|
difficulty of private vs. public land
since i must hunt public land this year, i was wandering how much harder it is to kill deer on public than private land. what aspects are more difficult, or even jus different. aside from the fact that i cant sleep at hunting camp, wake up and walk to my stand (which i loved), what else makes it more challenging to kill deer on public ground. im talking about either deer in general (does, little bucks, any type of deer) and also good deer (mature bucks). is there anyone who can hunt both types of prefers hunting the public land over the private?i hope this question makes sense. thanks guys
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
one thing i like about public land is the tracts of it i hunt are large. if i feel like walkin i aint gunna run outta room...if i see other hunters which i feel are hampering my hunt, big deal...i walk to one of my deeper spots. also like the....variety of habitats i can get on public land. i can hunt a pine thicket...or a hardwood flat...or a creek bottom...a mountain side...a maturing cut etc etc...most private land is smaller and you dont get that variety..
i have worse times hunting private land around here than public alot of times. around here private land is generally small..most of it is crops...and if you got permission, so does everyone else...atleast the people i deal with and where i hunt. so to me it may as well be public land. thats just how MY private vs public goes. i hunt both. i enjoy to hunt both. just take my advice...if your in a state with a decint hunter population(1 million or so in PA!) get away from the trails. last year i didnt see ANY bowhunters. but i had a squirrel hunter sit pretty much directly under my stand..i had my orange out...he never seen me till i coughed really loud and waved my orange hat...he still didnt go but 15 more yards...another time i had a fall turkey hunter setup across the gasline from me. im halfway up my tree...waved..climbed the rest of the way and he still sat down and tried to call turkeys....:eek: 11 thousand acres and they hunt where im hunting..parked beside my truck:eek: only truck parked on the whole road! but thats public land. i know the deer like the habitat close to the road and are in there during the bow season. guess i gotta go a bit deeper this year...or off the trails/gaslines/parking lots.. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
i have always hunted public land and the worst part about it is that so many people hunt public that its hard to find big bucks (only bucks are legalin california). you find good deer but hardly ever great deer(trophy wise that is, to me every deer is a great deer)
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Public land here is a real crapshoot. My uncles, cousins, and grandpa all hunted public land 20+ times last year and saw like 4 deer combined. My stepdad and friend go another day, 1 time, and doubled up on does. I prefer Private heavily.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I actually like public land sometimes. I have some private land, and I get bored looking at the same landscape sitting in the same area, waiting to ambush deer, I know are going to walk by hoping a buck decided to join. Its gets to a point where it doesn't feel like hunting. So I hunt all kinds of public land around you. In MD, its fairly easy. First off, you have to worry about someone being in your spot. You need to have at least 2 spots picked out. Second, plan for the public to push deer to you, or plan for the deer to move around them. Its a cool challenge and sometimes works out nice. But be prepared to walk 1.5miles in or more. I have shot a buck on the eastern shore that I saw sneaking very carefully around a trail, just to run into me.
I love hunting different places, scouting them, and looking over new land. Don't be so worried about having private land. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
It depends entirely upon where you are in the world. In Alaska... I think its just about all public land. In most parts of VA (unless you count military bases, and GWNF aside), most of the WMAs are overrun with hunters. Most have little no respect for their fellow hunters.
All depends on where you are. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
ORIGINAL: mauser06 one thing i like about public land is the tracts of it i hunt are large. if i feel like walkin i aint gunna run outta room...if i see other hunters which i feel are hampering my hunt, big deal...i walk to one of my deeper spots. also like the....variety of habitats i can get on public land. i can hunt a pine thicket...or a hardwood flat...or a creek bottom...a mountain side...a maturing cut etc etc...most private land is smaller and you dont get that variety.. i have worse times hunting private land around here than public alot of times. around here private land is generally small..most of it is crops...and if you got permission, so does everyone else...atleast the people i deal with and where i hunt. so to me it may as well be public land. thats just how MY private vs public goes. i hunt both. i enjoy to hunt both. just take my advice...if your in a state with a decint hunter population(1 million or so in PA!) get away from the trails. last year i didnt see ANY bowhunters. but i had a squirrel hunter sit pretty much directly under my stand..i had my orange out...he never seen me till i coughed really loud and waved my orange hat...he still didnt go but 15 more yards...another time i had a fall turkey hunter setup across the gasline from me. im halfway up my tree...waved..climbed the rest of the way and he still sat down and tried to call turkeys....:eek: 11 thousand acres and they hunt where im hunting..parked beside my truck:eek: only truck parked on the whole road! but thats public land. i know the deer like the habitat close to the road and are in there during the bow season. guess i gotta go a bit deeper this year...or off the trails/gaslines/parking lots.. 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: difficulty of private vs. public land
I think a lot has to do were the public/private land is... If your talking about public land in the mid west, it prob isn't that bad... Your talking about public land in Md,Del,NJ, you got your work cut out for ya;)As far as private land goes... A lot has to do were it is, how big it is and how much pressure it gets... A 200 acre farm with 10 guys stumbling around on it could be worst than public... Now you take 500-1000 acres farmin decent whitetail country. Add lite hunting pressure and you have a recipe for some easy hunting;)
Over all if your hunting public land on the eastern untied states from florida up to say Pa you are in for some real huntin;) |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
It all boils down to pressure. How much pressure a piece of ground recieves and the animals that use it. Public or private.
