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Anybody here live in Southeast VA?

ssramage

ssramage

Active Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2020
Messages
191
Location
Saint Simons Island, GA
I am considering a new job opportunity in the Southeast VA area. Job is in VA beach but we'd likely live outside of the city.

I've hunted on public land with my brother near Chesterfield, VA but what are the opportunities like in the SE part of the state. Is private land reasonably available? I have young kids that love to hunt and I would be looking to find a private farm/lease for ourselves. I'm not overly concerned with what it costs, just want to make sure it's attainable within a couple of hours of where we'd live. We live in Southeast GA right now and finding decent leases is difficult. Fortunately we have a really good club and I'd want to find similar.
 
Dont live there anymore, but from there. Plenty of clubs, but most are dog running clubs (not my thing, but maybe yours?). A few good clubs that dont allow dogs. PLENTY of public, much overlooked. The Cavalier Tract on the Dismal Swamp side in Chesapeake is really good for numbers, but mature deer are hard to come by. You also have Big Woods WMA outs side of Windsor, about an hours drive. If you want a day trip, check out the Appomattox/Buckingham State Forest. Lots of overlooked woods there.
 
always89y said:
Dont live there anymore, but from there. Plenty of clubs, but most are dog running clubs (not my thing, but maybe yours?). A few good clubs that dont allow dogs. PLENTY of public, much overlooked. The Cavalier Tract on the Dismal Swamp side in Chesapeake is really good for numbers, but mature deer are hard to come by. You also have Big Woods WMA outs side of Windsor, about an hours drive. If you want a day trip, check out the Appomattox/Buckingham State Forest. Lots of overlooked woods there.
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Dog running isn't really my thing either. We have a lot of those in Southeast GA as well.

I don't mind public, but I have a 8 year old and 4 year old that love to hunt with me. Much easier to have a dedicated spot to go. As long as there's land that's available within a couple of hours, I'm good. Ideally I'd like to find 200-300 acres myself and do my own thing.
 
I live in VA Beach. If you haven't been to the area there really isn't your typical city. It is one big sprawling city. You have to think, the United States start right here. As far as land it can be found, but most of it gets snatched up quickly. I actually just lost my 2 pieces of private in the last 2 days, SUCKS!!! I will be one more guy on the already crowded public land this year. If you want to PM me I can try and help out. There is a lot of good farm land in all directions (except East) within the 1-3 hr time limit. I just started looking at leases and land to buy last night.
 
If your willing to pay the fee, you can always cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and find Bed and Breakfast's to hunt their land. They are always looking for folks to help thin the heard.
 
I do. Been here for 15 years or so. There are public spots within 1-1.5 hrs and if you put in the work, and understand public land, you can be successful. As for private, getting on a club/lease is easy. I am a member of 3, and have roughly 9k acres. Now with that all being said, almost every lease is a dog running club. That bothers some, some it doesnt. I am indifferent. I typically bow hunt full season, and when my club is running dogs on one tract or farm, I hunt another. I live out in Chesapeake, and most of my leases are about 50 minutes away in Suffolk and South Hampton County. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.
 
SEVA_Bowhunter said:
Never heard of this. Can you PM me any info?
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I grew up in VA beach, we hunted in Suffolk and Eastern Shore. The only issue I had with shooting deer in Suffolk is that we hunted a peanut farm, and the deer tasted like peanuts. Other than that lots of deer and good place to hunt.
 
milunchbox said:
I grew up in VA beach, we hunted in Suffolk and Eastern Shore. The only issue I had with shooting deer in Suffolk is that we hunted a peanut farm, and the deer tasted like peanuts. Other than that lots of deer and good place to hunt.
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I used to hunt with a club on the Eastern shore but never heard of doing a Bed and Breakfast and hunting their land. That intrigues me. As for the peanuts, I have killed piles of deer in Suffolk, some on peanut farms and never really had that sensation. Guess they were eating enough variation to even it out?
 
SEVA_Bowhunter said:
I used to hunt with a club on the Eastern shore but never heard of doing a Bed and Breakfast and hunting their land. That intrigues me. As for the peanuts, I have killed piles of deer in Suffolk, some on peanut farms and never really had that sensation. Guess they were eating enough variation to even it out?
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We hunted a peanut farm, with fields as far as I could see, that and cotton is all they farmed to my knowledge. If you go south to Knaggs Head you can shoot bears, if you go north enough you can shoot sitka deer on the Eastern Shore.
 
Thanks for all of the info guys! Sounds like if this thing comes to fruition that there will be plenty of opportunity.

That's interesting about the peanut taste. I work for a peanut butter company and have hunted peanut fields on many occasions. I've never noticed it!
 
Only time I have noticed it. When I was in Kodiak, the Kodiak bear tasted terrible, because 90% of their diet was fish. It is one of the only animals in Alaska you DO NOT have to pack the meat out before the trophy part. You can let the meat lay and just take the trophy parts.
I have never tasted it in deer.
 
I shot a hog in central CA a few hundred yards from the beach, had a fishy taste.

I’m in VA Beach too. Within an hour it’s hot, they run dogs, and the bugs are horrible. The mountains are worth the drive in my opinion. There is a high deer density down here though!


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weekender21 said:
I shot a hog in central CA a few hundred yards from the beach, had a fishy taste.

I’m in VA Beach too. Within an hour it’s hot, they run dogs, and the bugs are horrible. The mountains are worth the drive in my opinion. There is a high deer density down here though!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Seems there are a few of us in the Hampton Roads area. Maybe we should have a get together and hit some public this season? After I get home (two days) ill reach out to you guys and see if its something you guys would want to do. And OP, if you make it up this way holler, Ill volunteer to help show you some public and other areas.
 
SEVA_Bowhunter said:
Seems there are a few of us in the Hampton Roads area. Maybe we should have a get together and hit some public this season? After I get home (two days) ill reach out to you guys and see if its something you guys would want to do. And OP, if you make it up this way holler, Ill volunteer to help show you some public and other areas.
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Sounds great, thank you. I'm headed up for an on-site visit next week as kind of a last step before I anticipate an offer. There's still a lot to figure out but it sounds promising. If I take the job, I'm assuming this year will be a wash with moving and traveling. I think any hunting that I get done will be at home in GA. I hunted Amelia last year for a week with my brother and found some good spots, but it was late season and had been pounded pretty hard already.
 
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