Looking for any opinions on a tract of land for sale

[Jwoot123]

Looking at a tract of land. It has RR tracks on the longer border that I am concerned about. And a power line right of way near the other border but not quite on the line.

These 2 thing concern me as far as trespassing. Any experience? Thoughts?

I have some maps. Would anybody give me their opinions? This is in the south so its not the best area for hunting but it's where I live. One of the best counties in the state though.

Just any opinions on the RR/Line, terrain layout for hunting. Or anything else, such as neighbors.

Price is reasonable for the area and the easement is another issue I will be making sure is taken care of.

Attached is a topo, current aerial, and 2011 aerial to show half was basically clear cut 12+ years ago. It is about 90 acres.

 

[Booner21]

My experience I haven’t seen trespassing from railroad tracts. I like it personally I use it for access pretty frequently but you will have deer run over by trains including some good bucks. I have also been blocked by trains coming and going it slowing on the tracks. It doesn’t bother the deer long term but have had a couple hunts ruined by trains. Overall I would say it would be a plus for that property as it allows a lot of access.

One other thing I like about it is pretty defined borders I like having them and do quite a bit to get them. If you are trying to keep pressure down on your side and the neighbor isn’t deer will learn that property line pretty quick.


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[Jwoot123]

My experience I haven’t seen trespassing from railroad tracts. I like it personally I use it for access pretty frequently but you will have deer run over by trains including some good bucks. I have also been blocked by trains coming and going it slowing on the tracks. It doesn’t bother the deer long term but have had a couple hunts ruined by trains. Overall I would say it would be a plus for that property as it allows a lot of access.

One other thing I like about it is pretty defined borders I like having them and do quite a bit to get them. If you are trying to keep pressure down on your side and the neighbor isn’t deer will learn that property line pretty quick.


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This is exactly what I'm hoping for. Due to the somewhat recent clear cut(12+years), it will be easy to design/manipulate. I saw a couple stands on the northern border near the line. One was some gigantic ridiculous looking tripod in the bottom. I think any hunters from those homes will mostly just push dear near the tracks or to the other side.... which would all be good. The other side of the tracks is now a more recent clear cut(maybe 5 years or less), super thick with shrubs and pines... its a good 200 acres like that.

I grew up fooling around on RR tracks, usually not hunting though but I figure some locals do.

 

[MRBB]

in my area railroad tracks are huge places for trespassing as are power line roads,
no matter how many gates or piles of rocks or obstacles put in place folks just make trails around them to ride atv's and or walk in during hunting seasons
the ONLY good thing I can say about having ACTIVE railroad tracks near your place is the owners tend to take trespassing more serious than other agencies, in PA< they will actually patrol then if they get a lot of complaints ,due to fear of law suits and liability issue's !
but they won't stop all and only show up to look when complaints get high

Power lines, NO so much, or not here in PA
so if you have worries about trespassing, and your area is like mine here in PA< your 100% spot on to have them concerns,
IMO< any property that has dirt roads or trails, already built that can be seen or accessed from state or local roads, will increase the trespassing amounts! UNLESS the state laws in YOUR state are much more strict than they are in most places! as trespassing laws are very weak in many states

I have had to move off properties here in PA< after 20 yrs of trying to STOP trespassing, and couldn;t , law s suck here , law enforcement doesn't view it as a BIG deal, or worth there time, 99% of the time, and trespassers know it!

if I was buying land now, I would NOT buy land with easy access trails, all the more so if they seem to have lots of use! which should be fairly easy to see, if your worried about HUNTING Season, maybe talk to local game warden in area, they tend to have a view of what and where things happen and can add some insight for you maybe,
or also try talking to local land owners, better to ask in advance before spending $$ if you ask me! can always leave out what is for sale and just ask about in general so not to give away your plans of buying the land!

 

[buckdeer1]

I have a buddy that hunts close to RR tracks and sees deer all the time.They get used to it. I would go out there and sit to see how many trains per hour go though.I have seen some tracks that probably have more than 5 an hour and others that hardly have any.Is the price reflective to having tracks

 

[Jwoot123]

in my area railroad tracks are huge places for trespassing as are power line roads,
no matter how many gates or piles of rocks or obstacles put in place folks just make trails around them to ride atv's and or walk in during hunting seasons
the ONLY good thing I can say about having ACTIVE railroad tracks near your place is the owners tend to take trespassing more serious than other agencies, in PA< they will actually patrol then if they get a lot of complaints ,due to fear of law suits and liability issue's !
but they won't stop all and only show up to look when complaints get high

Power lines, NO so much, or not here in PA
so if you have worries about trespassing, and your area is like mine here in PA< your 100% spot on to have them concerns,
IMO< any property that has dirt roads or trails, already built that can be seen or accessed from state or local roads, will increase the trespassing amounts! UNLESS the state laws in YOUR state are much more strict than they are in most places! as trespassing laws are very weak in many states

I have had to move off properties here in PA< after 20 yrs of trying to STOP trespassing, and couldn;t , law s suck here , law enforcement doesn't view it as a BIG deal, or worth there time, 99% of the time, and trespassers know it!

if I was buying land now, I would NOT buy land with easy access trails, all the more so if they seem to have lots of use! which should be fairly easy to see, if your worried about HUNTING Season, maybe talk to local game warden in area, they tend to have a view of what and where things happen and can add some insight for you maybe,
or also try talking to local land owners, better to ask in advance before spending $$ if you ask me! can always leave out what is for sale and just ask about in general so not to give away your plans of buying the land!

