Hey any tips and tricks on hunting public land, looking at the map and deciding the best place to go anything and everything helps thanks!
I try to find edges where two different habitats meet and scout around the edges. It may be a clear cut in hardwoods or a patch of pines in the middle of hardwoods. Usually that is where I find deer sign.
Make sure you use a saddle and tell everyone that you rock saddle on public during every conversation.
I’m a saddle hunter and I am annoyed by saddle hunters talking about saddle hunting. Haha. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lol I actually am hunting out of a saddle! That makes me the coolest one in the woods right?! I hunt in ladder stands, climbing stands, and saddle I keep it interesting but for public 100% saddle!
It is a great way to hunt and I find it very effective. But it’s not the end all/ be all for every hunter. There’s challenges for sure. I don’t hunt a ton of public ground so I cant weigh in on great tactics there but it seems like it would be beneficial to get back in a little further or look for pockets where there’s not a ton of pressure. I do that on my private parcels and try to stay mobile. I may hunt the same 40 acre piece 4-5 times during the rut but I’ll change trees every time. That’s where a saddle or light weight hang on comes in handy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Me too, I don't even get on SH anymore. BTW, have I mentioned I'm a saddle hunter? To the question: Most say get away from everyone else which is great, but with the influx of "pro public land" hunters, a lot are going to go deep (or think they will early season), so who knows. I did a butt load of walking last year and learned a lot about the public area hunt, I also learned a lot more about hunting deer than previous years. I also went a little over a mile deep, so I just contradicted my earlier statement. Basically, all the work I did last year is for this years season. Luckily, the spot I hunt is not hunted hard by public hunters. Being mobile is a huge plus, but you need to burn a few hunts to setup, observe, relocate and repeat as needed.
One more thing, the deer in my profile pic I killed 100 yards from the main parking lot, so do not over look the "obvious" spots most will write-off as pressured.
One other thing that my buddy does and he’s pretty successful is trying to find food sources on public land. A lot of guys either try and get far back in or they hunt based on topo maps. But my buddy goes back in and tries to find acorn trees and then he sets up off those. Last year he killed a dandy buck on public land doing that. Here’s the video if you’d like to check it out: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
We hunt public land here in Ohio a lot. Honestly we have spots that are deep in the woods and some that are close to the road. A lot of folks overlook the spots close to the road. Dont overlook the close spots just because they are close.
Good to know thanks! I watched a video not too long ago where someone hunted right off the road and nailed a big one!
The guys from The Hunting Public killed a great buck right off the road. Shoot there were trucks driving by while they were hunting. I watched a girl ride a horse down a gravel road a few years ago and shot a 150" buck 5 minutes later that had to have been waiting on her to get by before he crossed the road because I watched him cross the road right behind her. It was a cool hunt.
That’s awesome!! Ya I believe I seen the hunting public’s video! I am attempting to video this year hard to explain your hunts people if they can’t see it!
Put some hills or water in between you and the parking lot and that will set you apart from the majority of other hunters. But the absolutely best thing you can do is not tell anyone where your hunting or what your seeing. It amazes me the info people willingly spill in the parking lot or online.
I find a lot of deer traveling field edges. Edges of swamps, parallel to rivers. Edges of woods to cut overs. Edges of main roads. I see deer regularly on these
