Question about acreage size

[Hunterny28]

We have the chance of getting 5 acres of land as payment owed to us for an agreement we made with a family friend. I was wondering if 5 acres would be ok to hunt or it is a little to small. There is a creek/river that runs through the one side near the woods. maybe 1/3 of it is a hay field that is rented out to the farmer who farms the 50 acres right next to it. He says he has guys hunting on his property.

there is a benefit of getting this land if its able to be hunted on because of it being close to home that we wouldn't have to drive far. I think with the creek being there and hunter son the neighboring property it may have some deer movement.

There is signs of deer all over the place, scraps tracks and bedding spots.

I just wanted your guys input. This would be used for bow and shotgun only. (as it is in a shotgun only county)

[SteveB]

In my mind it is fine IF you talk to all the surrounding landowner and work out retrieval rights prior to needing them.

It is not a question of if a hit deer will leave a 5 acre patch to die, but rather when.

[phade]

Ive killed plenty of deer on 5 acre tracts. If retrieval is fine...then you are golden.

[Doc]

Ha.... Let's face it, all you need is a piece of property that is a hundred yard circle if it's the right 100 yard circle.

Sure it all depends on the habitat and whether deer are using it or not. It basically allows for a few stand sights that will allow some days when you can hunt there instead of driving miles out of your way. And you might find that it is a natural funnel or some other feature that deer just want to go through. Who knows? The best way to find out is to hunt it. However in reality, by the time you take out the hay lot you really are talking about 3 acres which is scarcely larger than a good sized suburban yard.

I don't know what contingencies are that makes possession a question, but actually, from a financial standpoint, it probably shouldn't be hunting access that decides whether the land satisfies the debt.

[bubba]

_{As i see it anytime I can get land I get it. As mentioned above 5 acres is plenty to hunt as long as you do not over prsssure it the same as any tract of land. If it does not work out, you can sell it and retrieve the money owed.}

Edited December 31, 2011 by bubba

[growalot]

I don't know what contingencies are that makes possession a question, but actually, from a financial standpoint, it probably shouldn't be hunting access that decides whether the land satisfies the debt.

....title search....land access....he could have debt against it already...just questions for a lawyer to discover ...Good Luck

Edited December 31, 2011 by growalot

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Mabey not!!! You want to make sure there is good access to the land also. Not just for you or now but forever. After you take the hayfield out it is a small area. I would take possesion of the hayfield back and plant corn or something to draw the deer in and hope they bed close to their feed. I like corn and 2 acres will last them along time and whatever is left over in the spring is a great place to wack a struttin tom!!!!

[landtracdeerhunter]

i look out at my 5 acre parcel. Not much to hunt on, but as stated above, anytime a

parcel of land is available, I'd garb it. You might want to go to the town hall,where the parcel is located, to review the accessment, to eliminate any surprises.

[hunter]

I would take the land for the hunting and maybe you get lucky and they pay you to lease the gas rights down the road.

[nybuckboy]

It is particularly important that you can enter the piece from the prevailing downwind side, otherwise every time you enter you the land you push the deer out.

If so, i would try to hunt the downwind edges and leave the rest of the land as a refuge where deer can feel secure. Never enter the land during the season except to retrieve a deer.

I no expert but If the winds are right and you follow this protocol, this land could be a real treasure.

[First-light]

Do yourself a favor and get to know the other landowners. This year people got access to a 5 acre lot that borders me and my neighbor. These people showed up 5 of them were caught in my neighbors stands and were on my property about 100 yards in posted. Do not retrieve a deer without permission. I would have no problem granting permission if they would just introduce themselves but they blew it. Now in two weeks there will be 3 times the posted signs that are there now.

[Hunterny28]

we talked to the farmer and her said that he didn't care if we were to go on the property and retrieve anything as the hunters who hunt its is on the other side. He said that the use a specific channel on the radio and just radio in to them if need be or dive down the road and check for the truck to give them a heads up. So the right side and back of the property is fine to go for retrieval and this includes hard woods and farm fields. on the left side of the property is a pretty big corn/ hay field and this will still belong to the family friend that we would be getting the land from. So there wont be a problem getting on this land.

We will make sure all the paperwork and such is in the proper order before accepting the land as payment.

We are looking at this for a few reasons other than hunting. Eventually we want to grow some Christmas trees and pumpkins. so there will be an area for us to do so. Also we have a place to set up a little range for shooting the bows and guns. which is close to home and a plus because we live to close to the village to do this at home. We also talked to the land owner and he said in 5 to 10 years he would be looking to sell all the farming land when he moves south. so we could have a nice chunk of land after it is all said and done.

[G-Man]

Take it if you think you might get 1st rights to the rest of the land. 5 acres in not a big piece maybe 1 hunter,2 if very thick and bow hunting.a lot depends on the shape of the property.. square , rectangular, long and thin,ect . As for seetting up a range.the more human intrusion the less sign you will see from game especially on 5 acres. at worst land is always a good investment as it never seems to go down in price

[growalot]

Also Check out the mineral rights situation....

[landtracdeerhunter]

Deer like to consume pumpkins. I always plant quite a few extra, leaves enough for family use. I plant them in field corn to conserve space. They always seem to eat the best ones.

[WNYBuckHunter]

Like phade said, if retrieval rights are aquired from surrounding land owners, 5 acres is enough to put a couple of stands on and hunt lightly. I have taken the majority of my deer in a 100 yard circle from my stand, which sits on a very small parcel. It just so happens to have one of the best, most consistent funnels Ive ever seen running right through it though.

[Gthphtm]

Two of us hunted for a number of years on a plot about that size at the base of a hill on one side,a swamp on the right side 90 degrees to that,slightly down hill 90 degrees to the left and pretty flat behind us to the road.We always stayed a safe shooting distance apart but new where each other was.We took our share of bucks and does from that spot.

[TreeGuy]

Some of my favorite spots are less than 5 acres. I hunt one spot which is 20 yards wide by 150 yards long, and it produces late season deer every year ! If it were me I'd see what kind of movement you have there, like now, when there is snow. If u have lots of tracks, than u have a good idea about movement. Tough thing is going to be not over hunting it.

[Single_shot]

i look out at my 5 acre parcel. Not much to hunt on, but as stated above, anytime a

parcel of land is available, I'd garb it. You might want to go to the town hall,where the parcel is located, to review the accessment, to eliminate any surprises.

Might find all the info he needs like that if the county has a link like this... http://rptsweb.oswegocounty.com/search.aspx

[Hunterny28]

All is good. we decided to take it and we are having a laywer look into everything and make sure it will all be legal and transfred to us. I am excited about this becuase it is actaully almost 10 acres, he was not sure as to how many acres it was. Well going through the tax maps and walkings the property we saw it was much bigger than we thought.

Some of my favorite spots are less than 5 acres. I hunt one spot which is 20 yards wide by 150 yards long, and it produces late season deer every year ! If it were me I'd see what kind of movement you have there, like now, when there is snow. If u have lots of tracks, than u have a good idea about movement. Tough thing is going to be not over hunting it.

walking around the property we noticed a lot of tracks and rubs from this fall. I took the long way home from work to go by the property and saw 2 bigger does and a littler one feeding in the feild. I am excited to get this and hunting season to come.

Is there anything I should do to make this more accomadting to the hunter? or just leave it alone? I plan to scout a little late summer and set up a stand. There are a few crab apple trees and a creek runs through there. The farmer said he is going to keep the hay feild, so the small part of his feidl that is on the land will stay hay.

thanks for your input guys.