Your public land

[SaddleMaster]

24000 acres, 7 miles from the house. A busy parking lot would be 3-4 cars but they only get that busy during gun season weekends (maybe now for bow opener). During the week they're usually empty. I steer clear of those parking lots but try to use them to my advantage during gun season. I hunted every weekend October - December and 2 full weeks in Nov and only ran into other hunters once. Within 45 minutes there are 3 other forests 200000, 24000, and 18000 acres in size. Lots of options but still takes a little homework to get away from the crowds.

[U.P. MAN]

More land than u could hunt in a lifetime no further than 3 hrs either direction. thousands of acres out the back door.

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[Uncle Lou]

Yeh the UP is pretty incredible for public land. Almost like going out west.

Moondoondude, I would have never guessed that MD was up there with MI on pressure. I would have guessed NY or PA based on overall hunter numbers, but I suppose being that close to DC it makes sense. That whole "birth control" thing for deer or any animal is pretty nuts, but when you have politicians trying to fix things what do you expect.

Great topic, like hearing about others public land.

[headgear]

I hunt in two general locations, the first in NE MN has more land that I know what to do with. I probably have 20-30K acres right right out the door and another 200K within a half hour drive. This area is very remote and has almost no population within an hour in any direction. In a way its a hunters paradise. The down side to all of this is very low deer numbers, harsh winters and the highest wolf population anywhere outside of Canada. The rut rifle hunt also puts a lot of pressure on any and all bucks but there are vast pockets of land you can have all to yourself if you are wiling to work. Mature bucks can be had but odds are much better if we could get the population to bouce back a little.

The 2nd area which I spend a lot more time at is anwhere close to home in central MN. There is plenty of public land but no where near what I see "up north". I usually hunt some smaller 20 to 300 acres parcels with a few 500-1000 acre areas. I still find plenty of areas to get awasy from the pressure but again it takes some work. I see much higher deer number in this area, just a few wolves to deal with but there are a fair number of yotes running around. The population in the area is much higher, it is also a tourism hot spot so we get a ton of weekend visitors. Pressure is for sure higher than my northern range but the deer are pretty good at hiding out and the mature buck population is much better than my northern range.

[Buckfever]

Right now 3 parcels, one is 4000 acres(70 miles away)), the other 2 around 250each(105-110 miles away). They're 15 miles closer from work. The 4000 acre parcel is as heavy pressure as it gets, but there's an antler restriction and good genetics and a 1 buck limit. I've had as many as 7 Pope in bow range in a season but from stand I've only seen 2 hunters in the last 7 years. The areas I hunt get get zero pressure where as 300 yards away the big woods get pounded.

The other 2 parcels are smaller and have terrain features such that they get less pressure but that pressure is concentrated on the easier to access parts. In the last 3 years I've seen one hunter from stand.

I switched to public around 7 years ago and stopped at 25 kills, now I just focus on mature bucks, mostly animals that I have history with. I love the public hunt.

[straitnarrow]

My cabin butts up to 40,000 acres of public and thats and hour and a half out side of the twin cities. I hunt a 16,000 acre chunk of public that is 30-45 min out of the twin cities. I also hunt some smaller public land that goes from 100 acres to 500 acres all within 45 min of the twin cities. The 40,000 acre chunk is where I see the least amount of pressure but we still have people pull into the driveway thinking it's a parking lot or a road to the public everyday more than a few times a day. I see people out there every now and then (less during bow hunting and a huge increase when firearms rolls around). The public around the cities is always pressured I always see people every time out. There are always at least 2 or 3 cars in the parking lots or around the public even in the off season there are alot of "walkers" that don't like going to the malls and walking.

[mibowhunter]

I hunt public property in both WI and MI. In WI, the properties I hunt vary from 40 acres to 2,000, and very rarely see another hunter in any of it. I think I've run in to 1 other guy in 2 years. In MI things are a little different. I hunt a few parcels that range from 200 acres to 20,000. Very rarely is there an empty parking space, and I've run in to many hunters - making note that most are within that first 1/2 mile from the parking lot. But I've gone deep and had people walk under me too, so you just never know what you're going to get. I'm new to the beast and am learning a TON in my short time here, so I'm really looking forward to doing some spring scouting and putting some of the tactics and techniques to work. I used to hate hunting MI public property because of all of the people, but this year I'm kind of looking forward to the challenge.

[virginiashadow]

I have access to about 50,000 acres. I regularly focus in on about 5,000-10,000 each year. I know where people like to hunt and stay away from them. I rarely see anyone and that is how I like it. There is a "check in" system that only allows about 1 hunter every 50-75 acres on each hunting section, so it keeps the pressure down a bit.

[magicman54494]

How big are the tracts of public that you hunt?
I hunt the chequamegon national forest in northern Wi. It's huge, I'm not sure how many acres.


How many deer hunters do you typically see there on a weekend? A week day? How pressured are these areas? How far from major cities?
During bow season it recieves very little pressure. Most hunters are sitting over bait. Rifle season gets hit pretty hard but the pressure backs way off after a few days. Again the majority are sitting bait. It's so vast and thick and with low deer numbers I think most guys give up after hunting it a few times. The challenge doesn't come from the pressure as much as the vastness of it. There are really no big cities closer than a few hours drive. In northern Wi the biggest pressure comes from bird hunters and bears hunters and their dogs.

[G3s]

I have areas right around home that are a couple hundred acres up to a couple thousand acres that see's a ton of pressure. It is common to see upwards of a dozen or more guys in those areas. The area I hunt in the U.P is easier measured in miles...It is 65 miles to drive around the perimeter. I have yet to see another hunter there in the 15 or so years I have been hunting there.

[addisonlee]

A lot of guys on here hunt public land. How big are the tracts of public that you hunt? How many deer hunters do you typically see there on a weekend? A week day? How pressured are these areas? How far from major cities? I know some people hunt multiple tracts and the answers to these questions may vary from tract to tract. In that case, please describe the tract that you have been most successful on.

The public state forest I hunt is 18,000+ acres. The public tracts range from 1,000+ acres to 20 acres

Deer hunter density will vary throughout the season but most of the spots I hunt aren't pressured to much from other hunters. More during the rut than early or late season and more on the weekends than weekdays.

How far from a mjor city? Milwaukee, WI is about 45mins away and Green Bay, WI is just over an hour away.

Overall, just gotta hunt the over looked and less pressured areas. Easier said than done in my area, but there's a few.