CPD5899 Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 So, I'm just a 38 year old dumb cop from Chicago looking to get into hunting. I hunted twice while I was a Marine Corps recruiter stationed in Harrisburg, PA. Besides that, I have pretty much no experience. I have two boys under 5 who I would love to take hunting when the time is right. (This almost sounds like a personal ad)Anyway, I am looking at purchasing some land and was hoping for a little guidance... I'm looking at purchasing around 40 acres (i know its not a huge amount of land but land ain't cheap. LOL) . I'm hoping to clear about an acre or two for a small cabin, play in the remaining 40 during the spring and summer and hunt during the fall. I was originally looking at the UP. My concern with that, is after looking at the success rate in the UP via their DNR, and also the absence of doe tags (I know its all about the bucks, but for me, its also about the meat at the same time) I'm worried that, A) I'd come up dry more times than not, and B) when my sons are younger, they will either get bored with the lack of Bucks to shoot, or C) they will get bored of not being able to shoot anything (hence why I would like an area with doe tags).I have started looking for the same size land in central WI. As you know the price of land there is about twice what it is in the UP. With all that being said (I know its such a long email, and if you took the time to read it all I truly aprecaite it), if you were looking at purchasing 40 acres, build small cabin/play/hunt and still have kids be able to have sucessfull hunt (regardless of doe or buck) which direction would you go? Also, from reading ur site and watching ur videos, I know for the most part what to look for, but is there anything I should stay away from, ie. mostly low lands, all agg lands with minimal forest?Again, thanks for reading this if you made it all the way through and I hope to hear from someone soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPD5899 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 ANY help would be GREAT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 Welcome to the forums. Dunno about those areas, but would look for a property with a mix of land features in the area. If there are a lot of ag crops in the area and you find a pocket of wooded ground you could do real well. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ultradog Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I'm from Minnesota. Dont know much about the UP and really like Wisconsin so that choice would ve easy for me. Southern/central WI has lots of deer so there would be better opportunity to fill your freezer and let the boys get a crack at a deer. I think UP would be more like northern MN where it's bucks only and maybe every few years you get drawn for a doe permit. I can't help you on land prices between the two places. I have 3 small parcels in central MN. One I've owned for 30 years and the other two about 12 years. Looking back at what I paid for them they seem cheap today. The oldest one seems ridiculously cheap. So if you can swing it now you will look back and be glad you did someday. As to the land itself you might try to find one with even a small bit of open or tillable areas on it. Deer plots have become a great hobby for us and have really improved our harvest rate. An old disc, harrow or cultivator even pulled behind a pickup will scratch the surface well enough to get rye or something to grow. Or try to find a parcel next to a good farm. The deer will feed at the farm and then come back to your land to bed down. A 40 in the middle of a large forest will not support the numbers of deer that a piece like I describe above will support. There's just not that much for them to eat in a solid woods. I hope you can do this. I'm a city dweller and just knowing I can get away to my land does a lot to keep me sane. You cops are under a lot of pressure these days and we need you to be be on the ball. Lastly, Im just an old Navy man here so maybe not "authorized" to use the phrase but I'll still give you a fist bump and tell you Semper Fi. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPD5899 Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 14 minutes ago, Ultradog said: I'm from Minnesota. Dont know much about the UP and really like Wisconsin so that choice would ve easy for me. Southern/central WI has lots of deer so there would be better opportunity to fill your freezer and let the boys get a crack at a deer. I think UP would be more like northern MN where it's bucks only and maybe every few years you get drawn for a doe permit. I can't help you on land prices between the two places. I have 3 small parcels in central MN. One I've owned for 30 years and the other two about 12 years. Looking back at what I paid for them they seem cheap today. The oldest one seems ridiculously cheap. So if you can swing it now you will look back and be glad you did someday. As to the land itself you might try to find one with even a small bit of open or tillable areas on it. Deer plots have become a great hobby for us and have really improved our harvest rate. An old disc, harrow or cultivator even pulled behind a pickup will scratch the surface well enough to get rye or something to grow. Or try to find a parcel next to a good farm. The deer will feed at the farm and then come back to your land to bed down. A 40 in the middle of a large forest will not support the numbers of deer that a piece like I describe above will support. There's just not that much for them to eat in a solid woods. I hope you can do this. I'm a city dweller and just knowing I can get away to my land does a lot to keep me sane. You cops are under a lot of pressure these days and we need you to be be on the ball. Lastly, Im just an old Navy man here so maybe not "authorized" to use the phrase but I'll still give you a fist bump and tell you Semper Fi. Semper Fi... Thanks for the great advice... You are correct about the UP with the bucks/Doe... WI is probably where I'm leaning... Just want my boys to be able to have a good experience and not just sit in the woods for days on end. I feel they wouldn't want to go often if that were the case... Or you can always sell me ur oldest land for whatever you paid for it.... LOL just kidding... Thanks again for taking the time to give me some great detailed advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 CPD look into a north central Wis Realator..Rice Lake area or south of Hwy 8 anything north of 8 we got far too many Wolves here..deer numbers are way down from the past 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin R10 man Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 U.P has no deer, same prob north Min & Wis have. lower Mi. diff story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I'm from IL (20 miles from St. Louis) and have looked at land for many years. It's not a bad time to buy right now. A friend of mine bought some land in KY because the price was half of that in IL. The problem is the drive! Four hours is a hassle and when you add up the cost of gas over the years I'm not sure it is really worth it. For him he plans to retire there but it's a pain to put in food plots and a cabin (just like you're talking about). My friend plans to retire in KY in a few years so it makes more sense. However, I don't think I'd buy land more than 2 hours away from where I live. If i lived in Chicago my plan would be to move and buy land where I moved to. However, if I couldn't I'd look at IL land north of Peoria or east of Moline. No limit on doe tags in IL and two buck tags each year. If IL was out and distance wasn't a problem I'd look at Iowa over Wisconsin and MI for a good hunting area. I'd pick MI for non hunting activities. Stay safe up there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born4it Posted October 30, 2017 Report Share Posted October 30, 2017 I'll take a stab at a different part of your question...someone said to look for different land features. To clarify, if you can put yourself in a position where your land contains or is between bedding (thick timber), food (crop fields or pastures where you could plant flood plots), and/or water, that's the goal. If your land has all those things, even better. I live in west central IL. Land prices down here have loosened up a bit for recreational ground. Don't know what you're looking to spend, but deer hunting doesn't get much better than in IL. After that, I'd be looking at WI like you mentioned, if I lived in Chicago. Also, I don't know a ton about Indiana, but it seems like an overlooked state for deer hunting. Might be worth a look at some real estate websites to see what prices are and maybe talk to a few rec ground real estate agents over there. All the best, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-Hunter Posted November 16, 2017 Report Share Posted November 16, 2017 You looking to hunt this weekend? Indiana shotgun season starts Saturday. I live in Chicago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPD5899 Posted November 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2017 41 minutes ago, Stinger-Hunter said: You looking to hunt this weekend? Indiana shotgun season starts Saturday. I live in Chicago. I wish I were... I would like someone to hunt with when ready/not working though... No one else I know hunts.... LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger-Hunter Posted November 21, 2017 Report Share Posted November 21, 2017 You missed a horrible weekend anyway.... worst opening day of Indiana History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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