Safety Tips for Previewing Rural Land during Hunting Season

Alabama's gun deer hunting season on privately-owned lands is scheduled to open shortly. If you are in the market for a rural property and plan on heading out to take a look at land during the winter months, it pays to exercise a few precautions to make your excursions safer and more successful.

Here are a few tips to follow when heading out to the winter-woods.

1. Schedule an Appointment. A "for sale" sign on a property does not constitute the right to enter a property: it is an announcement, not an invitation. You should call the landowner or listing agent before walking onto any rural property in Alabama. All listings with AlaLandCo are shown by appointment only.Calling first will help ensure that you do not surprise someone who is hunting, and will minimize the possibility of being shot by accident.

2. Wear Blaze Orange or other Bright Colors.The goal here is to be conspicuous. In the event there are others in the woods, you will be readily identifiable. November 20 to January 31 is a bad time to field test your new buckskin jacket on someone else's land. Wear a blaze cap or better still an orange vest.

3. Stay with the Agent. Generally sticking with the agent will keep you within the boundaries of a property. Hunters may be using adjoining lands, so hanging close to your guide is a good idea. I don't do much exploring of new ground during this time of year.

4. Keep it between 10 and 2. Your driver's ed teacher hammered this home in highschool, so apply that same lesson to previewing hunting properties and timber tracts during deer season. Most hunters are in the woods early in the morning and mid-afternoon. Hunters often break for lunch and come out of the woods for a brief respite during the middle of the day. This is a good time to look at a property so as not to disturb a hunter who is in the stand. If you can't visit a property in the middle of the day, try to avoid dawn and dusk situations. You can't see the qualities of a property in low light conditions and a hunter isn't able to discern what is moving down the trail as easily either.

If you will follow these tips you are more likely to be safe in the woods and also get more from your time previewing the land. If you are looking for a quality hunting property or recreational tract in West Alabama, please contact me to see how I can be helpful.

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Tracking tourism: Clay County looks to present a new image Read more: Anniston Star – Tracking tourism Clay County looks to present a new image

Great article about tourism in Clay County that appeared in the Anniston Star on October 23, 2010.

Tracking tourism: Clay County looks to present a new image

by Jason Bacaj
Star Staff Writer Anniston Star
Oct 23, 2010

DELTA — A couple of rocking chairs swayed under the ceiling fans on one side of the back porch while a former Screamin’ Eagle explained why he invested $600,000 in Clay County.

A dream told Marc Frandsen, who was medically discharged from the 101st Airborne, to liquidate all his assets in New Orleans and build a lodge just off McKay Road.

Two months later Frandsen, who hails from Virginia, stands in that lodge — the main lodge of Patriot Riding Stables and Retreat — one of the most modern buildings in Clay County. Now it’s just a matter of attracting people to the retreat and selling Clay County as a tourist destination, something Clay County has worked toward in recent years.

“We don’t have what I would call a structured plan right now; it’s on our list of things to do. But everything we’ve done for the last three years has gone toward promoting tourism,” said Richard Arnold, former head of the county Chamber of Commerce.

Read more: Anniston Star – Tracking tourism Clay County looks to present a new image

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Pinhoti hiking crew learns the relationship between pines, fire

Good Article I ran across in the Anniston Star about the necessity of fire to conserve our natural longleaf pine habitat.
by Jason Bacaj
Star Staff Writer
Anniston Star
Oct 17, 2010
COLEMAN LAKE — Long shadows cast by the morning sun dappled the loblolly pine glen as a U.S. Forest Service biologist described the Talladega National Forest’s northern district to a group of hikers about to embark on a five-hour trip along the Pinhoti Trail.  What’s now known as Shoal Creek Ranger District was mostly uninhabited before it was bought by the government in 1936, as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s effort to conserve America’s forests, said biologist Jonathan Stober. It’s an ecosystem heavily influenced by naturally occurring fires: When more of that type of blaze occurred, longleaf pines thrived. The ecosystem changed as wildfires were controlled, allowing the loblolly pines to supplant the iconic — but slow-growing — longleaf as the area’s dominant tree species.

Read more: Anniston Star – Pinhoti hiking crew learns the relationship between pines fire

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Rare American Chestnut Tree in the Talladega National Forest

Below is an article I ran across about a forester finding a rare 70 ft+ American Chestnut in the Talladega National Forest.  This could be a wonderful find if they figure out why this particular tree is resistant to the fungus that all but eliminated the species 100 years ago.  American Chestnuts could be an important cash crop for the Eastern Forests.

By (AP) TALLADEGA, Ala.
Published: Mon, August 03, 2009
Talladega, Ala. An American chestnut tree seven basketball goals high has quietly spent decades bucking long odds in the Talladega National Forest.
The tree, found by a U.S. Forest Service worker two years ago, was recognized last week as the largest of its kind in the state and an example that has become rare in America since a disease nearly wiped out the species beginning in 1900.

