Hello, well after my wife's mother' landlord denied me rights to hunt his 200k acres, and my billionaire friend denying me on his 500k acres of land (stating land is sacred), it looks like my first year hunting will be against the orange army. As I am a noob, but a "serious" wanna be, what are tips and tricks to public land hunting? If any of you are in Ohio, where are good public hunting spots? Thanks, Noob
My first tip to you would be to not concern yourself with the "orange army" until you find some spots. Chances are the pressure in archery season is light. Public land gets a bad rap. I find that public land often offers more opportunity and challenges in PA than private land. Sure, might not have your own food plot but, public land can be just as fun or more fun to hone your skills. Second, while scouting, look as close for signs of other hunters as you do deer. I found many spots people still hunt and spots that people no longer hunt (could be for several reasons). Took by biggest Delaware buck on public land where another hunter "used" to hunt. Found signs of his stand placements, orange markers, tacks, etc. How did I know he did not still hunt there? I hunted several weeks and did not see him or fresh signs of him. As a side note, I took my biggest PA bucks from public land as well. Third tip is to think about where you are positioned and where others are setting up, walking in, or walking out. Use that to your advantage. Especially in any overlapping seasons. This seems more important in gun season but, can help in archery if it is a small area you are hunting. Now would be a great time to get into the woods and check out signs.
WOW! Thanks so much! I honestly was so discouraged about not having private land to hunt. I definitely will be scouting and seeing what signs of bucks are around. Thank you so much!!!
public is awesome where I'm at in PA. I have several friends that are getting skunked on the great private lands that are bragged about. they hear me talking about all the bucks I'm seeing and have now decided to leave the private to hunt the public. heck one guy I hunt with left his lease to hunt on public ground cuz it was better. I go in about 3 miles. most of it I ride a bike, then hike the rest. the trick is to go deep!!! get past the beer can line. only hard core guys will hunt there. don't be a wimp about terrain, weather, or distance to travel. how bad do you want it??? sit as long as possible every time. seems every time I hunted public last year I seen all my deer between 9:00 and 3:30. I tried to not hunt the weekends because I don't want to educate my competition. Tuesday thru Thursday seem best. don't use tacks, ribbons, paint or anything else to mark trails or u are going to get company. go in on GPS ONLY. once in a while u will see a stray hunter but don't get discouraged he will pass through. the best part is that he can't kick you out for any reason. good luck hope some of these tips help. helpful hint: hunt clearcuts that are about 5yrs old (trees about 10' tall). it's exciting cuz bucks cruise from thicket to thicket looking for does bedding in them. makes the rut rather exciting.
Public land in Ohio can be a huge challenge but it is not impossible. The woods at times will seem to be flooded with hunters but being a bow hunter does work in your advantage as we have far less bow hunters than gun hunters. As previously mentioned look for signs of other hunters just as you are for deer sign, long hikes have paid off well for us on our public hunts. Another good tip is to try and hunt the weekdays whenever possible, as most of us only have weekends to hunt. The biggest buck killed in our camp was killed on public land in Ohio, 186" I will post pics when I get home of him. Good luck and stay safe
Public land here I'm competing with pheasant hunters more than I am deer hunters. Yes, they cant shoot the deer and may push them to you but I've had a few too many close calls with guys shooting at pheasants and me sitting in the trees down range..
I will tell you right now you wont have a problem on public land in Ohio. Just need to do your homework. Right now is the best time to get out and put some miles in. Most of your snow is gone now and you will be able to see all the trails, rubs, and scrapes from last year. I hunted some public land south of Athens area and didn't have a hard time finding plenty of good trees tore up. I am not sure where in Ohio you are from but from what I noticed the Athens area will be the most populated but there was plenty of ground. I wouldn't worry about the gun hunters since there is only 2 weeks gun season in Ohio.
I am not doubting him, but I had to do the math for my own curiosity. That is approximately 312.5 square miles and 781 square miles. So ~17.6 x 17.6 miles, and ~27.95 x 27.95 miles, those are some huge pieces of land. I think I would prefer smaller areas to hunt so figuring the deer out might not be so daunting.
A little trick that I use to use a lot...Find pockets that are only accessible by going down. Nobody wants to drag a deer uphill.
you will find most weekend hunters don't travel more then a couple hundred yards from the road... be willing to go in early, and deep, and let the weekends push the deer into you and you'll have good luck just about anywhere on public land
Find some big pieces of state land and go deep! All though many big bucks have been killed in spots that are over looked because everyone thinks they get pounded. Good luck and I still cant believe people with 500k acres or 200k acres won't let one person in.
Okay people, Maybe the noob was being a little dramatic when talking about the amount of land that my rich buddy owns. haha I was mad at the time i was posting this... At least i gave you guys some giggles hahahaha. He does own a lot of land though haha
I know a guy that owns a lot of land and all they do is shoot yearling bucks and are telling everyone that they are practicing trophy management. at least that is their excuse why they say no one can hunt there. but I respect their decision. it is their land and it is their sad soul that has to pay the taxes on it. he has about 300-400 acres which is a big chunk of private for my area. that is why it doesn't bother me to go to the public and hunt on 10,000 acres where no one can tell me to leave.
Definitely listen to all the advice above. The public land I hunt has a lot of pressure and a lot of human activity such as dog walking and hiking. If the area you hunt is pressured find where the deer escape, if the game land borders a road I would look for the area they cross to get to "safe" ground. This is how my dad and I have positioned our stands and we have had a lot of luck with it. Don't get discouraged if there are other hunters around you, just sit tight and make sure they leave before you do and you might just get one pushed to you. Good luck!!
