Who is lucky enough to hunt on their own land

[crestoncowboy]

Yup, a hobby tractor!

Don't tell the IRS, but I'm not a real farmer

Or as far as their concerned, not a real good farmer. It's used for mowing trails, dragging firewood and putting in food plots. Small enough that my wife likes using it. Whenever we have a "real" tractor requirement I call my neighbor or hire it out.

As far as luck goes, I do consider myself very lucky. Managed to be a part of the 17% that actually gets to retire from the service, did some deployments and didn't get a scratch, other than hearing, bad knee and an MRE phobia. Then landed a job back with the Army writing about other people deploying.

Yeah, we have a 24 hp NH 4x4 mower too. Lol. We used a 135 ferguson growing up. I service several of those still today. Back before rolling hay we didn't have to have the big tractors we use now. Those little ones can't handle a roller. Everything else we could make do with 40hp or so.
I wouldn't mind a 35 or so with a tiny detachable back hoe for small jobs.

 

[crestoncowboy]

Yup, a hobby tractor!

Don't tell the IRS, but I'm not a real farmer

A few years back NC went from a farm being "800 dollars in claimed income" to somewhere around 10k dollars..... most people could say they sold 800 in eggs but other than a Biden presidency where eggs hit 50 bucks/ dozen its hard to claim your backyard flock made 10k in eggs. The amount of tax exempt farms went down by many 10s% lol.

 

[jmorris]

The only things bad about hunting our rancher friend's ranch though is that we DO have to leave the gates we go through the way we found them (closed if they were closed, and open if they were open) and we have to be careful about not shooting in the direction where our friend's cattle are grazing. Besides those things, this year our friends even asked us to not shoot the two-point mule deer buck they'd seen feeding in one of their upper pastures. They said they wanted to save it for their daughter to shoot for her first deer.

That’s pretty much what I was talking about, being the owner doesn’t really restrict you, you just get to keep everyone else that enjoys it on the same page as you. If people don’t want to play by our rules, we are not bothered by that at all, because they are not there.

 

[crestoncowboy]

closed if they were closed, and open if they were open)

Lol. Yep. Ive cussed over gates left open on here many times.

But when I was 15 or so I was flying on my atv and about got beheaded by our barbed wire fence in one gap.

It "should" have been open and was a simple homemade gap so I didn't see it and ran through it going 65 or so. Let some scars and slapped me over the bike.

I didn't blame anyone but me. Was my own ignorance and yeah, I was going too fast. Nobody to this day will admit who did it though. Lol

 

[PapaG]

Two bucks on day one. Nephew got one out of Taj1.1 in the morning and I got mine at 4. Break them down after brunch plus any the others get.

 

[Show Me]

Bunch of good stories

 

[.308 Norma]

Lol. Yep. Ive cussed over gates left open on here many times.

But when I was 15 or so I was flying on my atv and about got beheaded by our barbed wire fence in one gap.

Wow! That's scary!!!
It wasn't anything as serious as that, but my wife and I spent a half day this deer season looking for one of our rancher friend's bulls because some jerk(s) had left one of their gates open. And the thing was, nobody other than my wife and me and our friend's daughter have permission to hunt deer on that ranch. They let a mountain lion hunter or two with hounds in there during lion season (whenever that is) but the only deer hunters that are supposed to be in there are my wife and me and their daughter.
My wife and I never did find that bull. Our friends found it a few days later mixed in with some of their neighbor's cattle that were also out, and alongside a road where they weren't supposed to be. That wasn't the result of a careless hunter leaving a gate open though - it was just the result of a fence line that was (and still is) in serious need of repair.

 

[crestoncowboy]

We have had horses and cattle come up the road many times where people left them open. Worst of those was a steer that the mail man hit and we paid out of pocket to fix his jeep. Wasn't terrible but still annoying

 

[Ks5shooter]

Yes we do and its great.Five in the freezer feeds our family of three for a year.

