Public Land sightings

[Jackson Marsh]

Last year I had one of my best seasons on public land for bucks. Saw 21 bucks in 33 sits. Of those 21 bucks at least 1/2 were shooters. My longest streak not seeing any deer was 3 days. Saw at least one buck every day from Oct 31-Nov 11. I don't usually keep track of antlerless sightings because I am rarely targeting them but on average I would say I see one every 3-4 sits.

The trend the last few years is that I am seeing more bucks, especially shooter bucks and much less does and fawns likely due to hunting buck beds more often than not.

So far this year in 5 hunts I saw 3 bucks. Of those bucks I killed one 10 pt, bumped one slob bedded in deep marsh grass and the other buck was a 6pt coming out of his bed.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Holy cow Dewey!

I now realize I suck

[ Post made via Android ]

[whitetailassasin]

I hunt Michigan state land. Before gun season I see does on my sits about 60% of the time. I've had seasons where I've seen 30-35 bucks maybe 7 shooters. But I've also had years where I've seen like 15 bucks maybe 2-3 shooters. I've concentrated my efforts on hunting away from other hunters and pieces of land over looked. Which tends to be away from crops like corn, beans, etc and have worked on hunting bedding that is a ways away from the feed fields heavily pressured as normal. I don't see as many deer but I do see better quality deer. Mature does, and older bucks usually 2.5 years or older. I went on a bit of a hot streak and shot 6 mature bucks in 5 years. I use trail monitoring from June-nov but I only check on rainy days and very seldom. Last year I got one opportunity at about a 140" deer October 28th. He came in early afternoon and was coming right down the run I expected had him at 28 yards and he needed to be at 25 to have a clear shot. He seen 2 does and chased after. I was at full draw..lol..that's hunting though. I'm going to try and start spot lighting to see if that will help me.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Dewey]

Last year I had one of my best seasons on public land for bucks. Saw 21 bucks in 33 sits. Of those 21 bucks at least 1/2 were shooters. My longest streak not seeing any deer was 3 days. Saw at least one buck every day from Oct 31-Nov 11. I don't usually keep track of antlerless sightings because I am rarely targeting them but on average I would say I see one every 3-4 sits.

The trend the last few years is that I am seeing more bucks, especially shooter bucks and much less does and fawns likely due to hunting buck beds more often than not.

So far this year in 5 hunts I saw 3 bucks. Of those bucks I killed one 10 pt, bumped one slob bedded in deep marsh grass and the other buck was a 6pt coming out of his bed.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Holy cow Dewey!

I now realize I suck

[ Post made via Android ]

That was 2012........this past season was not nearly as good.

Sounds like some guys here see that many in a few days during the rut in prime hill country areas!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[wiscodeerslayer]

@whitetailassasin Shining defintely has given me an edge and its a blast too. Public places ive hunted that I didnt think held any deer came alive when the sun went down. From my post earlier, the 170" I seen was first seen shining pretty much an open field not 10 minutes after dark. When I seen where the buck was bedding I was amazed at how far he would travel for food and water. And also the route he took from bed to food and food to bed was never really the same.I pretty much walked right into his bed during early bow season 2013 thinking I could get a crack at him. Was probably 15 yards from him in prairie grass but obviously wasnt very comfortable shooting at a bedded deer with a bow. But this area is a tough place to bow hunt lacking treestand trees and usually overlooked by bowhunters because of it. Pretty much a massive open prairie with thin tree lines and fence rows. Those are the areas I tend to target though because the average hunter wouldnt even dream of trying it until gun season.

[ Post made via Android ]

[whitetailassasin]

I'm going to give it a serious chance this year. Early bow and pre rut are usually good in Michigan. Once the rut kicks in and gun season the pressure sky rockets. I will be spending a lot of my time scouting. We just had a huge snowfall and negative temperatures so I'm waiting for a nice day and some snowmelt to occur so I can zero in on a few stand sights and hope to get some stand sights. I do a lot of monitoring mid summer to late fall and that also helps. I know when the buck I'm after is using the area I want to hunt. I review footage or swap sd cards on rainy days or after a possible sit on the right conditions. Has worked well for me. Now I'm just trying to lighten my setup without giving up my ability to set up quietly.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Timmy]

For seeing "deer" I was probly 50% or so. The land your hunting can really influence that percentage. One piece of public I hunted I only saw one deer this year. Another piece of public I saw a deer almost every time I was on it

[ihookem]

How is the public land deer sightings this year? I've only been out 3 times and saw a turkey and a squirrel, no deer though. How are the rest of you all doing?

[Jackson Marsh]

Kinda crummy for me, haven't seen a buck yet. I've got a solid plan for the rut, so I expect this to change.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Zap]

Three outings on public.

Saw six deer shot one.

[HoosierG5]

I have sat public 4 times this year. Saw 7 does and no bucks. None close enough to kill. Very frustrating.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[justdirtyfun]

I found does on my last three outings. None were beast\bed hunts but more of scouting and hunting. So now my thoughts are if I hunt those areas during the rut will the bucks appear? It would have been nice to get one doe for the fridge and take the pressure off but we'll see. Good luck on the public guys.

[ Post made via Android ]

[mag1]

Been out only 3x, jumped one opening day, and I think he was the same one I saw right at last light. I usually only get 5-6 times a year due to kids, and other obligations. with our long bow seasons, I can spread it out and while I would love to be out more, that's about all i get. I save 3 vac. days for the rut, they are in before light, out after dark. This year, my buddie is bringing his jon boat, and we are going into a piece of public that only has one access point, the rest is surrounded by private, we will take the river in, and see what we can do. Should be a blast. I'm hoping to get out aliitle more this year. 3x allready, maybe 1x this week, 3x next week, and who knows after that.

[Dewey]

On stand I have only seen 2 bucks so far. One was 150"+ and the other was a smaller 8 pt a few days ago. Bumped a few others while walking/scouting but otherwise it's been an extremely slow season for me. My worst since 2009 when I killed a good buck(first buck I saw that year) on Nov 1st.

Keep reminding myself that things are changing here pretty quick and the season can become a dream season in a matter of seconds.

[wmihunter]

On stand I have only seen 2 bucks so far. One was 150"+ and the other was a smaller 8 pt a few days ago. Bumped a few others while walking/scouting but otherwise it's been an extremely slow season for me. My worst since 2009 when I killed a good buck(first buck I saw that year) on Nov 1st.

Keep reminding myself that things are changing here pretty quick and the season can become a dream season in a matter of seconds.

that's the spirit!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[ihookem]

I decided to revive this one. I have been out 8 times now and saw deer 3 times of the eight. I also kicked up a few on the way in. How about the rest of you ? Slow season? Good season. Mine seems average .