Is buying duck land in eastern NC under 150k even worth it?

[ChessieAnd2x4]

Hey all,

First off I want to say thanks for checking out my post, I'm a new duck hunter and can use this boards advice. I'm very interested im aquiring some land where I can hunt with my dog. I dont like the idea of public land hunting too much because to be honest my dog is a bit of a loose cannon and I wouldnt want to impede other hunters or cause any problems like that.

So I have 150k max I can spend on private duck land. I dont want to lease. Is there anything worth buying for that amount? Could I reliably kill ducks? Is it just going to be less ducks or would I be hard pressed to get any at all since Id be competing with better impoundments, deeper pockets, etc. If you would just give me a frame of reference for the level of quality duck hunting property in eastern NC for 150k would give me or if you have any experience hunting at that price point. Much appreciated y'all and good luck out there!

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[EastBound&Down]

Nope
150k won't cut it

Re: Top tier Duck Clubs in NC?
Unread postby ncbufflehead » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:49 pm

I have a private club in Dare County. 10 year membership is $300,000. You get access to 4 licensed blinds in Dare County. You can hunt four days per week and allowed up to 2 guest. Club has two members...................me and the first person that puts $300,000 in my hand. No lodging, no meals. Must have your own boat and decoys.

[Bluesky2012]

Nope
150k won't cut it

Re: Top tier Duck Clubs in NC?
Unread postby ncbufflehead » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:49 pm

I have a private club in Dare County. 10 year membership is $300,000. You get access to 4 licensed blinds in Dare County. You can hunt four days per week and allowed up to 2 guest. Club has two members...................me and the first person that puts $300,000 in my hand. No lodging, no meals. Must have your own boat and decoys.

You do realize ncbufflehead was joking right?

And for $150k you should just buy a better dog and land in Arkansas. It's NC hunting. It's not worth anything near that.


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[echoduck]

60 ac impoundment next door to our club went for 2.1 million so no it likely won’t buy you much.

[ncbufflehead]

Nope
150k won't cut it

Re: Top tier Duck Clubs in NC?
Unread postby ncbufflehead » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:49 pm

I have a private club in Dare County. 10 year membership is $300,000. You get access to 4 licensed blinds in Dare County. You can hunt four days per week and allowed up to 2 guest. Club has two members...................me and the first person that puts $300,000 in my hand. No lodging, no meals. Must have your own boat and decoys.

You do realize ncbufflehead was joking right?

$150,000 will get him a 4 year membership. His dog can act as stupid as it wants.

[Bluesky2012]

Nope
150k won't cut it

Re: Top tier Duck Clubs in NC?
Unread postby ncbufflehead » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:49 pm

I have a private club in Dare County. 10 year membership is $300,000. You get access to 4 licensed blinds in Dare County. You can hunt four days per week and allowed up to 2 guest. Club has two members...................me and the first person that puts $300,000 in my hand. No lodging, no meals. Must have your own boat and decoys.

You do realize ncbufflehead was joking right?

$150,000 will get him a 4 year membership. His dog can act as stupid as it wants.

That's an expensive playground for a poorly trained dog. Sending it to a pro would be cheaper haha


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[EastBound&Down]

Nope
150k won't cut it

Re: Top tier Duck Clubs in NC?
Unread postby ncbufflehead » Mon Dec 18, 2017 10:49 pm

I have a private club in Dare County. 10 year membership is $300,000. You get access to 4 licensed blinds in Dare County. You can hunt four days per week and allowed up to 2 guest. Club has two members...................me and the first person that puts $300,000 in my hand. No lodging, no meals. Must have your own boat and decoys.

You do realize ncbufflehead was joking right?

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Yes I do
And we have a ducker here who is new to the sport and willing to drop 150k on a hobby he may or may not like in another year or 2.

[HydeMarsh]

First I know both Eastbound and Echo to be wise and very competent duck hunters. There advice is very sound. Join a good club and leave your dog at home.

