So much public land where do you start?

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alfsisaiah
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So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby alfsisaiah » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:22 am

With thousands of new acres of public land I am looking to hunt for next year I am just not positive where to start. I am used to hunting small urban parcels not giant tracts of wooded acreage. The terrain is all very similiar. Tons of ridge systems. Not very many hard edges or terrain changes. Just woods and ridges and thousands of acres. No swamps, no crp fields, or fields in general. Where would you start?


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Spysar
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby Spysar » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:01 am

You start by eliminating places you don't want to be first.
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:40 am

Edges or transitions are the next step after eliminating areas.

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hunter_mike
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby hunter_mike » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:58 am

Possibly consider printing out a zoomed out black and white aerial photo with topo lines on it that shows 1-3 square miles that you think has a good chance of holding a buck you would like to shoot. Then take a red pen and mark all of the access. Parking lots, trails, logging roads, anywhere that people would be able to walk without getting tangled in brush or getting their feet wet. Zoom in on the computer to see details and mark it on the zoomed out paper photo.

From there you should be able to tell the areas that people would have to go out of their way to get to. Of those areas, choose the best looking based on how much character the terrain has. Transitions in the vegetation and steep topography are easy to spot. Consider using the slope-gradient feature on caltopo.com. It highlights steep topography.

That should get you a few spots to scout.
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seazofcheeze
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Tue Dec 15, 2015 5:09 am

I agree with the above statements. You can start by ruling out large tracts of homogeneous terrain (e.g. large areas of flat land with mature timber). Deer will be in these spots sometimes, sure, but they are not the most high percentage spot, and that should be your scouting goal. Narrow down each property to the best spot(s), or, if there aren't any, move on. After a few years of scouting, observation, and hunting, you will have a solid rotation of high percentage spots and will be sitting a first sit in a "best spot" every time out. Also, as others have mentioned in other threads, difficult access (water crossing, waders, boats, etc.) will really prevent the majority of the weekend warrior types from venturing that deep.
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby checkerfred » Tue Dec 15, 2015 10:07 am

hunter_mike wrote:Possibly consider printing out a zoomed out black and white aerial photo with topo lines on it that shows 1-3 square miles that you think has a good chance of holding a buck you would like to shoot. Then take a red pen and mark all of the access. Parking lots, trails, logging roads, anywhere that people would be able to walk without getting tangled in brush or getting their feet wet. Zoom in on the computer to see details and mark it on the zoomed out paper photo.

From there you should be able to tell the areas that people would have to go out of their way to get to. Of those areas, choose the best looking based on how much character the terrain has. Transitions in the vegetation and steep topography are easy to spot. Consider using the slope-gradient feature on caltopo.com. It highlights steep topography.

That should get you a few spots to scout.



I'm in the same boat as the OP....I'm still new to all this. One thing that sticks out to me is, I keep seeing how big bucks like places that have no human intrusion. I've read on here as well as other places and see some of the same stuff. Like bedding close to areas where people park and access....right under your nose. I've found one bed close to the road. I even jumped a small buck right big the parking. People always walk past and it's really close to the parking area. Bedding in general is hard for me to find but especially these type of places. I really want to concentrate on finding these overlooked places but it's just harder that it sounds.
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby fishlips » Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:11 am

Overlooked has been interesting for me. Initially I just looked for ridiculous spots close to parking or high traffic. Didn't really find much. However throw in a terrain feature that will deter most hunters and I think more good overlooked spots come up. Could be just about anything bit I have noticed water to be a good hunter deterrent even though it may only be 50 yards of it. Thick brush can be good to.

If you can just walk to it with minimal resistance, my experience is that these spots haven't been very productive on public.

Just scouting observations. Haven't had luck during season but I dont think I was looking at the right spots.

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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby checkerfred » Tue Dec 15, 2015 2:07 pm

fishlips wrote:Overlooked has been interesting for me. Initially I just looked for ridiculous spots close to parking or high traffic. Didn't really find much. However throw in a terrain feature that will deter most hunters and I think more good overlooked spots come up. Could be just about anything bit I have noticed water to be a good hunter deterrent even though it may only be 50 yards of it. Thick brush can be good to.

