Is Absentee (hunting) Land Ownership Really Worth It?
 

I've been perusing the "hunting land for sale" for a year or so now but now I'm beginning to wonder if it's really worth it. Granted, in an ideal situation, it blows away anything you can experience on most public lands, however, after reading various threads on the internet and talking to a lot of people, it appears that it can also be a nightmare experience - especially for absentee owners who may only visit their land a dozen or so times a year.

What with litterers, trespassers, poachers, and bad neighbors, is it really worth being an absentee owner? At first, I was really excited about the idea. Now, I'm not so sure and I'm kind of leaning against it. Are my fears overblown or is buyers remorse a common experience with absentee owned land?

land ownership really comes down to the person,
yes there are horror stories out there,
but wouldnt let that discourage you,

lots of factors in land ownership,
hard to say whats good for you,
for myself, am addicted and always looking for another parcel,
since i live in NYC, land i look at tends to be +5 hrs away,
and have no problem with being absentee land owner,
do wish i could afford land closer so i can use it more,
thats another issue to decide when looking,
further is usually harder to access,

Honestly, I think every area is different. I certainly wouldn't take the sellers word for anything, however neibours may tell you info as to weather or not there is tresspassing and poaching. You can probably go to the DNR and police detachment and bring up any files and past records to find out if there has been alot of complaints of poaching and tresspassing in the area you are thinking of purchasing. If You go about it the right way you can possibly have a great section of land to hunt on.If you want a guarantee you aren't going to have that, nobodies going to give that to you. But it can be a terrific investment.

Terasec I am roughly 5 hours away from NYC if you need an eye on your land!!

I went from a hunting lease, to state land.
No more trespassers, poachers, and other non-sense; & I give a donation to the parks dept for running their hunting program.

My leased land had trespassers opening day. Gut piles when I got there on a Saturday; and there was this ridge runner driving back and forth all day long.

State land: I know there are other hunters out there on state land, they know to expect other hunters. Most wear orange. We BS in the parking lot. Help each other drag. Reports good spots to each other. and one guy offered me his tree stand as he was leaving early for the day.

State land, Nothing but a POSITIVE experience.

I would think all situations would be different. The distance factor would be huge. I own land about 110 miles away and we try to go up and hunt it a couple of times a month during the 3 month season and that is about as far as I would want to go, expecially with the gas prices going up.

Thanks for the offer,
but am good,
that is a good tip for others to follow for access,
Lot of long distance land owners would gladly let someone hunt in order to keep an eye on their land/cabin,
asking such is matter of asking right person at the right time,

I agree with "the blur". About 25 years ago I and some buddys lost the last of the private land we were hunting. There was talk of a lease or buying land. I decided to just hunt public land. I had good and bad experiences, but mostly good. In the meantime, most of the guys that went the other way have now quit hunting. You have to have some serious acreage before the hunting around your property will not affect your property. Just like "the blur" said, I have a good time, over half the people I meet I know because they hunt there all the time too.
It might take you a while to find one, but there is a public area that fits what you like if you hunt a couple different ones. It might be a better option to hunt out of state. I hunt West Virgina because that state is more camper friendly than my own state.

I own 400 acres in WV that has been passed to me. I live 4-5 hours away. I get down about 15 times per year....in all seasons but the dead of winter.

It definitely has its negatives. We are as remote as a piece of land could possibly be......we don't really have a tresspassing issue. Our cabin has never been broken into, and the land was bought by my father in 1960.

That said...with the price of gas....and the lack of time....it sometimes is a frustrating venture.

Great post!

I too have thought of buying hunting land out of state, but keep coming back to the notion of not being able to babysit it...
If I paid $$$$$$ and showed up to a gut pile I would be in jail after finding the poor sole who stepped foot on my land.

I would definately purchase a the sign "Protected by Smith and Wesson":)