Hunting Public Land
 

Is it better to hunt in one area or in several different. I am have a lot of trouble of seeing a consistent amount of deer. I have been hunting both same spot and different areas.

RE: Hunting Public Land
 

I would not recommend hunting the same spot day after day. You are leaving scent each time you hunt the area. First off, is there good deer sign in the area? If not, unless you're aware that deer are using the area, I'd find another place to hunt. If there is good sign, only hunt the area if the wind is favorable for you....even then I might hunt the area 2 days in a row but then give it a break for 3 or 4 days. You can never have too many spots to hunt. Also, if there are other hunters hunting the area it should go without saying thatyour chances for success decrease. When hunting public land, I try to go where most other hunters won't. Most times it involves getting deeper into the woods. Many hunters on public and private land do not go any further than 1/4 to 1/2 mile into the woods.

RE: Hunting Public Land
 

I've hunted public land in the past and i have found that the deer where i hunt don't really pay attenion to human scent cause there is so much activity on the land(feildtrials,fishing)stuff like that but it is mostly does that isee.

RE: Hunting Public Land
 

On public land always have a backup spot because someone may be in your spot. One suggestion I have is to hunt in the spot you would "think" is theleast likely the deer would be in. Those are the spots noone else hunts and the deer know that. Therefore that is where the deer are alot of times. The spot I hunt on public land is right off the main highway running right down the middle of the forest. I see more deer withing 100 yards of the highway than I do way back in the woods. I have killed most of my buck closer to the highway.

I hunt close to the road when I only have a couple of hours and deer are likely to be up and moving. I have been patterning deer in this area for about 10 years now and I can pretty much know where and when they will be in the different areas. HUNT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY ON PUBLIC LAND! I see more deer between 10:00 and 2:00 that any other time. I have killed most of my bucks around 10:00. Most hunters hunt until about 10:00 and then go in for lunch and come back in the evening. Stay put and other hunter will push deer to you. If that doesn't happen then deer will move because there are not as many hunters in the woods. It took me alot of years to have confidence hunting the middle of the day. Once I started I see many more deer.

Good Luck!

Here is one I killed a little after 10:00 in late December a couple of years ago on public land.He had a 21" spread.

RE: Hunting Public Land
 

I have killed almost all my IL bow and shotgun "PUBLIC LAND BUCKS" (6), while trying a new spot that same day. My first BIG buck was because I was forced to move because of someone was in my spot. I dont chalk all this up to luck, but rather human scent contamination. I know we all have that favorite area and/or Tree that looks/feels sooooooo good, it is tough to move and I will usually hunt this COMFORT SPOT the first day, if i see nothing, I may hunt one more morning and move that afternoon. In my experience ... MOVE! If your limited on time you need to scout quickly, and find them NOW! I agree with MID-VERMONT, if it is a buck your after, the more times your in and out of your stand the percertage of you getting a nice buck deminish. Once I started using this theroy I started getting more trophy bucks!

Good Luck!
SQUEEGEE

RE: Hunting Public Land
 

I agree with what's already been written but I would add that deer do still come through the good looking spots on public land even though there's a guy hanging from a tree in that area almost every day. They just move super, super slow and will manage to spot just about every hunter. They skirt around the guy and keep going where they're headed. My advice is to be as well hidden as possible. The more branches and leaves around you, the better. I don't think going a little higher helps you very much in places where deer are hunted hard every day. Also, be very selective about when and how you move.