RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

i beleive that anyone who pays to cross private land to hunt public is crazy! that is my opinion! and i believe there should be2 sets of books, becuase where i live, some of my buddys hunt public, but the game they hunt just came off of private land. where this deer see people everyday and are not to worried, then bang! WOW!!!! luck at this monster, and i say ya wow. it is just not that much of a challenge to me, that is my opinion, and nobody will change that! ;)



270's i like them, i just don't own one!

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

Manboy,

Thats interesting. I've had the pleasure of hunting in some wilderness areas where the game has seen very limited numbers of people if any at all. They are very unconcerned with humans. They even seemed to be curious about our presence. Would by your criteria they be relegated to the sub-catergory "book"? Just a thought, because it seems you define them by the ease/difficulty with which they are harvested. I'm not trying to change your opinion. Simply trying to understand it.

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

I gave up hunting public land when I decided that I didn't want to get shot at anymore. I'm sorry guys but even the backwoods has it's fill of shoot happy once a year hunters who target anything that's brown. I'm begining to think that some of these guys are color blind because all the orange in the world doesn't stop them from shooting at noises and shadows.

Private land is just plain safer. I own 80 in western Illinois and it's expensive but worth every single penny. I know every inch of it, I plant food plots, drop timber and plant brush to create funnels, and scout scout scout. Don't tell me of any unfair advantages, the deer roam all over the county. Heck even my squirrels cross onto my neighbors property.
Yes I have some advantages but I'm still after the same deer public land hunters are after.

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

yes, but we can not cut timber to form funnels, or plant food plots! and we are not the only hunters hunting an area!

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

and shato- u are so right, i saw this on a wilderness hunt where the elk looked right at huntnmuley and i and just keep on feeding, and we were only 50 yards away! i have never seen that before, where i usually hunt if an elk see you, hear you, or smell you, they blow out of there! so i do see your point on that one! and i will tell you this i will have a tag this year! look out elk!:D

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

This question blows my mind. I hunt Mule deer almost 100 percent on private land but there are no fences that can keep a deer on that land and there are thousands of acres where I hunt. I don't give a hoot about records but animals taken on private land that are free to go anywhere the please should be fine in the books. Fences that hold cattle do not interfere with big game travel.

Now its a completely different deal in my opinion if you are hunting a managed herd that is confined or fenced in. Those records should be for managed game only and not allowed in B&C. and record books like that. Just hunting private land should not matter.

I hunt Elk and most other game including whitetail on public land because there are few whitetails on the private land I hunt, and of course to elk, moose or bears are public land only. I have shot a few elk on private land but they were free ranging and not managed herds.

Given a choice of free ranging animals , I would much rather hunt private land. I have no desire to hunt a high fence or managed herd but its fine for those who like it and can pay for it. That ain't me though.

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

Manboy. You continue to ignore my premis: that you have set an arbitrary "bar" that you feel you and other people have to jump over to be considered "real hunters". Does that mean that you don't use a gun? That certainly would seem to stack the deck in your favor. Again, you can set any standards you want for yourself, but if you start setting standards for others on any fair chase hunt (defined as any area without high fences in my book) then you are a hypocrit if you use any modern "tools" to hunt with.

The "bar" for me may very well be that I only consider it "real" hunting if I use a bow, but I would never try to tell you that your gun killed animal is not worthy, even if you happend to be driving along and it ran out in front of you and you shot it legally, or if you shot it at the only waterhole in 5 square miles.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is great to set standards for yourself. The mulie I killed after waiting 8 years for a tag and backpacking in 5 miles is one of my most treasured memories/trophies, so I understand your thinking and feeling about hunting, just not publicly looking down on others who have different standards for themselves.

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

I think James B. said it well
To me it's not the issue of private vs. public, but instead... high-fence confined vs free-ranging. Everybody has their own way of hunting.

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

i think hunting private land does give people an andvantage over the PUBLIC land hunters.
1. unless this private land is open to anyone at no charge, it will have less hunters, PERIOD!
2.if this private land has any managment done to it, it will have advantages, PERIOD!
3.those deer do cross into public at night to feed, and then move to private to stay all day, the deer will move depending on pressure, private hunts have less pressure, PERIOD.

those are my reasons I do not like private land hunts, if any of u don't like those reasons, i don't care! i will not post on this again! if u want to hunt those areas be my guest, just don't ask for my opinion on it!;)

so have a nice easy hunt! and make yourself feel good!

RE: private land hunts vs. public land hunts
 

I hunt both and see no difference in the challenge levels it takes to hunt them. You still need to do your homework, know the animals habits and be in the right place at the right time. B&C/P&Y consider them equal as well, unless high fenced which they consider not fair chase. I think most hunter divide the two similarily, so lets not confuse the 2 sets for PRIVATE land hunting here. Not that their is anything wrong with a hunt ranch format, if your happy that is all that really matters. Bikering amongest ourselves really does nothing, so while my opinion may vary on the subject it is just an opinion not a statement of fact!

Management has nothing to do with it, as many who own private property can chose if they want to deploy herd/buck management. Same with food plots, agriculture fields, baits, calls, scents, etc. Are all personal choices and if legal you do whatever you want to do. I or B&C/P&Y don't consider this an unfair advantage.

Our elk hunting crew owns 3 quarters that is located, of course we bought it for hunting but it is unaltered from original state and the animals can roam to the public and other private lands without barrier. The land is partially agriculture and planted by the local farmer who leases it for crop or hay, what he plants is of his choosing, just like prior to us purchasing it. The only advantage we really have is we are the only hunters who hunt it, but seeing it is our dollars I believe that is fair. All 3 quarters have public lands surrounding it and in fact a majority of the elk live/bed on these public lands. We can not nor do stop hunters from hunting these public areas that actually feed our land..so are we really more advantaged??