However it is my belief that you can get a good small private place for the amount of money you described. this year it seems no amount of money will get you a good place in NC.

I am in a club where the impoundments probably could not be bought for $750,000. I have not shot a duck there this season. I bought a small one for less than $20K and have killed several. You really have to know an area where ducks want to go and there is undeveloped land very near some quality places place. you have to be willing to spend time finding the right place get the owner to sell and build your own. I have a couple of places I bought for a fraction of what you described but would not sell for anything.

Another consideration is to get a partner(s) and each of you have your own blind. Buy a bigger place together. A really good place sold last year for $350,000. In a great area but very hard to get to. When it is really wet you may not be able to get there in a 4x4. Most places listed with real estate people are not worth buying.

Regardless hunting with an undisciplined dog is extremely frustrating. I would not do it.

[ChessieAnd2x4]

Thanks for all the replies.

Look the reason why I'm willing to drop 150k on a new hobbie is bc the unique situation with the dog I have. Ive spent 10 grand already on professional gun dog training from reputable pros that I won't list so as not to offend and it helped somewhat. Its very possible he has some sort of genetic abnormality making him particularly unruly, anxious or difficult but the only way he calms down is by getting him TIRED, and I do this with him by hunting, currently on crappy eastern WV public land. I am completely unwilling to give up on him as a dog, I will not rehome him or send him to the pound I think thats unethical in this situation as he will almost certainly be killed so my hands are tied. It may not make sense and you may think I'm an idiot but understand there are other variables at play here.

Thanks for the suggestions about Arkansas, I'll look into it. I'm also looking at eastern Kentucky but thats a 11 hour drive. I'm looking at eastern shore MD which is close but once again seems extremely competitive to find good duck spots. Might have to knock on some doors and hope some landowner takes pity on us. Either way thanks y'all, this means more than you know. Every day I stick it out with him he gets better. Nothing more meaningful than that for me.

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[Bluesky2012]

Dude you should bring your questions over to the dog forum.

Given it's a chessie, there is a genetic rage issue that does occasionally manifest in some chessies that is very dangerous. Just FYI...


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[ChessieAnd2x4]

When I said eastern kentucky I meant western...

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[Dingbatter]

I would take that 150k invest it, send the pooch to a trainer and take a few guided hunts. No way I would throw away that much on duck hunting in NC No Way!

[Gunpowder1]

Chessie,
You probably cant buy an impound but there are plenty of good old hunting cabins that give you water access that sell for under $150K. All you need is a boat and dekes after that

[CatFan]

When I said eastern kentucky I meant western...

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I grew up duck hunting west Kentucky along the Ohio River. around Henderson. Been gone for 25 years though. There are absolutely tons of ducks in that area but even 25 years ago it was becoming big business and places that were good to hunt were drawing some pretty serious money. That said, I recently saw three tracts for sale just north of Kentucky Lake that already had some water control structures in place. All 3 tracts were over 100 acres and all within your budget as I recall. So, it may be possible. If you can find a place near the Ohio or Mississippi in your budget that floods or can be flooded I think you stand a good chance of doing pretty well. But might take time because you will probably want to improvements. Building small levies to flood cut corn fields was a common thing for us back then. If you could find a flat patch to plant millet or some other duck food and then flood when they start coming down you might have something. Just make sure you do it according to the law.

I commend you for your dedication to your dog and not giving up on him. Far to many would not do that. I really do respect your for doing the right thing by him. But, if you spent 10k on training and he still can't be handled then either you were ripped off or he's just hot a hunting dog. Is he aggressive or just an uncontrollable bundle of energy? I know Chessies have a reputation for aggression so just wondering.

Also, I agree with others that I would not spend 150k to duck hunt in NC. KY, yes but not year. Also, if you are a deer hunting W. KY also has excellent deer hunting. Not to mention one of the best bass fishing destinations in the country in Kentucky Lake.
You can also consider West Tennessee. Great hunting and land prices are pretty darn cheap. I plan to retire to that area in a few years.

