So for the past year I have been hunting public land and have yet to get one out here in nebraska. Hunting season has finally started up again and i would hate it if the outcome was the same as the year before. Does anyone have some tips to share, that they have learned over the year while hunting public land, to turn the odds in my favor? Or maybe just some words of encouragement? I would greatly appreciate it.
Walk until you have no signs of human! I have noticed that the further I walk the better or more signs of deer I see, get into the thickest nastiest stuff you can find IMO I also suggest sitting as long as you can into the afternoon before you decide to get up and walk, if you wish too, other hunters walking out earlier may push deer right to you. Good Luck
The best thing I did when I hunted federal public land here in Illinois was to hunt during the week, when most everyone else was working. Even it if means using precious vacation or personal days off, I found that to be the best time to hunt public land. You won't be alone out there, but the numbers are reduced enough to give you a fighting chance, and some enjoyment. I know there are some public land areas that are just crawling with bowhunters, almost all of the time. Honestly, I would think long and hard before subjecting myself to that kind of craziness. I would either go out of my way to find another place to hunt, or forget about it all together. Do your homework, and put forth a bit of effort, and you can find great public places to hunt. Be prepared to burn some shoe leather, because most hunters want the convienience of not having to walk any futher than they have to. If you are willing to hike back where few others are willing to go........you will do OK.
You could go as far as you want and still not see deer. It's nice to get some scouting in before the season starts. What kind of public land are you hunting?
I ran across this article the other day, right here in the articles section. Maybe it'll get your juices flowing. Five Top Stand Sites for Pressured Public Land | Bowhunting Knowledge | Bowhunting.Com
This is my 2nd year bowhunting all public land. Got skunked last year too. It's hard to scout and pattern anything on public ground. I had my camera stolen and a lot of other hunters sharing the same area. I set up 1.5 mikes from the parking area so I think I'm in deep. I've had my chances though so I can't complain about the number of deer seen. They are pretty skittish though. I've made a Lot of rookie mistakes but its a learning Experience that hopefully will payoff soon. You just have to keep at it and not get discouraged Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Get out of Nebraska. I recently read an article in Outdoor Life about deer hunting public lands. They had something in there about Nebraska has about 800,000 acres of public ground while South Dakota has about 4 million acres. I also worked with a kid from Nebraska and he said the public ground where he is from is awful and he was amazed to see so many public grounds around here.
1. Scout, scout, scout some more. If you didn't do any winter, spring, or summer scouting your already way behind the 8 ball. 2. Learn how to read and use Topos and take them afield with you watch how the deer relate to the terrain correlate that with what's on paper. Ex. Deer running up points to escape pressure, walking on hill side benches, etc.. 3. Go in early give yourself ample time to SNEAK to your stand site. This is hard it should take more effort sneaking to your stand then it is to walk at a normal pace. I like to be set up ready to kill 45-60 min before shooting light in some cases this involves waking up 0230-0300. 3. I personally like to go in deep, but I am not afraid to walk 100 yds from the parking area and set up if its the right spot. 4. Play the wind and know what the thermals are doing there is certain spots I hunt I can have the dead wrong wind, but once those thermals start to rise my scent is going straight up. Milkweed is your friend here. 5. Be observant to in from your hunting locations both walking in and driving to and from. Those deer you see on the properties bordering public you wish you could hunt you prolly can. Chances are the are often on and off the public land. 6. Stay on stand longer in the am 7. Hunt the edges !! Hardwoods to pines, pines to briars, hardwoods to briars, woods to fields, natural edges like steep ridges. Deer are edge creatures! Thinking ...
I go through the same thing here in mass. Hunting public land is tough because you not only have to worry about what you are doing but you have to be aware of what the other hunters are king around you. The area i hunt when on public land is trampled with hunters and gets worse every year. Amazingly the area still holds a good amount of deer. But it's not like hunting where you are the only one in the area it totally changes basically everything I do. I probably spend 40% of my hunting on public land and I hunt it based on what time of the season it is. Most of the hunters are wannabes they hunt opening day and Saturdays. They trash the woods and are loud as hell and they don't care about being in the woods they want to shoot a deer that's it. This will be my 6th year hunting public land and come to a realize a few things. First that there are some awesome bucks in the area and basically give you a 3 day window tops to get them when the season starts then they go nocturnal. Secondly they give you a few more chances during the rut. Lastly the very end of season they give you one more chance they need to eat before the snow hits. My basic point in all my rambling here is if you play your cards right it can be productive. Don't get discouraged if there is a ton of hunters find areas where they don't want to go because that's how a deer thinks and the wannabe hunters will thin out once they don't see a 200" buck on opening day under their stand.
Look for the nastiest spots in there as far away from everyone else as you can and try and sit the whole day..I've killed more deer in wma's around 2 in the afternoon than any other time.
Scout, scout, scout. Go to where the deer are. Maybe deep or maybe by your parking area. And yes weekdays are usually the best.
Great info y'all. I need to start scouting late winter, find some spots for the fall, then be the 1st one in and last 1 out. Not much land outside Chicago that isn't overrun.
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the great tips. Last night I sat in a finger of trees that was on a small ridge. It separated an elevated cornfield and a lower weed field. I don't believe many hunters think about sitting there because it is such a small strip of trees and it is thick with vines and brush, but i have been doing a lot of online scouting and reading about deer movement so I decided i would give it a shot. Even though the spot i chose was about 80 - 90 yrds from the road and I seen about 5 vehicles drive by, I still managed to have a doe walk within 20 yrds. I was unable to let one fly due to the amount of brush. Just a couple more steps and I could have fed my freezer, but like you guys were saying she was very uneasy and decided to turn around and walk back the way she came. Between my experience last night and all the great info. that you guys gave I really feel that this season is going to end well.
I agree with all previous posts but would add that I hunt public land exclusively and the best sets are based on terrain features. I don't scout rubs, scrapes food etc. Most of the activity near the best sign occurs at night on pressured public land. Find the narrowest funnel you can identify and hunt it with the right wind. I set up in spots where I see few deer, but the deer I see are in range most every time. Narrow fencerows or ditch lines between large blocks of timber, swamp crossings, high narrow saddles etc are the best for bowhunting public land. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.
Knock on some doors and find some private land. Maybe even buy a plot map book and look at your online county assessor pages to find names of land owners and give them a ring. Also if you notice someone that has nice land scaping or a backyard garden, maybe your best bet to get some small private land. In Iowa, you can't find enough people to hunt these small private plots next to town where only bow hunting is allowed.
Went out yesterday on state land to hang a stand and probably saw around 5 others in a 1 mile stretch. I just kept walking looked for sign and hung my stand on the edge of all the people. Hoping to nab a afternoon buck when the noob hunters start walking out at lunch. Good Luck
