Public Land
 

i was wondering if anyone had advice on how to hunt public land with a bow. since i cannot leave stands in over night i wasnt sure how to go about that. ive been on public land for 2 years now and have only killed one deer. i used to hunt private land but the owner passed away and i lost that so im pretty new to the public land game.

RE: Public Land
 

best advice i can give coming from someone who has only hunted public land all his life........do LOTS of scouting..i am not sure of the amount of public land you have, but if it is small you should scout it well..know what kind of deer are in it..use trail cams etc....on the opener see where the other hunters are and how they came into the woods...most, not all, but most don't prepare right (staying scent free) and will push deer into thick cover....that is where you will want to be......use yahoo maps or google maps (areiral views) to check the area over..

if it is a large area where there are spots hunters may not have ever gotten to....then do lots and lots of scouting away from roads and paths where hunters lurk....the bigger mature deer will not be anywhere near the other hunters (most of the time)....look for food sources in the woods or water, use the maps to check out the terrian for natural funnels, springs, etc....again not sure of where you are going but that should get you started.........but the biggest key is LOTS of scouting

RE: Public Land
 

i have to different spots, one is siloam springs state park, its a big state park with lots of hillsand oaks, its got alot of food plots but it also receives ALOT of pressure. the other is a federal land recreation area, its all river bottomsand receives little to no hunting pressure but its HUGE.

RE: Public Land
 

Riverbottoms should be excellent, especially if there is little pressure. Is there a reason for so little pressure there? If its strictly hard to access........go there! Most hunters in my area would give their eyeteeth to have access to riverbottoms.

RE: Public Land
 

the main reason is that not alot of people know about it. but also there is so much public land around me that were all pretty well spread out. last year i couunted 10 vehicles parked along the road during the entire shotgun season and its vacant during bow season. id guess its about a 500 acre plot.

RE: Public Land
 

PUBLIC LAND HUNTING RULE #1: NEVER even hint at your spot's location unless you want to elbow your way through the crowd to get to your tree.

PUBLIC LAND HUNTING RULE #2: If you want the crowd to show up far away from your spot, let it leak out that you've found a hot spot no further than 25 miles away at a different public area. (Lazy clods who intend to capitalize on your scouting will drive up to 25 miles. Any further than that and they'll not bother with it and show up at your spot anyway.)

RE: Public Land
 

I also hunt public land only, and IMHO you need to get as far from roads and trails as possible, so you can get away from other hunters...Here in northern CA I like to hike 4-10+ miles into the wilderness trying to satay away from the crowds...

RE: Public Land
 

ya i hiked about 2 miles last year, definately dont want to do that with out some kind of deer drag again. shot a doe 2 miles from road with 6+ inches of snow on the ground.

RE: Public Land
 

You could always bone out your deer and carry out meat and head in a pack, but then again that is not for everyone...

RE: Public Land
 

If the area you hunt has water, and you have a boat, use it. And to expand on JNTURKs comment, do your scouting immediately after the season until about May. Those who wait until before the season starts will find deer in the Summer patterns, the woods are thick. and if you haven't noticed it's hotter than Hades out there. Not to mention you're pushing deer around right before the start of the season.

RE: Public Land
 

I hunt mostly public land, and here are my suggestions:

1) As others have said, don't tell anyone if you find a good spot.

2) Get as far away as practical from any roads.

3) Try to find an access point that is not used by the public. My wife andI have two pieces of land that border on GW national Forest (overa million acres). The one I like best for hunting is 6 miles from the nearest public entry to the National Forest. Lots of deer because it's just us and our neighbors (and a few friends, etc.) hunting a lot of land.

4) If you can't do (3), above, then get in early and let the latecomers drive the deer to you.

Good luck!

RE: Public Land
 

The most important tool in a public land hunter's arsenal is a climbing treestand imo. Other's are a gps, compass, and comfortable boots to get you away from the crowds.

RE: Public Land
 

Get a good Topographic map!