[ChessieAnd2x4]

When I said eastern kentucky I meant western...

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I grew up duck hunting west Kentucky along the Ohio River. around Henderson. Been gone for 25 years though. There are absolutely tons of ducks in that area but even 25 years ago it was becoming big business and places that were good to hunt were drawing some pretty serious money. That said, I recently saw three tracts for sale just north of Kentucky Lake that already had some water control structures in place. All 3 tracts were over 100 acres and all within your budget as I recall. So, it may be possible. If you can find a place near the Ohio or Mississippi in your budget that floods or can be flooded I think you stand a good chance of doing pretty well. But might take time because you will probably want to improvements. Building small levies to flood cut corn fields was a common thing for us back then. If you could find a flat patch to plant millet or some other duck food and then flood when they start coming down you might have something. Just make sure you do it according to the law.

I commend you for your dedication to your dog and not giving up on him. Far to many would not do that. I really do respect your for doing the right thing by him. But, if you spent 10k on training and he still can't be handled then either you were ripped off or he's just hot a hunting dog. Is he aggressive or just an uncontrollable bundle of energy? I know Chessies have a reputation for aggression so just wondering.

Also, I agree with others that I would not spend 150k to duck hunt in NC. KY, yes but not year. Also, if you are a deer hunting W. KY also has excellent deer hunting. Not to mention one of the best bass fishing destinations in the country in Kentucky Lake.
You can also consider West Tennessee. Great hunting and land prices are pretty darn cheap. I plan to retire to that area in a few years.

Thanks for the sage advice and kind words. Luckily he is not aggressive. He just an uncontrollable ball of energy that cant sit still for 5 mins lol. He'll start whining and whimpering so what I've been doing is jump shooting ducks and geese with him along the river and he does pretty decent with that.

Yes I am into deer hunting and bass fishing as well so sounds like a fricken awesome place. Thanks for the heads up man. I'll be looking over there

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[DuckMauler]

Thanks for all the replies.

Look the reason why I'm willing to drop 150k on a new hobbie is bc the unique situation with the dog I have. Ive spent 10 grand already on professional gun dog training from reputable pros that I won't list so as not to offend and it helped somewhat. Its very possible he has some sort of genetic abnormality making him particularly unruly, anxious or difficult but the only way he calms down is by getting him TIRED, and I do this with him by hunting, currently on crappy eastern WV public land. I am completely unwilling to give up on him as a dog, I will not rehome him or send him to the pound I think thats unethical in this situation as he will almost certainly be killed so my hands are tied. It may not make sense and you may think I'm an idiot but understand there are other variables at play here.

Thanks for the suggestions about Arkansas, I'll look into it. I'm also looking at eastern Kentucky but thats a 11 hour drive. I'm looking at eastern shore MD which is close but once again seems extremely competitive to find good duck spots. Might have to knock on some doors and hope some landowner takes pity on us. Either way thanks y'all, this means more than you know. Every day I stick it out with him he gets better. Nothing more meaningful than that for me.

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Man, I would've paid you to shoot the dog and could've saved you a whole lot of money.

On a serious note. Anybody that pays that much money for a place to duck hunt in NC has bigger issues.....go to your nearest psychiatric facility and have yourself committed.

But, if you want my honest advice.....just listen to anything that hydemarsh tells you. He is the duck God of Hyde county

[CatFan]

When I said eastern kentucky I meant western...