If you can just walk to it with minimal resistance, my experience is that these spots haven't been very productive on public.

Just scouting observations. Haven't had luck during season but I dont think I was looking at the right spots.

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That's some good info to keep in mind..thanks!
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby EthanHogan1 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 2:42 pm

I just moved to Wisconsin. Home of lots and lots of public land. It's pretty simple yet also really hard. 3 quick tips.

1. Be on the hunting beast 24/7, listen to pod cast, watch dvd's
2. Get a really good pair of boots and walk ALOT. (Compass helps)
3. When you fail, bump dear, see tons of people, screw up, walk hours with a stand on your back and never setup. Don't give up to chalk it up as learning. I failed and walked more then I ever have in the past month, but I have also learned more then I ever have

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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby ihookem » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:32 pm

A lot depends on where you are hunting. If it is small chunks of public in heavily hunted areas ( like 1,000 to 5,000 acres) or are scouting big chunks of public land like 20,000 to 30,000 acre chunks of almost unbroken timber. If you are hunting big chunks like up in Northern WI. , Mich, Minnesota , dont even get out of the truck till ya know what you are doing. Last poster said a cumpass helps. I carry two compasses and a Gps. and most likely a map on big chunks. Smaller chunks , you can usually hear a car, train or something. Dont ever go in the big woods without a compass and good bearings to know very well what way is out, and make sure when coming out you dont miss the road cause it had a 90 degree turn you didn't know about and find yourself walking parallel to the road and wondering why you can't find the truck. The next easiest way to scout deer in the big woods is find a good size creek or small river. follow it for a long ways. It is was to see where they cross on creeks 'n rivers. and they seem to like water. Study the land on the computer so you have a better idea of the lay of the land. As for hunting pressure in the big woods, there basically is none. There were two trucks on the end of my road where public land starts. That means maybe 3 hunters in that 3-5 sq miles and I dont think they even left the logging road.
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby Bucky » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:36 pm

EthanHogan1 wrote:I just moved to Wisconsin. Home of lots and lots of public land. It's pretty simple yet also really hard. 3 quick tips.

1. Be on the hunting beast 24/7, listen to pod cast, watch dvd's
2. Get a really good pair of boots and walk ALOT. (Compass helps)
3. When you fail, bump dear, see tons of people, screw up, walk hours with a stand on your back and never setup. Don't give up to chalk it up as learning. I failed and walked more then I ever have in the past month, but I have also learned more then I ever have

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That is how u start... eventually you can just look for certain "ingredients" and know an area has great potential

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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:49 pm

You starting at the right time. Once you eliminate and select, IMO winter is the best time to wear out some leather and cover as much ground and as thouroughly as you can. Think edges and that will put you in the game then follow where that leads you.

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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby DaveT1963 » Tue Dec 15, 2015 3:49 pm

You're starting at the right time. Once you eliminate and select, IMO winter is the best time to wear out some leather and cover as much ground and as thouroughly as you can. Think edges and that will put you in the game then follow where that leads you.

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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby PK_ » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:27 pm

I generally start with novelty, if there are only a couple sections steeper than everything else, if there are only isolated wet areas or only a few old cut overs, small old grove or orchard, etc…

Another trick is try hitting a bunch of potential 'overlooked' areas. A bedding point or small swamp or other feature right next to a road, access or parking area. You can hit a ton of these spots scouting in a day because you walk in and in 5-10 mins you know if it is worth any more of your time or you move on to the next, versus spending hours walking a mile back to check a spot or two...
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Re: So much public land where do you start?

Unread postby fishlips » Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:51 pm

EthanHogan1 wrote:I just moved to Wisconsin. Home of lots and lots of public land. It's pretty simple yet also really hard. 3 quick tips.

1. Be on the hunting beast 24/7, listen to pod cast, watch dvd's
2. Get a really good pair of boots and walk ALOT. (Compass helps)
3. When you fail, bump dear, see tons of people, screw up, walk hours with a stand on your back and never setup. Don't give up to chalk it up as learning. I failed and walked more then I ever have in the past month, but I have also learned more then I ever have

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I think #3 is something I wish I had done more in the past.

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