Public hunting areas or private property

[Papabull]

Which do you hunt and how many shot opportunities do you have each year?

I spend my time in the fall hiking past the beer-can barrier in public hunting areas to find as close to a wilderness hunt as I can locally. Spending time setting up private properties to hunt would definitely provide outstanding hunting here in CT where deer are so plentiful on private properties that there are unlimited tags issued for antlerless deer in two counties.

I still like the public areas, though. As a result I usually get one shot opportunity each year. Needing more than one shot opportunity to fill a tag can make for a long summer with no venison, which probably plays into my obsession with making sure I'm ready to make my first shot during the season a perfect one.

How does your hunting style and area affect your shooting style and equipment preferences?

[Mark]

I also hunt public land and usually take a week off in November to hunt. I've let too many does walk in the last two years in hopes of getting a shot at the big one. Forget that. This year I'll use a 44 pound Warfer.....or a 42 pound Warfer, depending on how I feel when I head out the door. One of the biggest changes in my equiptment is bow length. I'm not real fond of bows shorter than 62" anymore.

[tuffshot]

In the early fall as the acorns start to fall I like to hunt the public ground woods but as the days get shorter I move towards the edges of the fields of private land due to the crops that offer a good food supply and higher congrations of does bring in the bucks sooner or later. :cool:

[Boho]

It's a little dangeroud to hunt public land in Miss. Some drunk rednecks can make it interesting. We lease 304 acres in SW Miss. Never had an accident yet and I get anywhere from 2-14 shots a year. That's the least and most I ever have gotten.

[mysticguido]

both... private land I can hunt on 113acres..... public over 10,000

[Ranger]

I'm fortunate to live in an area with a lot of deer and a lot of understanding land owners. Most farmers realize that deer eat their profits and don't mind letting me help thin them out a little. I try to keep those friendships throughout the year and help them out when I can too.

[fredbearfan]

I only hunt public land. Hunterdon County is prime deer country and residents get dibs on permits. The permit isn't expensive and they only allow a specified # per X huntable acres. On a weekday, I am either alone or with one other hunter at any given time.

The land is usually surrounded by private property. I have an opening day strategy of ambush at the deer escape route in case the movement of hunters changes their comfort level. Several generations of deer have been trained to go to these safe zones when trouble strikes.

The only other strategy I have on public land is staying away from other hunter's tree stands. I don't want to scare his deer and don't want him to scare mine. I also hunt the least popular area so less human scent is drifting about.

[Bill Carlsen]

Here in NH there is a lot of public land. However, I have developed relationships with several land owners, one of which owns only two acres adjacent to a huge swamp, where I prefer to hunt. I do not have exclusive access but it is almost all mine on the weekdays...retirement is the only way to go. You asked about shot opportunities. Last year I missed 13 shots. I admit that because I discovered I had a catarac in my right (dominant) eye and kept hitting brush I could not see, especially in low light conditions. I have had the catarac fixed and now have 20/15 vision in that eye so the misses this year should be at a minimal.

I prefer to hunt my small little private areas simply because the deer are less distrurbed than in other areas. Bowhunter success in NH is the lowest in the US and I have beaten the odds since moving here 35 or so years ago. Until about ten years ago I would get to shoot once or twice a year. Since the human population has grown so has the deer herd. So where I once was lucky to see 13 deer in a 3 month season I am confident every time I go out that I will see a deer, at least that is my average...one deer sighting per day of hunting. However, as I have said, since the herd has grown and space has become scarce I cherish the landowner relationships I have and have been able to substantially improve my odds and I see and shoot way more deer than I used to. There was even a time that I didn't even buy a NH license and hunted in nearby Maine, instead. I'll take a small undisturbed deer herd on a small piece of private land every single time regardless of the state I'm hunting.

[razorbak]

yep I agree with Bill, the deer herd here isnt that great but if you can secure a good relationship with a landowner then you might have a better chance harvesting a deer if you do your homework...I really dont like public land to much as I always seem to run into some really strange characters

[Ronin]

I can understand where you are coming from Papa. Everyone here in Michigan seems to hunt, and I have a hard time finding private land to hunt. I usually hunt public(20 acres), a small private area (20 acres), HAP land (93 acres - private landowners payed by the state to let the public hunt on it). I usually get one shot opportunity a year and for the last two years have blown it. The funny part is that I don't see much hunting pressure on the piece of public land I hunt, next to none on the private, and a ton on the HAP land. Yet, I have seen several monster bucks on the HAP land, and only small and average bucks on the public and private land. All these spots are within 10 miles of each other. This may be due to the fact that the private landowner lets only 3 of us bow hunt there, but lets about 6 people gun hunt it and they shoot everything they see. The Hap land is bordered by thick brush on private land that is posted.

