What's expensive ?? I'm hearing Of land going for 20$ an acre to 30$ an acre here ??

saw one 40 acre spot which used to be PUBLIC LAND for over 30 yrs lease for $40/acre!!!

Depends on the property for me. A great 20-50 acre price would bring a lot more per acre than a larger acreage made up of wide open farm ground. Better off deciding how much you are comfortable with spending and then looking at differing property. Too many people get hung up on acreage size as the key factor and IMO it is more about location, location, location.

Last day of ML 2015: 116,560

Today: 113,465

-3,095 (-2.7%)

Cody, you're right about Location, but if it's too small...you'll stink it up hunting it too much or have to stay out of it till the rut is in full swing. That stinks because most people don't wanna pay that much money to only hunt a few days.

If it was the "right" 40 acres, $1600/year is an absolute bargain.

all spoil bank hills, mostly covered in pines, and no real food for the deer within a mile or so. I This was not the "right" 40. Just shows the lease prices these leasing dealers are creating for even less than prime hunting habitat.

Leasing does not seem to be a good long term option for me. Purchasing property is the route we are going to go. The question then becomes "Where?" and increasingly IN is looking less appealing. IL is not far from me though

....

I'm struggling with the own versus lease dilemma. Would love to own property, but that limits the total acreage. (i.e. would have to find the "right" 40 acres per say). A guy can lease ALOT of acres for much less $$$ than the cost of a mortgage, taxes, insurance, etc..Always a chance somebody else leases it out from under you though.

There are a few properties in Indiana that I would probably jump on if one came up for sale...but only because Indiana deer regulations have limited affect in those areas due to adjacent large tracts which are intensely managed.
I have zero interest buying much of the land Indiana has to offer simply due to piss poor statewide deer management.

I'm a bowhunter and I like to turkey hunt....so Ohio offers alot of appeal. For the most part, they don't bring in the deer guns until after Thanksgiving, over the counter tags for deer and turkey, and a two spring bird limit. That's a difficult combination to beat!

I'm sure you've looked Paul but if not land in Kentucky comes at a real bargain of a price. However again you are dealing with similar deer regulations to Indiana.

The right property pays for itself and pays its own taxes.

Buy half wooded, half tillable and rent out the tillable.

Thanks Cody. Yes, I've looked at Kentucky...but their rifle season opens even earlier than our firearms season....making it much less attractive for bowhunting.

I agree 100% Dave. Would love to have a 50/50 property, but tillable acreage has gone completely though the roof price wise.

Have noticed land prices tend to be a bit more reasonable if there is a nice home on the property. The idea of buying such a property and selling off the home and a couple acres has crossed my mind.

The only thing I'm sure of at this point....is that I'm 100% firmly entrenched... on the fence.

Cody is correct.......... you can buy the "best habitat" but you better research your neighbors before the purchase. You can have the best piece of dirt....... but your neighbors will influence what happens more than you on a 300"ish" acre parcel or less. And then if you find these "sa-weet" neighbors........just hope they don't sell or die in your lifetime.

Ohio land is the good deal right now. Great regs to grow any type of deer you want to hunt (does, dinks and trophies) ALL hunters get the experience they want...... Indiana however is still victim to "quantity tag", "quantity weapon" and "quantity gun days" voices....... which tends to yield a better experience for the "quantity/weapon" hungry crowd. That's all fine and dandy till the quantity dries up.....and weapons are maxed....... Then the bottom falls out for all, which is where we are now and heading towards deeper each year.

The ICO's I have discussed this with agree....... the targets of the "quantity/weapons" crowd is now the borders of those that have taken care of their properties. These thugs just shift focus on "where to tear it up next"......and make NO investment into their own property they have/had. This crowd lives for the day/moment they are in........ to heck with anything related to "long term investment".

..........which is why they scream to protect 30+ days to gun hunt here in Indiana, longer range weapons, and more days to hunt the "beloved buck"/or win the local/family/friend group "most does shot" contest which their little egos just HAVE to have.

Well is running dry........ those type are getting leased out and run out....... and they are BITTER about seeing something ruined THEY had a BIG hand in....... but don't see it that way. Their "life portfolio" looks the same way. They are easy to spot.

