public land
 

I see a flaw with public land. if deer run in fear of the sent of humans then how can public land work you've got hundreds or thousands of hunters walking every where then wouldent that land be void of animals?

RE: public land
 

Cascade Hunter,

I hunt public land and what I see is that most hunters want to set up not far from the road and that way they dont have to travel that far. Really doesnt matter how many hunters are around if youre willing to go deep into the woods where the deer are roaming. Last year during firearm season I sat on an old fallen tree in the woodsabout 3miles from the main road while other hunters around me were probably 100 to 150yds from the road. Quess who got the nice buck?

RE: public land
 

I hunt public land as well. This year, I will be enhancing my chances by doing a few new things. First of all, I have spent some of the off season removing all of the trail markers from the trees, something I plan on doing throughout the season. Also, I decided to make some fake rubs. Not for the deer, but for the other hunters. I'm going to start putting them out about three weeks before bow season, right on the trails, and no more than 50 yards from the road. I have two feet stored in salt from last year's buck to make some tracks as well. With a thermos full of coffee and a half gallon of water, I figure I can make about 10 of these in a day.

RE: public land
 

i hunt public land too an i see deer an all kindas of animals every time i go but the thing is where i live at most ppl have there own land so there aint many ppl on the public land

RE: public land
 

Been hunting public woods about thirty years. Have never had any problems that you here people talk about. I hunt hard. When it comes to public hunting it is best to know one area like the back of your hand. It may take me 2 to 3 years to really understand what is happening in a block of woods. The deer will always find those secluded areas where human scent is minimized. Sometimes they are far away and other times within 100 yds of the main road hidden in plain sight. Another factor is using other hunters for your successprovided you don't disturb their hunt.
I have come to the conclusion years ago that you will see more deer in public land during the times when many hunters are in the woods. Just people moving around will have the deer moving as well. My favorite time to hunt is when there is a low number of people in the woods. This makes it more of a challenge for me.
I hopeI never see baiting allowed in public woods. But anyway that is another issue. LOL this year to all.

RE: public land
 

notto start anything, but if i saw you on the wma i work on cutting into the trees , i'd have to have ya arrested, make sure it's legal before you go cutting on trees...dont really think its too ethical either, those folks are out there just like you , looking for sign and then you come along and give them fake sign to go on...i'd be pi$$ed.but what would pi$$ m eoff even more would be that i marked a trail and had some bozo come behind me and take em down, i can see you doing it in the off season, but not after season starts...Just go out, get as far away as you can and just enjoy the hunt, play the wind....youre making sound more like a job than a hunt......

RE: public land
 

Sorry, the part about the fake rubs was sarcasm (I fixed it above). I'm not going to waste all that time making fake scrapes. It was just an idea I thought was funny and might work if you went to the trouble.

I hunt in a national forest where they have big signs telling you not to hang markers and leave them, it is considered littering. Markers aren't the only trash I pick up while I'm out there, there's lots of it.

RE: public land
 

ok, i'll forgive ya, lol......i understand about the markers, every year, cept for this one because i have had no spare time, but i usually go out and collect all the ribbons and markers, but i do leave them alone a month or so before the hunts and during the hunts.....i was wondering how you were going to get rid of your foot prints when you were placing those deer tracks yourself, lol.....

RE: public land
 

eversboys is absolutely correct, we hunt public land and walk miles back into the woods, a lot of ppl i know hunt public land because of laziness, they dont want to bother finding private land and they dont want to bother walking very far, I wouldnt hunt it if it did not contain tremendous game and i love dragging my buck past 4 hunters who havent seen a thing sitting 200 yds from the road

RE: public land
 

All of the best spots are not that deep in the woods. I hunted a WMA for 3 yrs, and hunted a persimmon tree around 100 yds off the main road. Killed 4 bucks and one doe in that time, and was seeing deer when no one else was. Passed on alot of does, and let some bucks slip by me also.