If you had exclusive access to X-hundred acres of private land vs. the same amount of public land, which would you hunt? I hunt both public land and private land, but I prefer private land any day. You have so much more control. You can hunt where you want without anyone pushing deer around, you can hang cameras with less worry that they'll be stolen, did you say food plots? It would be foolish to put food plots on most public land. Try burning 10 acres of public land and then explaining to the cops "but it's for the deer." Most guys on this site aren't just hunters. They're conservationists. They work year round to improve the habitats for the deer and prepare for their success in the upcoming season. On public land you're limited to hunting and scouting. There's little opportunity for habitat improvement.
This guy again... I feel like this guy is always just trying to start issues. As Fitz said, he Dan, and Josh all hunt public so I don't get what your problem is. You must not really watch the episodes at all because Josh is constantly talking about how he strictly hunts public. Go somewhere else with your pity party bud Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I hunted a certain buck on public all year a few years ago. Didn't get him but came close. Seems like you have to change the way you hunt when it comes to public. Deer act like they start to pattern all the hunters and move when everyone leaves Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
JB, we have a hunter in Michigan that has been very successful hunting public land & high pressure deer. He wrote a couple books that some call their bible...He made some videos too. Check out John Eberhart, he has good advice for public land hunting. Trying to learn how to hunt by watching videos is going to leave you frustrated. You have to learn how to hunt the land & deer where you are. The videos are entertainment & should inspire you to get out of the house & learn the hard lessons first hand, with the hope that you'll eventually be rewarded for your efforts. http://www.eberhartswhitetailworkshop.com/ See if his advice helps. Good luck
If there's that much pressure on the public you hunt then you have to not be lazy and put in the work to move on and find greener pastures. I hunt both public and private. Tell you the truth I like hunting the public that I hunt equally as much as the private. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
If you are not going to watch all the shows better yet pay attention to what you are watching, keep your mouth SHUT! Like others said, Josh Fletcher, Dan Richardson and Mike Fitzgerald all hunt Public land. I know this is a free society and we have freedom of speech, but I hate when people make false accusations and then act like they have the best intentions in mind. However, give someone a platform and they will show you their intelligence or they will show you their ignorance.
[QUOTE=" i mean real public to here in illinois not the awesome managed public in Wisconsin or Iowa or minesotta either.[/QUOTE] Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure Midwest whitetail shows a lot of public land hunts in Iowa? Not to mention Bill Winke hunts PRIME private land in Iowa. Not dissing that show either because you are right, they do have some quality tips and show some great private and public land hunts. I also have been a fan of BHOD and it remains one of my favorite shows online. It still is a team of REAL hunters (most of which have other careers) showing real hunting. They show the good shots and the bad shots, and when they make a bad shot they talk about about it....most other shows don't. I also think every hunter will get out what they put in. While there are plenty of guys who put in a ton of work scouting, packing, and hanging stands on public...there are also guys putting in a ton of offseason work on 40 private acres, setting permanent stands, hinge cutting, planting food plots...and everywhere in between. It's about doing the best you can hunting in YOUR individual situation, whether it be private or public. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Lazy? These guys put together shows every week, consistently working on making it happen for our viewing. You act like they are sitting out there in sweatpants, on the ground, over a feeder inside of a high fence. I get that public land has its challenges but let me tell you so does private land. If you apply advice from the shows you'll be surprised.. hunt food sources, hunt travel corridors, find bedding areas, look at Ariel maps. This can be applied to public land. And as far as Illinois hunting pressure. Lol come to the keystone state, there is a line to get in the deer woods.
Didn't Dan take a public land buck a few seasons ago? Fitz hunts public land too. There are other hunts that are on public land, but I can't recall who they were. Thing about public land is success rate, low rates equal less footage and episodes... Sent from my N9518 using Tapatalk
Not accusing the OP of not doing this but people just have to get out there a scout. BHOD or any other show can only talk so much about where bedding areas, pinch points and feeding areas are but if someone doesn't know where those are in the area they hunt, it's worthless. I'm in CA and the hunting terrain and deer patterns are vastly different from Illinois, Iowa, Colorado and so on. You can watch a video on how to replace the spark plugs in your truck and replicate the video perfectly. You can't do that with deer hunting. And again I'm not trying to say the OP isn't putting in their time and effort but they best way to figure out the deer on the land you are hunting IMO is boots on the ground and/or trail cameras. And by the way, Josh Fletcher did a great piece on one of last years episodes about public land hunting and how he does it. And a lot of times, you just need a good bit of damn luck too. Best of luck to you and everyone this year!
And if you'd like to watch only pure public land hunting on YouTube, check Hushin and Solo Hunter. All public, all DIY. And as someone said, Midwest Whitetails does quite a bit of public hunting too.
Something about putting up stands, scouting, trimming lanes on private. It's just so much easier than public. Shoot on private ground the stands pretty much erect themselves. And food plotting. Chhh.... food plotting is for the laziest of lazies. Nothing says you're a slacker like taking the time to think out and strategize, bush hog, spray for weeds, test your soil, work the dirt, fertilize, plant, roll the soil again, and pray for rain, and if you don't get any rain think about how you can bust your ass to get water to the plot.....Might as well sit on the couch and watch bowhunt or die and send messages telling those types of people how lazy they are Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
If there was public land around my house I would take full advantage of it. It would save me a ton of time and money. Unfortunately for me there isnt.
I've hunted both and really dislike anything public for hunting. this hold true especially for waterfowl and deer. if your wanting to watch a show where some butthead sets up 20 feet from you and either of you see a thing all day long then so be it. I'd rather watch desperate housewives.
