I have been reading this topic for a long time and never thought I might be posting in it but times change. For a lot of years I have looked for a "buddy" who appreciated having a much better than average place to hunt enough they would be responsive when I needed help with something, which is seldom. I have officially given up. Plus, I am recently retired and it costs a fortune to properly manage a place the size of mine by myself. So I am considering transitioning from a slut to a Ho. I am not gonna be giving up the good stuff for free anymore. Just a suggestion for you guys looking for places to hunt. If you get lucky enough to have someone let you shoot three gobblers off their property and they ask you, say 5 times, for about 30 minutes of your time, it would be in your best interest to respond appropriately. So I am considering bringing one paying hunter on my personal property. This is not a club or typical lease

The property- 320 acres in west central Dale County between Ozark and Fort Rucker. It is a diverse tract with about 50% planted pines of varying ages. I clear cut 40 acres last year to provide successional area which will be sprayed, burned and replanted this year. There are about 30 acres of 7 yo planted pines and the remainder of the pines are mature once or twice thinned timber that has been burned regularly. About 100 acres will be burned this year. There is one 20 acre pasture/ag field I plant bout 8 acres of summer plots on and the rest is mature native mixed oak/pine timber. Most of it is along Little Claybank Creek which runs diagonally through the property. There are six established fall plots with about 7-8 total acres.

Pressure- Historically my place has been hunted for a week at Thanksgiving and Xmas and two weeks in January. I live here now so that will change some but I hate getting up in the morning and at 67 y.o. with some health issues am a lazy hunter. I also am very selective in what I shoot and average about 1 buck a year, 0 some years two some years, never more. I also do not shoot does, just have no interest in it. I will not be hunting the last two weeks of December and first week of January due to travel/medical stuff but I will be hunting pretty much every day as much as I can stand January 14 through end of season and so should you. Its when the magic happens.

The most positive factor pressure wise is that while I only own 320 acres I have an very good neighbor situation which basically results in about a 1000 acre block which is pretty much only hunted by myself and my south neighbor. He has 300 acres he manages well and only hunts himself because he is terrified someone will shoot "his" buck. As far as I know there has not been a deer killed by him in 10 years because he is looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. The 200 ac south of him allows no hunting. Last year I heard a total of maybe 2-3 gunshots that sounded hunting related and they were way off.

Access- This is for hunting only, not joy riding your atv. I have very happy relaxed deer and will keep it that way. Your welcome to scout, and set up stands if desired, prior to the start of season. After that it is pretty much straight to your stand and out, except in rare cases. I have spent a ton of money on my roads and I don't want trucks on interior roads when wet, and its wet a lot in the winter. If you don't have an atv/utv I have two Rangers and a 48-volt Beast electric so something could be worked out.

Cameras- Put out as many as you like as long as they are cellular. I usually run 3-4 Tactacams and if you have one you are welcome to tie into my acct.

Corn- There is an empty gravity wagon under the shelter and it will hopefully be full again come harvest time. Primary plots have spinners which are kept full, there are two other feeders in the woods and I keep the shooting lanes associated with the plots corned up Texas sendero style. When I hunt I like seeing deer.

Harvest Standards- This will be for two bucks meeting one of the following, 1) 4.5 y.o. determined by jaw aging, 2) 175 lbs weighed on my scale or 3) 110". You will also be allowed one additional buck thats 3.5+ y.o. and has a spike on one side if desired. Also, I have a low tolerance for wasted deer. If you pull the trigger as far as I am concerned you have killed a deer, its your responsibilty to recover it. If you don't it comes off your quota. If you can't make the shot, don't take it. If you need some freezer meat you can shoot 3 does, in the woods not off greenfields.

Stands-There are two very nice shooting houses right now and there will be an additional 3 more brand new houses by the start of season. I currently have 4-5 Millenium ladders scattered about the place. I will need to approve any stand placement but that won't be a problem as long as it does not impact an existing stand. As far as stand selection for hunting goes, I am sure we can work that out equitably. Since I live here you can have first dibs on week-ends if you are a week-end hunter. If you are an active hunter who does not mind climbing and a little walk the sky is the limit on the good places to hunt. About 75-80% of this place has not had a human presence in years because, like I said earlier, I am a lazy hunter.

