Hunting Public Land

[bmstaaf]

I will add this just when you found the prime spot for trophy bucks and tons of deer, people seem to move in. I hunted the same public land for 5 years straight, it was a rut paradise this year I hunted it with very few deer sightings. I thought to myself what the heck, I just went back there two weeks ago to find 4 stands hung within 250 yards. It's a very thick area, until the snow hits and the everything died I could not see 50 yards. I had no clue, it was a shot to the gut, but there will be better hunting elsewhere. I do hunt a lot of private land, but I lost my best setup yet. I don't know if I will ever find a spot like that again 6 shooters ran by one morning 4 years ago and was able to harvest still my biggest buck to date 9 pt 144.. it was an ouch!

[Rutnut]

I know what you mean about loosing your good spot on public land. I had my best spot ever, a text book pinch point. NO ONE knew about it. Then, a local kid turned it into his personal Quad track. Really pissed me off. After 4 or 5 years of that, he stopped. Then I noticed hunter after hunter parked there. The secret was out. Game over for me.

I have taken 99% of my deer on public land. I try to go where I see the least amount of activity, such as cars parked etc. Deer sightings are far and few, but I get opportunity every year. Where I bow hunt for deer, there are also pheasant hunters, waterfowl hunters and small game hunters. I find it’s important to learn as much of the land as possible. Walk the borders; learn the thick, the high, the low, as much as you can.

I typically have 5 stands per state forest (about 800 – 2500 ac per). One thing I’ve learned, go with your gut. When you feel it’s time to move a stand…move it. State land deer are very keen. They pick up on habits very quick. They also remember year to year to my amazement. You need to be able to adapt to conditions, pressure, seasonal changes etc. My experience tells me a climber is the best way to go on state land, but as I get older, the hang on sure makes it more enjoyable during the total dark entrance/exit.

I truly believe my bow hunting skills have flourished because of my dependence on state land. On the rare opportunities I have had on private land, I tag a deer fairly quick. My friends, who have private land, have never been successful on state land, and they have tried for sure….many times. Also, I don’t typically travel to far in…usually within a ½ mile.

[Jslotter]

What state are you from BM? In Wisconsin all stands on public hunting lands have to be portable and taken down or they become as they say "Public land, Public stand", If you know what I mean. Check you regulations.

[bmstaaf]

I am from pa, any stand that harms a tree is illegal on state land, people still slap them on trees use climbers ect. They usually will hang them and take the steps out when getting down, prevents the pgc from cutting them and people from stealing them. I honestly in all the years hunting in pa have never heard of anyone getting in trouble for it, sure there has been but who knows. Just seems like a secondary violation here, they will not say a word unless your doing something else wrong I guess. like the seatbelt laws, its illegal not to wear one, but they don't pull you over for it, but if your speeding without a seatbelt they will hit you with both fines speeding and not wearing a belt. It's sorda a lose lose situation.

[jonny5buck]

Almost all the parks in Illinois also have in the rules that any treestand that pierces the bark is illegal....yet i havent found one yet that really doesn't...i think they are trying to steer clear the guys who insist on nailing aluminum ladders and platforms to trees,wire etc..

With the exception of a few parks ,almost all in IL, have to be taken down daily and i wouldn't want to leave a stand ..idle while i might not hunt it for a week or more anyway... i did this when i first started deer hunting and had a guy walk up to my stand in the morning while i was in it....he put his hand on the bottom rail and i blinded him with my headlamp''What the hell are you doing i asked?''...he said nothing and i watched his headlamp walk slowly all the way back to the parking lot and than leave.

I guarantee if you hunt public land and are allowed to leave your stand up,if your not on it the next day ..guys will be walking aimlessly looking for a stand to hunt,the amount of disrespect is immense...and frustraing...what kind of satisfaction do you get out of hunting someone elses hard earned spot??? nothing!

One of my old post on this subject showed just the extent some guys go thru ...this guy used to park his truck in one parking lot and be dropped off in another section...just to throw off his buddy who didnt put in the time...he was basicly patterning his buddy...i have had to do it before also...one time i walked thru an entire section,turned outside the park and walked the halfmile outside road all the way back to the parking lot,because a guy was following me,...i set up 25 yds from the parking lot and killed a medium sized doe and was back down and signed out the park before this bung-hole figured out what happened!

