Overlooked spots on public land

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adrenalin
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Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby adrenalin » Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:03 pm

Just wanted to get some ideas and examples of some spots you guys have found that produced because of being overlooked. Some public is not big enough to have spots that dont see people, yet produce some good bucks every year. Obviously some of those bucks are killed during the rut and could be living on private, but not all of them. In the past I always avoid these spots and any spots that have easy access or walking trails through them. Recently I was talking to someone who hunts very close to some of the public I hunt. We got to looking at spots on a map and he was showing me pictures of several big bucks that were killed right across the road and around some of the areas I hunt. I was shocked by where these bucks were killed. Most all of them were killed close to the road and in spots I would never consider hunting because of how close these spots were to human activity and other hunters. Im sure some are luck if not most of them but there has to be something to this. Thoughts??

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby PK_ » Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:08 pm

Lots of guys hunt spots that look 'deery'.

Small patches of cover near major roads, with no huntable trees have done well for me. But in some states these areas get hit by deer drives. Tough to say, just scout the hunters, figure out where they aren't...
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Dec 14, 2012 2:28 pm

I wouldnt be too quick to assume most were due to luck. Just like you mentioned, the spots you guys were talking about were "over looked" spots.

I shot a buck a few years back in some HEAVILY pressured public land.
I couldve tossed a rock and hit my truck from where I was hunting. I couldve also tossed a rock in the opposite direction and hit the main paved road going through the area.


I tagged out on a Saturday morning, the next morning my brother in law set the exact same spot I shot my buck from and killed a 140" within first hour of daylight.

I still catch myself sometimes when hunting on new public ground over looking the obvious "over looked" spots to hunt.
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby headgear » Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:00 pm

I think these are important spots to check but they also have to have the right mix of cover and no to low pressure. After talking about these kind of spots last year I spent some time scouting a dozen or so spots that were close to the road or access points. I came away from it finding no sign of mature bucks and a heck of a lot of hunter sign. It seems I underestimated the lazyness of hunters in my area. I think its a good idea to keep an eye out for these kinds of spots, I just haven't had much luck with them.
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby dan » Fri Dec 14, 2012 9:03 pm

A lot of my bucks are shot on heavy pressured public land near the road... If pheasant hunters can easily walk it, its usually worthless. But wet and nasty and no parking spot, usually create an over looked spot...
The last 4 years in a row my gun buck in Wisconsin came opening day in the same spot, 100 yards from a major public land parking lot, in a patch of brush everyone else just walks right past.
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Dec 14, 2012 11:25 pm

Major ditch intersections- right along the public road. You know the kind, the one's where a school bus could drop right down into them. More than one county that I hunt has an overzealous drain commissioner with deep ditches dug throughout the county to facilitate drainage. Where the ditches come together at a woods road intersection, the bucks treat it like a bedding point. If there are no trees big enough to hold a treestand, the attraction to older bucks continues to rise...

The bucks like to use these bedding areas with the wind blowing from the interior section of land toward the point, even if its at an angle. They often approach the bed with the wind at their back, lie down and watch their backtrail with the wind blowing toward them. The deep ditches are downwind, and no predator- human included- likes to cross them as they are very steep and deep and often have a bunch of water in them. A mature whitetail can leap these ditches with ease, making it an excellent and overlooked spot for mature buck bedding. Hunters never park at the corner... they park where there is easy access to the interior woods, often on a road that crosses the deep ditch and heads for the interior woods. The thought never crosses a hunters mind to go over to the road intersection and look along the edge there.

You can also follow any deep ditch and look for where a river/creek intersects it and find a nearly similar circumstance. These bucks are so close to the road, they really leave me shaking my head!

Goes without saying that your private land spots with deep ditches will have the same pattern...
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby adrenalin » Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:18 am

I should mention that these bucks were all killed in the hardwoods on dry ground.

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby hoyt » Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:52 am

I agree with Dan about good spots close to roads on public land. I've had especially good luck hunting public land that has a gated access with check in and out and you aren't allowed to enter the area from bordering hwy's or roads.

Big bucks will bed right up next to a major hwy..where they never get human pressure from the hwy side.

Gobblers will use right along a hwy too..it can be noisy with the traffic, but I've definitely had good results.

One way to find good spots like that is to pay attention to greasy spots on the highways or road kill. If you see a bunch of old grease spots or road killed deer it's a good area.
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby PK_ » Sun Dec 16, 2012 2:41 pm

hoyt wrote:..it can be noisy with the traffic, but I've definitely had good results.


I used the road noise to still hunt a patch of brush just a couple days ago, unfortunately it was just a spiker using it at the time. But some old but very impressive rubs let me know that I was on to something there.
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Czabs » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:40 am

This yr I had a swampy wet spot right next.to the rd getting used. I didnt notice it until he was already gone. The spot is usually completely underwater but with the lack of rain early in the season he was using it. Never layed eyes on that buck but I will def be hunting it next yr if we have a drought again.

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Czabs » Fri Dec 21, 2012 2:43 am

This yr I had a swampy wet spot right next.to the rd getting used. I didnt notice it until he was already gone. The spot is usually completely underwater but with the lack of rain early in the season he was using it. Never layed eyes on that buck but I will def be hunting it next yr if we have a drought again.

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby huntinsonovagun » Sun Dec 30, 2012 2:29 pm

Subscribed

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:54 pm

Singing Bridge wrote:Major ditch intersections- right along the public road. You know the kind, the one's where a school bus could drop right down into them. More than one county that I hunt has an overzealous drain commissioner with deep ditches dug throughout the county to facilitate drainage. Where the ditches come together at a woods road intersection, the bucks treat it like a bedding point. If there are no trees big enough to hold a treestand, the attraction to older bucks continues to rise...



The bucks like to use these bedding areas with the wind blowing from the interior section of land toward the point, even if its at an angle. They often approach the bed with the wind at their back, lie down and watch their backtrail with the wind blowing toward them. The deep ditches are downwind, and no predator- human included- likes to cross them as they are very steep and deep and often have a bunch of water in them. A mature whitetail can leap these ditches with ease, making it an excellent and overlooked spot for mature buck bedding. Hunters never park at the corner... they park where there is easy access to the interior woods, often on a road that crosses the deep ditch and heads for the interior woods. The thought never crosses a hunters mind to go over to the road intersection and look along the edge there.

You can also follow any deep ditch and look for where a river/creek intersects it and find a nearly similar circumstance. These bucks are so close to the road, they really leave me shaking my head!

Goes without saying that your private land spots with deep ditches will have the same pattern...


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This sounds intersecting. Any chance often positing a diagram?
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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Tue Jan 01, 2013 2:57 am

I'm on the road- be glad to put one up when I return.

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Re: Overlooked spots on public land

Unread postby Bowhunting Brian » Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:12 am

Dang spell check on the cell phone. It should have said interesting. Lol

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