Why do you hunt public land?
07-06-2008, 04:37 PM
#22
Spike
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Glen Saint Mary, Fl
Posts: 28
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
I would hunt in a private hunt club if I could afford one
and I could find one that truely believed in quality wilderness resource management
. Most hunt clubs near here(Glen Saint Mary, Fl.) want $1000-2000 a member. They also don't take members until June normally meaning you miss your chance at planting a good summer plot[
] to give the deer the nutrition they need to feed the fawns and grow some good antlers. We are also kind of blessed in that we have the Osceola Wildlife Management Area within 20 minutes of the house and it is 266,270 acres. The only problem with it is that you are not supposed to introduce non-native plants to the woods[&:], no Biologic, Antler King Honey Hole, etc.. So, if you want to do a plot you have to do your research on native plants that deer will eat and will give them the nutrition they need. Here is a tip my father and I use down here in the WMA :
Don't put out marker tape unless you want to draw in every Joe Blow who has never hunted before or is to lazy to do there own scouting.
and I could find one that truely believed in quality wilderness resource management. Most hunt clubs near here(Glen Saint Mary, Fl.) want $1000-2000 a member. They also don't take members until June normally meaning you miss your chance at planting a good summer plot[] to give the deer the nutrition they need to feed the fawns and grow some good antlers. We are also kind of blessed in that we have the Osceola Wildlife Management Area within 20 minutes of the house and it is 266,270 acres. The only problem with it is that you are not supposed to introduce non-native plants to the woods[&:], no Biologic, Antler King Honey Hole, etc.. So, if you want to do a plot you have to do your research on native plants that deer will eat and will give them the nutrition they need. Here is a tip my father and I use down here in the WMA :Don't put out marker tape unless you want to draw in every Joe Blow who has never hunted before or is to lazy to do there own scouting.
07-06-2008, 04:41 PM
#23
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Mont County, Pa
Posts: 7,368
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
ORIGINAL: GMMAT
So this guy was trespassing, EI? How does that work?
So this guy was trespassing, EI? How does that work?
I'm just saying he was being good.
07-06-2008, 04:44 PM
#24
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,102
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
There are a number of reasons actually.In my area it is quite difficult to gain permission to hunt private land and the pieces that you can gain access on are not very big,so in most instances you cannot hunt a deers entire daily pattern.I am in the catskills in NY and we have a tremendous amount of public land.The deer densities are not great but there is plenty of room to roam.The big woods is more conducive to rifle hunting in my opinion but that's where the biggest bucks in our area get killed.
07-06-2008, 04:46 PM
#25
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Baton Rouge, LA
Posts: 146
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
I lost my lease when I joined the Army. I hunt it because it is a 60,000 acre tract at one, and roughly 43,000 acre tract at the other, less than an hour from my house. There is a good deal of hunting pressure, but with that much land, and the fact that it is mainly swamp, makes it easy to get away from other hunters.
As long as I stay away from the open gun days, I've never had someone walk up on my stand.
As long as I stay away from the open gun days, I've never had someone walk up on my stand.
07-06-2008, 05:00 PM
#26
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Blossvale, New York
Posts: 21,199
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
I was out doing some scouting on private land this morning near where I shot a nice 8 point 2 years ago. Last year I saw NO deer from that tree in 3 sits. Today I got digging around near it and found a ladder stand with a camera tripod strapped to it. No wonder I didn't see anything last year. The guy was cutting me off. LOL He was hanging out in the open exposed as all heck in my opinion. He put his stand 5 feet from the major trail. LOL I got to believe he's a gun hunter. I climbed up in his stand and looked around, definitely nota bow hunter.[8D] I moved about 400 yards away and found some good sign and some great climber trees and some spots for hang on. As far as I knew, I'm the only one hunting in there. I think he's the guy that owns the land next door. He just thought the grass was greener across the line I guess. I'm not worrying about him. It's a chunk of woods a mile long from one property line to the other end. Maybe he'll push some deer my way. LOL
07-06-2008, 05:07 PM
#27
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: RAYVILLE,LA.
Posts: 818
RE: Why do you hunt public land?
I hunt private land here right at my house but it all consist of small patches of land,40 here or 80 there.When I want to hunt the big woods I would go to a federal wildlife refuge in TENSAS Parish,really big woods,but imo the deer numbers are low for the carrying capacity of the land,with that said there are some truly big bucks on the refuge but it's not easy to pin them down,hunting preasure is not that bad in some areas but are in some.The main reason I don't hunt it much anymore is the lack of deer sightings,but the one thing that keeps me going back is that the first deer you see could be a trophy in anyone's book.The gun hunts are by lottery only and I believe only 2 weekends a year plus a few days of muzzleloaders the rest of the time is bow only.There are some really nic bucks on this place,but you just don't see many deer,which can make for some very long hours on the stand.