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I grew up duck hunting west Kentucky along the Ohio River. around Henderson. Been gone for 25 years though. There are absolutely tons of ducks in that area but even 25 years ago it was becoming big business and places that were good to hunt were drawing some pretty serious money. That said, I recently saw three tracts for sale just north of Kentucky Lake that already had some water control structures in place. All 3 tracts were over 100 acres and all within your budget as I recall. So, it may be possible. If you can find a place near the Ohio or Mississippi in your budget that floods or can be flooded I think you stand a good chance of doing pretty well. But might take time because you will probably want to improvements. Building small levies to flood cut corn fields was a common thing for us back then. If you could find a flat patch to plant millet or some other duck food and then flood when they start coming down you might have something. Just make sure you do it according to the law.

I commend you for your dedication to your dog and not giving up on him. Far to many would not do that. I really do respect your for doing the right thing by him. But, if you spent 10k on training and he still can't be handled then either you were ripped off or he's just hot a hunting dog. Is he aggressive or just an uncontrollable bundle of energy? I know Chessies have a reputation for aggression so just wondering.

Also, I agree with others that I would not spend 150k to duck hunt in NC. KY, yes but not year. Also, if you are a deer hunting W. KY also has excellent deer hunting. Not to mention one of the best bass fishing destinations in the country in Kentucky Lake.
You can also consider West Tennessee. Great hunting and land prices are pretty darn cheap. I plan to retire to that area in a few years.

Thanks for the sage advice and kind words. Luckily he is not aggressive. He just an uncontrollable ball of energy that cant sit still for 5 mins lol. He'll start whining and whimpering so what I've been doing is jump shooting ducks and geese with him along the river and he does pretty decent with that.

Yes I am into deer hunting and bass fishing as well so sounds like a fricken awesome place. Thanks for the heads up man. I'll be looking over there

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Yeah it’s great. Pretty rural but I like that. Is the dog young? He may mellow with age. You can work on his manners at home. Get a dog bed and train him to lay down on it then make him stay ther for an extended period while you watch TV or something. Get him trained to sit still. Being excited about hunting is not a bad thing but he does need to learn sit in a blind. I doubt the trainer worked on this

[ChessieAnd2x4]

When I said eastern kentucky I meant western...

Sent from my G3223 using Tapatalk

I grew up duck hunting west Kentucky along the Ohio River. around Henderson. Been gone for 25 years though. There are absolutely tons of ducks in that area but even 25 years ago it was becoming big business and places that were good to hunt were drawing some pretty serious money. That said, I recently saw three tracts for sale just north of Kentucky Lake that already had some water control structures in place. All 3 tracts were over 100 acres and all within your budget as I recall. So, it may be possible. If you can find a place near the Ohio or Mississippi in your budget that floods or can be flooded I think you stand a good chance of doing pretty well. But might take time because you will probably want to improvements. Building small levies to flood cut corn fields was a common thing for us back then. If you could find a flat patch to plant millet or some other duck food and then flood when they start coming down you might have something. Just make sure you do it according to the law.

I commend you for your dedication to your dog and not giving up on him. Far to many would not do that. I really do respect your for doing the right thing by him. But, if you spent 10k on training and he still can't be handled then either you were ripped off or he's just hot a hunting dog. Is he aggressive or just an uncontrollable bundle of energy? I know Chessies have a reputation for aggression so just wondering.

Also, I agree with others that I would not spend 150k to duck hunt in NC. KY, yes but not year. Also, if you are a deer hunting W. KY also has excellent deer hunting. Not to mention one of the best bass fishing destinations in the country in Kentucky Lake.
You can also consider West Tennessee. Great hunting and land prices are pretty darn cheap. I plan to retire to that area in a few years.

Thanks for the sage advice and kind words. Luckily he is not aggressive. He just an uncontrollable ball of energy that cant sit still for 5 mins lol. He'll start whining and whimpering so what I've been doing is jump shooting ducks and geese with him along the river and he does pretty decent with that.

