As we close the door on the 2014 hunting season and start looking forward to the 2015 season I will be facing the decision on which air force bases I would like to be stationed at. Not having hunted in many states I'm looking for info from fellow beast members that may help make the decision easier. I'm trying to find states that have good deer hunting with a chance at a trophy buck and at least a reasonable amount of public land to hunt on since I will not own any private land in the state I'm stationed in. I'm also trying to take into account public areas within an hour drive or so from the base. With that being said I've included a list of some of my potential choices along with the city. I appreciate any info from people who have personal experience hunting public in these states or know people who have hunted them.
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Ellsworth, South Dakota
Wichita, Kansas (from what I've found there doesn't seem to be a lot of public in the area of the base)
Colorado Springs, Colorado (It sounds like most of the whitetails are in the east where there's not a lot of public)
Omaha, Nebraska (highly unlikely I would be stationed here)
Scott, Illinois (low chances of being stationed here as well)
Dayton, Ohio (low chance of stationing)
Great Falls, Montana
Altus, Oklahoma
Anchorage, Alaska (not much for deer hunting but I guess I'd settle for a big bull moose and salmon fishing )
Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
I forgot to add Whiteman AFB in Knob Knoster, Missouri which is an area I was looking at as well
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
burkhart, thanks for the info. I'll let you know if I end up getting stationed there. Have you noticed an increase in the quality of bucks with the antler point restrictions the state has enforced in many counties and are the deer numbers still strong despite EHD and the years of unrestricted doe harvest?
- Spysar
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Screw the deer!
If you have a chance at Anchorage, Alaska , take it and thank me later!!! It's so awesome there.
If you have a chance at Anchorage, Alaska , take it and thank me later!!! It's so awesome there.
A buck will see you three times, and hear you twice, but he's only gonna smell you once.
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
A lot of the bases you can hunt right on them. Im stationed in a terrible area for hunting (Norfolk, VA), but Ive just gotten permission to hunt 4 of the local bases. If you can hunt bases in this area, you can hunt just about any! A lot more pressure than I anticipated, but its better than making the 2 hour drive to any decent public spots.
- Racks&Beards
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Just within 30-45 minutes of Whiteman there are 5 pretty good size pieces of public land
Turkey Kearn = 2000 acres (but heavily pressured both for archery and rifle because it's only like 5 miles from base)
Martha Perry = 4000+ acres (moderate archery pressure, and like 15 miles away...the one Burkhart is talking about)
Blind Pony Lake = 2000+ acres (archery only, and surprisingly pretty low pressure from what I can tell...about 20 miles away)
Lamine River = 6000+ acres (moderate archery pressure/high gun season pressure, about 30 miles from base)
Truman Lake Resevoir Upper Tebo Arm = I'm not exactly sure on the acreage of this particular part, but it's part of a massive piece of Corp of Engineers owned land that goes all around Truman lake. I've never bowhunted it but I have rifle hunted on it the past 4 or 5 years, and it's big enough to actually rifle hunt without being on top of other hunters which is rare for public land in Missouri. It's about 45 minutes drive from the base
There are tons of tiny areas as well within 30 minutes of the base, but if you're willing to drive a little bit, the NW part of the state has some of the best public areas in the state IMO. It's like 2 hours drive from base, but man it's a TON of great low pressured (archery wise) ground.
Turkey Kearn = 2000 acres (but heavily pressured both for archery and rifle because it's only like 5 miles from base)
Martha Perry = 4000+ acres (moderate archery pressure, and like 15 miles away...the one Burkhart is talking about)
Blind Pony Lake = 2000+ acres (archery only, and surprisingly pretty low pressure from what I can tell...about 20 miles away)
Lamine River = 6000+ acres (moderate archery pressure/high gun season pressure, about 30 miles from base)
Truman Lake Resevoir Upper Tebo Arm = I'm not exactly sure on the acreage of this particular part, but it's part of a massive piece of Corp of Engineers owned land that goes all around Truman lake. I've never bowhunted it but I have rifle hunted on it the past 4 or 5 years, and it's big enough to actually rifle hunt without being on top of other hunters which is rare for public land in Missouri. It's about 45 minutes drive from the base
There are tons of tiny areas as well within 30 minutes of the base, but if you're willing to drive a little bit, the NW part of the state has some of the best public areas in the state IMO. It's like 2 hours drive from base, but man it's a TON of great low pressured (archery wise) ground.
Speed is fine...Accuracy is final.
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Just found out I will be stationed at McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas. From my research thus far there doesn't seem to be much public in south central Kansas so hopefully I'll be able to find some landowners who will grant me access otherwise I may just have to take a few longer trips to other areas of the state. Any suggestions/tips appreciated.
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Sorry I didn't see this sooner... Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls Mt. Elk / Mulies / white tails / bighorns / some of the greatest trout fishing in N America, Grizzlies running interference... simply awesome. Plus I ate lunch with the Unabomber near there in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Thanks for the invite Burkhart. If I ever get some spare time or get sick of Kansas I might have to take you up on that offer.
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Singing Bridge wrote:Sorry I didn't see this sooner... Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls Mt. Elk / Mulies / white tails / bighorns / some of the greatest trout fishing in N America, Grizzlies running interference... simply awesome. Plus I ate lunch with the Unabomber near there in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
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Gotta hear that story about the unibomber??!?
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Re: Suggestions for military bases near best public hunting
Great Falls MT was my favorite base for hunting and fishing
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