This will be my first year hunting and I was wondering if anyone hunted in Connecticut. There is a lot of hunting land but I don’t know how much of it is actually good for hunting.
Sorry I didn't respond to your previous post! I hunt public land in CT. I grew up hunting public land in CT. I can tell you, that hunting the woods in the Northeast requires patience. What you need to focus on in the woods are land features that promote movement, or land features that will "funnel" deer movement. A good place to learn about land features is the hunting beast forum. Caltopo.com is a good website for topography maps. Good food sources in the woods are obviously white oak trees, but in a CT forest, there are thousands. It is impossible to predict which ones the deer will be using, but there are a few tricks to narrowing it down. Your best strategy is to locate white oaks near the type of land features that promote or funnel movement between bedding and food. Topo maps will help you find the land features, and boots on the ground to find the white oaks near these spots. When putting boots on the ground, don't get hung up on rubs. The bucks do this at night unless you've stumbled into a buck's bedroom. To me, hunting the public land woods is the most rewarding style of hunting. You have to earn it. Every deer sighting will be enjoyable because, chances are, you earned it the hard way. It is very easy to get discouraged hunting this way. You will go multiple sits without seeing a deer. To be honest, I've gone full seasons without seeing a deer. I'm not trying to discourage you, I'm being honest with you. I participate religiously on the "live from the stand thread" multiple times a day. I encourage you to do the same. Just keep in mind, we live in a different whitetail world than many who participate on the forums. Our deer populations are lower, our winters are harsher on the deer, and the food sources are limited. I hunt north central CT. Unfortunately, it holds the lowest deer population in the state. I like the challenge and sentimental value it holds. I won't hunt anywhere else. That being said, I wouldn't recommend anyone to hunt where I hunt. Why? here is why: in 2016, I had zero sightings. In 2017, I saw 3 doe all season. 2018 I saw one deer and shot him. 2019 was my most productive season to date with the most sightings, 8 deer, zero harvests. Last year I focussed on the advice I gave you, Look for terrain features that promote/funnel movement and find a food source nearby. Have you scouted yet? If you need some E-scouting help, PM me!
The best link to the best reading to learn: https://www.thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24471
Thanks so much this was very helpful I’ll definitely check out that other forum and implement your advice.
