Lets Talk Land .... Parcel Size & Own/Lease

[xRUSTYx]

Looking to buy a parcel/tract of land here in the next few months. Seems like I have been searching for forever, and just haven't found the right one.

Couple of questions:

1) What would be the MINIMUM size parcel acceptable to hunt via rifle? I figured, 10 would be good enough strictly for bow hunting, but wasn't sure rifle wise.

2) I plan to move my family to this parcel in the next few years. Until then, I may try my hand at hunting, or may lease it. What is the going rate to lease it to an individual (group of individuals) for a specific season?

3) Anything in general you look for in a parcel of land for decent hunting? I'll want at least 5 acres of pasture for building, followed by the rest woods.

End Goal = Live on & Hunt off my land

Appreciate it!

[peejman]

Min size - I'd say it depends on the terrain. If it's steep, you could get away with a smaller area for rifle hunting. If it's flat, must be bigger. My folks have 12 acres of dense woods, kinda steep. You've got a lot more options with a bow, but it can be hunted with a rifle from a few specific locations.

I've never leased hunting land, but coworkers seem to pay anywhere from $100 - $400 for deer & turkey seasons. The $400 one is a huge area, 300+ acres.

If you really intend to live off the land, I'd think creek or spring fed pond would be a must-have.

[Motasyco]

I recently purchased a 22 acre parcel in Grainger County that's mostly wooded with a couple of level clear areas. Like much of east Tennessee, much of it is hillside but I have a gated road on the property that gets me from the front to the back and top. Most of it is fenced with barbed wire. I've got a nice pistol range area that I plan to clear to at least a hundred yards in the fall once the leaves are off the trees and I can get a better line of sight.

Having the ability to shoot on my own land was the primary consideration during my search. I was able to find that. I've seen deer and turkey there but I haven't hunted in years. That could change. The place has a small pond, a house, and a barn on it but the house was built in the 30s and is in poor condition and needs to go. The previous owner said he had been offered $1000 a year for hunting rights but I've not been approached and I'm not planning to lease it out. I spend a lot of time there on weekends and would prefer to maintain my privacy and solitude. There are mostly hardwoods on it and I have considered hiring a forestry consultant and looking into the possibility of getting a little return out of some selective timber sales. If any members here are in that business, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Putting a home on it is not out of the question but for now I'm pretty happy with the convenience of living in town, keeping daily drives to a minimum, and having a weekend getaway about 20 minutes away.

One thing I can say for certain is that I haven't regretted buying this property. Not once, not for a moment. Good luck with your search!

[Guest ochretoe]

Hunting with a rifle isn't unsafe. Use a tree stand and pick your shooting lanes. If you plan to live off the land the biggest conciderations are water and some level ground for a garden. I would think in your area 12 to 15 acres would be minimum needed for what you want. I have 9 acres in west Tn and it's not quite enough for what I wanted. If you want to regualarly hunt deer and such look at 20+ acre lots. With good cover, water, food plots and salt you should be able to keep deer comming to a 20 acre plot regular. Just take what you need and not what you want and they should hang around.

[Guest JimMc]

You have several options you might want to explore. I own 11 acres in Henry county. My neighbor has 150 acres where I mostly hunt and I have a hunting lease on 40 acres just behind my place. Truth is that I rarely hunt on my property. Owning land can get a little expensive. My place had almost nothing. I had to have a well drilled, septic system installed and power run from the main road. I have covered 3 options (own, permission and lease). I wish you good luck and remember that half the fun is morning coffee on the porch with all sorts of critters in the woods.

[xRUSTYx]

Thank you all for your input.

If we moved to the property, we'd definitely make sure it had some sort of natural water (spring, well, etc....) We wouldn't live off the land initially, but we'd love to eventually have a good sized farm with fresh veggies & fruits.

I'm thinking the 25-30 acre range (+/- 5 acres) would be ideal. 5 -10 acres of pasture so I could still take care of alone without too much work, and the rest in hardwoods/trees/etc... so there wouldn't be much upkeep involved.

[FJCrusing]

I'm on a hunting lease of 1500 acres with 17 people on it for $550 for a full year in middle Tennessee. I would recommend at least 25-30 acres as you have mentioned.