This Publix land is killing me. I've got bucks on camera and then they disappear. It's hard to pattern these boys. I can't bait, the food sources are everywhere so it's not one area. I can't seem to get them on camera consistently. SC is some tough hunting on fort jackson. Smh anyone have any advice?
Public land is very difficult to hunt in any heavily populated state. And it doesn't get any tougher than public big-woods... but I once read and firmly believe that 90% of the deer occupy 10% of the land. Lots of guys will tell you to "go deep". I look for my 10% in nasty thicket areas (often, right off the edge of a dirt road); ugly places other guys don't want to deal with. The sign/trails will be there. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks man, I've found a few spots like that the issue is its swampy and thick so shooting lanes becomes an issue. I have about 4 different locations that I have bucks on camera, however they will show up and then dissappear and not return to that same spot for weeks at a time. I can find the doe, bucks are the issue. I'll just have to be patient and push a little deeper
Most of the bucks I watch all summer do the same. They're always around, though.. they're always back to check the does a few later. Stay after 'em. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
When we moved to our home about 25 years ago in a semi-rural area, I was delighted to be in close proximity to abundant public land. The next summer I did a lot of scouting and was really pumped for archery season to roll around and employ some of my preseason planning. Everywhere I went I ran into "greenhorns" who came out of the relatively close (20-25 miles) big city with noisy clothing, grunt calls and rattling antlers. It didn't take me long to figure out that there was no such thing as a "secret spot" no matter how far in you walked because someone was doing the same thing from the next road. After doing that for a few years, I was blessed to gain access to some private land and only hunt public when I want to do some "run and gun" type hunting for a single evening or to give my primary spot a rest. Indeed, competing for deer on heavily pressured ground is a challenge and every one you kill is a bonus.
I hunt a large military base (About 45,000 acres are open to hunting). Lots of things make it tough. Troop movements, virtually no crop fields, certain areas close down for days and weeks on end, a three month long deer season, a check in process.... Makes it tough. But like Josh said, a good topo map study might point you into the right direction, then after that it is boots on the ground. Stay out of your best spots until the time of season and winds are right. Those bucks will be in there......