Good info. Thank you. I grew up in WV and it was pretty bad there too. Worse thing you can have is a bunch of 2-5 acre plots often with trailers on the backside of your land.

This is in SC, probably just as bad. I saw buck sign on the property that definitely wasn't 1.5 y/o so that's good. Gun season here is 3 months lol. So finding 2.5-3.5 y/o bucks is a nice sign.

Im not going get into it for too much so if need be, i can sell after making improvements. I don't think they know what they have nor are they patient. SC is not like up north, not nearly as common to find 100 acre plots and they usually cost 4-8k and acre.

 

[bjseiler]

My land touches a darn interstate. Like a BUSY interstate.....and we even get trespassers there. They get dropped off.

 

[bwoods11]

I have seen people walk railroad tracks . I don’t know, it could be an issue ?

 

[MRBB]

also keep in mind that deer do also get hit by trains(just like being near a highway) and it happens more than you think,
that nice buck your trying to let get older or one your after can very easy get hit by a train, its one more danger they have to avoid!
not trying to discourage you, just adding food for thought maybe you haven't thought of!

up my way , we DON"T have big food plots and its a lot of of smaller ones if any at all, its only the die hards that have food plots up this way, most hunting is still done of public lands, BUT there are generations of hunters that believe private property means PUBLIC to THEM< cause they live near by or they USED to have access to it, or they just remember how yrs back there were NO posted lands in PA
as for l;and prices, well there up there anymore, but that is not only in PA , all places land prices are up from my looking!



I used to catch about 50-80 trespassers a yr on the one property I managed, and that was the most common excuse's I got, and most of them all would argue with me about them being there, they all felt they had a RIGHT to be there, and that property had a posted sign every 20-30 ft around the whole thing, it was impossible to enter onto it without seeing several signs saying private property keep out! NO trespassing!

and to add insult to injury, of those I caught trespassing, several were in law enforcement, from state troopers, to Fish wardens, to local cops, folks that SHOULD Know better, yet just didn;t care
like I said, some properties are just over run with trespassing, and its almost impossible to stop it, I tried it all and in the end, had to give up and move on!, a sham,e as it was a great layout on the land, had it all, a lake, a larger stream, a small spring feed native trout brook, very high productive crop land and prime forested land, was off the beaten path but close to most things, it border a 1500 acre NO hunting property, so good aged bucks were common as they had land next to it to age
perfect for a hunting property, a paradise , OR it should have been
BUT at the same time, all them GOOD thing it had was why it pulled so many trespassers in, they knew what it had and all tried to sneak there way in trespassing

so basically what ever you MAKE< might be what attracts trespassers, or lures more of them or not

if you have rail road tracks, ATV trails and they can drive by and see your improvements or get to see BIG bucks when they drive by, it highly increases the odds of them coming back when your NOT there or even when you are!
as they say you build it they will come, , it also applies to people as well as game animals!

 

[Tree Spud]

You have a parcel that has 2 sides that is open to anyone in the general public that can access your property at anytime by foot, ATV, snow mobile, etc. There is also the disturbance of trains.

In short, you have no way of controlling access or disturbances to your property especially during hunting.

I would definitely pass on this property.

 

[Weedpatch]

I think the tracks would be a good deterrent. Post it as best you can. Life is too short. Buy it if you want it. If you it is near your house even better. The more often you are there the less people will trespass. Put up cameras and turn the a holes in if you catch them.
If you do not currently have land and can make this work, don't wait!
Tedd

 

[b116757]

I work for the railroad deer most definitely get used to it. There will be some workers from time to time on that section of rail preforming maintenance that once in a while could ruin a hunt if it happens during season and your hunting close to the tracks. Really pretty much the same story for the power lines but probably less frequent maintenance with the power line but could be more intensive when it does happen. Nice thing about the power line it will always be a clearing you could plant in clover or something similar. If it’s close to your home at a good price and you can resolve easement access issues I wouldn’t not buy it based on the RR and power lines.

 

[Garrett S]

Lots of experience here as I own property next to an active RR and an abandoned one runs through the family farm.

Active RR. Downer affect deer other than when the patrol trucks go through. Scares deer away for the day… oddest is the trucks w rail wheels scare them the most. They don’t lift their heads to trains.Honestly they also bless you w background metal on metal noise to where deer become complacent. A negative if you use them for access is they have odors that are immediately identified from your boots when you walk “inland” from them. Yup- had some issues w trespassing. The good thing as mentioned above is the RR will send someone immediately to investigate trespassers or parked vehicles.

So the abandoned ones…. Lack the noise portion above but retain the odor one. Here’s a giant negative- we had a section adjacent to the farm that was 110ft wide by 1.5miles long purchased by a hunt club in between our farm and the next one over. Pure hell. Lead flingers, tons of people and wounded deer and …… trespassing. Think of this on the long game.