The OFFICIAL thread for PUBLIC LAND hunting.

Good luck everyone, I'll be on my 5th year hunting public land in Ohio, last weekend I went out and hung 7 cams. Got covered in poison ivy, wore shorts with my knee high mucks, both legs around the knee covered and swollen, haha. No pain no gain.. Hopefully it pays off this year. I'll post some pics up when I go check the cams in another week or so.

 

Sounds like MCCD Mr. Zarr? Good luck!

 

I've met a few guys on one piece of public land I hunt that were BH.com members. Each time, I was wearing my GTG t-shirt so they came up to me asking if I'm ever on BH.com!! 90% of my archery hunting will be public land for me this year.

 

I'll continue to hunt some public lands in PA, but I'm slowly giving up on the areas around me. At least in terms of using my vacation time for those spots.

This will also be the first year I head out to Ohio to hunt some public lands. I scouted a small area but not as much as I would've liked. I'll hopefully spend a solid week hunting out there this fall with the occasional weekend hunt.

To top it off, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a hunt out in NE, SD, or ND. I still need to jump into the maps and narrow down some spots worth hunting.

 

I moved back to WI 2-1/2 years ago, Ive been scouting more and more public land each season and will be on public more this year than private for the first time. I have my sights on some great public land bucks, hope to catch up to one this season. Last thursday glassing a field across the road from one piece of public there were 5 bucks close to or over 150". This should be a fun thread!

 

If in WI and haven't looked, here is the DNR map to show privately owned land open to the public under DNR management programs.

Private forest lands open to public recreation web mapping application - Wisconsin DNR

 

I hunt public land in west Tennessee about 99% of the time. I didn't have any luck last year as far as harvested animals,but I probably had one of the best years as far as having deer sightings and encounters. It was a good year. Looking forward to this season

 

This is what I hunt. It's awesome. Lots of 40-80 acre chunks that are very nice and low hunter density.

 

And with a little leg work, are able to identify the owner and contact them. While by law they have to allow people on, it is always polite to contact them. Knowing where they are going to be, being able to let them know when you will be there, and often being able to get permission to leave stands up overnight.

 

I hunt alot of public land here in VA. And the privat land i hunt backts up to public. Sometimes it take an hour and a half to get to the top of the Mountain but it's possible to kill a great buck.

 

Mighty fine buck. Congrats

 

All public land for me in KY again this year. Love it until the week before gun season...gets flooded with hunters then. Can't blame them though, and I'm definitely not complaining. Hopefully I can get it done before November anyway, not much on cold weather. Haha.

 

I'll be hunting probably 50/50 this year. Have a few great private spots with nice deer but public hunting offers some great opportunities on some of the most beautiful terrain. It's worth dealing with the typical public land b.s.

 

Last guy I encountered knocking on doors asking for access told me to go to hell. I smiled, and I was patient, and he told me he'd been having lots of poachers on his property in NE Illinois. I've got a spot or two to hunt, but they're tiny. So now I'm looking for public land about 2 hrs out from "Chicagoland".
Has anyone ever hunt that Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife area? Is it worth a shot? It looks pretty large....

 

With only one hunting spot locally I will be hunting a couple public spots. I found one killer spot late last gun season that I will be sure to hit up. I will try to find some pics of the area I had taken last December.

 

I hunt about 98% public land. I do have a small family hunting lease but it's timber company property, which means it's been almost completely clearcut the last few years. I usually am able to take a couple deer a year off of public, last year that included this guy

A 6.5 yo 7 point. My biggest bow buck to date

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

Hi everyone, I hunt public land 100% of the time in northern Wisconsin. Set out 10 cameras 2 weeks ago so hoping to have some good bucks show up. Two years ago got pictures of a real nice buck and saw him once from the stand but couldn't get him close enough. Could hunt last year due to due to school, work, and family issues. Hoping this buck is still around though. Best of luck everyone!

 

Here's the thread of that buck I had the encounter with http://forums.bowhunting.com/whitetail-deer-hunting/northern-wisconsin-79855/

 

I hunt 98% public land and have pretty much all of my life (I'm old). My two best bucks scored 130 and 159. Last year was a really exciting year and disappointing at the same time. Was at full draw on a 140 buck at 18 yards and when I stopped him he jumped right at me and I had a head on shot which I didn't take. Also rattle in two big mature bucks at the same time that responded so quickly they were under my stand looking up at me before I could put the antlers down. There were a couple more blown opportunities as well like when 2 mature bucks walked in together when I was letting my bow down and it was hanging 4-6 feet below my stand. Looking forward to this year for sure! Here are my two best.

 

I hunt public land almost exclusively. I've taken quite a few deer from this land. No monsters, but some nice one's none the less. Here's my buck from last season. I posted this once before, but who's counting?