The American chestnut tree, known for being strong, light and straight-grained, was once ubiquitous in the eastern United States and was used to build everything from musical instruments to railroad ties, but the past 100 years have not been kind to the tree. The species that once routinely reached 100 feet in height now grows to little more than a 5-foot shrub before dying because of an Asian fungus against which the American tree has no natural defense.
READ MORE

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Sold! 53 acre joining the Talladega National Forest in Perry County, Alabama

 

 

Sold!! 53 acres of land for sale in Perry County, Alabama

 

SOLD!! 53 acres +/- of land for sale in Perry County, Alabama.

Talladega National Forest borders this tract on 2 sides (west and south)! This is a steal at a little over $1000/acre. A long powerline cuts through the tract offering you a long stretch that could be planted as a foodplot. The property has paved frontage on County Road 23. This parcel is a portion of a tract of 217 acres, which can be divided into 150 acres, 53 acres, and 13 acres. The owners have had the timber clear-cut in the past 2 years. This area is known for the outstanding deer hunting, and being surrounded by the National Forest gives you access to so much more land and buffers you from your neighbors. It is a rough tract, but at this price, you can afford to fix it the way you want it. The property is located within 15 minutes of Centreville, 40 minutes of Tuscaloosa, and less than 65 miles to Birmingham. The ride through Talladega National Forest on CR 44 is really nice. Please contact us today for more information or to schedule a time to visit this property.

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40 acres +/- of Hunting Land with Bunkhouse in Perry County, Alabama

 

 

Small Bunkhouse

 

40 acres +/- of good deer hunting land in Perry County, part of the world-renowned Black Belt of west Alabama for $75,000.

This small hunting tract consists mostly of 8 to 10 year old planted pines. Two hunting houses overlook the shooting lanes that have been cut into the pines. A small bunkhouse/cabin offers you a place to rest or getaway during your hunt. The structure has a bunkhouse, storage shed, and picnic area all under one roof. There is an outhouse building and skinning pole as well. The bunkhouse is not powered and does not have water, but it is a quiet place to recharge during your time in the outdoors. You could install a solar panel or use a generator if electric power is desired. A prescriptive easment provides access to the tract and one central road takes you through the heart of the property. The tract is located within 1/2 mile of the Talladega National Forest, which provides many more opportunities to hunt and enjoy recreation in the outdoors. This tract is well-priced and can generate several hundred dollars per acre of income when the timber is thinned in subsequent years. Please contact me for more information about this good hunting property.

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78 acres +/- of land for sale in Perry County, Alabama

78 acres +/- of land for sale in Perry County, Alabama which joins the Talladega National Forest for only $140,000. I can honestly say that I have never seen as many turkeys in different spots on a tract this size as the first time I walked on it. There were turkeys flying everywhere! This property borders over 10 square miles of the Talladega National Forest on the north and east sides. Hunters it is a quality property at a good price, so jump on it. The tract has two gated entrances and roughly 1000 feet of paved frontage on County Road 23. Large mixed pine and hardwood timber (30-40 years old according to land owner) constitutes the majority of this tract. Four food plots with 3 shooting houses are in place and ready to be planted. The good internal trail system lets you navigate the property easily. A small spring/creek flows through the heart of the land, and backs up into a small beaver pond (~ 1/2 acre). Lots of deer, turkeys, and the occasional hog call this land home. It would make a good spot to build a get-away cabin or put a campsite. Payne Lake Recreation Area is located less than 9 miles away and offers fishing, boating, and 2 campgrounds. The property is located about 15 miles south of Centerville and about 12.5 miles from the Sawmill Restaurant on Highway 5. The property is shown by appointment only, so please contact Jonathan Goode to schedule a time to see this tract.

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150 acres +/- Joining the National Forest in Perry County, Alabama

 

50-60 acres of Thinned Pines

 

150 acres +/- of great recreational or hunting land for sale in Perry County, Alabama at the phenomenal price of $232,500.

Talladega National Forest joins this tract on 2 sides. The property has paved frontage on County Roads 44 and 23. An old homeplace in need of some attention sits along CR 44. The owner says that 2 wells are currently on the property. Power and phone are available to the house, which is currently supplied with water by a live spring. This property is a portion of a parcel of 217 acres, which was divided into 150 acres, 53 acres, and 13 acres. The owners have had the larger pines thinned in the past 24 months, and about 50-60 acres of 24 year old pines remain. Good internal trails lead throughout the property. A 3 to 4 acre beaver pond provides opportunities for fishing, canoeing, or hunting water fowl. Several food plots are already in place. This area is known for the outstanding deer hunting, and being surrounded by the National Forest gives you access to so much more land and buffers you from your neighbors. The property is located within 15 minutes of Centreville, 40 minutes of Tuscaloosa, and less than 65 miles to Birmingham. The ride through Talladega National Forest on CR 44 is really nice. Please contact me today for more information or to schedule a time to visit this property.

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Talladega National Forest Land for Sale

Are you considering buying land that joins the Talladega National Forest in Alabama? This site is all about helping you locate the right hunting land, recreational property, or off-grid rural tract that joins or is near the National Forest.

Robert King and Jonathan Goode are professional land agents with AlaLandCo, and we can help you find your ideal property. There will be more information coming over the next few days, and you will be able to get more information about some of our great listings on this site.

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