Mathis Land Group-Virtual Properties Realty

Finding an old stand like this while walking a property tells you something.

The stand itself may be well past its useful life, but its location can still be valuable. It shows where someone before you believed deer were moving, feeding or staging.

From there, I want to know what has changed. Has the timber matured? Has the cover shifted? Are the same trails still being used? Does the access still make sense?

It can be a great place to start a camera survey and begin learning how deer are using the property today.

Old hunting improvements often tell a story about the land’s past. Sometimes that story helps you figure out where to start in the present.

A food plot can look perfect on planting day and still have a long list of things working against it.

Weather is one. Soil is another.

Then sometimes this crew shows up.

Feral hogs aren't just another trail-camera picture. Enough pressure can damage plots, feeders and habitat and force you to change the way you're managing the property.

Selling land isn’t the same as selling a house with more acreage around it.

A serious land buyer wants to understand access, topography, timber, water, utilities, soils, improvements, surrounding land use and what the property can realistically be used for.

That information should be part of the marketing — not something the buyer has to discover after calling.

Mathis Land Group specializes in farms, timberland, hunting and recreational property, and rural acreage throughout Middle Georgia.

Land ownership has a way of turning you into whatever profession the problem requires that day.

One day you're a wildlife manager.

The next you're a road crew, mechanic, forester, equipment operator, plumber, fence builder…

And apparently sometimes a tree service.

What job has owning land forced YOU to learn that you never expected?

Bonus points if the correct answer probably should have been, “I should have called somebody.”

If someone tells me, “I want 100 acres,” that really isn't enough information to start a good land search.

I'd rather know what you want to do with the 100 acres.

Hunting? Timber? Cattle? Row crop? Build a house? Weekend property? Long-term investment? Some combination of them?

Once the intended use is clear, we can start eliminating properties that look good on paper but don't actually fit.

Looking for rural property in Middle Georgia? Mathis Land Group can help you narrow the search before you start driving all over the state.

Sometimes we're building more than what we think we're building.

In this picture, we were working on a hunting stand.

But when I look at it, I see more than a stand.

I see time together.

I see him learning to use tools, solve problems, work when something isn't easy and take responsibility for something we've been blessed to have.

Deuteronomy 6 reminds us that teaching our children about God isn't limited to a church service or a formal lesson. It happens while we are living life together.

Working.

Riding.

Hunting.

Fixing things.

Making mistakes.

Talking along the way.

That hunting stand will eventually rust away.

I pray the lessons don't.

Land is something we may leave our children.

Faith, character and a relationship with God are far more important things to pass down.

One thing about owning land: you never really know what you’re going to find.

Came across this hanging in a tree.

Your reaction?

A. That’s pretty cool.
B. Call a beekeeper.
C. I’m going the other direction.

Which group are you in?

Middle Georgia whitetail hunters — you get ONE fall food-plot blend. What are you planting?

Assume central Georgia conditions.

You want:

• Reliable establishment
• Good tonnage
• Something that handles grazing pressure
• Food available through as much of the season as possible

What is your mix?

Oats? Wheat? Triticale? Cereal rye? Crimson clover? Brassicas?

Or something entirely different?

Drop your actual blend below. I’m interested to see what everyone is having success with.

When I’m evaluating hunting land, I’m interested in a lot more than whether somebody has a trail-camera picture of a big buck.

A picture tells me a deer was there.

I want to understand why he was there.

I’m looking at things like:

• Bedding and security cover
• Native browse
• Hard and soft mast
• Water
• Agricultural ground and food plots
• Timber type and age
• Travel corridors
• Neighboring habitat
• Hunting access
• How hunters can enter and leave without disturbing the property

Two 100-acre properties can hunt completely differently.

That’s a big part of what I enjoy about representing recreational-land buyers. The question isn’t simply:

“Does this property have deer?”

It’s:

“How does this property function?”

If you’re looking for hunting or recreational land in Middle Georgia, that is one of the things I can help you evaluate.

Mathis Land Group | Virtual Properties Realty

Apparently “protected” is a relative term when deer really want a mulberry.

We planted and protected this young tree to give it a chance to establish.

The deer still managed to strip about everything they could reach.

That’s one of the funny parts of improving wildlife habitat:

You’re trying to grow food for the same animals you’re trying to keep from eating it before it gets established.

Pears, persimmons, chestnuts, crabapples, mulberries…

What have deer been hardest on at your place?