I have been hunting a corn field on public land this year. Deer trails everywhere. So many tracks we have dubbed the place Deer highway. Hunted mostly in the evenings but have yet to have any action. There is close bedding, food everywhere, funnels and staging areas but we haven't had any action yet. Is it worth putting more time in at the same place?
Absolutley, why not? Dont give up you never know when someone else hunting on public land will push a giant to you!! Best of luck.
How much pressure does the public land receive? If it's hunted regularly, the deer may be too nocturnal right now, but the rut is right around the corner. Do you have trail cameras up?
The public land in general gets a lot of pressure with all kinds of hunting but I don't know how much area the piece I am set up on gets for Deer. You can't leave Trail Camera's on public land in Minnesota.
If the tracks and sign are remaining fresh, it might be nocturnal but the odds of that switching (especially for a buck) are going to be increasing dramatically in the next week or two before gun season starts. Is there any chance they are picking you up on your way into the spot which is why they don't show on the nights you are there? If the sign remains and stays fresh, I think I'd stay put with the rut almost here.
Deer (especially mature bucks) are a lot smarter and a lot harder to kill on pressured public land. They aren't just going to parade around in a crop field during daylight. The sign shows you the deer are using the property, but not during daylight. You need to move closer to bedding if you want to see daylight movement.
Open field on public land, if you hunt that you will be disappointed. Scout the bedding and set up where the deer spend their time during daylight hours, close to their beds. I worry more about bedding than I do food because I hunt all public.
This is my first year bowhunting and only my second year chasing the elusive whitetail. What is the best way to find out where they are bedding? Just time on the ground? Pick out a few spots from google earth and then check them out? Follow any trails I can find?
I have hunted a couple state land corn fields and too be honest I believe they are all nocturnal areas. Try and find the staging areas where they are coming from before they enter the fields. May be better off sitting on a transition line like thick swamp to hardwoods. This way you can catch the deer moving earlier in the day before they make it to the corn field.
Not sure how the rest of the country looks around there but in the "big" woods of northern Wisconsin there are no bedding areas on the public land I hunt. Too much cover and too much browse. The deer just move as they want every day and no two days are the same. Public land is tricky. Takes lots of time and energy into scouting.
Mature bucks don't do things randomly. Beds may be used less consistently in the big woods because they have more options, but they definitely aren't random. I'm sure there is bedding, it's just harder to pinpoint.
I hunt PL exclusively and I know it gets over hunted from others as well, but I still go out to my 3 favorite PL locations in hopes that a cruising Buck or Doe comes my way...lol blind faith I know but I won't harvest 1 if I'm not out.... And seeing I don't have Private Land I'll take any advantage I can to hunt wherever too.... IMHO hunt it as much as you can.... Once or twice a week if able
I would also suggest moving into the timber. Those deer are staging up somewhere and hitting the fields after dark. I would look for the bedding as mentioned, but also look for buck sign. This time of year, you should be able to locate a scrape line, or some rubs. If you can find that, then use google earth to try and pinpoint which direction the bucks may be traveling to get to those scrapes. They are probably hitting them just before light or just after dark. Set up a couple hundred yards up the the trail from those scrapes, you should be able to catch any buck heading that way before it's too dark.
I only have public land to hunt on, but I rarely see another hunter until rifle season. Then it is over-run with orange.
Move around some. If you are seeing sign and good trails it may be a morning spot. It may be a nocturnal spot. It doesn't help that a lot of corn is still up around here. Once that changes, and the temp starts dropping more, we should get a lot more movement. Just keep at it, and have a couple extra spots scouted to hunt at.
