Small HF Property, Pro-Con

[Dave W]

I have been wanting to buy place (ranchette) of my own for several years. It never seems to happen though. Pricing has gone though the roof.

Anyway I was looking at a place that kinda meets my criteria for cost and location. It is around 110 acres in a good area heavily brushed but it is hi fenced.
Thats not a lot of land to be hi fenced but it does give you an option for growing and protecting a herd of 10-20 deer. One question is whether you get bored on 110 acres? the other is that don't get to see a lot of deer? and then do the deer become pets?
I have not hunted a hundred acre place since I was a kid.

Yes I would rather have 300-500 acres but I can't afford it.

The other option is to remove the hi fence.
The issue there is, is that the place is only about 350 yard wide. If you put a stand in the middle, then what are the chances that an arrow hit deer will run off more than 175 yards?
I wouldn't want to be calling neighbors or jumping fences. is that too narrow?

My options would be to keep the fence, tear it down, or pass.

[BLee15]

Keep the high fence forsure. I’d put exotics on it to make it more fun.

[MAP]

Alot of little things that you can do to keep it fun. For example dont run any game cameras, dont have timed feeders, keep protein feeders in areas you dont hunt, dont bring in exotics that easily tame down like rams or fallow, dont turn the place into a zoo, dont feed a normal road route. Etc

[Drycreek3189]

Depends on your neighbors and the terrain, yours and theirs. Is the neighboring property thick too ? I hunt three properties, mine, and two leases. Mine is 80 acres, always a lottery during the rut. I have a 400 acre neighbor that is an azz and a bunch of azzes hunt it. I’m lucky to see a 3.5 year old buck.

I’m on a 350 acre lease not far from my house, about a 20 minute drive, and we have at least three shooters on that place that made it through the season. Neighbors all around hunt except one side. Our place is pretty thick and the west side that nobody hunts is very thick. We don’t have many does and that’s a head scratcher for me. We feed corn from September to March and I grow food plots spring and fall.

The other lease is like yours, thick, long, and narrow. It’s 117 acres and it has many does and the best bucks of the three places. We feed corn as above and a corn and roasted soybean mix from January until June at the least. We start back feeding it during deer season because the deer really like it. It is no problem to kill a nice buck if you hunt enough and watch your business. We have a 900 acre property next to us that hardly has any pressure and that’s why our place is good IMO.

So, I tell all that to say it doesn’t have to be a large property if you have the proper conditions and the right neighbors.

[Txhunter3000]

How many pigs and coyotes inside ? Can they get inside?

[Throwin Darts]

High fence places usually trade for a higher price per acre. At $10+ a foot for the fence cost sellers recoup some of that cost on the sale.

I rather have 200 acres low fence than 110 acres high fence.

and no way would I tear down a high fence and pay for a low fence.

I think I’d keep looking

[DeerGeek]

Don’t take the fence down. I would remove all whitetail next season and make it an Axis only place. Year round hunting, they are hard to bow hunt, and the meat is great.

Trap 2 Axis bucks and 12 doe and let them do their thing in year 1. After year 2, start taking out some of the axis doe. A healthy herd multiplies quickly.

You will need to keep free choice protein feeders going year round on any high fenced property.

Hopefully adjoining tracts will become available in years to come and you will one day be able to expand and can then introduce whitetails back to the larger property. Good luck!

[mjhaverkamp]

You could raise and sell exotics to other ranches, maybe sell a few bowhunts

[bloodtrailer28]

Keep the fence don't put so much thought into it and enjoy yourself!! We have 150 acres hf and absolutely love it.

[Dave W]

Interesting, I thought I would get bashed.
making it an axis only is a new thought
i don’t know if it has other game such as pigs . I might miss those

the reason it hasn’t sold is because the deer herd is poor , and it’s only 100 acres

[Archereject]

I hunted for a particular buck in a 100 acre HF for several weekends and never saw him. Several other hunters tried with a rifle and they never saw him either.
And axis can be more reclusive.
I purchased a hunt for 2 axis bucks. They were thought to be the only deer in this 20 acre hf property. By the time the hunt was over we took 2 axis bucks and found 3 doe and 2 bucks in the 20 acre pen.
What I’m get at is 100 acres is plenty for them to hide and you never see them.
Throw you some axis and whitetail and have a blast Bowhunting them.
Just my 2 cents

[Huntingfool]

I HF 600 acres some years back - killed all of the native deer and restocked with 3 bred does and 3 young bucks - added blackbuck, oryx, etc. It was a lot of fun but remember that the herd will multiply quickly and it takes some work to keep the numbers in control. Your feed bill could also end up pretty high - good luck to you

[TeamAmerica]

Could be a sweet place. I agree with you on the shape. 1000 ft wide is not much. I'd rather have a wider place. Even if low fence.

[RMW]

Here at my home I’ve got 50 acres high fenced, about 1/2 is heavily wooded. I’ve got pure berry south Texas genetics whitetail. I feed protein and cottonseed and also put in about 5 acres of foodplots in the spring and fall. I enjoy raising them as a hobby, my neighbor has 250 acres next to me and would love to purchase one day if he decided to sell, I have another property that’s 400 acres that’s 5 miles from me that I’m going to high fence part of probably 100 acres, going to stock axis and whitetail.

[RMW]

Forgot to add I know a guy that has 100 deer in a 100 acre high fenced pasture, he’s got it stocked with northern genetic deer and the place is 80–90% wooded. He runs bow hunts off of it and sells around 20-30 bucks and whacks a few does also. Gets anywhere from 2500.00 for a management buck to 10,000.00 + for a 300 inch monster. Sells his hunts fast every year and it’s pretty much by word of mouth. The deer do fine by just feeding protein and eating native forbs.