Keep up the great work Bill!

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Josh. I appreciate it.

Thank you for giving this scale with harvesting bucks and neighbors and gathering local intel.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment and the support. Have a great day.

Bill I think these are my favorite videos you've ever made. I'm like you, I like land. I'm content with my 70, but I also want the whole county lol. Thanks for giving insight into how you did all of this. It makes it seem possible when you break it down like this. Hopefully Ethan gets started soon.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Dan. I appreciate it and I too think it is very possible for Ethan over his lifetime. He has time on his side and knows a lot of the right people already. He will get there way faster than one might think. Good luck and have a great day.

My dad and I own 900 acres across the state of Wisconsin. A 550, 220 and now a 140 acre chunk. Size is definitely important to increase age structure in a herd. However, my 550 acre farm has way less potential than my other farms in the aspect of harvesting mature bucks. This is all based off location of the farms, my two smaller farms are located in western Wisconsin whereas the 550 is located in north east Wisconsin. Over they last 20 years of QDM practices on the larger farm we have harvested nearly 12 140-150" bucks and never once got a single buck over 150". On the farms in western WI I was able to harvest a 160 class the first year with the same practices being applied. This just goes to show you're only able to manage a farm to its full potential and sometimes that potential is limited by neighbors, location, access etc. I would take my 220 acre farm all day over my 550 just because of those limitations it holds.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Yes, you touch on a great point. Neighborhood is everything when buying hunting land. Good point.

My DREAM FARM is the 70 acres I now own. I have owned it sixteen years now, and my journey was much like yours, except for the amount of acreage. But it is what I could afford, and is easy enough for a sixty-seven year old man to manage. We have shot some nice bucks and turkeys off of this farm, and it makes me happy. And THAT is what is really important! Get what makes you HAPPY!!!

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Agree. It is important to always be content. There is not much worse than sitting there every day on your land wishing you had the neighbor's land too. Yes, if it can be bought and you can pull it off, great, but don't waste the opportunity you have to really enjoy what you have by wishing for more. Good luck and good word. Have a great day.

Look on Ethan’s face at 12:15 to 12:30 mark 😂 priceless, just like the land

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Ethan's wheels were spinning.

@ethan_stubbs

Жыл бұрын

The wheels are always spinning!

Thank you for putting this video together. I hunt public land in Wisconsin and based on your calculations, I am going to concentrate on some of the larger public land parcels (2,000 to 30,000 acres) as, all things considered, those parcels have a greater likelihood of producing and holding bigger deer. Thanks again

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Yes, and being bigger they should have some areas that see limited hunting pressure. Those are the ones you need to zero in on. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

I like these segments as a "guy with a lot of knowledge, shares stories with folks looking to do the same" type of approach. What I would like you to do is create another series where most of the conversation is driven by Ethan. Challenge him to write the scripts so he can develop his camera presence and YT personality. Film a few minutes and go over it with him, reshoot it, repeat. I think you can get him where he can create his own show once he gets his new farm. With a bit of creative oversight by you at the beginning, I think he can add independent value to the channel.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

That is a good idea. Ethan is pretty good on camera already for a 21 year old. He comes up with the ideas and does the editing for the High Point Real Estate KZread page. I think it would be fun to have him just ask me land questions for 10 minutes and see where that leads. We might end up going down some interesting rabbit holes! Have a great day.

Another great video. I'm lucky enough to have my dad as a neighbor. I'm picking up several acres from him. I will be at 300 soon. I look at it like Rome wasn't built in a day.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

You are very fortunate indeed. Thanks for the support and for the comment. Have a great day.

Love these videos. Have watched every one. Question for you and all viewers. Have you pursued getting a piece of land in other states? I own 133 Acres in Pa and it has been a dream. But in Pa you get 1 buck tag. Last season I filled my tag with a nice target buck mid October and was in a unique position. Even if I owned 500 acres my buck season would be done.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Brent, I think having some good places to hunt in other states is the ideal situation there for you. You don't have to own it to hunt it. I think I would be more apt to lease a piece or find some good permission/public land in a nearby state (Ohio for example) rather than try to buy there. I think buying is OK if it is a good deal and you can treat it as an investment, but I never liked the idea of owning land a long ways from home. It takes a lot of fun out of owning it, unless it is just an investment. Just my opinion. I know tons of people that own land in other states and seem to enjoy the process, but I do notice that many of them sell after five to ten years. Good luck.

