Dream Land... New to the Area ...where would you purchase?

[spark213]

Hey all just a topic for fun. In a few years I will have saved up enough to purchase some hunting land. This has been my dream for a while. Just want to get everyones opinions on the best place to purchase land (county or counties). Eventually want to build a hunting cabin and retire up there.

 

Here are my wishes for the land

 

Good acreage 200-300 acres

Good deer and bear hunting, Enough deer for meat hunting and some trophy bucks.

Not too many trespassers

Access to good lakes and streams for fishing during summer and spring ( 30 min drive)

Good Turkey would be a plus

 

Ideally I would love land that is near a state park so I have access the park as well, but I figure I will have more trespassers if thats the case.

 

Any suggestions guys? I am thinking some of the southern bordering counties bordering Adirondack state park or south of the finger lakes.

 

[G-Man]

Catt, stuben, allegany counties. I would stay off boarder of pa as doe tags are harder to get there, lots of game around.

Not sure what you think you need to spend to get 200 acres, but place by me with cabin she'll no utilities sold for 78,000 last year...

Edited October 10, 2015 by G-Man

[spark213]

wow thats a steal! 20% down im assuming? OIl and Gas rights come with that?

 

[spark213]

Anyone have adirondack experience?

[Doc]

Land that is not lived on will be trespassed on. I think that is a pretty universally true statement. And it might change your thinking around just a bit. Years ago, I bought property that was within commuting distance of work. Granted I had no problem driving a ways. Today, 40 years later, I have had the use of the land (hunting and otherwise), have my house and outbuildings all established, have been able to hunt after work, and everyone knows that they could run into me at any time of the day or night, and anywhere on the hill or down here in the valley. So potential trespassers have figured out that this is not land that is deserted for 5 of the 7 days of the week.

 

It's also worth mentioning that when it came time to retire, there was no sudden need for a financial drain on my retirement funds for all the needed features for living here. It has been all paid for over the 40 years without maintaining two properties.

 

I just thought I would mention all this as perhaps another alternative plan.

[First-light]

I did it in Steuben county. Bought the land, had the Amish build the shell for the cabin, finished it off with my brother, property is in the Ag program that keeps the taxes low, many opportunities at huge buck, turkey and bear. The place is a dream come true. My neighbor is like a brother to me. Every piece fit together perfectly. Good luck finding your place.

Edited October 11, 2015 by First-light

[G-Man]

Yes gas ,mineral, and timber with that

[spark213]

what does everyone think about fencing the land?

[turkeyfeathers]

what does everyone think about fencing the land?

Why ?

[Doc]

what does everyone think about fencing the land?

Good fences make good neighbors. Boundaries are then permanently marked. However, you talked about 200-300 acres. That's a lot of fencing. Fencing is not cheap, so check your budget. If cost is not an issue, I would definitely fence it

[monkeyman2269]

150 acres good young growth and old growth. One 10 acre duck/fishing pond and 2 10 acre agriculture feilds

[First-light]

No fencing, that is crazy. 

[wolc123]

If it were me, I would look up near the NW corner of the Adirondack Park, St. Lawrence County maybe.   That will put you far enough north to get out of the reach of most of the lake effect snows and winter kill which has often had detrimental effect on deer populations a little further south in the Tug-hill area.  The deer density might be a bit less than most southern zone areas but is still pretty good, even after the last two tough winters. 

 

It will also put you close to some of the best smallmouth bass fishing in the nation, in the St Lawrence river and the Indian river lakes.   The deer up there are every bit as tasty as those we get in the corn-growing regions of Western NY.   The scenery is also about the best I have seen in the Country, which adds a lot to the whole hunting experience.  Hunting pressure is minimal compared to most southern zone areas.     

 

Some of the zones up there allow only antlerless harvest during archery and ML seasons, I would stick to the zones that allow antlerless and/or antlered then.  Ideally your land would be in a zone open for bear also and there are more of those around as you get closer to the mountains.   Most of the area is buck-only during gun season.     

[spark213]

Fencing would allow the deer to still move freely but severely deter trespassers

[Daveboone]

unless the fences are 8 foot tall, no deterrence.

Meet the neighbors before you buy. Fence or no fence, they make the area.

My neighbors and I get along great (key is everyone is respectful, law abiding) and look out for each other. Fences separate you, it is the city thing to do. You are setting the tone right there. If you only show up a couple times/ only through the hunting season, trespassers/ vandals/ thieves know it. Have a frequent presence, being sure friends and family can visit year round, helps tremendously for a regular security presence.