Just enjoy the hunt. Enjoy the meat, the memories and the trophy if you get one. Get over the juvenile " mine's bigger than yours" mentality


Horn porn has ruined hunting

Hopefully all these jackasses on tv are just a fad. Hoping it wears off fast and hunting isnt the "cool" thing to do anymore. Let all these clowns make their quick buck off of it and move on to the next big thing. Sad thing is I think the damage is mostly done. The all mighty dollar has taken over and wont let go.. time will tell.

Meanwhile, back to "Deer harvest so far"

Tuesday after ML end 2015 (12/22/2015): 118,780
Today (12/21/2016): 113,937

Roughly -4% year-over-year

The gap is widening.

Good news?

Bad news?

TrapperDave Good post.

Exactly!!!!

That gap is likely going to get wider IMO. Probably don't have to give you my assessment of that....

I think it closes up with folks still holding bundle tags and the use of HPR in antlerless season...IMO ...but I doubt we catch up all the way to last year!

I agree with part of and disagree other parts with you post here...

I agree that we have too many gun days and I have stated that in the past... I am against the late gun season as I don't see it as necessary and I think if Muzzleloaders can be used in the regular Firearm season, then the two should be combined into one season, and I have argued for that in the past...

But here is where I disagree with you...

You claim Ohio regs are so great and the ALL hunters get the experience they want but that is totally false... They complain just as much as hunters here do about their DNR and their herd management practices...

Some have called for shorter bow season (which I think we should do here also... If someone doesn't need 30 plus days to gun hunt, then no one sure as heck don't need 90 plus to bow hunt either)

Most want a lottery for NR tags and a limit on how many...

Most want to raise the NR prices to closer to Iowa's and one wanted a reciprocal price so whatever it would cost them to hunt in your state you have to pay to hunt in Ohio...

They complain about lack of public access and they complain about leasing as well...


http://www.ohiosportsman.com/threads/lobbying-the-dnr-management-issue.70444/

Iowa is the same... Does get slaughtered and it s the same thing... Even some are complaining about "Big" Bucks in decline...

http://www.iowasportsman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=991767

I think the total will be closer to the 120,000 figure from 2014.

If you look @ the last three seasons, the average harvest is right around 123,000. If this season ends up around 120,000 I would say that's pretty close to the previous 3 year average.

How about going with same dates not the days of the week... Maybe a better over all look..... Apples to Apples

So I'm assuming both you boys are good then if someone hunts just to hunt, just to have meat..... just to have memories...... or just to have trophies.

Or....... are you all for them enjoying the hunt, the meat, the memories or the trophies...... as long as they don't get more than what you think their "allotment" should be.... work harder at it than you.......or are better at one of those aspects/goals than you....


Just making sure.......... would hate for either of you to post something that you are "for/support"..... but post contrary posts in other parts of many forums in regards to some that excel in aspects of the hunt they are drawn too......... that exceeds your "satisfaction limit". Might get called a Hypocrite by someone in here....... :p

I stand corrected........ I should not have said "ALL"........ I should have said "MORE"....

[/QUOTE]How about going with same dates not the days of the week... Maybe a better over all look..... Apples to Apples [/QB][/QUOTE]

My reasoning is that doing it at the same point of the season v. the same date is a more valid comparison. You can miss an entire weekend doing it by dates, particularly in a leap year.

But:

12/21/2015: 118,254
12/21/2016: 113,937

Roughly -4% year-over-year.

Dew as I say, not as I Dew First of all, don't assume more from my two word response of "good post" to TrapperDave's entry as more than what it is...a two word response.

Secondly....I've supported ALL seasons and ALL legal equipment choices available to hunters for years. I've also supported the right of choice that hunters have to harvest whatever legal deer they choose to. And yes, that would include deer I won't intentionally harvest, like fawns and buttons. What I don't support is trying to take away season dates/length or equipment choices from one group of hunters so as to try and benefit another (like prop 1 did).

Compare that to people like you, who spend their time trying to find ways to convince the DNR to limit seasons and equipment choices they don't agree with. And while I obviously don't agree with doing that, I could perhaps respect it, if it weren't for the fact that even with all the time you've spent whining and complaining about the dates and length of the firearms season year after year after year, you didn't seem to have a problem hunting the last Saturday of this firearms season to kill that buck you wanted....