I just can't imagine managing 1000 acers! I have 80 acers in Southern Indiana, and with a full time job there is so much on that land, time will not allow me to get done. But 80 is enough for me, that means neighbors and I share deer, and none of us get too upset about one of us getting the big one for that year. So long as its one of us, that's OK. We all get our turn every few years. But I know the chance of getting a 200" deer is really low. We have 180" deer show up every couple years within 5 miles of me, so it's not a 0% chance and that's enough for some of us. So I guess my motto is "Dream Medium".

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Dream Medium is OK too. With 80 acres, even if there are a lot of big deer in the neighborhood, you don't have a big enough net to expect to kill one every year, so that is why guys will opt for bigger if they can - it just pulls in more land where a big deer could be living, more options. Like that biologist told me, in good ranges there is roughly one nice mature buck per 200 acres - that is just the typical distribution. But as you say, owning more comes at a cost related to management and, of course, the cost of the land. Some - myself included - just love land. Even if there were no deer we would find another excuse to own it. Deer are just the highest profile one, in my case. The motivation could just as easily be blamed on ruffed grouse, turkeys or even trout. I have loved land all my life. Good luck.

@PBAdventures146

Жыл бұрын

LOL!! That's good!

Great episode, it sure is complicated to get in the door but I'm sticking the course. I know of 1 80 acre acre chunk I probably should have pursued in the last 2yrs or so as it had A LOT of potential near some great WI counties but I just didn't know. Watch a mediocre 30acre piece go pending yesterday in under 12 hours yesterday with some serious red flags I'm aware of, crazy how volatile the market can be.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Alex, to do it well, you have to spend a lot of time looking at listings and sometimes following up on a few of them. It doesn't happen quickly, but if you are persistent and have a specific goal in mind, you will eventually find it if you keep looking. Good luck.

@alexpinnow6509

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke doing all I can to keep up with listing while minimizing expenses to grow that saving account!

I’ve managed 86 acres for the last 19 years and have 130” class deer every year. Shot a 168” this year that I’ve watched for 3 years. We only hunt edges. It’s all Harwood crop fields around it. NEVER hunt wrong wind. Neighbor s don’t manage at all. We’ve given them a refuge. It can be done!!

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

That is an awesome example, Greg. Thanks for sharing that. Have a great day.

I think my dream farm is 300 acres, but I’d be content with a final accumulation around 160 contiguous acres I think. This is in the Deep South. 300 acres in a good neighborhood down here would be amazing. Good luck Ethan!

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

You have to have a goal and a dream to get anywhere. I am betting on you. Good luck.

Happy with my 80, if the opportunity presents itself, I would pick up more. Miss the egg timer.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Contentment is a great quality. It stinks to want something that someone else has. If the opportunity comes, move forward. Otherwise, being happy and content with what you have allows you to really enjoy it. Good word.

Ethan I like that question about growing your own deer. That’s why your neighbors who are bought in on killing older deer is important. From a math stand point mature deer, 5.5yo older, will be a certain percentage per square mile of your deer herd. Your county average ls and harvest report, will help your decision. let’s say you generally have a 1:1 buck/ doe ratio, and you have neighbors who enjoy killing 3.5 and older, your heard will likely consists around 5% of bucks being mature. At a 100 deer per sq mile, 50 are bucks, 2.5 will be mature. Now start cutting those numbers by Acerage. Let’s say neighbors pound brown it’s down, those numbers go down significantly. Harvest report, DNR averages, and neighbors will help the answer.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Of all those factors, the neighborhood is the key. I have seen it first hand in Iowa - neighborhoods where everyone is more or less passing all the bucks until they reach 5 1/2 years old. Those are the best neighborhoods in the state. There aren't very many of them, but they do exist. I am sure there are few in other states too. This is why co-ops got so popular for awhile in states like WI and MI. In the end, it is really tough to produce any number of mature bucks unless the neighbors are onboard. As I said in the episode, otherwise it literally takes thousands of acres. One guy who I trust said at least 4,000 acres in one chunk before your neighbors aren't the number one factor in whether or not you can produce mature bucks.

