Georgia Hunter looking for farm to lease (Rockford, Sterling: broker, buying)

[Rodney Thomas]

I am from Georgia and I am looking for 100 to 500 acres to lease for bowhunting in and around rushville. I am not an outfitter looking to make money off of farmers, simply me and my cousin would like to have the opportunity to come up and hunt without having to go through a broker or outfitter.

Thank you in advance. My cell # is 706-466-6805

[linicx]

The biggest problem you are going to run into is Illinois it is a farming and ranching state where the average farm is 1000 acres plus a lot of the state is in federal/state protected areas. You might consider buying around Browning, Fulton County between Famington and Canton, bernadette Bernadotte and Smithfield as this is where you find heavily wooded, hilly isolated areas. Another area is in the southernmost part of the state or between Mount Sterling and Pittsfield. These areas all have the same things: hills trees and water.

[sandwalk]

Maybe use land ownership information to find an area.....Plat Books come in handy here. I know of a nice plat book company based in Rockford, Illinois.....

www.rockfordmap.com

[Rodney Thomas]

Originally Posted by sandwalk

Maybe use land ownership information to find an area.....Plat Books come in handy here. I know of a nice plat book company based in Rockford, Illinois.....

www.rockfordmap.com

Thanks for your help.

[runninfiend]

Originally Posted by linicx

The biggest problem you are going to run into is Illinois it is a farming and ranching state where the average farm is 1000 acres plus a lot of the state is in federal/state protected areas. You might consider buying around Browning, Fulton County between Famington and Canton, bernadette Bernadotte and Smithfield as this is where you find heavily wooded, hilly isolated areas. Another area is in the southernmost part of the state or between Mount Sterling and Pittsfield. These areas all have the same things: hills trees and water.

Hmm, where to start, this point is fraught with inaccuracy:

Point one: Illinois is a hardly a "ranching state," farming yes, but land classified as "ranchland" is negligible.

Point two: I have no idea where you get the idea that the "average farm is 1000 acres." Ridiculous. The average farm operation might be 1000 acres plus, but farm size in terms of land is much smaller. Look at any plat book.

Point three: Much of the state is NOT federal/state protected ground. Fact is that Illinois ranks nearly LAST in federally protected land, and state ground is also a tiny percentage of land area.

Point four: The original poster said nothing about buying land; he wants to LEASE land for hunting. The post mentions Rushville, which is Schuyler County, not Fulton or Brown. There should be land available to lease in Schuyler County, although it might be harder to locate than ground in say Fulton or Pike County. The best way to do it is by knowing a local and contacting through word of mouth, but one could always try one of the various websites set up for the cause.