 

[Random 8]

Just before I retired I purchased 75 acres adjacent to a state forest. I put up as small (12X16) cabin. No running water, no electricity, and a out house. I had the property selectively logged for wildlife enhancement. It is my get away location year round. I have several deer stands in place, and have taken several deer over the years, coyotes and squirrels.

Sounds exactly like my place. Same dimensions for the cabin even. I have a sand point hand well and woodburning Finnish sauna for utilities. Gas generator/ utility pump operated shower for the hot months. It's our base camp for lots of fishing trips and grouse hunting, and hopefully improving for deer going forward. Presently on 40 acres, but looking to add more within easy driving distance. Lots of public in the neighborhood we've only scratched the surface on. Been too busy! Owning land is hard work.

 

[footwart]

I've seen 38 deer in the last two days. fox squirels as big as house cats. lol. turkeys out the wazoo. I've taken several 8 and 10 pointers with the best being a 16 pointer. I don't have to hunt , just going out and sitting in the woods is fun enough.

Got a 11 pointer this morning.

I've seen 38 deer in the last two days. fox squirels as big as house cats. lol. turkeys out the wazoo. I've taken several 8 and 10 pointers with the best being a 16 pointer. I don't have to hunt , just going out and sitting in the woods is fun enough. 11 pointer this morning. 11/19/2023

 

[Bazoo]

God has blessed me to own a few acres that I can and do hunt.

 

[35 Whelen]

At home smack in the middle of 50 AC. Same spot for many years. Boring, well sitting in the same shack in the same chair. you see some crazy activity more often than not. What have you seen? It's best if a relative is with you for proof.

Just an average Blue Collar worker here. I inherited a little money when my mother passed and instead of buying a new vehicle, taking an expensive trip, etc., my wife and I initially invested it then pulled it out of a mutual fund that had cost us a lot and bought 55 acres and built a shop and a very nice house in 2006. Fast-forward 13 years and working extra jobs and being frugal we had it all paid off. Fast forward another 4 years and we bought 7 more adjoining acres. So now we own 62 acres that joins a 20,000+ acre uninhabited ranch on the west and we've taken countless deer and hogs and enjoyed some really good times with friends and family out here.
Hard work and proper planning trump luck all day, every day.

35W

 

[crestoncowboy]

Hard work and proper planning trump luck all day, every day.

Thats simply not true. Lol . One lucky lottery ticket and you could buy that 20k acres and have never "hard worked" or "lived frugal".

One of the sorriest people I know won one when he was 19 or 20. Went from driving a worn out civic to driving a Saleen S7 and an f430 Ferrari. He is 40 now. Still rich and would argue luck can certainly be better.

But hard work trumps luck "MOST DAYS" ill agree . Those of us with little luck never got to try but one of the two options.

 

[mcb]

Thats simply not true. Lol . One lucky lottery ticket and you could buy that 20k acres and have never "hard worked" or "lived frugal".

One of the sorriest people I know won one when he was 19 or 20. Went from driving a worn out civic to driving a Saleen S7 and an f430 Ferrari. He is 40 now. Still rich and would argue luck can certainly be better.

But hard work trumps luck "MOST DAYS" ill agree . Those of us with little luck never got to try but one of the two options.

In my experience, "Luck favors the prepared." I feel I have been blessed with a good amount of luck in my life but I have also worked pretty hard to take advantage of and make the most of my lucky breaks.

 

[crestoncowboy]

In my experience, "Luck favors the prepared." I feel I have been blessed with a good amount of luck in my life but I have also worked pretty hard to take advantage of and make the most of my lucky breaks.

I agree. And myself, my dad, and my grandpa worked hard and amassed what we have.

But a few rare people have enough luck to be fine. Like the guy I mentioned.

But MOST times.... work trumps luck I think

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

But MOST times.... work trumps luck I think

And remember, there are two types of "luck"...
The only "Lottery" I ever stood a chance at winning was that one where the "winner" got a letter from the Government that started with, Greetings...

We owned land down in Oklahoma and hunted on it. I was working overseas and would have a lot of overtime which we saved.
Then we had to move up to Kansas for the wife's work.
We have 10 acres here and I hunt out back and have permission to hunt the adjacent property on the North side.
Sold off the land in Oklahoma a few years ago.

