Public land hunters

[gunther89]

Just curious out of all the people who hunt public land here, how far do you have to go to get away from other hunters?
I've been helping a buddy on some public ground and the area we found is roughly 1.5 miles from the parking lot. I know from trail cameras we have 2 giant bucks on camera and I'm curious if people think others will walk that far back to hunt or not.

 

[Someday isle]

As a new property owner my background has been a lot of hunting public ground in Missouri. I always found it hard to get away from other hunters. If you walk in a mile it always seemed you'd run into hunters who came in from the other direction. I've joked about walking in so far you're actually walking out the other side. I guess it all depends on how big the area you're hunting actually is and what the access is from different areas.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

To be honest, I usually see less or no people in the small 5-10 acre public parcels, then I do the 640+ parcels.

 

[bueller]

Depends on the area but I agree with Someday isle. I've walked in over a mile, waded through ditches and creeks, climbed up and down steep slopes, just to find others already in the area or walking through an hour later. First year at a place is tough. You think you are going to have a spot all to yourself and then... After you learn where the hunters tend to walk and hunt it becomes easier. Many times closer to the parking access, but off the "beaten walking path", is a hotspot.

I now prefer the nasty weather days when hunting public. WAY less hunters and the deer seem to know it.

 

[MickT]

I have 1 rule for hunting public land- Hunt next to the thickest nasty stuff you can find.

Don't sit a field unless you like to watch other hunters.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Turkey Creek]

2nd rule hunt the spots that dont look like your typical "good deer habitat". Thats where I tend to find the deer and not the people.

 

[shawnv]

I hunt a lot of public and the trick is to hunt where the masses are not. Sure that might be way back in but it also might be a brush line right next to the road. Sometimes there are no areas left untouched so then it's a matter of hunting more mornings, mid-week and taking advantage of early season.

 

[Tree Spud]

Find public hunting grounds where the locals have taken down the public hunting signs. .. far less pressure

 

[rocksnstumps]

Find public hunting grounds where the locals have taken down the public hunting signs. .. far less pressure

Or better yet where the locals put up no tresspassing signs on open mfl land. I used to turkey hunt a spot where the next door hunt club would "resign" the adjacent land before and after the gun deer season. I went there in the spring, no signs, no problem but heard talk of them harrassing others during deer season. Actual owner lived outta state.

 

[chickenlittle]

I hunt late season flintlock season on a large PA gameland after Christmas. I will cut tracks but rarely see anyone else. With the deer density, I would prefer to have a few other people to move deer around a bit. Unlikely to see deer in daylight if you are just sitting somewhere and I have yet to be successful with still hunting there. I really need a partner to put on some light pushes to move deer past the other hunter. But I love being out there in the cold and snow with my flintlock.