I also ran into a guy at a park and noticed he had a wheel barrow in the back of his truck,after i talked to him.i soon realized he was waiting for us to leave so he could get his deer out without having everyone & their brother looking for his spot.I respectfully asked if he was waiting for us to leave the parking lot so he could get his deer?he replied .''actually yes'' and i told him we would go to casey's and grab some coffee and breakfast,we wouldn't bother him,and we didnt look for his spot-that's respect- he shook are hands and we parted ways thats how it should be IMO anyways.

[cjgaleana]

Im in Michigan and have always had the same problems that everyone here are talking about. This last year I was out in the woods the second day of Archery season an hour before sunlight and I had two guys walk up on me while I was in my tree stand. They had no idea I was there until I shined my LED flashlight on them. They were as spooked as a deer in the headlights. I just wanted them to know that I was there and don't set up near me. I scouted my spot months in advanced and would hate to let it be overtaken by other hunters. Although It is state land and there isn't much you can do about it.

[DEER30]

I also grew up hunting private land and now hunt primarily National Forest. I agree with these other guys, you have to be willing to get back in there. I have hiked 3 miles in one direction to kill a turkey in the Nat. Forest of southwest Virgina. But I have also killed deer only a 100 yards from the road. That being said the deer killed were does. I shot a great 9 pt in 2010, you can see it here http://deer30outdoors.com/hunting/deer/success/randys-deer-003/ but it took nearly 8 hours to drag him back to the truck. In 7 years of hunting in Virginia I only had other hunters walk in on my hunt 4 times. One cost me a huge 10 point. But since I have moved to Georgia and began hunting the Redland's WMA, i have seen more trucks parked and flashlights than i have game. This is mostly due to the fact that you can't get far enough away from anyone because the hunting area simply isn't that big. I have found in this case that if you can take a day off work and hunt during the week you will find less competition than on a saturday.

[mj39569]

texas whitetail deer hunting is most popular hunting .ot much public hunting here. However you can hunt any of the river beds as they belong to the state.

[jonny5buck]

Just a little more to add..after re-reading these posts, i noticed a general ''theme''...go way back in...at least for the parks i hunt i disagree...most of the public land i hunt is a few hundred acres...and this mindset of going to the furthest point away from the parking lot is usually fueled by trying to get away from other hunters NOT nesc. going back because the deer are ''undisturbed''..it's a park and my assumption is always that someone has either walked it one time or another ...or it gets hunted...that the deer pattern us far more than they are given credit...

I will say this.... i was a little hesitant in responding to this post because of what i will share next...when looking at a map of the public land that you are hunting ..take the example of a well known spot that you know hunters go way back in..odds are that the deer not only see hunters coming but also smell them and hear them as well...at one park i hunt , one guy capitalized on this and simply snuck in the back side [opposite side]..of where all the guys were setting up in a back corner ...he killed a few really nice bucks this way by allowing setting up 1-2 hours earlier than most and making a short dash across a waist high pond ..the other hunters had to walk a field edge [bad deal in the morning] and essentialy pushed deer every time out...back to the smart guy who knew this...it's an easy tactic that involves a lot of planning and the correct scenario to work out..but it did..mostly [as he admitted] because the 5 or 6 guys that walked way back to that corner of the field had to walk 300yds on the edge of a cut corn/bean field to get there...

[jonny5buck]

This doesn't always work.and each piece of land is different..so on a rare occasion..or on really large tracts of land going deep my have benefits..my exp. in Illinois at the few parks i hunt ,doesn't involve walking back to the furthest boundaries of park property ,unless there is a direct reason..

One lake that i used to fish yearly got a lot of boat traffic..i mean a lot..even in sept. as the water cooled ... i noticed every boat that put in went to one end of the lake or the other..not one boat fished anywhere near the boat launch...these are usally prime spots because of ''prop-wash'' and some structure...right before sunset i would pitch a nice golden roach under a slip bobber 3 ft from the dock and boat launch..i killed the crappie ....and always caught a few walleye...some largemouth and when i used fathead minnows even some perch...i had a basket of crappie and perch on more than one occasion and had walked 40yds from my vehicle to the boat launch that most had overlooked ..it panned out big-time...thats my correlation with hunting deer...sometimes park deer simply cross where ther is the least resistence..and this could be 20-30yds from the parking lot...when everyone is way back in it...this has happened for me before also and although it was mostly does . i was more than glad to have taken a doe and watched her fall while within eye shot of the parking lot...park hunting [and fishing] involves thinking outside the box......sometimes people overlook the obvious...sometimes-