*** Looking to join or form a new group for 2019 out-of-state archery hunt ***

[imnewhere]

Hello everyone,

My name is Brandan and I am from Bethlehem, GA. I have been an avid bow hunter for the past 15 years and I have experience hunting in a variety of situations. For the past 4 years, I have been going on a Kansas hunt with my father-in-law and a few friends, however, my father-in-law decided to not go anymore and he was the one with all the connections where I was going. I am looking to join a group by myself or form a group with other people who share the passion of hunting. I am open to locations and honestly love trying new places. I am not the jealous type and do not mind putting in hard work to succeed. I do not mind if you are a recurve/compound/crossbow guy as my goal is to meet like-minded people who value good times and the great outdoors. If you are looking to add another person to your group for the 2019 season or you are looking to form a new group, please let me know. I look forward to meeting new fellow friends and growing the connection between the love of the outdoors and honest hard working people.

 

[OmenHonkey]

Good luck Brandon. So your FIL won't give you the contacts for the Kansas Land? Most folks out there are pretty easy going. I would try that first and build a friendship with the landowners. Having a spot to offer some new friends/hunters may make the difference. and if it's a small piece of ground then the rest can hunt public areas that are close by. Just my 2 cents and thats how i started my bunch going.

 

[imnewhere]

OmenHonkey, thanks for the reply and advice on reaching out to my father-in-law. With a child now on the way, I would be interested in hunting public land and WIHA's. Private land is nice but if I can find the right people then I would prefer doing a low budget type hunt and not spending $4000 a year to kill a buck and doe. LOL

 

[OmenHonkey]

Congrats on the upcoming child !! Plan a trip with plans to hunt public. Then knock on doors between hunts. Thats what i did and it worked wonderfully for me. This'll be my 7th year going to the same farm. The more people you meet and talk to the better things get. I see some of the same people every year and we always strike up a conversation at a restaurant or somewhere. I'm offered new land regularly just from seeing and speaking to folks every year.

 

[imnewhere]

From my experience in Kansas, the farmers do not care for deer and are more than happy to let hunters hunt their land once they know them well enough. I guess the difference between there and somewhere like Georgia, is that the deer impact the crop they plant which in return impacts their income. I have a trip planned for this years season to Ohio where I will be hunting public land. November 2-18 to be exact. Fingers crossed for a successful trip!

 

[GAbuckhunter88]

I have been wanting to start trying to hunt the Midwest. I’d be interested in talking with you about getting a group together.

 

[Jim Boyd]

If I were going to hunt public, I would try to get in on some of the WMA’s in west central Illinois.

I would find the ones that do not have shotgun hunts and only allow quota archery.

I have not researched this in years but the hunts were tightly controlled (maybe 1 hunter per 100 acres?) and were week to week.

I do not know how hard it is to get drawn and it is probably not as great as private ground but they WILL have monsters.

I would apply and accept only a hunt from 1-15 November (if you get to define the dates you go)


Good luck regardless of where you end up.

 

[uturn]

Good stuff from All!

Seems you have a great perspective on things as I see it...I am headed to SE Kansas solo driving out November 2nd to fulfill a bucket list archery hunt for me! Couldn't find anyone that wanted to ride shotgun as has happened most times before.

Have to get out there and let them know I'm here!! I've done many hunts out of state on my own and still looking for a wingman!

I plan on doing as mentioned above as it has worked for me elsewhere. Although, I'll be hunting with an outfitter on this hunt and I'm stoked about it!

Good luck in your search for like minded folks! I'll be listening..

 

[imnewhere]

If I were going to hunt public, I would try to get in on some of the WMA’s in west central Illinois.

I would find the ones that do not have shotgun hunts and only allow quota archery.

I have not researched this in years but the hunts were tightly controlled (maybe 1 hunter per 100 acres?) and were week to week.

I do not know how hard it is to get drawn and it is probably not as great as private ground but they WILL have monsters.

I would apply and accept only a hunt from 1-15 November (if you get to define the dates you go)


Good luck regardless of where you end up.

Thanks for your response Jim. I have always wanted to hunt Illinois and Iowa but have yet to have the chance. When all my cards align I hope to make this a check mark on my bucket list. Until then...

 

[Jim Boyd]

I would go ahead and start banking Iowa points now.

I am sitting on 5 and just waiting on the right farm / opportunity.

I have good placement in Illinois so until something happens with that - I am probably not willing to burn my points and a week to go to Iowa.

If I could access an excellent private farm in Iowa, I might consider a week in each state.

Yes, I would def look at the IL WMA’s...

Good luck!!!

 

[BGA]

Subscribed!

 

[OmenHonkey]

From my experience in Kansas, the farmers do not care for deer and are more than happy to let hunters hunt their land once they know them well enough. I guess the difference between there and somewhere like Georgia, is that the deer impact the crop they plant which in return impacts their income. I have a trip planned for this years season to Ohio where I will be hunting public land. November 2-18 to be exact. Fingers crossed for a successful trip!

Good luck on your hunt in Ohio. Sometimes the farmers feel the way you said. However other times they don't. I met a rancher that owned 10,000 acres and he wouldn't even consider it. Apparently there have been alot of idiots hunting land out there and have killed cows, or other animals and destroyed folks land and caused problems for the good people. Even where i hunt in KS now was misused and the landowner lied to so she stopped allowing it until she got to know me.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Many times, the relatively low return in lease rates makes it not worth the hassle to the landowner, particularly for farms that are far more tillable than timber.

Tillable ground in west central Illinois leases for $150-500 per acre for farming rights.

Take a 500 acre farm that is 80% tillable and call it $250 per acre and call the hunting rights $25 per acre.

The farming is worth $100k and the hunting is $12.5k.

One can argue that it still brings in 1/8th additional revenue (and it does take some deer out of the picture) but one single complaint from the farmer about damaged crops will immediately get a lot of attention.

If there is a takeaway, my belief is that it is relationships, relationships, relationships. This is what allows agreements to remain in place after an issue (or even a perceived issue).

Just a few thoughts...

 

[wyldwulf]

I've done SE Kansas on a self guided public land deal in the past. Been a while, but for a fairly low budget bowhunt with a decent chance to see a good deer it is a deal. Lots of land, friendly people, and cheap accommodations. I'd recommend it for anyone looking to stay budget friendly. I'm expanding into some public land in Alabama later this year I believe. I have free accommodations about 10 miles from a big piece, and I can plan some late season hunts to match their rut. Just another possibility.