How close to hunt to someone on public land?

I'm not sure about other states, but in Missouri, you are required to have your stands out of the woods after the 1st of February(not exactly sure on the date). That keeps people from "claiming" spots. I wouldn't intentionally hunt an area that I knew was being hunted, but I also wouldn't feel bad about hunting a great area that others are hunting too. I ended up killing a buck off public ground a few years ago. I scouted the area pretty good, found my tree and came back the next day to hunt it. Got settled in early and was hunting by 3:00. Around 5:00 I heard some movement and there was a guy coming into the timber from the opposite direction of where I entered. He proceeded to climb up a tree that was about 90 yards away. We both saw each other, but stayed to hunt. He never even saw the buck I killed until he was running away. That hunter was very friendly, stuck around and helped me blood trail the buck until we found him(which wasn't very long). I'm sure it could have worked out differently, but the honest truth is that I had no idea he had a stand in there.

 

Just dont let it shy you away. The spot I got as of last 2 seasons I killed my best buck to date an 8 pointer on public ground. Its about a half mile walk to get in to this spot for most guys. This year I had 2 bird hunters on my trail camera and I still saw some bucks and got one myself. I think partially due to the warmer weather we had end of October got some bird/small game hunters out. Also, try to force yourself to hunt on those brutal cold days where most guys would stay home. You might find out that is when you could get your opportunity as deer tend to move when its cold and the other guy stays home in bed.

 

In PA, if you have a guy 160 yards, you would probably get a kiss right on the lips.....

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Gave, not have

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I have had the most success on public land by using a small 12 ft boat and hunting the downwind edge of lakes and sloughs. In my experience the guys that leave stands out are either too lazy to pack in and out and hardly ever hunt or hunt the same spot every time. Either way, he's no bother to you. Most of these folks are weekend warriors. I work shift work as well and never hunt public ground on the weekends. I've never had issues with people on heavily hunted public ground in KY. I just avoid parking near others and either hunt very deep or right by the road. You would be surprised how many good deer are within 100 yards of the road or boat ramp. I found a very good deer bedded within 50 yards of the boat ramp I was using last year. He can watch traffic and the boat ramp from a slight ridge in a cane thicket in a place you would never think of hunting. I bumped him twice in the same spot early and late season. I'm still trying to figure how to get on him. Good Luck!

 

Yeah I'm trying to find the hard to get to places but am also picking some spots that are quick and easy to get to. It takes me 1.5hrs to drive there so add another 1hr of trekking back there and daddy's gonna be home late. Which is fine but I know that there are going to be times when I'm rushed or heck I might get hurt or something and it makes more sense to hunt close to the road. I did get to hunt there one time this year. I was ab 70yds away from my truck and the deer moved with their butts in the wind and were ab 20-30yds from my truck... totally rocked my world... but one of those old does had me pegged when I turned my head! Go figure?! Anyway, that food plot I hunted was right on the main road. It didn't look like it was hunted that much (probably for being so close to the road). A truck drove bye and the deer weren't even phased... could be a lot of overlooked spots on the main roads.


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