Michigan and Wisconsin each sport around seven million acres of public land available for hunting. However, nearly 90% of the deer harvested in America’s Dairyland and The Great Lakes State each year are shot on private land, according to the National Deer Association.
Public land can be crowded, and many hunters resort to an “anything brown is down” mentality due to increased competition. Additional traffic on public land not only drives off many deer, but it can create safety concerns when many hunters are attempting to hunt the same area.
Public land also limits the amount of preparation hunters can do ahead of their hunts and eliminates the ability to invest in the land and perform habitat management.
For hunters seeking to improve their hunting experience, leasing private land is an age-old solution. A common scenario is for a hunter - or group of hunters - to lease out of season farmland for use during a specified window of time during hunting season.
Hunting leases offer multiple advantages to hunting on public land, including less pressure on the animal population because of controlled access to the area.
However, leasing land has drawbacks as well.
For hunters seeking the ultimate experience, offering the most autonomy to control their environment and improve it over time, and the most freedom to use the land outside of hunting season, land ownership can be the best solution.
Here are five reasons why buying recreational land might be your best option for improving your hunting experience.
Autonomy & Hunting Experience
Public land and leased land both limit your autonomy.
Owning recreational land for hunting allows you to fully curate your experience. Whether you want to invest in improving the land, or limit access to yourself or a select few friends and family, you control the variables. When you own the property, gone are the days of competing for the best spot on opening day.
Habitat Management
When you own recreational land, you can make long-term habitat improvements that can impact your hunting experience over time. Planting food plots, adding trees or clearing timber, encouraging growth of bedding areas, cutting trails, or adding water sources - the sky is the limit.
Year after year, by observing your property you can see how your efforts have positively or negatively impacted your results during hunting season and decide what you’d like to do differently before the next season.
Year-Round Use
When you buy recreational land for hunting, you gain the added benefit of having access to your land 365 days a year.
Outside of hunting season, and beyond prepping for next season, you can use your land for camping, ATVing or snowmobiling, hiking, fishing, a place to host gatherings or events, or anything else you’d like to do with it. Recreational land can even serve as a site for a future cabin or home.
When you own the land, it’s yours to do what you like, and the possibilities are endless!
Traditions & Memories
Not only does owning your own land provide more opportunities to use and develop the land, owning your own recreational property also provides a place to build lasting memories and value that can be passed down for generations.
From taking your child out on their first hunt to hosting your family’s annual get-together, your property can become a canvas on which you paint beautiful memories for years to come.
An Investment in Your Future
The saying, “land – they aren’t making any more of it,” begs the question, “is hunting land a good investment?”
Beyond the benefits associated with the use of a property, purchasing land can be a good financial investment that grows in value over time. Unlike lease payments where you’re paying for the limited use of a property, when you own your own property, you are building equity with each mortgage payment you make.
In addition to natural increases in value a piece of property may enjoy due to supply and demand and market factors, landowners can actively increase the value of their land as well. Much like how one may purchase a home as a fixer-upper and increase its value through investing in renovations, making improvements to your recreational land can also increase its value.
Why Own Recreational Land for Hunting?
Owning recreational land offers hunters unmatched freedom, control, and long-term value compared to hunting on public land or leasing land.
Unlike public land, where overcrowding, unpredictable pressure, and limited management opportunities diminish your hunting experience, private ownership allows hunters to curate habitats, control access, and enjoy year-round recreation with family and friends.
Unlike leasing, where investments in food plots or stand prep can be lost if access changes, ownership ensures improvements compound year after year while also building equity in an appreciating asset.
Owning your own property can offer a better hunting experience by providing a recreational retreat, a place to make memories and build family traditions, and a lasting investment that pays dividends well beyond hunting season.