 

[.308 Norma]

Thats simply not true. Lol .

Those of us with little luck never got to try but one of the two options.

It seems like what "little luck" I have is bad as often as it's good.

 

[Show Me]

Luck as in living in a country where you can own land. Luck as in Washington hasn't taxed it away from us yet. Luck as in not enough people in a certain political party to ruin everything. Yet. Luck as in having a family to share it with and luck our health let's us get out. Luck that gatherings like this hasn't been outlawed and luck a certain woman hasn't figured out how to reprogram us. I'm sure there's more

 

[Gordon]

View attachment 1180082 A view where I hunt Turkeys and Deer and see but don't shoot the bear , but do the coyotes . It is a small old Pear , apple and nut orchard with about 20 trees with a meadow about 150 yards long and two hundred fifty feet wide with the unseen creek on the right of picture . The fir trees along the edge of the meadow pictured are at the bottom of a 200 foot cliff so a real safe back stop with nobody around for half a mile in opposite direction . This shot was at 700 am on a usual rainy day here in mountains above Roseburg Oregon . There is a stream on the right of this photo taken from the big sliding window in a little snug shack at the end of this old family orchard . I have a game camera and feed box in it's center . My grandson got his first deer , a four point Blacktail on my Tag asmy mentored Jr. Hunter program on 11/03/23

 

[41 Mag]

We have a place that was deeded to me. It has been in the family since the 30's. I grew up working on fences, messing with cows, and whatever else need be done. As it was passed down from one generation to the next subtle changes have occurred. It was left to my dad and one uncle when my grandmother passed, and the split between myself and one cousin as time moved on.

We got out of the cows, and went to leasing for hay. Mainly just to cover the taxes. I live 3 hrs away but am here every weekend I can make it. My passion has been to enhance it for the wildlife. We do not but brush piles, but leave them for critters. We dedicated a couple of areas as sanctuary and we stay out. We feed protien of some sort as close to year round as we can afford. We mow, upkeep roads, the house, the equipment and fences. It's a hell of a lot of work to get done in a day and a half with the drive, but a labor of love.

My cousin harvested a buck a couple years ago that we watch grow through 8 or 9 seasons. It was a typical 8 that scored 153 and was going down.


We now have his sons and grandsons hanging out on our little area. This was one of my feeders just a bit ago...

They aren't the biggest things around, but for what we had in the past, they are awesome, and they are all low fence free to roam.

My plan is to pass this on to my grandsons when I'm gone, and at that pint they will have to decide is it worth it to keep or sell.

 

[cadet3]

I grew up in a large city. By the age of 10, I knew that I would buy my own land someday, it was always in the back of my mind. I prayed to God that if it was his will, he would open up doors to allow me to be able to buy a piece of land somewhere. I looked at properties for years before I was ready to make a move. In 2021 I found a 40 acre property that was in my budget and started looking for ways to purchase it. When Trump was in office, my 403(b) account did very well and we were able to take a loan from it and pay ourselves back at 5.5% interest. I used that money for my down payment and financed the rest through a local farm credit co-op. At 41 years old I was finally able to own my own place and it was one of the better decisions that I ever made. It wasn't me that worked or earned it. God was always in the background assembling the pieces together that allowed me to (1) afford it and (2) be able to have the funds available to finance it.

 

[DM~]

My tractor/skidding winch has been very handy to pull/skid those big bucks out of the thick brush too,

It really saves what's left of my back!

DM

 

[tdbmd]

We are lucky enough to own our hunting ground. 3000 acre ranch in the north central part of Nebraska and about 960 acres in western Iowa. My parents were both teachers/coaches so not wealthy but middle class. My dad had a good eye for ground that not only had recreation potential but enough good farmland to basically make it cash flow. Hard to do that today with where land prices and crop/cattle prices are currently. Most of the land goes for 5 figures and up per acre now.

 

[mongoslow]

sitting here on my property watching it rain this morning