RE: Public Land
 

Everyone hit just about every point their is to public land hunting and they are ALL very important. 90 percent of what I hunt is public. The only help I can add is try to hunt early in the season and during the week after work or before work or take off during the week alot of public land is vacant. Also hit the hard presured land early in the season first couple weeks before the deer get presured out and then Go to the less pressured land for the rest of the season to optimize the oportunities. hope this helps.
(Also if someone sees you with a deer and asks "where did you get it" always be sure to say in the woods over their. and point them the complete opposite way of your stand or towards the nearest vehical parking spot.)

RE: Public Land
 

do you guys use trail cameras on public land? i did before and was wandering if anyone else does.

what if the property you intend to hunt isnta thousand acres, what if its 200 acres. you cant trek 10 miles into the bush, but you know deer are around? can deer be killed close to trails, logging roads, bike paths, etc? where i am going to hunt is not that large, but i saw alot of deer sign last year and a few deer. but i jus dont like the idea of being 45 yards off the main trail ya know, but i did see deer sign, so im guessing deer must be around. does anyone hunt small parcels of public land with success?

RE: Public Land
 

Use a climbing stand. Then get in the woods before anyone else and go farther than they go.Then sit and wait for the deer to be pushed on top of you. This will work if you do yourhomeworkon the hunters and scouting for where the deer want to be and where they go to escape the pressure.

RE: Public Land
 

Essential tools:

1) Good boots
2) Change of clothing so you'll be in fresh clothes from the long hike in
3) GPS
4) Access to a place it takes a boat to cross is ideal
5) * game/deer cart *
6) Light hang-on and Cranford screw-in steps or light climber
7) Meal replacement bars and water bottles (hey, if you go to all that trouble to get that far back, you might as well stay put all day)
8) NEVER EVER talk about your spot you've got -- even to "close" friends. The only person I've taken in to my spot lives in Pennsylvania ;)Now I'll share a casual hunt with friends for the sake of comaraderie, but it won't be in my good spots. :)
9) Extensively use sights like Windows Local Live and Google Earth, as well as topo maps from the Forestry Service to pinpoint funnels and likely spots to hang up in

Good luck!

RE: Public Land
 

The opposite also can be true here... I have a few spots that are only 100-300 yards from the truck...(great for those evenings when you only have a couple hours...) If everyone wants to go far let em, You don't need to walk far necessarily to see deer.

RE: Public Land
 

One trick I have learned on Public land is to break it down. When I hunt I take 100-150 acre sections and master that area. I have setups for all the wind directions. I learn where to walk and where not to walk. I learn there travle routes, bedding area, etc.

Right now I have 4 big woodlots I hunt in Northern MI. In each of those 4 I have 2 to 3 sections I hunt and know.

RE: Public Land
 

geterdun2

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do you guys use trail cameras on public land? i did before and was wandering if anyone else does.

what if the property you intend to hunt isnta thousand acres, what if its 200 acres. you cant trek 10 miles into the bush, but you know deer are around? can deer be killed close to trails, logging roads, bike paths, etc? where i am going to hunt is not that large, but i saw alot of deer sign last year and a few deer. but i jus dont like the idea of being 45 yards off the main trail ya know, but i did see deer sign, so im guessing deer must be around. does anyone hunt small parcels of public land with success? Hunt early in the season and look for the less noticed and hunted areas. I hunt on chunck that is only 40 acres and gets presured by about a dozen people for bow season or more alot. About 30 acres is lowland and the rest is pines. Everyone hunts the woods. I go in the far back corner on the lowland/pine edge and see deer in bow range regularly. This spot only is good for the first 2 weeks then they are turn nocturnal. But like you were saying about trails this spot is 100 yards from the parking area and only 50 yards of the main hiway. I can watch cars from my treestand. Sometimes the unlikely spots are very effeciant. also its right by the border to a little highland of about 8 acres of private that most of the deer come from to cross the corner of the public and then go across the hiway to the private corn field. Just study the deer and what they do to avoid the people and you will find them. Deer also know where they are safe and pivate to public property lines are good places to look to see where deer are traveling to and from especially when they get bumped.