Any area that recieves little to no pressure is much easier to hunt. The animals on it will move more freely in the daylight, even the older bucks. How many whitetail shows do you see being made on public grounds.... |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
it all depends where you are...some public land is the bomb and some isnt...just do your fair share of scouting and youll know
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
A good idea is if your a bowhunter is to hunt ONLY bow public land during rifle seoson . You will probly be the only person out there and the deer wont be preshured as bad . just something to think about .
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Something not widely known......
There is NO public land available for hunting in my county. I honestly couldn't begin to tell you where I'd have to go......or how far I'd have to drive to hunt public land. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
ORIGINAL: GMMAT Something not widely known...... There is NO public land available for hunting in my county. I honestly couldn't begin to tell you where I'd have to go......or how far I'd have to drive to hunt public land.  |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Or head to the Mountains
 |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Closest one to me is 1+ hours. There's more private land (opportunities)available to me than public......and every spot I hunt is within walking distance of my back door. If I NEEDED a place to hunt.....I'm sure I'd have looked into these places.
No need. Here....it's easier to gain access to private land. Thanks, though, GR8. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I have hunted both during bow season. I have always had plenty of private land to hunt, but my perspective is the WMA was more of a challenge. I harvested some deer, but it turned me off as soon as I realized how much easier my club and private land was to hunt. My reason for this include:abilityto fix permanent stands, food plots, pour corn, not worry about stolen stands, and nobody in my hunting area. I see ALOT more deer and harvest a couple more bucks during bow season. Another reason I have started bowhunting myprivate landis my club is 70,00 acres, that is a predominantly deer dog hunting club thatnot many bowhunt and the WMA is highly pressured.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
ORIGINAL: shed33 How many whitetail shows do you see being made on public grounds.... That says it all right there. The public land around here gets POUNDED.........it amazes me that any deer survive sometimes. The gun season is relentless drives and non stop pressure..........if something is walking around in the daytime it is dead meat. Even bow season has trucks all over the roads. When I go and hunt on farms and other private lands it is like night and day. Like shed said it is all about pressure..............the more pressure the harder your job becomes. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
godddddddd i want private land lol. allthis talk bout being able to place stands where ya want and all that, and i know its all true. it sucks to have to haul in a treestand at 4am and hope someone isnt already in your same tree, or withing 100 yards for that matter. i have one more chance of some private land, but i got to call the guy and he doesnt like to call people back.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I won't dispute that public hunting is typically tougher--BUT--last year I had more encroachment than I ever experienced hunting public land on 4 different private tracts. It seems that poachers show no distinction. my season was completely ramrodded by these low lifes.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I found a piece of Public land last year that was only 144 acres. I talked to the guy that managed that piece, along with several others, and he told me to try it out and he thought I would be pleasantly suprised.
Well, I hunted that piece of property exclusively last year and never saw another hunter. I guess people look at the small acreage, for public land, and think it will be packed and by pass it. Didn't fill the tag last year but I had a blast chasing one of the bruisers that I spotted, it also didn't help too much that my son was born on October 15 so I kinda wasn't as fanatical as I normally am. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I know it's only one show.....but I "think" 'Big Horn Outdoors' is filmed exclusively on public land. Like I said....only one....but he does take some nice animals.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Public land in PA is tough, especially in densely populated areas like where I live. I have killed deer on public land, but you have to put your time in both on stand and scouting. A buddy of mine took a 145" deer last year on public land in PA. He is an incredible woodsman and usually walks an hour to an hour and a half to get to his stands, but it can be done.
|
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
Something I just found out down here in MD. The DNR justopened 400 acres of public land this year to bowhunting only. The only other times this land has been hunted is during managed hunts a couple of weeks each year. Now it us open to bowhunting by special permit (free), daily reservation for only 6 bowhunters each day, Mon-Fri after 1pm until the conclusion of bow season. It is also in a county that allows unlimited does.
There is another 800+ acre piece, that gets no bowhunting according to the DNR guys I talked too, that I hunted during firearms last year and have scouted quite a bit. I also found another 400 acre piece of public land that, by reading the sign in sheets, gets no bowhunters. The bonus there is a huge set of sheds that we found. I can't speak for other states but public land here, around where I live,doesn't seem to see a whole lot of bowhunting action. During muzzleloader the action heats up and during firearms you can hear guns all day for the first couple of days LOL. Then all of the deer clear out of the main, easy access areas and, if you don't hike much or have private land, pickings are kind of slim. |
RE: difficulty of private vs. public land
I have never killed a mature buck on private land but I have killed 2 that were ancient and 1 that was probably 3 and 1/2 on public land. It can be done but its tough and you have a lot of factors that you have no control over.The biggest difference is on private you can manage it so you have a lot more big deer running around. On public land for every guy that will pass a small buck you will have a guy that won't. I have been very fortunate the last 3 years and have shot 3 real nice public land bucks the last 3 years.It took me many years to do it. I can say that when you do kill a p&Y on public land you have done something that many hunters have not.
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 03:32 PM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.