Do you hunt public land?

[Jerimy240]

Is it worthless to hunt small fields in public land?

[USN_Sam1385]

ORIGINAL: Jerimy240

Is it worthless to hunt small fields in public land?

No place is worthless. Is there a food plot on the small field? Are there travel paths heading through the field, etc. What is more important than the field itself, is what is around the field. Scout it out. No place is worthless.

ALSO: During the rut, and gun season, a lot goes out the windows. The deer might travel a certain path everyday until one day they wake up and there are guns going off everywhere. There are tons of hunters in the woods pushing them every single direction, etc. At that point they might run right through that field u speak of. Hope this was helpful.

[Jerimy240]

I've got 3 different fields I could hunt, and all of them have one-two acorn trees in the middle. One is next to a swamp and I haven't walked in it since August. I really want to hunt that one. Neither field has a food plot. I don't know if you could (or should) create a food plot on public land. These fields get plowed from time to time, and I don't know why. I'm not sure if I should walk through the swamp to try to find a dry place with limited shooting lanes or hunt the field with my 7 mil. I just found this place this year so I haven't had a chance to scout it. It's fairly close to the rut and I don't want to bump any bucks. Any suggestions?

[DeanoZ]

I think it will depend on what type of property is surrounding those fields...they need bedding, food, and water and if all three are in close proximity of those fields, provided their not being extremely pressured by hunters it could be a good spot.  I like that swamp, excellent hiding spot for big bucks.

[fatbob240]

I do hunt public land quite a bit and I've had mixed success. Some years I have deer pushed to me and other years I have people shoot deer off scent trails I've laid down. This year I shot a nice 8 point on public land, went back to camp to let the younger hunters in camp track the deer and we followed the blood trail to a logging road and no deer. [>:] I guess it's part of the risk but I'll never do that again.

[Jerimy240]

Do deer drink stagnant waters from swamps, or will they travel to a main creek or river that feeds the swamp?