Two years in a row..

THAT is hilarious.

I wish this site had a "Like" button

No kidding. This whole thread is why I have reverted back to my joy of fishing.

This is like old "I Love Lucy" reruns...year after year.

Me too Weedy...bought me a bird dog, killin pheasants and fixed up my old fishin boat...bustin crappies and walleye's...life is good!

This stuff can be entertaining though. Kinda like
(Jerry) Springer Outdoors"

No kidding....lol!

ROFLMAO!

Rabbits are thick this year. Dogs are coming on strong. Three pups ready to start. Life is good!

As I was traveling today with a few hunting buddies.... we'd pop in on this thread once in awhile. Thanks jjas..... I had to clean Pepsi off my dash as my one buddy laughed it right out his nose after reading this goofy stuff you posted. After we laughed for a bit..... he said, "Damm, I wish I had a toy like that for Christmas".....LOL!!!!

Anyways...... jjas, I know you're tryin' real hard little buddy..... REAL hard to look credible..... but please keep in mind you're not gonna find any posts of mine that say I am trying to take away or limit weapons/equipment choices. You again resort to lies...... totally expected..... you can't stop yourself.

Secondly...... it took me 3 days this year to get my buck , last year (2015) I took no bucks in Indiana as I had no target, the year before that (2014) I took my buck in one day of gun hunting during the opener of Muzzy, as I did not hunt during the regular firearms season. 2013 I didn't gun hunt........and 2012 I took my buck in Archery, so again I didn't gun hunt Indiana. In 2011 I took 2 days to hunt and got my buck with a gun. So......in doing the math....... in the last 6 years of having the opp to hunt a buck with a gun...... It took me 6 days of hunting. I know that makes you F'ing Dizzy as you want folks to believe I was hunting like a fool and couldn't cash in till the "last weekend/day" ....... but I simply selected theeeee days that I had time to go. If the season were 10 days...... I would have selected the few days to go, and would have scored.......... if the season were 30 days, I still only needed to select the few days off I could put in my schedule. So..... the reality is jjas...... I don't need, and others don't need LENGTH in the season..... they just need a few days. And THAT my little angry buddy just keeps you up at night.

3rd...... people like you took Prop #1 away from the IDNR. I was at the meeting when the IDNR rep said they were behind and endorsed Prop #1...... you then undermined the IDNR to get it shredded, but now call yourself a "supporter" of the IDNR and label others as Hypocrites. :rolleyes:

You and your "mini-mee's" won't stop with false acidic claims, and down right lies....... and it whizzes you and your few off that this 30+ day gun season is gonna come to an end....... and people like me and many others prove you don't need 30+ days to hunt your "beloved buck".

Pony up little man.......... let's do lunch and put some reality in your "house of cards". Or, you can keep posting....edit your posts oh, about 5-7 times like you do now......as you just are obsessed with me and how to get out of your self imposed choke hold. How deep am I in your head daily jjas.......... LOL!!!!

I don't know... I think "MORE" might even be stretching it a bit...

I'd put their hunter satisfaction on par with ours... You might be having a great experience when you go there to hunt, but it sure doesn't sound like the rest of the hunters in the state are...

I highly doubt one would find many deer hunters in Iowa or Ohio (or Illinois or Kansas) that, given the choice, would be willing to trade their deer regs for the "management system" Indiana is currently saddled with.

Born and raised here, but have deer hunted all of the states listed above multiple times. Indiana has absolutely no business being the same conversation when it comes to deer management. That's more than two decades of in-the-field experience talking....not an opinion based on something I read on the internet or heard from an acquaintance.

Dew may never be accused of having a "politically correct" personality...but there is ALOT of truth in what he's saying.

Dew as I say, not as I Dew Really? This from a grown man who (according to his latest post) apparently talks with his "friends" about me, checks on the forum several times a day to see if/what I've posted, and then posts a diatribe addressed @ me (according to the forum clock) @ 2:42 AM.

I don't know if you were drinking or something, but you might want to re-read your latest post and see if the conclusion you came to earlier still makes sense to you....