[Larry Hatfield]

i grew up hunting sagebrush deer and it's what i still do when i hunt. usually know what deer i'm going to hunt by mid year. if it's on land thats not open during archery season i put in for a doe tag during rifle season and hunt then.
the country i hunt usually does'nt attract any other hunters so i'm by myself.
i've never hunted bucks cause i like does better to eat. have only shot three or four bucks.
there are thousands of acres of state and federal land within 10 miles of my home that is lightly or never hunted because populations are so low and scattered.
thats where and why i hunt there.

larry

[SteveMcD]

What a good question. I figure the answered will be varied. For me, I hunt both. I like Public Land here in New York State, because I like the "Big Woods" wilderness type of hunt. I get up to the Adirondacks at least once or twice a season to hunt. And also in the Catskills. For me this means a day pack or backpack, because I like going the extra mile away from the "near the road" crowd. To me, the wildness, is what makes the hunt enjoyable. However, deer are not as plentifiul in the north country, as they are in southeastern New York, but there is the chance at really BIG deer or Bear, up North. I hunt private land locally, never have to walk more then a few 100 yards, and the deer are well.. easy pickin's. I hunt local for the freezer. And North for the pure love of it.

[Cato]

Boho hit it on the head for Mississippi. Too many idiots down here with high powered rifles. Every few years, some guy shoots another guy with an arrow. Hard to immagine, but it happens.

The quality hunting is on private land, which can get expensive, if you do not own. But such is life. Money seems to affect almost everything.

[Ron Dodge]

In Mississippi 96% of the land is private leaving 4% public (includes NWRs). Public land could be good here but the MDWFP are not managing the WMAs very well and that is not finding fault with the MDWFP. Revenue shortfalls, declining license sales, increases in poaching and trespassing has taken its toll. On some lands access roads have been cut giving predators greater access to the wildlife. I quit hunting two years ago because of these changes. State Parks here are building golf courses and convention centers as opposed to developing the lakes for fishing. It seems that peoples ideas of wildlife are a filtered TV Animal Planet variety. Rurality is disappearing from the countryside while the urban psychology moves in to influence the activities chosen by its youth. Here squirrel hunters and bow season run at the same time. Bowhunters shoot out of trees and squirrel hunters shoot into the trees. Yes, as Cato stated hunting is very expensive in Mississippi. Hunting is not declining in Mississippi even though hunting license sales are. What is interesting, is that among the most significant wildlife violations in this state, tresspassiing and no resident license are among the most frequent. In the Mississippi Delta among some of the people poaching is a way of life and the public lands have been their victims. I probably won't hunt again unless things change drastically. Aldo Leopold would be shocked by what is passing for wildlife management today.

[KyLongbeard]

LBL is about the best public hunting around here. I have 75 acres of private land that's mine I always hunt.

[Curtiss Cardinal]

I hunt both. There is plenty of public land here in Indiana. I don't see many other hunters in the woods in the early bow season. CrookedStic was kind enough to take me to a private area he has hunted for years. Even though I hadn't really scouted it I saw 3 bucks in one day but with only one marginal shot at a doe I didn't take. I saw the biggest buck I have ever seen on public land by hiking through 1/4 mile of 18" deep water (that was ice cold in December) to a small island (3 acre approx,) that he was using as his hiding place late rut area. Unfortunately he never got closer than 75 yards, no matter how I grunted, a tending grunt almost moved him. That was two years ago. Last year the water was too high and the island was 85- 90% submerged. This year has been drier so I'll try it again. I am going to hunt the hardest and most I ever had this year. I will be hunting in Indiana(Public and Private), Kentucky(Public) and Louisiana(Small Private Lease) and maybe Michigan(Public and/or Private) this year. That is if all my plans come together. I'll let you all know how it works out. It is my goal to hunt in every state before I die.

:bow2: :jesus: :amen:

[Pinelander]

I hunt private property, but I remember when there was a local state park that allowed bowhunting in the early 90's here, but no longer today. Talked to some of the guys that used to hunt it... said there were some guys that were very successful by dressing like joggers and slow-walking the jogging paths. Deer would stand off the path aways and not pay much attention to them as they were walking. Trick was to get drawn and shoot before deer realized they were NOT joggers! Kind of like spot & stalk... but more like jog, stalk, stop & shoot! LOL