@chrisjanis_kiloterra

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke absolutely! You always hear the number 1 negative impact on a property is generally neighbors. Find and oasis of timber surround by ag with a 250y buffer of your own ag encircling the timber is a pretty good start too. Hahahaa y’all are doing great!

@alexpinnow6509

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke what are your thoughts on the small and scattered farm like Mark drury has pursued (I know he still has a couple pieces over 200ac). I find myself wondering between the 2 different approaches often and was in awe of the parcel you pieced together in Southern IA that's now being subdivided

@ethan_stubbs

Жыл бұрын

Chris, it's a question that is frequently asked on many forums. I figured there was no better source to ask than the man himself! Thanks for the support!

I agree with the 70 year old fella. If you are content with less than 80 then great! You may be a net consumer from a mature buck standpoint on smaller acreage, but if you are doing all the habitat work in the neighborhood, you are actually growing many of those mature deer. That is my situation where everything (ag ground) around is leased and the hunters just come, pay money, kill, and leave. Many do nothing to improve deer habitat, and it’s just closed canopy hardwoods and monoculture fields.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Midwestern... no matter what you do on 80 acres, you are only HELPING to grow them. You aren't growing them. The bucks that reach maturity in that area have a much larger range than just the 80 acres. You can, however, create the perfect place for them to live and they will spend more time on your ground as a result, but the ranges of these bucks makes it really hard to control anything over its entire range on less than several thousand acres. That is the cold hard reality of shooting mature bucks. It takes a lot of luck to do it on a small tract (the bucks need to be bedding on you and primarily nocturnal everywhere else) or you have to be part of a very, very good neighborhood. Then the other hard cold reality is that no one who owns land in those great neighborhoods will let that 40 or 80 go without buying it themselves or putting a friend on it. That is the hardest part of buying into really good neighborhoods - you either have to be an insider or you need to spend a ton of money (stupid money) to get one of those small tracts. Good luck.

To one of Ethan’s questions about how to know what kind of neighborhood you’re in: check with the local deer processor. They may or may not tell you what guys are killing young bucks year in and year out, but it’s likely that they know. If you have a local one of course. I realize thats not possible everywhere. If you do have one however, they could be a great resource for information.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

That is a great point. Made me think that even a taxidermist would which areas are producing the best deer. Good input. Thanks. Have a great day.

Bill when your planting spruce trees or shrubs and small oaks like you planted did you have to mow the tall grasses down around them? I’ve been weed whacking and mowing around all my trees I planted for wildlife last few years but it’s a lot of work with 300-400 trees. Or do you just let them go and hope they live to get past the grasses

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Jay, I never worked that hard. You might be helping them some, but I think you would do even better if you applied a forestry herbicide just one year (or maybe two) around those trees. These chemicals will kill those grasses on contact and they have a residual effect that sets the grasses back for the better part of the year. The right chemical won't kill the trees. That is what I did with my acorn plantings. Year one, I sprayed Oust XP in the spring after planting and then let nature run its course after that. It is in my plan for this spring on the acorn seeding we did last November. Good luck.

@Jay-hu1pc

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke I was wondering about that if there was somthing I could spray around my spruce trees and not hurt them. Sounds like alot less work and like the residual idea to. I’ll have to look into that. Thanks

Bill doesn't use an egg timer and it's the only episode that is actually 15 minutes lol!

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Drivingtacks. I appreciate the support and the comment. Have a great day.

Everything your talking about comes down to one chunk of dream farm. For the people that don’t see themselves ever owning that amount of land to determine their own destiny on mature bucks. Curious about your perspective on the theory of owning multiple smaller pieces in different neighborhoods. Where you can hunt different deer groups (if you screw something up) and up your odds of having mature deer every year. Basically would you rather have 3 or 4 80s rather than one 250?