Yes I am into deer hunting and bass fishing as well so sounds like a fricken awesome place. Thanks for the heads up man. I'll be looking over there

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Yeah it’s great. Pretty rural but I like that. Is the dog young? He may mellow with age. You can work on his manners at home. Get a dog bed and train him to lay down on it then make him stay ther for an extended period while you watch TV or something. Get him trained to sit still. Being excited about hunting is not a bad thing but he does need to learn sit in a blind. I doubt the trainer worked on this

Ok. Will do. Hes only 14 months so Im hoping he'll tone it down as he ages and as I get better at training him. Thanks for that suggestion.

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[Bluesky2012]

If your dog struggles after 5 minutes then you did not set a foundation of good obedience and have not adamantly demanded it since.

A dog bed won't do much at all. A firm hand and taking time away from your hunts as well as disciplined training during the offseason is all that will. This dog is driving you, not the other way around.

Honestly, unless your dog can sit still and not flinch for 6 hrs, mark multiples, and run tough blinds, it is not worth having in the blind.

Probably 95% of all "duck dogs" I've hunted with fit this category and the majority of it stems from owners not doing due diligence in the off season.

For a whole lot less than $150k I can set you up with someone who will actually fix this issue if you're able and willing to maintain the discipline during the off season.


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[CatFan]

He's still a puppy in many way then. While out of control is never good thing, I would not be surprised if it is a little harder to get a young dog to sit still than one with a few years of experience. The dog bed idea was one for how to maintain that due diligence while not hunting. If a dog can't lay in a bed for a few hours while you quietly watch TV, he won't be still in the blind either.

Where are you located?

[merg]

Honestly, unless your dog can sit still and not flinch for 6 hrs, mark multiples, and run tough blinds, it is not worth having in the blind.

While I largely agree with the premise of your entire post, this paragraph, IMO, is rediculous.
Any well behaved dog that doesn't flare ducks and totes dead ducks is worth having in my blinds. Every duck he totes is one I don't have to waste time taking the boat out and flaring ducks.
As far as tough blinds go #1, generally speaking, if a dog is having to make a lot of long, tough blinds his owner needs to invest more time in his shooting skills and range awareness, and #2, it's more efficient, imo, to boat the dog over to the area of fall, grab the duck and boat on back, than to have his master standing in front of the blind yelling, blowing a whistle 50 times and waving his arms around for 15 minutes.
The avg duckhunter in NC hunts 8-10 times and kills 8-10 ducks per year. I seriously doubt he needs to invest the time or money it takes to get a dog performing tough blinds, of which he might have 1 per year.
Not knocking you or anybody else who has high standards for their dogs. Good on y'all. It's a real pleasure to watch those dogs work.
But most of us don't need a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.













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[jeffrey.sm21]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[CatFan]

Honestly, unless your dog can sit still and not flinch for 6 hrs, mark multiples, and run tough blinds, it is not worth having in the blind.

While I largely agree with the premise of your entire post, this paragraph, IMO, is rediculous.
Any well behaved dog that doesn't flare ducks and totes dead ducks is worth having in my blinds. Every duck he totes is one I don't have to waste time taking the boat out and flaring ducks.
As far as tough blinds go #1, generally speaking, if a dog is having to make a lot of long, tough blinds his owner needs to invest more time in his shooting skills and range awareness, and #2, it's more efficient, imo, to boat the dog over to the area of fall, grab the duck and boat on back, than to have his master standing in front of the blind yelling, blowing a whistle 50 times and waving his arms around for 15 minutes.
The avg duckhunter in NC hunts 8-10 times and kills 8-10 ducks per year. I seriously doubt he needs to invest the time or money it takes to get a dog performing tough blinds, of which he might have 1 per year.
Not knocking you or anybody else who has high standards for their dogs. Good on y'all. It's a real pleasure to watch those dogs work.
But most of us don't need a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.

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Good points. I think many people over estimate what constitutes a good duck dog. Mine won't sit absolutely still for hours but neither do I! LOL. But she'll lay down and be still when I tell her. True blind retrieves are pretty rare but like you said, if I get her in the right area her nose will do the rest. In 5 years of hunting, she's only failed to come back with a bird when I sent her and I'm not really confident that I knocked the birds down in some cases and in others they sailed farther than I was willing to let her swim across an open lake with bass boats going 60 MPH so I called her back.

