for a 10 yr period or so, I never saw a mature buck over 165". Freak thing to even hear of bigger. Then, I've been on farms where there's generally a couple 3 yr olds already 150-160 and top end deer are 200" if those 3 yr olds live to maturity. This is a hard subject to determine but u can do some good research (verify cam pictures where they were taken on farm), look close at tons of young deer (lot of high potential deer?) and also keep an eye out for the farm that all the kill pics are 135-145" 8 Pts for example. Genetics vary greatly IMO and most don't look into it enough to understand an area's potential.
One other thing that's hugely overlooked & very hard to determine.... How good are the genetics of that area in general? I assure u- on average, there are vast differences all over. Even between 10 miles. I have a lot of reasons I think play into it but I'm 100% convinced u can be in exceptional areas with consistent good gen bucks and areas that consistently produce low quality gens. I've seen farms where for a 10 yr period or so, I never saw a mature buck over 165". Freak thing to even hear of bigger. Then, I've been on farms where there's generally a couple 3 yr olds already 150-160 and top end deer are 200" if those 3 yr olds live to maturity. This is a hard subject to determine but u can do some good research (verify cam pictures where they were taken on farm), look close at tons of young deer (lot of high potential deer?) and also keep an eye out for the farm that all the kill pics are 135-145" 8 Pts for example. Genetics vary greatly IMO and most don't look into it enough to understand an area's potential.
meyeri
PMA Member
A buddy of mine bought his parcel by approaching the seller and asking him if he would split the land into two small parcels so he could buy one. He was able to get the landowner to sell him the best part and keep his cost down. Some might not go for it but it's always an option. If it was me I would avoid anything near a big chunk of public ground and I wouldn't overlook stuff really close to city limits. When I was in Illinois I hunted a 10-15 acre parcel just inside city limits that had more big deer passing through than any other property I have hunted.
chipterp
PMA Member
Now that's a toss up your screwed either way.
Daver
PMA Member
That question is kind of like, which is worse, getting shot in the head with a gun or stabbed in the heart with a knife. Different experiences, but both are bad.
I would prefer to have a leased property next to me though v. a public land, and hope that the outfitter is ethical and manages the property at some level.