How Many Acres Do Think Is Enough To Hunt On?

[DirtTime]

This has been a question I have been wondering since last season. Private land I hunt is 100 acres. It's a narrow area that is longer then it is wide. Depending on how to look at it I guess. Might sound like a lot of land, but after walking the whole thing many times it really isn't that big. I would say maybe 2 for gun season, and 4 for bow. That being everyone knows where everyone else will be. I just can't see this being big enough for more then that.

If I had my own land and just bow hunting, I would want at least 20 acres, and it would just be me hunting it. For gun, I would want at least 50 and again, just me in there.

[First-light]

I have a large parcel that I hunt. We have taken many deer on it. All the other parcels around me are big, + 100 acres . There is a small 10 acre plot that borders me to the west. This small plot is a magnet to hold a few shooter bucks during the season. Thick with brush and pines, the does love to bed in it. If you were lucky to own this plot i would say10 acres is the magic number, All depends on the situation you hunt.. 

[Caveman]

Where I gun hunt we have access to around 110-120 acres, all told.  During gun season we put 6-7 hunters on it.  No problems yet and some have shot some very nice deer there.  

[wolc123]

I would say about 40 acres minimum per person, but it is very dependent on neighboring properties, type of land, and deer density. In the southern zone, I used to have a pie-shaped, narrow, wooded, 6 acre slice out in the neighboring town that was very productive for several years. It was in an agricultural area with lots of corn and soybeans nearby. When hunters moved in on three sides and built stands I could see from my own, the action dropped right off. I sold it when the hunting tanked.

Now I hunt about 100 acres total of family-owned land between our farm and my folks. That is just about right for me and a guest on occasion. This land is about 1/3 mature hardwoods, 1/3 brushy cover, and 1/3 fields. The fields are about half planted in food plots - mostly clover with some corn, wheat, soybeans, and brassica.

Up in the northern zone at my in-laws camp, there was 500 acres of private land with 3 hunters for the last three years. The deer density is a good bit lower up there, so more than 150 acres per hunter was good. That land consists of 400 acres of hilly, mature wooodland surrounding a 100 acre lake. There is also a thick, marshy creek bottom winding thru the hills with several beaver ponds. The woods are about half pines and half hardwoods.

[DirtTime]

Where I gun hunt we have access to around 110-120 acres, all told.  During gun season we put 6-7 hunters on it.  No problems yet and some have shot some very nice deer there.  

Betting you all know each other though.

 

 

 

The reason I brought this up was last season, the land owner had invited another guy to hunt the area. The day he was supposed to be there for a tour of the property was a day I was hunting. I left the blind and headed out. The other guy never showed up. I thought it would have been cool to have another hunter on there and we could have swapped phone numbers to make sure we didn't go into the others area on a given day and mess things up. Just to be civil and maybe get together for a few hunts and compare notes.

While camping last weekend this topic was brought up by my buddy ( land owners son ). I said 100 acres is a lot, but not when you have a couple hunters on there that don't know one another or when the other will be hunting and where, that could get ugly.

 

Gun hunting we need our space. Jamming people into stand's where you can whisper back and forth on private land was never my thing. Gun season I think people should be at least 200 yds apart. Bow at least 100. Just my opinion. 

[greensider]

back when i hunted conn you could rifle hunt on 10 acres or more i thing 50 is minimum

[Caveman]

That's very true.  Totally different situation when you don't know the others.  Our group all knows each other.  We get together and plan what stands we're hunting each day.  We all also know where everyone else is going to be, which directions are safe to shoot, and if someone will be moving halfway through the hunt he texts others on the property so there are no stupid accidents.  I would never try it if I didn't know these guys.  

[monkeyman2269]

Your lucky we have 120 or so acres in bow there is about 6 regular hunters in shotgun it can go up to 20 or so lol. Not my land so I can't say anything. But we all have our own 3 acres or so

[G-Man]

I've hunted 8.guys on 30 acres and we all had good time and hunts, I've had 8 guys on 300 acres and had good times and hunts, I've hunted 2.5 acres with 1 and had successful hunts. Habitat, style of hunting, surrounding pressure all play a factor. In muzzleloader we do drives, 20 plus people on 300 acres, it's very effective 2 drives 1 before lunch and 1 after.. each case is an individual basis

[BizCT]

It's all about the right piece.

