Wisconsin Private land-- to Public Land-- Back to Private?

[Elite]

I live in a county where baiting is legal and guys do it in both public and private. I even know a guy that baits on private though there's a cornfield on the property. In my experience, guys that bait have one stand on each property they bait and that's it. I see little to no mobile hunting or beast style hunting. Guys up here continue to sit the same permanent stands and hang on stands on public and private.
I see permanent hang on stands on public while scouting in the spring, though the law states they have to be taken down or a name and license number have to be attached. So I have an advantage I guess. Maybe it's the age population up here? I have yet to collide with another hunter on public.

[szwampdonkey]

Agree there has been WAY more on public this year. Last few years actually but this year has been the worst.

I had 3 "honey holes" in which I have NEVER seen another hunter just get invaded this year. One in fact was right by my house, about a 25 acre spot right next to the road that butted up to a large private marsh that always had a nice mature buck or two using it. Even though it was along the road it was no parking all along it so you had to park at a lot about a 1/4 mile away and walk in to it. That small walk seemed to deter almost everyone until this year. It got so hammered that guys actually beat well worn footpaths all through it where they were walking in. I abandoned it at that point as its just too small to support that kind of traffic.

I adjusted my expectations and killed two does to fill the freezer with plans to regroup and figure out different strategies next season taking into account the increased pressure that now exist but didnt before. I did see two nice mature bucks this year anyways but wasnt able to seal the deal on them.

But damn, had to work HARD for those opportunities, harder than ever before. Ill be more prepared next year as I was honestly caught off guard by the pressure this year.

[Southern Buck]

Pressure was definitely the highest I’ve ever seen it by far in my area, especially during early season. Until this year, I’d only seen one other person besides myself with a lock on and had never seen anyone with a saddle. This year I’ve probably seen a dozen or so guys with one or the other.

I chalk it up to 3 factors:

1. THP making public hunting mainstream
2. COVID-19
3. The best weather we’ve ever had in October

Pressure actually dropped off during the rut some. I believe this was due to people going back their private pieces because ultimately they know it offers the best odds for success. I’d say 90%+ hunt over some type of bait or food plot with a rifle in this state, so it’s a huge leap to go from doing that all your life to public. It’s one thing to talk about doing it. It’s a whole other animal to actually commit to the grind day in and day out.

Personally, this year has been a real struggle. I’ve put in as much time and effort as I ever have. Going into the season, I felt like my preparation was was the best it’s ever been and that I had a great plan on how to approach my entire season. Yet, my results have been minimal. I’ve take a single doe and a coyote. I’ve only had one opportunity at a decent 8 point that I ended up missing, and I had to hunt in a downpour to get that chance.

As this thread points out, I’m sure there are plenty of others experiencing the same struggles. I figure after a couple years things will go back to normal. Only those who are truly committed/obsessed/deranged are going to be willing to put themselves through that level of frustration and disappointment year after year.

[wdog]

It has definitely gotten bad. I’m sure I’ll still hunt public some but I have about thrown in the towel in Wisconsin. I’m lucky to have two cheap leases and a nice permission piece. But for guys that aren’t as lucky as me, man idk what I would do.

I don’t blame THP or Dan, but that is basically what has caused all the uptick in pressure.

[brkissl82]

I also think apps like ONYX play a major factor. Everyone can see every island in the middle of cattail marshes now. People also use to be afraid to hunt more than a 1/4 mile from a road for fear of getting lost but with these apps finding your way even in unfamiliar spots is pretty easy. I

[Rich M]

It should just come down to "I want to hunt" "where can I go?" and then go hunt. Hunt where you can and enjoy it.

Some guys are just really, really good at deer hunting - I hunt with a guy like that, he could kill a buck just about anywhere. He prefers to hunt private or hard to reach public but says public bucks don't pattern near as well as private - so it is more work to take a public buck when he can get a private land buck in a couple of days after the deer moves into the area. Deer are deer. If you can pattern a buck, you can kill him.

[hunter_mike]

It should just come down to "I want to hunt" "where can I go?" and then go hunt. Hunt where you can and enjoy it.

This sums it up for me! WELL SAID! I hunt where I can and try to find a good spot where my odds are best. Right now for me it all happens to be public land.

