Bow season we might have 1-5 hunters per square mile very little. Gun season 10-15 but some areas i never see anyone. The areas without parking by roads dont have much pressure.
I look at it like if a hunters walking through say a 100 acre track his scent is blowing into that area which will burn that spot out of a mature buck for 2 weeks or longer. So if he parks their every weekend that areas destroyed.
Most hunters only have 4-5 spots a season they burn the areas out.
So if i see a car in my areas every weekend im skip that area. That buck is still in that area but he is on guard and will be more careful. Or moving off that 100 acres to a area of less pressure.
your idea of "hunting pressure"
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
Late to the party...
I saw an earlier post in this thread by Dan said he wanted to hunt Michigan Southern Lower Penninsula public land? Did that ever happen!?
I hunt public land in SEMI. 6,400 acres of public hunting opportunity. I've scouted less than an 1/8th of that. It gets hammered during gun for sure - but i'm not up there during gun anyway.
I've been there bowhunting in the middle of the week and have been the only car in the lot on my way in and out. It's along a river and there isn't an access that is further than 1 mile in... so you have to get creative in where you hunt. Since there are a lot of foot trails for hikers in the area I noticed a lot of hunters simply walk the trails until they see a game trail and then follow that a few hundred yards in.
I can tell you from scouting that most of the promising sign we look for is always in an overlooked area: I've found beds as close as 100 yards from the foot trails and accesses but they were so thick you had to crawl to get into them, or a primary scrape hidden by some thick canopy only 150 yards from a busy-two lane road but several hundred yards away from any foot trails.
I saw an earlier post in this thread by Dan said he wanted to hunt Michigan Southern Lower Penninsula public land? Did that ever happen!?
I hunt public land in SEMI. 6,400 acres of public hunting opportunity. I've scouted less than an 1/8th of that. It gets hammered during gun for sure - but i'm not up there during gun anyway.
I've been there bowhunting in the middle of the week and have been the only car in the lot on my way in and out. It's along a river and there isn't an access that is further than 1 mile in... so you have to get creative in where you hunt. Since there are a lot of foot trails for hikers in the area I noticed a lot of hunters simply walk the trails until they see a game trail and then follow that a few hundred yards in.
I can tell you from scouting that most of the promising sign we look for is always in an overlooked area: I've found beds as close as 100 yards from the foot trails and accesses but they were so thick you had to crawl to get into them, or a primary scrape hidden by some thick canopy only 150 yards from a busy-two lane road but several hundred yards away from any foot trails.
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- Boogieman1
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
In my state I would rather have 5 acres of weeds and brush to myself than share 1000 acres with one knuckle head. Around here the hardest buck to kill is the one who knows he's being hunted.
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
Boogieman1 wrote:In my state I would rather have 5 acres of weeds and brush to myself than share 1000 acres with one knuckle head. Around here the hardest buck to kill is the one who knows he's being hunted.
That's true everywhere especially once they get over 3 years old.
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
Dewey wrote:Boogieman1 wrote:In my state I would rather have 5 acres of weeds and brush to myself than share 1000 acres with one knuckle head. Around here the hardest buck to kill is the one who knows he's being hunted.
That's true everywhere especially once they get over 3 years old.
I think a lot of u guys do the same thing. Where in my case it's broke up by property lines, y'all find those small sweet spots within large tracks.
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
I would say where I am at in WNY it's 40 guys per square mile. There isn't a private piece not hunted even if it's posted guys trespass all the time here.
I have sole permission on a 45 acre piece yet there are two other stands in there. Never catch up w the guys cause they are in the wide open hardwoods and we all know that's not where you hunt.
The other properties I hunt have a minimum of two other guys and they are all small. Under 50 acres
I gave up one one piece when new guys put up 10 stands on 25 acres.
This pressure is brutal w guys driving atvs all over going to stands at first light and last light.
I'm starting to hunt the public just because I think even w it's insane pressure I will find thicker cover and more elbow room. I might be on crack. At least my buddies think so but it's worth a shot.
And once again NY sucks. Good luck guys
I have sole permission on a 45 acre piece yet there are two other stands in there. Never catch up w the guys cause they are in the wide open hardwoods and we all know that's not where you hunt.
The other properties I hunt have a minimum of two other guys and they are all small. Under 50 acres
I gave up one one piece when new guys put up 10 stands on 25 acres.
This pressure is brutal w guys driving atvs all over going to stands at first light and last light.
I'm starting to hunt the public just because I think even w it's insane pressure I will find thicker cover and more elbow room. I might be on crack. At least my buddies think so but it's worth a shot.
And once again NY sucks. Good luck guys
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
In my state I would rather have 5 acres of weeds and brush to myself than share 1000 acres with one knuckle head. Around here the hardest buck to kill is the one who knows he's being hunted.
I hear u lol, when I first got on here I was crying bout my own probs not knowing any better I hear some of you guys stories and all of a sudden it don't seem so bad! When it comes to small private properties that's all I know might not be able to get u all the answers but would be willing to bet I could tell u what not to do from my own mistakes. The days of ringing door bells for permission are pretty much over. In this dept I feel I have something to offer.
I hear u lol, when I first got on here I was crying bout my own probs not knowing any better I hear some of you guys stories and all of a sudden it don't seem so bad! When it comes to small private properties that's all I know might not be able to get u all the answers but would be willing to bet I could tell u what not to do from my own mistakes. The days of ringing door bells for permission are pretty much over. In this dept I feel I have something to offer.
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
Stanley wrote:We probably should mention the number of deer per hunter in every state. Looks like Ed may have the best argument of all in his hunting sucking real bad.
1] AL (2.05) deer per hunter
[2] GA (1.50)
[3] MS (1.49)
[4] SC (1.27)
[5] VA (0.96)
[6] LA (0.91)
[7] MD (0.90)
[8] ND (0.88)
[9] DE (0.84)
[10] WI (0.794)
[11] FL (0.792)*
[12] IL (0.786)
[13] NJ (0.784)**
[14] MO (0.75)
[15] IA (0.7322)
[16] TX (0.7318)
[17] WV (0.715)
[18] OH (0.672)
[19] MI (0.667)
[20] IN (0.58)
[21] AR (0.57)
[22] MN (0.54)
[23] NC (0.50)
[24] KS (0.49)
[25] KY (0.45)
[26] OK (0.43)
[27] PA (0.42)
[28] SD (0.41)
[29] NY (0.40)
[30] NE (0.39)
[31] TN (0.32)
[32] RI (0.31)
[33] CT (0.27)
[34] MA (0.213)
[35] NH (0.211)
[36] VT (0.19)
[37] ME (0.16)
*Florida’s harvest statistics are not as recent as the others.
**This, sorry to say, reveals a mistake in the original map, in which we erroneously ranked New Jersey above Wisconsin, Florida and Illinois.
New Jersey numbers seems low to me....Very good deer hunting in the Garden State! Mostly gun pressure in my areas! Never see bow guys out.
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Re: your idea of "hunting pressure"
its all too much for me, I seek out a lot more room with very few hunters. Mike
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