Hunting Land for Sale
Filed under: Ask Grant, Hunting Tactics
Grant, I’m looking to buy some land to hunt and manage in the near future. In your opinion, what area of Missouri do you think would be best to buy land in to consistently grow trophy deer (140 plus inches in my opinion) and what’s the smallest amount of land I should look at to be able to implement a good QDMA program? I know through sound management this can be accomplished most anywhere. I’ve grown up in the Ozarks hills of Taney County and love to see what you’ve accomplished in my back yard. Keep up the good work and good luck this fall! Thanks, Lance
Lance,
I think great bucks can be produced in any part of Missouri! The deer throughout Missouri were primarily restocked from remnant populations in the Ozarks. Hence, the genetic potential is about the same throughout the state. The soils are typically better in the northern portions of the state, excluding major river drainages. Likewise, the ratio of production ag crops like corn and soybeans to cover is much more favorable to deer in the northern sections of Missouri.
However, folks tend to hunt less the further they live from their hunting property. Another MAJOR consideration for any hunting property is the neighbors! If they harvest immature bucks, then they are directly impacting your ability to produce mature bucks. I actually rate neighbors more important than soils. Fertilizer can compensate for bad soils. However, it’s tough to compensate for neighbors that don’t share your deer management objectives.
Speaking of neighbors, there is some land that adjoins me for a mile that I hope either a non-hunter or hunter with the same deer management objectives as me purchases. Are you interested in hunting big mature bucks in Taney County?
Growing Deer together (maybe really close together),
Grant