[rutjunkie]

Popularity is at an all time high, hunting public land is the cool thing to do. It has never been easier, mobile hunting equipment, onx, and education on hunting tactics, map reading is readily available. More and more people travel to other states. Most states that dont limit nr hunters are being run down. It was my 5th yr going to kansas and the age structure has diminished, the tag is now overvalued. I dont see it getting any easier.

[Hawthorne]

Develop amnesia forget about social media and public land popularity and go hunt

[thwack16]

I would be lying if I didn't say I'm not headed back to private more & more.

Think I'm at 9 hunts in MS for the year and 8/9 have been on private. Kind of had a double whammy of happenings to pressure the public in my area the last few years: the popularity of public due to reasons already mentioned on this thread & the Big Muddy flooding the usual haunts in the South MS delta that the LA and MS coast guys have typically flocked to. The old family private is looking better and better due to this, and I'm even considering leasing more which is something I've always said I'd never do. I'll always monitor the public, but it's not going to be the majority of my planning, scouting, and work as it has been the last handful.

My out of state trips will stay public unless something falls in my lap for free or what I consider a good price. Don't see that happening though.

[Primetime41]

Idk but those hunting public guys sure do amaze me how often they get it done on public

Agree but remember they are hunting for a living. I rarely can hunt more than a few days in a row and usually over a weekend or long weekend due to work obligations.

I think they are very mobile too and young enough to cover a lot of ground. They also hunt In teams which helps. This ups their odds.

On top of that, I think they are mostly shooting 2 year olds, and maybe even some 1 year olds, outside of Iowa.

Just shows how difficult it is to kill a mature buck on public when even guys who get to hunt in teams almost everyday of the season aren't killing them very often.

[Thesouthpaw]

I bounce around between private and public. I'm lucky enough to have a few permission pieces that are pretty decent. With that being said, three of the four bucks I killed this year were on private, but that was flipped last year, as I killed three public land bucks. I honestly haven't seen an uptick of pressure on the public here in WV. Most serious hunters around here have access to private, mainly because leases are basically nonexistent around here, and getting permission is still relatively easy. Not many people like to hunt big woods and mountains, which is what most of our public is.
I have seen an influx of people going out an walking around on public, then posting a picture about how they're "scouting public" then never go back.

[greenhorndave]

I think Southpaw alluded to something there that makes sense, being that certain types of terrain areas see more pressure than others. Part of it is regional, but part is due to the educational materials posted here and on YouTube from guys like Dan and THP.

For instance, there is a lot of Ag and swamp/marsh land in SE WI. Also a lot of people. Much of the public is on wet areas, so they get pounded. Lots of people winding up in areas that they've been taught are good spots, only those spots are getting pressured too hard and the deer have shifted to somewhere else. For example, in my county, there was only a 6% success rate in filling antlerless tags on public in 2019. 6!

Most skilled hunters know of overlooked spots on that same public, whether it be remote or some other pocket where deer feel safe.

But the flip side is big woods. There are fewer deer and by extension, fewer hunters because it's so difficult.

There are unpressured hangouts on public all over the state. They're just a royal pain/challenge to find. And they may morph from year to year, making it even more difficult.

This season I feel like I know more and have had opportunities that I passed on and screwed up, but I still have a looooooong way to go to match any of you. But working to find and unlock those secretive areas on public is just part of the long, hard path we choose to walk.

[Nolte]

It pretty much boils down to trying to accumulate as many good spots as you can (both public and private) and then not overhunting them too much. Then hopefully you sprinkle in a little luck and connect. I'd say public was about normal near me at times and packed at others. All of my sits except 4 were public and all sits on small private I saw deer. Nothing too exciting but didn't have any blanks, did have a fair number of blanks on public once the pressure ratcheted up. But I did see my better bucks there. I think the big difference is on public is that if you don't connect, its tough to fine tune your setup because either your pressure or others will cause them change their routine. If you don't have an idea on their backup routine you're back at square 1. On private you might be able to let it settle and then go in for a chance. However if that private is hunted by others it might actually be worse, just depends.

[OH nontypical]

The dream for me is to have at least a small piece of private so as I age I have a place to always get out.

I think Dan said it best in one of his early DVDs.
Hunt public to take pressure off your private if you have it.
This way it will be fresh when you hunt it.

Doesn’t seem like he and Dave hunt that farm a lot and that’s why it’s still pulling in bucks especially around the rut.

I would love to have a piece of private in close driving proximity to Public. Then I could easily hunt both and also always have a place to hunt out the back door with Family and try some food plots, and habitat improvement stuff.