Amen!

Glad you enjoy paying for it.
I need about six to eight a year to keep the family in meat.
Usually doable off my land. Groceries ain’t cheap and “paying to play” adds an additional cost that some of us see as unnecessary.

Lots of slugs in our area. The buggers can really work over my young sunflower plants and my mushrooms on my logs that I cultivate. You wouldnt think slugs could do that much damage but they do pretty quick.

We don't many leaches around here except in some of our spring run stream areas. I get water at a local spring head that the locals go for drinking water. The larger bodies of water have some but I don't see many unless looking for some under rocks for fishing.

It ain't free for you......if you're the one paying the annual property taxes on your land.

Unfortunately I don't own hunting land, so I have to lease to have a place to hunt. Just the way it is for me. But, I also don't have any property taxes to pay....so it sorta evens out.

never have never will. deer eating hay, elk busting fences, bears coming around dwellings, lions killing young horses, coyotes killing sheep chicken calves. if money exchanges hands it will be from theirs to mine.

Bob,
I guess that's the story of life. Gotta do what ya gotta do. We are all blessed in different ways. Im thankful for the blessings....even the ones that I don’t understand at the time. I try hard to always see the positives.

But you are paying to hunt......just not for access.

Been lucky so far with family land, and 2 national forest that makeup 400,000 acres.....Only been on one paid hunt, but if everything changed tomorrow I would pay to play in a heartbeat before not hunting.

A good friend owns 375 acres of timberland (no residence on the property) here in the county where I reside.

I don't know his property's valuation or whether his land is enrolled in a conservation program for reduced property tax.

But he told me about 10 years ago that his property taxes for that 375 acre tract was $3500/annually. So, there that is.

I can hunt the property and it won't cost me any $$. I basically have free reign there as he lives about an hour and a half away. He has always told me to treat it like it was mine. I do some of the road mowing and maintenance and assist with his food plot some years.

I rarely hunt there as he deer hunts there. But, he doesn't hunt turkeys and told me those were at my discretion.

He is a good friend. He has deer hunted on my lease too.

I tend to agree. I knocked on doors as a kid and teenager. Got a lease in my early 20s and still had free permission. Buckled down, sacrificed and bought a farm. It's about priorities.

I will however admit I paid way, way less per acre 25 yrs ago. Today is tougher.

So after reading this thread I would be lead to the conclusion that Ga. Has no public hunting land
But they do have a decent amount of public hunting land
What is the problem with that land Swamp Wolf?

Holy cow!
$3500 property tax on Steve’s 375?
That is completely ridiculous.
The property tax on my 134 acre duck farm is $364 a year in comparison.
Dang near $10 an acre a year down yonder!
Is that pretty consistent with timberland in Echols county Patrick?

It's public land. I can't do any management/harvest control on any of that 1 million plus acres. The staye would frown if I brought my tractor, mower, and harrows there....lol. Some of Ga's public land is great deer hunting with quality buck regs on several areas too and limited quotas.

But, if I can't do what I enjoy most, which is the management aspect, then it isn't near as satisfying to me. Oh..I still like taking a good buck, but its not exactly the same if I didn’t have a hand in doing something for that buck. Its hard to explain.

Ive killed dozens of deer, hogs, and a few gobblers on Ga's public land. But, I enjoy controlled access the most (you know..like landowners do) so I can do my thing on the tractor with the bush-hog and disk harrows. The killing is in 2nd place. When I'm on that tractor doing something for wildlife or to make access to the place better...that is how I punch my reset button. Can work all day on the New Holland on my hunting property and not be one bit tired. Come back the next morning and see deer & turkey tracks in the dort I just planted....it's just special to me.

If something I've done leads to me taking a mature buck or gobbler, then that is just icing on the cake.

Yes. Now, he may of had some timber tax added in that year he was referring to...Im not sure. Here in Ga, landowners pay property taxes and when they sale timber from that tract they pay timber tax on that sale.

When Garrett and I checked on that tract that was for sale outside of Keytesville on Musselfork Creek we found out that the property tax on that 150 (?) or so acres was only a few hundred dollars annually. I thought that was an error....lol

The largest timber company in this county pays an annual tax bill to the county in the single digit millions and they get a discount on their 75,000 +/- acres.

BC,
Nothing I would've loved more would've been able to own my on hunting land. Life always got in the way. Still does to an extent. Im 60 now and still dont have the money to buy the amount of land I'd want to make it worthwhile. Most real estate transactions are 20% down and good-sized payment for a long while.

I could buy 20 or 30 acres, but that aint what Im interested in. And that would have to be in the right spot to make it work in this part of the Country. My home is paid for and my retirement is pretty good, but not good enough to buy a decent chunk of timberland.

Maybe I'll hit the Powerball lottery tonight.....its 450 million. That would be enough!

I killed two deer last year. 60-70 pounds of boneless meat. tags were about 60 bucks. two handload bullets about a dollar. reloading equipment and rifle all older than 40. drove a total of about 12 miles to kill both. pretty cheap meat i say.

keeping coyotes out calving pastures and beaver out of ponds/creeks still has benefits. cats pay for it and maybe toss in the skunks this year.

Swamp Wolf--I was agreeing with you. I get the need to lease. Somedays I wish I just had a lease.

I dont get leasing. Beef is cheaper.

For sure Danny. For someone that is happy with just killing deer for some meat in the freezer..that's a good deal. I could do that. Everyone around here wants does killed. I wanna do my own management. That's what I pay for.

I respond to many trapping calls from landowners that have 1000s of acres of prime deer land. I charge accordingly for the trapping services and they pay without hesitation. I talk deer hunting and management with most of them and have been invited to come kill as many does as I could shoot. Ive never took any up on the offer. I can kill all the doe deer I have freezer space for on my own 400 acre lease. Im there for trapping work, to produce results whether beaver or coyotes....its all business not bargaining...that's just me....but the landowners seem to appreciate that.

Beef is better than venison!