My dad and I hunt 8 acres. We sit about 200-250yds away. There are some rolling hills/valleys between us, so we can't each see each other or anything like that. Many times we see the same deer the same day, many days we don't. We both hunt from the ground siting against trees. We've killed more than 30 bucks combined in the last 20 years or so and I don't hunt much and turned down smaller bucks the last few years.

Many days we don't see deer, but when we see one it's usually 50-50 chance it's a buck.

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Edited September 24, 2015 by Biz-R-OWorld

[Carbonelement]

i would take the right acre over average 50.  I have a place in west chester thats 200 and i hunt it with one buddy and we both agree 2 is enough for that spot.  i have 4 or 5 stands and he has a couple and to be honest most of the deer are shot from 2 particular stands.  I have made a move on some deer with a climber but generally to adjust for wind in a couple pinch points.  I had a place in ct that was 2 acres that always had 120+ bucks there and all the does you wanted. many double kill days. and it was a small strip of woods that I was super careful and only hunted a se wind.  By hunting smarter you will kill more deer. you dont need 50 or 100 acres or food plots or any of that... find the bedding, natural food source and pinch points and you will kill.

[Jaeger]

When I had my farm, 212 acres, the most I had on it was 4-5 at a time and on stand.  (the "5" was with a father and son together).  So, if everyone stayed put, I was comfortable with one per fifty acres.  It was a fairly square plot of land with a small panhandle.

 

The flip side was the bigger problem, when it was just me on all that land, I always felt there weren't enough of us to keep the deer moving and usually felt I was in the wrong spot.  In the beginning, any loud shots kept me running from one end to the other looking for trespassers!!

 

If you have stalkers or still hunters, then its a whole 'nother story.  I could cover the entire perimeter of my land in 1/2 a day.  I would never let more than 2 of us hunt that way and only if I knew how the other guy hunts.

 

So, in my area, one per 50 acres.  But it was patchwork fields/brush/woods.

[GreeneHunter]

I own a little over 20 acres and on opening day I usually have myself and two buddies there and it works out fine , taken some nice deer consistently !  After opening day I have the place to myself and its real nice !  I have one ladder stand and a couple ground blinds , works for me !

[biggamefish]

All depends on location and property layout really.  I know people that hunt on 3-5 acres and take deer consistently. 

[steve863]

I'd be comfortable with maybe one hunter per 30 acres.  I've seen a whole bunch of hunters hunt in very small areas, but that is not my cup of tea.  Even if the hunters know each other it's still too close for comfort for me.  Just wait until one guy puts a round thru a nice buck and then it runs over to his "buddy" a few acres away where he puts it down for good.  I've seen arguments years ago over something like that.  I can only imagine what it would be like in todays competitive and selfish hunters mindsets.

 

 

 

[growalot]

Got one of my biggest buck on just 9 1/2 acres...as they say location ,location, location

[phade]

I'd be comfortable with maybe one hunter per 30 acres.  I've seen a whole bunch of hunters hunt in very small areas, but that is not my cup of tea.  Even if the hunters know each other it's still too close for comfort for me.  Just wait until one guy puts a round thru a nice buck and then it runs over to his "buddy" a few acres away where he puts it down for good.  I've seen arguments years ago over something like that.  I can only imagine what it would be like in todays competitive and selfish hunters mindsets.

 

That's why you set that up beforehand.

 

At the end of the day, its just a buck, and solid family/friends are much more rare than a wallhanger imo. I'm equally as excited when a buddy knocks one down as when I do.

 

There is no answer to the question other than the right acreage is what counts. Size is only one component to that answer.

[steve863]

That's why you set that up beforehand.

 

At the end of the day, its just a buck, and solid family/friends are much more rare than a wallhanger imo. I'm equally as excited when a buddy knocks one down as when I do.

 

There is no answer to the question other than the right acreage is what counts. Size is only one component to that answer.

