Buy land or wait. A deer hunting land dilemma.

Good luck

Well? Are you a landowner Grouse? I hope it works out whichever way you truly hope for.

And the verdict is….

VICTORY!!! 80 acres of north central MN is mine, mine, mine. $45,000 down the pan, but it’s only money.

I was so revved up when I got the call, I took the rest of the day off and drove up there. I haven’t been deep inside this property for years, so I walked quite a bit of it.

It’s all wooded and pretty thick in some areas, although there are 2 nice ridges with oaks that are thinner as the deer obviously keep down the brush while feeding on acorns.

Bad news is that I clearly have some deer hunting squatters that have moved in on the land from 2 directions. Some evictions will be forthcoming. Pretty gutsy, but I suppose being on adjacent land they could see nobody had hunted this 80 for a long, long time.

Let the fun begin.

Grouse

Congrats. That’s so awesome and a great price!!

$500/ acre is pretty good Especially high ground

Well 500 per acre is very good for this area because it is less than 90 miles from the cities. But the price was kept low by the fact that the parcel is landlocked and comes with deed restrictions. Although I did nix the no sell restriction.

Regardless the purchase feels great because I didn’t want to pass and regret it later.

Grouse

Well 500 per acre is very good for this area because it is less than 90 miles from the cities. But the price was kept low by the fact that the parcel is landlocked and comes with deed restrictions. Although I did nix the no sell restriction.

Regardless the purchase feels great because I didn’t want to pass and regret it later.

Grouse

Congrats!

Congratulations!!

Sounds like a great piece for a tremendously good price

FYI, you cannot landlock land in MN. Someone has to provide you an easement.

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FYI, you cannot landlock land in MN. Someone has to provide you an easement.

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This parcel is landlocked because there is no existing easement. While it is true that using a cartway proceeding it is possible to force through an access to a landlocked parcel, the neighbors don’t have to provide it and they can certainly make the process miserable by contesting it. This is time-comsuming, expensive, and won’t make you Mr. Popularity with the adjacent landowners. Luckily, we already have access, so now it’s just a matter of formalizing our agreement.

I went out and walked the property yesterday. Man, I LOVE GPS and topo-mapping programs! Talk about making life easier.

But it became totally clear that we are going to need to get the property surveyed and cut property lines. We found that the adjacent landowners had moved in on this property to the point where they have developed very a very nice trail system on the property. They have even filled low spots and they keep the trails mowed. So needless to say, we’re going to have to have a little chat now that we own the place.

Grouse

Congrats Grouse. Our land is within 30 miles of yours. I stay pretty busy all year long but if you ever need a hand with plots or tracking I am in the area. good luck this season!

Well, it’s signed, sealed, and delivered. All paperwork signed off yesterday.

My father has been in the property removing a couple of wooden stands that were across the property line by over 100 yards. He also put up signs where the stands used to tell whoever owned them that this land is private and has new owners. Hopefully whoever owns these stands will come in to check on them before deer season and discover that the party is over. We’re trying to be as nice as possible, but not knowing who these people were who were squatting, there’s only so much we can do.

We need to put a gate in as those barbed wire tension gates are for the flippin birds. Lots of chainsaw work to do on this piece. Lots and lots of chainsaw work.

Grouse

Congrats Grouse! I look forward to hearing about the evolution of your property into a big buck mecca!

Congratulations! I think you will find that owning your own piece, improving it for wildlife, and then experiencing all the wildlife that you have provided for is extremely rewarding. I look forward to hearing about your future endeavors.

As I am sure you know, working with adjacent land owners is integral to building a wildlife mecca. We have always gotten in contact with our adjacent land owners on any piece we are going to hunt for the long term. Building a relationship and showing them what kind of animals can be produced by a managed piece takes a little time, but I have yet to run across anyone that does start to change an opinion when they see more, and better quality wildlife. Good Luck!

Totally agree, Flatland. I’m trying to be gentle with the neighbors and I’m hoping that they’ll be kind of embarassed that they have had “squatter stands” on private land such that they’ll just accept that we own it now and intend to hunt it.

It’s a bit of a balancing act with how to approach the situation. On one hand, we intend to hunt the property this season, so we can’t just let the toomfoolery that has been going on continue. The previous owner through death and remarriage had basically left the property idle for 30+ years. The 2 stands that we have found so far are so far across the property line that it cannot be disputed that whoever constructed them knew that they were on another owner’s land, but also knew that the land was not in active use. These stands have ATV trails and sight lanes as well, so they have been in use for 10 years or more.

We’re assuming that all the neighboring owners will be showing up in the weeks before deer season, so I’ll talk to them then. I guess my plan is not to mention the stands because I don’t want to sound like I’m accusing them of something and get things off on the wrong foot.

What does everyone think of that plan?

Grouse

Posting the land with your phone number could be a good way to get an introduction also. Hopefully they aren’t jack holes, but the fact they purposely trespassed leads me to believe you will have a bit of a tough go. I hope I’m wrong.

Grouse, you have a situation that is similar to my neighbors land. 200+ acres and they are retired and don’t hunt. They gave permission to all the neighboring kids….about 26 years ago. So, now most of those kids are married and have kids (Original permission x 3)
A few of them treat the land as if they own it and make the rules (LMAO) and some only show up the last weekend of gun season and make a few drives. Anyways, myself included, we have built stands, cleared brush, maintained lanes, planted clover, and so on.

This summer, the land owner and his wife did a pretty intensive walk through their property and also caught wind of the issues building of too many people hunting there.
Berry simply stopped up to our house and was quite direct, as he did with all of us neighbors.

1 and only warning – “It’s getting out of hand and I don’t want anyone killed” From there, he laid out some rules – some I agree with, and others I disagree with. He owns the land and I have no place to argue.

Simply, telling them that you purchased the land and will have your family hunting there should be nearly enough. I would be specific in stating that we don’t want anyone else on the land. BUT, I would give them your phone number and ask them to call you if they need to retrieve a deer. Obviously you know not to be an arse about it. Just be neighborly as you would expect them to be.
I have the same arrangement with 2 of my other neighbors. We call each other and know NOT to retrieve deer on each other’s land until after 11am AND a phone call. Just being safe