[Bluesky2012]

Honestly, unless your dog can sit still and not flinch for 6 hrs, mark multiples, and run tough blinds, it is not worth having in the blind.

While I largely agree with the premise of your entire post, this paragraph, IMO, is rediculous.
Any well behaved dog that doesn't flare ducks and totes dead ducks is worth having in my blinds. Every duck he totes is one I don't have to waste time taking the boat out and flaring ducks.
As far as tough blinds go #1, generally speaking, if a dog is having to make a lot of long, tough blinds his owner needs to invest more time in his shooting skills and range awareness, and #2, it's more efficient, imo, to boat the dog over to the area of fall, grab the duck and boat on back, than to have his master standing in front of the blind yelling, blowing a whistle 50 times and waving his arms around for 15 minutes.
The avg duckhunter in NC hunts 8-10 times and kills 8-10 ducks per year. I seriously doubt he needs to invest the time or money it takes to get a dog performing tough blinds, of which he might have 1 per year.
Not knocking you or anybody else who has high standards for their dogs. Good on y'all. It's a real pleasure to watch those dogs work.
But most of us don't need a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store.

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Good points. I think many people over estimate what constitutes a good duck dog. Mine won't sit absolutely still for hours but neither do I! LOL. But she'll lay down and be still when I tell her. True blind retrieves are pretty rare but like you said, if I get her in the right area her nose will do the rest. In 5 years of hunting, she's only failed to come back with a bird when I sent her and I'm not really confident that I knocked the birds down in some cases and in others they sailed farther than I was willing to let her swim across an open lake with bass boats going 60 MPH so I called her back.

And I think far too many people underestimate what makes a good one. Yours may be good and does the job you need, but the vast majority of "duck dogs" I've been around have been an absolute headache and we're not worth having out there. OPs is definitely one I would not hunt with.

I enjoy training dogs. I don't do it nearly as much anymore since mine is a finished dog and never needs much more than a quick tune up to be more than ready for season, but I do love the first year and a half or so of training and I take pride in the outcome. Do I always need every tool I've trained? No, but I never move more than 2 ft to pick up a bird, and I enjoy being able to line or handle my dog to every bird.

And to those who say they don't need blinds, y'all are clearly hunting different from where I do (though I'm not in NC anymore). Blinds often are one third or half of what I run either because the tide pulled the bird from the AOF so I run it as a blind so the dog intercepts the bird washing out, or the layout blind doors blocked his view of a bird, thick brush or what ever it may be.


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[NCGWP]

Just a thought, but "worth it" means different things to different people.

Is it worth it on a "birds per dollar" ratio? Probably not.

Is it worth it for you to have your own place to go, in your blinds, shoot more ducks than you probably would see in W VA, and not worry about your dog? Maybe...

I grew up working as a caddy at a very high end Golf club. One thing I learned about the very wealthy, is that more than anything, the nicest thing that money can buy you is time and convenience.

My pockets aren't nearly as deep as yours. I pay several hundred dollars each year for a deer lease in a mediocre deer hunting county, that has produced one nice buck in four years of hunting. Its 55 minutes from my front door to the lease, 60 minutes from getting in my car to sitting in the closest stand. I don't pay for the hunting, and I only partially pay for the privilege to put up no trespassing signs. I really pay for the ability to boogie out at 1:00 PM in the afternoon, randomly, and sit in a nice stand. I could probably see and harvest as many deer on public land. I could shoot much bigger deer if I leased in West Virginia (for probably similar money/acre) or went to Ohio or Illinois, but then I wouldn't be able to deer hunt as often.

One other thought to get your dog hunting...Take him upland hunting. WV has grouse and woodcock. Not huge numbers, but enough.