jimmy the foot

i hunt public land, watershed of a lake, it's 2 minutes away. i only got one deer there last year (bow). nothing in gun. i missed out on a deer this year for bow. do you all think public land due to it's pressure is a wast of time. i see a lot of deer early in the season but there is so much food and edge in the surrounding areas. i don't know. it's the second year I've hunted here. i know the land pretty good. it just seems those darn deer go off public land during the day or climb trees or something. guess I'm just frustrated and venting. well what/how do u guys feel about hunting on public land during any season.


THE FOOT

davester

Yes, it's like that everywhere, I think they live underground during the day, but come dusk there coming out of the woodwork! Anytime after the rut(it's going to slow now) hunting pressure is good to keep them moving. Hunt near the thick stuff, on the edge of it, where it opens up a little, that's his domain! And remember SIT STILL!!!

bpjeep

did that last year and low and behold a buck sneaked up on me, but then devastation, no shell in the chamber, time on got one in he was hoofin it out of there. that was the last day of the buck season so he oughta still be there. seen him running around the bottom of this hill for 2 years now.

as for public land, I love it. hunt this one WIHA down in kansas where between me, my father, and his coworker and fellow hunter we have taken 11 or maybe 13 deer off of this one WIHA section in the past 3 years. so Id say just look around for the good stuff. the place we hunt looks like a big ole open field. but about 3/8 mile back it gets real wooded around a river and its nice.

Steve F.in MD

I think public land is the choice of last resort for all of us. I mean who in their right mind would CHOOSE to hunt public land if they had a private spot to hunt? I don't think it is a waste of time. You just have to hunt smarter and harder and have a lucky horseshoe stored somewhere to get a good buck. I don't like hunting public land but it is far better than no land at all. Thank you, DNR, for making it available.

kevin1

Some of my favorite hunts have been on public lands , not all of them are crowded madhouses . In fact , many of the very small ones , 500 acres or less , can often be overlooked by others simply because they are small or may even beforgotten entirely. Quite often a small public gets "invisibly annexed" by neighboring private property simply due to lack of a visible marking sign and ends up being unhunted at all, sometimes for years . Deer seek out these small quiet patches , and the ones I hunt are also great for turkey and small game . One of them even has a logging road right to the middle giving me a nearly silent entry !I rarely encounter another hunter on these little gems , sometimes all I see are old boot prints and an occasional marker .

Before cursing public land take the time to scout some via online topo maps and you may just figure out where that elusive booner has been sleeping all these years . You can also find how and whereto enter it so that the other folks who may be using the property drive game right into your waiting arms well after you're set up .