Need a new spot to hunt
Whitetail Deer
Got the call you dread , 3 days ago she sold the farm I have hunted for 35 years. Time to start over, and go pull a bunch of stands It was a great run. Feel hollow , hard to put into words.New opportunities
Why not talk with the new owners? Lease, offer free labor, etc.
Exact same thing happened to us two years ago. I switched to public land and haven't looked back. I have enjoyed the challenge and the success!
Bummer. Public is not too bad.
I'll veer this off course...We hear constantly, largely from the people and organizations that profit off hunting, that hunter numbers are dwindling and this represents some sort of existential crisis to the future of hunting. Virtually all public land bowhunters observe the exact opposite, and this very thing, loss of access, is probably the #1 contributing factor to the crowding of public land. Not that hunting needs one more narcissism of the minor difference but I think you can tell which camp I fall into as it relates to the quality of my own bowhunting experiences.
New owner is not into a deal like before where I cut wood,brush hogged trails paint stained kept it up
I am very proud of how we made it a better place oh well
Keep working on the new owner.
Try to find what they are into. Unless they are going to hunt it themselves or they are anti-hunters you should be able to put it together.
Good luck.
Best of luck to you however it works out. Keep trying, keep up the bow, keep up the faith
:^}
I can empathize. My first heartbreak was a couple hundred acres of family farm in Southampton Co. VA. It belonged to a cousin. Ag fields mixed with big timber and edged by the Blackwater Swamp. Beautiful hunting. One year he up and sold ALL the timber. It was cut from field edge to as close to the water as the loggers could get. He didn't even tell my Dad that he was logging and they were close. We went there to scout one summer day and it was a barren waste land. "Hollow" is a good description.
Bummer :-( I’m very fortunate that I own my ground, but I sympathize with you guys that deal with these types of situations. Agree with Wilber’s assessment. Maybe things will work out for you with the new owners.
Yup, lost my prime spot two years ago. I never have just one spot though. Too many eggs in one basket. I am learning new areas. ironically I think I found some really good info on the last day of the season last year trailing deer in some big big bush. Unfortunately I have to wait until this year to test it. And of course, I am now looking for land to buy. Might take years to find the right spot. Have had my eye out for over a year. We'll see.
Ive been on both sides of this.
Ive lost some pretty sweet spots over the years because someones relatives wanted to hunt, property sold ect. Like APauls I always had more spots. When I bought the property I own now the guys who hunted there before came to ask about continuing to do so. I told them no, My son and I would be hunting it. They then told me that I was greedy and that hunting was being ruined by people like me. LOL, Oh well.
I started buying a farmer's fresh eggs after he first told me no to hunting his property. Bought those yummy eggs for a year when it finally came up that I was hoping to learn how to reload for my New GP100 357 Magnum. Ends up he used to shoot in competitions with a GP100. Said he would teach me. Over the course of 3 evenings and and a gift six pack of Bell's Two Hearted Ale. I was given permission to hunt his farm. Over the course of the next season, I made the HUGE mistake of trimming a shooting lane. He asked if I was the one who cut some limbs and of course I was honest, he said take down the stand, you may not hunt here again. Was distraught that I made this man angry with me. I wrote a letter of apology but his mind was set. Properties come and go and that one was a good one. Feel like I lost a friend over that mistake. I am grateful the oldtimer taught me how to reload, as that is a hobby I enjoy almost as much as bow hunting. Good luck finding a new place.
Happened to me a few years ago. I was hunting on a buddies property I thought for 5 years. Then called one day and he told me he had sold and moved in a month. Huh! I asked about my stands and he said you could probably sneak in and get them but the guy is an anti hunter. I thought you got to be kidding. I decided to go and talk to the new owner. Turned out he was a great guy and we got talking about bowhunting. I have been hunting there ever since and turns out a total stranger treats me better than a supposed good friend. You never know.
