Does anyone have any tips on Hunting public land it seems I do all the hard work just so someone can walk in on me 30min after daybreak. Is there a way I can use this to my advantage?
I don't think you can "plan" on using it to your advantage. Sometimes it just works out that way. I wouldn't worry much about other hunters. Last year I killed my buck on public no more then 30 min after two guys walked by me.
Thanks heckler I always try to be the 1st in the woods in the morning. so I guess when its ment to be it will happen....
Never overlook small wood lots because a lot of others do, sometimes the deer just hide out in there......
Exactly! If your driving around near your hunting location look for small properties, also look to see if there are any tire marks because if there are tire marks it could mean other hunt there. As ive said before i hunt woodlots 3, 5, 4, and 12 acres. I know for a fact that no one hunts there. And there are some big bucks there. I know of a 5 year old doe that has had twin fawns every year and the deer population is rediculous. Never overlook high way side wood lots.
Public land is great. Look for a great spot and sit it all day if you can. the best time for me on Public land is when there are a lot of hunters coming in or out. Lunch time, and right before we all go home. This is when everyone is the loudest and tramps out of there spot and kicks em all up. then you sit and hope one wonders buy. That's how I got a few of mine. 1st one in last one out.
Last year I was on public land and no matter how remote I thought I was I always heard people by me. For example I moved my stand to which I thought was far enough from people. Well turns out it doesn't matter if people are target practicing for hours on end within a half mile away . My best advice is to endure the people who are on public just like you. Many are a$$holes who don't care bout anyone else. But just accept it and ignore it. Your better than that.
I get back there where nobody else wants to go. the spot I,m eyeballing is cut off from easy access by a ominous looking snake infested creek. while scouting saturday I stopped to eat and saw 5 cotton mouths swim by, one stopped in the cypress knees to wait for prey so i studied him while I ate . A person would have to walk a very long way around to get to to the other side. Me.... I swim the creek. Snakes don't bother me as much as some people do, besides, snakes are dormant during the colder months anyway..
To be a successful hunter on pressured public land one has to develop a kick butt mentality, meaning they have to accept the game they are playing and persevere. Things to take into account when selecting some hunting spots are.... 1) The wind 2) Other hunters 3) Thicker cover Get away from other hunters, play the wind correctly, and hunt near thicker cover in the right spots and you put yourself into position to kill deer. Just keep grinding away. One season I only saw 12 deer total when I hunted my public land spot. I hunted approximately 150 hours that year which means I saw a single deer on average every 12 hours. It was tough but I gutted it out and arrowed three of those twelve deer, including two bucks.
You just have to use what's between your ears. For the most part people are lazy so look for harder to access areas. But, other non lazy hunters do this too. Thick cover or escape routs are good spots. I have had luck close to trails people use to access spots because at about 930 or 10 when people are calling it quits they push deer right past me. I will likely hunt a lot of public land this year. Probably more than I have since college.
I hunt public land, I get in before anyone else and i put arrows on trees where I am at so noone walks in on me. Now if I could get the Damn dog hunters to use tact and have respect for us still hunters.
I will also be looking to arrow some public venison this season. I also am planning to get in DEEP and early
Shadow is right on. I hunt almost exclusive public and have a blast and kill deer each year. I am lucky to have good public ground in Missouri but not all public is created equal. Couple thoughts though, be sure to be mobile, adjust your gear set up for mobility, small fanny, bring what you need and not a whole backpack of junk. Fast, comfortable, and light with the stand. Do what others aren't doing. One thing important is finding the best stand locations on your public ground and embracing this concept. Ex. if you find 10 killer spots on 3,000 acres of public they are probably better then the 10 spots that the guy with 200 acres of private has. You have lots of land at your disposal so find the best spots and run with it. Hunt each spot no more then 2 times in a year, occasionally 3 times but that is pushing it. Play the wind, find hidden pinch points within the timber, example, a cover break where cedars meet hardwoods, old fence inside the woods, topography, etc. I love public and have over 50 stand locations prepped for my climber or hang on with sticks spread out over 10,000 acres. Awesome stuff that public if you embrace it and know how to hunt it.
The public land I hunt is archery only and is about 8,000 acres, and I know every inch of it. It's taken years to learn the places deer use the most. I carry a small folding seat with my day pack and scout before,during,and after each season. Once you learn the lay of the land and how the deer move thru it, you can find good stand locations and sitting spots.Also learn where other hunters stands are and how they get to and from them.But most of all to be successfull hunting public land you need to be persistant!Best of luck!
Every one will tell you to go deeper and further then everyone else, good advice but honestly the best advice I can give you that has worked for me is to get there earlier and stay longer. If your allready there and setup before everyone else get's there great chance they will push something to you. Same thing with lunch, everyone leaves to go eat stay longer and when they leave they may also push something to you
My public ground success strategy was to hunt pinch points between thick cover during midday hours (10-2). I used the other hunters to push me deer. I also like to hunt mid week early in the season. I found most guys hunt the last couple of weeks of the season and I found that most of the deer were blown out of the public ground I hunted after the first week of Nov.
