My experiences are different from yours having hunted public for 15 years and now hunting private I have seen way more Big bucks on private then I have on public and killed way more on private, can control private way better with food plots and hunting pressure, in Illinois public by me is solid people from start til gun season. And I have killed 3 of my Bigger bucks off a 5ac piece I use to own, so size of land don't always matter and the piece I hunt hardest in Illinois is 80 acres and me and my cousin hunt it all year and last year he killed his biggest buck ever on the last day of season.. Just my experiences...
My ground here in Arkansas is opposite of that. I can go 2-3 years and never see a buck or get a picture of one in daylight. I saw 1 buck 1 time last year on the 80. Now as far as public goes the 3 places I hunt are 1,500 acres, 5,000 acres, and 17,000 acres. And the 1st month of bow season there is a few people on them but after the 5 day gun permit hunts around Nov 9th the places are ghost towns and you wont see another hunter out there. I pretty much have the place to myself. These 2 came off the same piece of public out of the same tree. Sent from my SM-G892A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Here is my only buck on private ground from last year running 3 cameras and 3 food plots Sent from my SM-G892A using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Nice hunt guys! Some good eating! Dove hunting is alot of fun and very frustrating (if ya know what I mean)! Looks like you did some good shooting. Sent from my SM-G950U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
Season opened yesterday for me but I haven't been out yet. Woke up this morning with shoulder pain. I hope I just slept on it goofy. I'm not too concerned about it from a hunting perspective yet. I'm hunting the early season from my ground blind with my crossbow. First hunt is planned for this coming weekend Sent from my 5059S using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
It has been a busy couple of days! Went to the lease yesterday and did a little bit of stuff. This weekend starts our early goose and teal season and I cannot wait! Deer season prep is really ramping up after this weekend. It’s time y’all!
How long do you wait to check your camera after you put it out? 1week? 2? I put out 3 cameras Monday and might wait until end of the month right before season starts. Sent from my SM-G965U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
It varies for me really! I usually check them once a week maybe two or three times a week once hunting season rolls around. I really enjoy looking at the pictures almost as much as hunting lol. My cameras are set up along our four wheeler trail so I’m not really adding any extra pressure with checking them.
I try and wait a month between checking them. Sometimes longer, depending on where the camera is located. If it is near a hunting spot, I don't want to track my scent around there much. I've got a Moultrie cell cam now, so as long as it gets good service I won't need to visit the camera for months at a time.
My Wisconsin property they've been soaking for a month. Usually just check those when we go hunt. Most the others we have out we check every 2 to 3 weeks. Depends. Sent from my SM-G950U using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