My neighbors and I share common trails/ ATV paths, and let each other wander freely if we aren't there. We routinely make goofy pics of each other on our game cameras.

Do NOT take the attitude "its my property, I will do what I want". You will only be a neighborhood outcast, and more subject to property issues.

[Doc]

In rural America, fence-lines are expected to define property boundaries. There is nothing unfriendly about a good fence, in fact neighbors will thank you for putting a well defined property marker as it serves them as well. I have found them along my entire perimeter from decades ago where farmers who got along perfectly well erected fences through the woods and over the hills and even across swamps. In fact in a lot of cases, neighbors would get together and share costs and labor just to define boundaries and put (almost) permanent markers on the land to avoid property disputes. Today a lot of these fences are becoming part of the dirt as they rust and come down, but if you look close enough, you can find remnants of them. If I had the cash resources, my property would have had these markers replaced. Unfortunately, fencing is very expensive, and getting heavy rolls of fencing up our "killer" hill is not a project that one person is going to undertake by themselves.

 

But anyone who takes offence at a property marking fence being erected is probably someone who has devious reasons for boundaries to not be known. People in the cities and suburbs take it for granted that fences are going to be erected but for some reason they think it is some signal of unfriendliness when it happens in the country even though it has been a time tested tradition for decades.

[Five Seasons]

I would look in the adirondacks, but not because the deer hunting is all that great. But because you can get everything you asked for at a decent price. Also great summers for kids and families. Not sure I'd want to live year round though.

[The_Real_TCIII]

Chautauqua county for me, it's got it all

[Daveboone]

Throughout northern new York, the zillions of stone fences are strictly there for one reason....a place to put rocks, which also help keep livestock in. The further from cities you go, and more trusting folks become, the fewer fences. It is a city attitude to fence in. Devious:

[Skillet]

I like Ontario County, especially Naples. Land around our camp is getting expensive now, around $3,000 / acre. If my Grandfather hadn't bought it years ago, it'd be out of our reach now. Lots of deer & turkey. There's bear too.

[chas0218]

OIl and Gas rights come with that?

I actually laughed out loud when you mentioned that.  If it did then i wish I bought it for that price.

 

for 200-300 acres with mineral rights you will be looking at $300,000 - $500,000, people in the southern tier think they have gold deposits under there property. The land out west is much higher concentrate of natural gas and allows fracking not to mention Natural gas is at an all time low, and NY banned it indefinitely. Buy land further north and you don't have to deal with ridiculously high land prices.

[steve863]

I actually laughed out loud when you mentioned that.  If it did then i wish I bought it for that price.

 

for 200-300 acres with mineral rights you will be looking at $300,000 - $500,000, people in the southern tier think they have gold deposits under there property. The land out west is much higher concentrate of natural gas and allows fracking not to mention Natural gas is at an all time low, and NY banned it indefinitely. Buy land further north and you don't have to deal with ridiculously high land prices.

 

 

Great points!  200-300 acres will cost him a good chunk of change no matter where he buys it.  Lets not even talk about the taxes on this much land.  Mineral right or NO mineral rights, it will be a good LONG time, if ever before he will get any returns on this investment other than hunting pleasures.  That's why in general I think other than for the hunting pleasures, buying this much land is a poor investment of ones money.  With fewer and fewer people farming and hunting, and more and more regulations being put on hunting who will be paying top dollar for empty woodlands that you can't build on in the future?  It very well may become worthless.  Buy at your own risk.

[Bendog]

Taxes are a huge factor in NY....the state hammers you on even undeveloped scrub land.....

[steve863]

Catt, stuben, allegany counties. I would stay off boarder of pa as doe tags are harder to get there, lots of game around.

Not sure what you think you need to spend to get 200 acres, but place by me with cabin she'll no utilities sold for 78,000 last year...

 

 

That was 200 acres of land with a cabin for $78,000???  I would consider that the steal of the century.   

[steve863]

Taxes are a huge factor in NY....the state hammers you on even undeveloped scrub land.....

 

 

I would think you'd pay at least $10-15K in taxes per year ANYWHERE in NYS for 200-300 acres.  You could go to freakin Alaska or Africa every year for that kind of money with NO headaches of land ownership.  I know what I'd do!  LOL