Guests- If you have a kid, wife or friend you want to sit in a box with bring them any time. A limited number of guest hunts can be negotiated but there will be an additional fee to hunt and a kill fee if they shoot something you don't want to take off your quota. Probably in the range of $50/$250.No guests January 14 through end of season. I am only bringing one hunter on because I will have an occasional guest myself. Last year there were a total of 12 guest sits and I would not expect that to change much. In no case will there ever be more than 3 hunters on the property.

Work Days- There are non. I am doing this because I am sick of depending on others and will either do everything myself or hire it done. This is for basically turn key walk on no hassle hunting.

Turkeys- I have a pile of them but have not decided exactly how I am going to handle that. Historically there have been about 3 birds a year killed but last year was exceptional with 6 gobblers shot, plenty of Jakes and the last bird was shot with 3 other birds gobbling that morning. I don't hunt them myself but do want to retain the ability to let a friends son hunt some, so this will probably be negotiable on a limited number of hunts/birds.

Price- If this sounds like something you are interested in make me an offer I can't refuse. I have a number in mind but have no interest in the Aldeer peanut gallery running on about how they would never pay that to hunt a pine goat. Most likely because they don't have the discretionary income to pay that to hunt a pine goat .lol Based on what I see here its generally $1,500-$1,600/yr for an average lease and all the problems that go with it. This place, and the hunting experience that goes with it, is in no way even close to average. There are a couple of active Aldeer guys who have hunted with me and I expect they would be happy to provide an unbiased opinion of the place.

Sorry to run on but I wanted to make it as clear as possible what I am offering. If you seriously think this is something you would be interested in feel free to PM me and we can chat.

If I didn’t have so many irons in the fire I would be your huckleberry. You and I are definitely on the same page with most of what you wrote. Good luck with your search for a quality individual that can appreciate what you have to offer!!

Really sounds like a great opportunity. I just sold our property in Dozier, Alabama and am without a place to deer hunt Alabama this season. I have already booked a hunt in Oklahoma and one in Ky this fall so I don’t think I would be able to make you a reasonable offer.

If you were closer, I’d definitely be interested.

Hope you find the right feller

Good luck, sounds like a good deal.

Man, I'd raise some hell on that deal!

Good luck Brad!

Wish i was closer

PM sent

BradB, I agree with everything you said. It is a lot of money, time and work to get a nice place going. I have looked for years for a place to buy. I am tired of doing all it takes just to lose a piece of property every 5 to 10 years because the landowner gets a better offer or has family that wants to hunt the land. Can't blame the landowner. If you were close I would be interested. I'm in my 60s and so mad at the deer anymore. I like the tractor work and watching deer more than the harvest. Good luck to you sir.

Thanks to those have expressed interest, all Pm,s have been replied to

Pm sent

That is an amazing offer.

I honestly think that you could probably afford not to add a paying member and I know for a fact that you would be much happier without one. Just a headache! Good luck to you!

I agree with hayman, your probably better off not adding a member. You'll be better off

I wish I could find something like this close to me. But I would want to work too. It's the biggest hassle with running a hunting club, trying to get everything done when you have a full time job.

This is something I would love to take part in. If I hadn't already committed myself elsewhere I would have reached out to you. Finding the right fit for a property that has already been well managed can be down right nerve-racking. Nothing worse than bringing in someone you know nothing about other than their word. And now days a man's word doesn't mean as much as it used to. Good luck!

I had a great family hunt my place with me for 10+ years. It was a fine deal, till my kids got older and wanted to hunt. Had to take it back. Just pick the right people.

I hunted near the intersection of Marley Mill and Co Rd 51 for a few years, up until two seasons ago. I would love just to have the turkey rights...good luck. I mean, I'd love all of it...but sadly, I wouldn't be able to afford it. Hurts my feelings. Wish I had chosen a different career path. Being an educator pays the bills but not much else.