I wouldn't leave my Lone Wolf. I have a Muddy Outfitter that I got for a really good price that I have set up there. The other location has a junker stand I got from Menards.
I'll be concentrating all my efforts on public land up until the rut. then I hunt a private parcel that is historically very very good. I check all my stands and clean them up on the private in the summer and then I don't return until late Oct. I exclusively hunt public up until the rut starts kicking in. I have been hunting a 2,000 acre track this year and just got a nice doe on Tuesday. This particular piece of public turns very difficult after the 15th of Oct. because the DNR starts stocking it with pheasants and everybody and their mother starts tromping around in it. It's a fun piece and I enjoy the challenge of public land hunting. good luck to all the public land hunters this year!
Absolutely true. If you can reach it from the ground, it's gone. I am only willing to leave the cheapest hang on stand I have out on public land. All steps come out with me and nothing else is left besides the stand. If I hunt the evening and intend to return in the morning, I pull my last 4-5 steps and leave the rest.
I found a new piece of public land this year.. havent seen any other hunters. its a small hardwoods island surrounded by a 400 acre tamarack swamp. tons of sign and acorns all over the ground but sat there 3 times and have not seen a deer. very disapointing considering its the best public land piece ive seen.
So here's one I've been wondering about... What do you do when you find a trail camera in "your" neck of the woods on public land? I am NOT talking about stealing, destroying or otherwise tampering with... But -- do you try to keep your picture from being taken so the owner doesn't know there's anyone else in the area? Do you go the complete opposite route and make SURE your pic is taken to let them know they didn't find a secret honey hole to themselves? For years, I took the first approach... never had my picture taken knowingly. This year, someone placed a camera about six yards from one of my favorite trees to climb. I've pursposely walked by it twice a day about eight different days. Just trying something new.
Lol I have always done the second option. I will walk by it a lot and usually in a week the camera is gone and never see the hunter in the area ha.
If this is in an area you live and if people know you shoot nice bucks every year, then you should probably avoid the cameras. Other than that, I say make yourself known. A lot of guys would immediately shy away from that area if they saw another hunter on camera.
Greg, It's actually illegal in Missouri to have a game camera out on MDC land. I'm not sure about MTNF or Corp of Engineers property. I'm not going to call a Conservation Agent if I see a camera and make an issue of it but I do think that is an interesting law that not many guys seem to know about. I did see a camera out once after I had climbed a tree and happened to notice it while scanning around. After my hunt I did walk by it a couple times. I kinda thought I might be doing that guy a favor to let him know someone else was also hunting this area. Interestingly enough the next time I went in there the camera was gone. He might have killed the buck that was running that area and left. I know I didn't kill a buck there that season!
Those are some awsome public land bucks greg / mo. i have never ran into many cameras where i hunt but agree with jake pa if you a notorious big buck killer that is well known would not advertise myself, but if not i would probably walk by it but not too much they might get vindictive and cut your favorite tree down.
I got a question for you guys. How many of you try to be completely invisiable to others when hunting public land. i do this all the time. i started doing this after my brother told me to not park in the public parking lot all the time and got tracked down in a bar from a local who thinks he owns that piece of public land. He asked me if i own the truck with non res plates, i played dumb and park else where so he dosent know im there. I hide my vehicle, get dropped off, park in church parking lots and run across freeways to make myself invisable. just wondering if im the only crazy dude dodgeing 18wheelers with a lw climber on my back.
No, I just park in the parking lot, but I am always a little worried someone is going to jack with my vehicle.
T Ferg... a great question. I've done both, and my thoughts on it vary. Sometimes, I park at the same parking lot so much that I think everyone in the area thinks there's no use anyone else hunting that area because I'm in there so much. There's other times when I do like to be secretive... I'll walk 100 yards down the road behind a fencerow to cross the highway and hunt on the complete opposite side I parked on. I've got one spot where I shut my flashlight off every time I hear a car coming because I don't want anyone to think someone's hunting that spot. I'm planning a very clandestine trip in later this year... I bought a canoe to paddle past a chunk of private ground which the owner won't allow anyone to cross to access some public land behind it... I've got high hopes for that spot.
Public land sheds that my daughter and I found this spring. This is the only buck on my hit list. I've never had a hit list buck but, being the first set I've found with my daughter, it would make a pretty special trophy.
I hunted mostly public land back in illinois. Had a fair bit of luck. I hunted a lot of odd locations that did not fall into the 'get as far away as you can' conventional wisdom. I now hunt mostly public land in Utah. It's definitely different out out here.
I hunt public land every once in awhile. The property that I hunt I can only kill one buck on per year, and I really don't have much for other options that I think I could get another buck on. So some years I hunt public ground, others I don't. I hunted it quite a bit when I was younger and would like to do it again. The main problem for me is that I also have to get my wife on deer. And she also wants to shoot mature bucks only. So you can imagine how difficult it is for me to try and get on and kill 3-4 mature bucks per year. It usually doesn't work out too well.
I would do minimal pre-season scouting. Once the horde of opening day hunters hit, deer will change their patterns quite a bit. I do use every trip out as a hunting/scouting trip. If I saw deer, where I expected to see deer, I'd sneak back out when I was done hunting (or drag out my deer. ) If I didn't see deer, I'd take the long way back to the truck/prius. Being flexible was what I attribute to my better-than-average success. Set up on the freshest sign. Go where you saw the deer. Finding the perfect looking tree or funnel doesn't mean squat if the deer are moving somewhere else.
I've only found one camera so far. I walked all around the waterhole it was pointed at. I did restrain myself from chasing the pollywogs that were in the puddle. (I really wanted to) lol I won't necessarily avoid an area just because someone else has sort of staked it out, so I want them to know that it's quite possible that I'll come stumbling in while it's hunting season.
I think its good to let your presence be known on public ground. Hunters that hunt public ground from my experience usually tend to get discourage relatively easily. I let my presence be known every chance I get. Typically the result is I end up getting that area to myself for the most part. I also will inventory hunters to see how much pressure an area is getting by placing a camera up by the entrance to the property if it has limited accessibility. Never once has a hunter seen any of my cameras as they are not expecting them to be there.
Doing a little self filming on public land tonight. This is my 4th sit here this year but first in this spot. Unfortunately, this place gets a lot of pressure. I just like to hunt it for the challenge and to mix things up. I'm hunting on the edge of a bluff that drops off to the lake. About 100yds from bedding and oaks are plentiful. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm hunting public land last year no luck so I scout my butt off this summer. I'm still look at other spot on public land. shoot this does .25 mile in. now my question how far in do most public guys go? pheasant open soon and I'm going to get hard with hunters. all/any help would be great?