 

If you hunt in a place where you have more acreage to yourself, it will be less likely that you'll have to deal with those type situations.  For example if you put a bullet or an arrow thru the buck of a lifetime, the deer can wander off a ways yet expire with no interference.  If you hunt in a small area where your buddy is only a short distance away he may get the last shot that will put the animal down.  Now comes the part where you think your shot would most definitely have been fatal, so will you be the one claiming the trophy?  He may think otherwise.  I don't know how excited you'd really be for your buddy in a situation like that?  Given a choice I would try to avoid such situations, thus I prefer that each hunter have more space.

Edited September 24, 2015 by steve863

[moog5050]

Steve

 

Phade, another hunter and I often hunt together.  I cannot imagine a situation where we would be fighting over who killed a deer.  I would be happy to finish one off for one of them (and its still their deer) and I am sure vice versa. If that is really a concern, I agree that hunting alone is a better option, but if you are hunting with friends it should be a non-issue.  Forget first fatal shot, if a friend wounded a deer and I finish it, its his (whether the first shot would be fatal or not).  That's what a friend does.

[pointman]

I own and hunt on 17 acres. Have different areas on property that I switch to daily. Property has been productive for past 10 years.

[steve863]

Steve

 

Phade, another hunter and I often hunt together.  I cannot imagine a situation where we would be fighting over who killed a deer.  I would be happy to finish one off for one of them (and its still their deer) and I am sure vice versa. If that is really a concern, I agree that hunting alone is a better option, but if you are hunting with friends it should be a non-issue.  Forget first fatal shot, if a friend wounded a deer and I finish it, its his (whether the first shot would be fatal or not).  That's what a friend does.

 

Glad to hear that it wouldn't be an issue with you two.  As I've said, I have seen it become an issue amongst friends even years ago.  Knowing how much more selfish hunting has become today, I could see things getting ugly quicker than ever before.   

[Al Bundy]

This is actually an issue I have been dealing with for a few years now. I hunt on an 18 acre piece and another 7 acre that is next to it. The 18 acre piece is owned by several people, and each hunts and wants others to hunt there.  Commonly 3-4  people would hunt it and there was talk of others coming to hunt it. 7 acre would have 2. There were 4 on the 18 one opening morning.  I didnt hunt that day as I would have been 5th. I was across the street and watched the police come yet again. I finally put my foot down and said this was crazy and someone was going to get hurt.  Caused a big rift, I became public enemy #1 and still am. Good thing is nobody got shot.  I think packing people on the land like sardines is begging for an accident.  For reasons unknown, I was the only one who thought/thinks this.  It was doable, somewhat safely kind of maybe, if each hunter knew to point in one direction only, don't move anywhere, etc. I was not at all comfortable with this though.

 

 

 

 

[steve863]

Honestly, anyone who thinks it would be safe to have 4 or 5 hunters with rifles on 18 acres is NO hunter that I want to hunt with.  Yeah, accidents don't happen often, but why would I want to risk my neck?  I don't give a crap if that's the last piece of land I'd ever have the opportunity to hunt.  No way would I hunt that place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[phade]

Steve

 

Phade, another hunter and I often hunt together.  I cannot imagine a situation where we would be fighting over who killed a deer.  I would be happy to finish one off for one of them (and its still their deer) and I am sure vice versa. If that is really a concern, I agree that hunting alone is a better option, but if you are hunting with friends it should be a non-issue.  Forget first fatal shot, if a friend wounded a deer and I finish it, its his (whether the first shot would be fatal or not).  That's what a friend does.

 

100% we've discussed it across all hunters, agreed, and we've actually gone through it before on a few occasions, including bucks. We take a nice group photo and enjoy the success and the bounty and doing something enjoyable with friends/family.

[BizCT]

Steve

Phade, another hunter and I often hunt together. I cannot imagine a situation where we would be fighting over who killed a deer. I would be happy to finish one off for one of them (and its still their deer) and I am sure vice versa. If that is really a concern, I agree that hunting alone is a better option, but if you are hunting with friends it should be a non-issue. Forget first fatal shot, if a friend wounded a deer and I finish it, its his (whether the first shot would be fatal or not). That's what a friend does.

Same here for me and my Dad. It's never happened, but we both would expect the other to finish a wounded deer off to help the other.

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