Originally Posted by
Murdy
I have never hunted Clinton (camped and fished there a few years ago), but I hunt public land in the northern part of the state a lot. You have the right general ideas about public land -- the farther you can get away from others, generally, the better you will do. (Have a plan on how to get an animal out). If I recall, Clinton is long and narrow, spread out along the lake, with lots of parking lots, so it may be difficult to get away from people (you'd know better than I though, I suspect). It's not realistic to plan on avoiding everyone. You will bump into people from time to time no matter what you do, but most people are decent, in my experience. If you want to gun hunt, you don't have to give up on this year. There are a few permits left (there's a list on the IDNR website), and most sites allow walk-ons (for whatever reason, some people don't show up, and they lottery off the remaining tags for $5 per day). Talk to people in your area, there are surely some sites that are easier to walk on to. Also, on public land, have plenty of back up plans, someone may beat you to your spot.
Good Luck.
Thank you for the reply!
I will probably only gun hunt if I find someone with private land. The people I talk to that do hunt refuse to go to Clinton to the area allowing shotgun for deer. They ALL have horror stories where people are shooting at other people and such. But that could be stories people tell about anywhere public where guns are allowed.
I will have to get out there and see. If anything, I can get up stupidly early when it's time to hunt and check for cars in the spots I'm looking for, too. You're right on the lake being narrow. But you can walk 'farther' in by simple lack of access in certain areas. There may be a stretch of timber with access only on one side and to get away you simply follow it up as far as you want to go. I'm not sure how heavy a deer is once field dressed but I can try using a drag. I think I could do it even if it killed me. Lol.