@Jay-hu1pc

Жыл бұрын

I would think that would be more exciting to have a few smaller parcels in different areas

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

It depends on the neighborhoods, but yes, in principle, three 80s would be better than one 250 when it comes to shooting big deer if they are in the right areas, but I never really liked that approach myself. I preferred to have all the land in one spot so I could simplify the management. It is hard enough to get everything done when it is in one place, but when it is spread out it would be just that much harder. Plus, I just like being able to roam without running into a fence right away. Some of these decisions come down to goals. My goal was not always to shoot a giant every year, but just to absorb myself in the land. I could do that better with one tract. Good luck.

Wondering if you could answer a question on there for most people that just own a 40 or a little more or less is that enough to be a dream farm for most people.. why or why not?

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Depends on their goals. Yes, 40 can sure be a dream farm if your dream is to own your own hunting land and have a place to get away. It is too small to be a dream farm if your dream is to grow and hunt mature bucks on a regular basis. Again, it all comes down to what the person is actually dreaming about - their goals. Good luck.

@independentredneck2555

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke Definitely do not completely agree and would like to talk and debate this topic a little further. If we ever get a chance that would be great. Thank you for teaching a lot of great lessons

💪👊👍

Id like to understand why you sold your dream farm

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Next episode will clear that up. Short answer: to be closer to family.

@zachschultz3534

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke i really appreciate what you are doing on this series. Theres so many unknowns that i had in the whole property buying experience. This series is extremely informative for those of us who have no experience. Thank you

My perfect size is 1000 acres

@bill-winke

2 ай бұрын

I thought that too, especially back when land was $1,000 per acre!

Public land like the rest of us.

Unfortunately your amounts are so unrealistic. When 80 acres in your area is 350 to 500k. The normal guy is really out of luck. Permission hunting or Public are the options.

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

It was unrealistic to think I was going to get anywhere with $12k in savings even when I started. You start small with value packed properties and build. You might have to work harder or find different work but if you want land you can figure out a way to get it. Every big dream is unrealistic until you roll up your sleeves and make it happen.

So, land next door to pressured state land is pretty pointless? Your efforts will be wasted as soon as bucks cross over- 😢

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

Yes, from the standpoint of producing mature bucks that is a rough situation, but if you are just looking for a cool place to go hunting, then you have your land plus all the state land right in your backyard - effectively giving you lots of places to hunt and roam even if the bucks are small. That is the tradeoff. Good question.

@Jay-hu1pc

Жыл бұрын

I have land that touches corners with state land and have shot a 180” 140” and 156” since 2018. The deer seem to know to stay away from the state land from what I’ve seen. Might help I have a highway separating the majority of the state land from my land though. But I’ve been happy with the deer I’ve had to hunt on mine since it’s only 80 acres.

@Jay-hu1pc

Жыл бұрын

I have also had pretty good luck so far keeping the same bucks around from one year to the next. It’s pretty surprising how well you can keep deer on 80 acres during daylight if you give them everything they want. I know after dark they roam all over and during the rut they move more.

@nathanhoffman9579

Жыл бұрын

@@bill-winke This is the situation I have. I own 33 acres that borders Govt. land on the South and West of me totalling at least 1000 acres. I can hunt my land and then have alot of acres to roam during bow season, but it is highly pressured during firearms season. Just in the last few years there has been a major uptick in bowhunters around me due to the public land social media channels like THP, which were 1/4 mile down the road filming this year.

The price of land around here now days you would have to have several million to own a thousand acres. 10,000+ a acre for sorry ground without any timber or farm ground. Ridiculous really

@bill-winke

Жыл бұрын

In that area it is not realistic for a normal person to own that much, but in other areas it is way cheaper. If you are young enough you can buy and sell and make a good moves to get a big chunk one day, but it is really hard to just go out and buy it. I couldn't do that either, I had to start small and work up. It takes a long time.