Owning a Hunting property YES or NO ?

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Originally Posted by Bluebulldog

Some of the responses are interesting. It all comes down to what you want for a "hunting property".

Buying farmland in SW Ont? Probably a non-starter.

Buying a chunk of bush a little closer to Gods country? Definitely do-able.

I've bought and sold 7 bush lot properties since 2000. Many of which were further North, in unorganized townships. Typically bought a chunk of bush with decent access to larger Crown parcels, built a cabin or two on the property, and sold them for a fair bit more than I had in sunk costs. Over the process, I've learned about the varying topography across this great province. Learned about the different habits of game animals, and thoroughly enjoyed the entire process.

Now owning a permanent cottage in a corner of the province that many folks don't think about, which is close to a ton of Crown, my next step is to start buying acreages, and start making them more "huntable".

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I'd love to hear more about the properties you've purchased, enjoyed, improved and then sold. That's an interesting story

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Originally Posted by Lando

I'd love to hear more about the properties you've purchased, enjoyed, improved and then sold. That's an interesting story

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Well, without getting too sidetracked.

I started when I was 28. Looking through catalogues offered by some of the "Rural Land" companies. Most of which offer financing, which is often the hardest part of buying vacant land. Bought my first 5.5 acre parcel on Manitoulin Island.

Buying in "unorganized townships" often means that erecting a 16'x16' cabin isn't much of an issue. I also was working on several construction / renovation projects at the time, so there was often surplus construction materials which were available. ( My 1st cabin actually had a bunch of glass block windows).

It took some money, but more time. I averaged about 2 years or so with each property. The last one I had for around 4 years.

Basically if you drew a straight line East from Little Current on Manitoulin Is to the QC border, and then drew another one about 70-100km North that paralleled the original one, that was the area that I spent my time in. Lots of fun, lots of hard work, but totally worth it.

There are a number of 100ac bush plots within range of the gta around 100k.

I like the idea of going to target shoot on owned land.

If you can fund it, it works well, as long as you can use it.

Couple nice properties in the Bruce, another nice one Ki-moon area.

Look on Realtor.ca

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

Our family had hunting property/ cabin in the Bruce ( Issac Lake) for 30+ years. ( fishing , deer hunts , target practice, rabbits, grouse etc..
Security is an issue when you are not there every day , but that can be solved more or less.

( I think the key is to have property that is not too far away from your home , so you can get there often.)

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Originally Posted by Bluebulldog

Well, without getting too sidetracked.

I started when I was 28. Looking through catalogues offered by some of the "Rural Land" companies. Most of which offer financing, which is often the hardest part of buying vacant land. Bought my first 5.5 acre parcel on Manitoulin Island.

Buying in "unorganized townships" often means that erecting a 16'x16' cabin isn't much of an issue. I also was working on several construction / renovation projects at the time, so there was often surplus construction materials which were available. ( My 1st cabin actually had a bunch of glass block windows).

It took some money, but more time. I averaged about 2 years or so with each property. The last one I had for around 4 years.

Basically if you drew a straight line East from Little Current on Manitoulin Is to the QC border, and then drew another one about 70-100km North that paralleled the original one, that was the area that I spent my time in. Lots of fun, lots of hard work, but totally worth it.

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Thanks for that, I've heard similar stories about unorganized townships, and also horror stories about building in actual townships and then tearing it down. I love hearing about this stuff.

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Originally Posted by Lando

Thanks for that, I've heard similar stories about unorganized townships, and also horror stories about building in actual townships and then tearing it down. I love hearing about this stuff.

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The beauty of unorganized is that you can build, for the most part, whatever you want without the hindrance of permits, etc.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

I was very fortunate to be able to buy a 100 acre hobby farm before I retired and was able to not only Hobby farm it, but the property is also excellent for recreational use. It has a large hunk of bush and an abundance of wildlife. I was able to built a nice shooting range on an old hay field and pursue my hunting activities in my own 'back 40'. The vast majority of deer I have shot over the past 20 yrs have been from a stand less than a ½ mile from my kitchen door.

So yes living and hunting on the land you own is, as my buddy says, “living the dream” . :)

After reading thru the posts here I've seen a couple things you should think about:

I noticed that a lot of the encouraging comments I read here are from older guys who obviously have the time and money to enjoy owning a hunk of land dedicated for recreation use. My experience at the hunt camp is that most of the <45 crowd don’t have a lot of time or money. Few can even get off work to hunt for a full week let alone commit their weekends and holidays to develop ‘Gods Little Acre’.

It’s seems to be owning land for recreational pursuits is more inclined for those ‘later in life’ dreams unless you are lucky enough to ride on the coattails of family and friends when your young.

I also have to say, once you have owned a property for a while and you get to know the pulse of the land, it doesn't take long before you figure out where and when to hunt and the hunting becomes less difficult and success rates each year become easier to achieve. What that means is that hunting can be a fleeting moment, often taking only a single day to fill your tag. Both my ML deer and spring turkey seasons were over in less than an hour this year.

With that said, it might be hard to substantiate a financial commitment to own a piece of property, that you may only actually hunt on 1-2 days a year. Like owning a $20K boat or RV that you only use 3-4 times a year.

It might well be it would make far better sense to hunt crown land or get permission to hunt on someone’s property until you have the time and money to be able to do enjoy your own recreational property.

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I would love something like you have someday! That's the life goal anyway, glad to hear you are "living the dream" :)

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Originally Posted by Bushmoose

The beauty of unorganized is that you can build, for the most part, whatever you want without the hindrance of permits, etc.

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Right, still has to be to code. Also, septic assessment still may be required.

Some unorganized townships don't have a fire service and the closest one can be 30+ minutes away. Can make it difficult to insure your cabin

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Originally Posted by vom Dufenshmirtz

Right, still has to be to code. Also, septic assessment still may be required.

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Typically on a rec property, you can still have a "Class 1, sewage treatment" ( outhouse).