Hunting Public Land
08-25-2006, 01:16 PM
#1
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 20
Hunting Public Land
Ok...Have only been hunting for 2 years (bow hunting)and got a doe my first year. That was on a cheep bow hunt in south texas that I will also go on this year. I have not been able to find a affordable lease so I am going to hunt on public land not 5 minutes from my house. I have a friend that hunted this land 3 years ago and says there are some big deer on it. Scouted it alittle last year and ran across a lot of sign. Doesn't appear that there are too many people that huntthissmall piece ofland either. Started scouting more this week and will continue until season. Goingto try to post pictures of my season on this land. Maybe will at least see somethingbig. Or maybe I will bore everyone to death.
By the way... this is my first post ever on a forum and just found this website andI amenjoyingall the information for a fairly new hunter. Willexcept any advise for hunting this land also.
By the way... this is my first post ever on a forum and just found this website andI amenjoyingall the information for a fairly new hunter. Willexcept any advise for hunting this land also.
08-25-2006, 01:19 PM
#3
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Roanoke, Va
Posts: 3,562
RE: Hunting Public Land
Welcome to the forums cj!
I hunt alot of public land in VA and I am fairly successful I would say. Bow season around here is heaven. I don't see too many people bowhunting this land but rifle is a different story. Alot of hunters will not go far from their truck so you should use this to your advantage. I'm not saying that you have to be far from the road to kill a nice one either.
I would hunt where you found all the sign. Sounds like a pretty good spot.
I hunt alot of public land in VA and I am fairly successful I would say. Bow season around here is heaven. I don't see too many people bowhunting this land but rifle is a different story. Alot of hunters will not go far from their truck so you should use this to your advantage. I'm not saying that you have to be far from the road to kill a nice one either.
I would hunt where you found all the sign. Sounds like a pretty good spot.
08-25-2006, 01:24 PM
#4
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Northeast Tennessee
Posts: 5,673
RE: Hunting Public Land
nice to have you here on the forums,
There is nothing wrong with hunting public land, it definately harder than private, but if you do your homework it can be just as productive. I hunt public and private land every year public land deer are way tougher but its a great experience though.Usually on private land when you kill one its not a long drag or you can drive your truck/atv,or boat right up to it and its done and over with quickly.But if you kill one way back on public alnd its an all day process.If you shoot one late in the day it will be midnight before you get it out where i hutn sometimes, but thats the way deer hunting should be...HARD
There is nothing wrong with hunting public land, it definately harder than private, but if you do your homework it can be just as productive. I hunt public and private land every year public land deer are way tougher but its a great experience though.Usually on private land when you kill one its not a long drag or you can drive your truck/atv,or boat right up to it and its done and over with quickly.But if you kill one way back on public alnd its an all day process.If you shoot one late in the day it will be midnight before you get it out where i hutn sometimes, but thats the way deer hunting should be...HARD
08-25-2006, 01:31 PM
#5
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: Hunting Public Land
welcome aboard!!
as ducsauce said around here bowhunting is the way to go. i dont know much about texas, but here public land gets raided hard. exspecially rifle season. this is my first year bowhunting but every year on public land i see NICE bucks when im small game or fall turkey hunting(which is also bow season for deer!) so im pretty excited.
my advice..try to hunt places the normal man would not go. here that means hiking over an extra mountain or deep into a bottom etc. you gota think like a "weekend warrior" as i call them, and then OUT think that. think like a deer. where would you hang out to feel safe?? if there is small game and fall turkey hunting where you hunt and you find alot of guys do that where you plan to hunt set up so they drive the deer your direction. find bottlenecks and funnels. find their exscape routes. find their sancuaries and bust them! the state game lands i plan to hunt this fall is a popular grouse and turkey spot. if im not IN the thickets watching runways then im going to be right on the edge of the thickets trying to intercept fleeing deer. after you hunt the land enough youll find out how many guys hunt there. what they are hunting. where they access..the paths they take etc. my closest spot on public land is about a half a mile hike. the reason being is that is where the backside of the thicket is. good luck..dont scout it out TOO hard youll end up running the deer off before you get to hunt(but your season might start later then ours...you may be early enough..i wouldnt scout within a month of so of the season though..
as ducsauce said around here bowhunting is the way to go. i dont know much about texas, but here public land gets raided hard. exspecially rifle season. this is my first year bowhunting but every year on public land i see NICE bucks when im small game or fall turkey hunting(which is also bow season for deer!) so im pretty excited.
my advice..try to hunt places the normal man would not go. here that means hiking over an extra mountain or deep into a bottom etc. you gota think like a "weekend warrior" as i call them, and then OUT think that. think like a deer. where would you hang out to feel safe?? if there is small game and fall turkey hunting where you hunt and you find alot of guys do that where you plan to hunt set up so they drive the deer your direction. find bottlenecks and funnels. find their exscape routes. find their sancuaries and bust them! the state game lands i plan to hunt this fall is a popular grouse and turkey spot. if im not IN the thickets watching runways then im going to be right on the edge of the thickets trying to intercept fleeing deer. after you hunt the land enough youll find out how many guys hunt there. what they are hunting. where they access..the paths they take etc. my closest spot on public land is about a half a mile hike. the reason being is that is where the backside of the thicket is. good luck..dont scout it out TOO hard youll end up running the deer off before you get to hunt(but your season might start later then ours...you may be early enough..i wouldnt scout within a month of so of the season though..
08-25-2006, 01:36 PM
#6
Dominant Buck
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ramsey , Indiana
Posts: 22,545
RE: Hunting Public Land
Go where the others don't ,hunt when they don't , and you'll drag out deer off of land that they'll swear has none . I've hunted mostly public land most of my life , once you get away from where you see trash on the ground you'll probably be the only one there . Then look for the thick stuff and hunt the edges , bring a cart .
08-25-2006, 03:37 PM
#9
Spike
Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 20
RE: Hunting Public Land
I appreciate all the quick advise. Good thing is that I am in a bow hunting only county and when muzzle loader season and rifle season get here the lands clear out fast. I will keep you updated if I see anything.
08-25-2006, 03:41 PM
#10
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Michigan
Posts: 5,076
RE: Hunting Public Land
Hi cjhaley
Welcome to the best hunting site on the web , you are really going to enjoy all the forums from bowhunting to the classifieds and everything in between this site has it all.
Feel free to post your pictures and ask your questions , everybody here will be happy to help you and see your pics.
Welcome to the best hunting site on the web , you are really going to enjoy all the forums from bowhunting to the classifieds and everything in between this site has it all.
Feel free to post your pictures and ask your questions , everybody here will be happy to help you and see your pics.