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Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:06 am
by Spysar
Do you hunt it out of neccesity? Because you don't have private? Do you do it even though you have plenty of private? Is public land ever better than private? Do you think you are better than other hunters cause you take deer on public?

Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:22 am
by Singing Bridge
Spysar wrote:Do you hunt it out of neccesity? Because you don't have private? Do you do it even though you have plenty of private?


I can only speak for myself, I pretty much hunt it out of necessity around home. I don't have access to enough private, in my opininon, to consistently be successful. But that's not the only reason- I grew up hunting public land, and not being able to explore and scout large tracts of property gives me a "boxed in" feeling. I love to scout and spend tons of time doing it.

Spysar wrote:Is public land ever better than private?


Yes, there are circumstances that sometimes create better hunting on public land than on the adjacent private parcels. Private land hunters, in an attempt to manage and develop their private parcel, may overrun their acreage with land development, stands and numbers of hunters, sighting in their rifles and other maneuvers that send the mature bucks packing to the adjacent public land. In this instance, the bucks get less harassment on public than on private ground.

Spysar wrote:Do you think you are better than other hunters cause you take deer on public?


I don't think I'm better than any other hunter that puts their time in and works hard with scouting and stand preparation, along with carefully hunting seasonal and weather appropriate stands. One thing that you will find to be true on heavy pressure public land is that any deer with a few birthdays behind them will tolerate no mistakes on your part. Some circumstances that you may get away with on less pressured private land won't hold up on heavy pressure public.

Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:28 am
by dan
Do you hunt it out of neccesity?

Somewhat... I don't have access to enough private land to hunt my way of hunting. I need to be able to hunt 1000's of acres to mix up my hunting and not over hunt any individual bucks. I love being able to constantly explore new ground and get bored with spots or properties where I have the deer figured out..
Do you do it even though you have plenty of private?

Plenty is "relative"... There are some private properties I have permission on that I just quit hunting... But,I don't think I will ever have enough to satisfy my desire to figure out new deer in new areas. Not saying this is how others should hunt / scout, this is just what trips my trigger...
Is public land ever better than private?

Yes. I know of several public properties that are better than most of the private land surrounding them. Take the vast cattail marshes for example. Most are public, but hunters seldom venture very deep, or to the out of the way spots that require work/skills to get to. The surrounding farm land is mostly hunted heavy and every inch is easily accessible so the mature deer hide out deep in the marsh hideouts till dark.
Do you think you are better than other hunters cause you take deer on public?

I think public land hunters who consistently kill good bucks are very intelligent hunters. Its hard to judge a private land guy unless you weigh in his hunting land.
I have hunted on some private managed chunks of land that are so full of huge bucks from lack of hunting pressure that even a skilless TV hunting show celebrity could kill a big buck with little effort. So, what I am saying is that some private land hunters might be better than some public land hunters,but really, in general, a successful public land guy has to actually know what he is doing.

Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 12:51 pm
by The Rav
I don't have much private to hunt on and the private I do have permission to hunt on aren't very big parcels. So I'm primarily looking for large portions of public to hunt on. I do believe that if a guy can master the public year after year he's got something over the private land hunters.

Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:16 pm
by Zap
I agree 100%.
I know a guy that has a 1/6 on an Illinois lease. $4000.00
I can hunt for 6 weeks in three states for $4000.00.

Plus its easy to overhunt prepared private land stands.

marty

Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 1:30 pm
by magicman54494
Spysar wrote:Do you hunt it out of neccesity?

I'm sure if I knocked on enough doors I could find private land to hunt. I've thought about it lots of times. My heart is in the big woods. I love being able to scout or hunt all day and never run into a fence or no trespass sign. Though I try very hard to kill a big one each year hunting is much more to me then just killing. I love wandering the big woods. As a matter of fact whenever scoring becomes more important I start to not enjoy hunting as much.


Is public land ever better than private?

That all depends on the public and private pieces you are comparing.


Do you think you are better than other hunters cause you take deer on public?

I believe I've been blessed to have the opertunity to hunt huge areas of unspoiled land. I believe I have become a better hunter because I have hunted many different areas and situations. I see people on the internet always concerned who's the "best". I laugh at this simply because it's impossible to judge this and because it shouldn't even matter. I have always looked at my hunting as a competition between me and the deer not me and the other guy.


Re: Public Land

Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:23 pm
by publiclandhunter
Wow!

A lot of good questions and answers on that one. I hunt public because here in Michigan I find that "most of the time" when I have knocked on doors and actually got permission to hunt, so did everyone else who knocked. With that said, it seems as though the parcels are all very small in overall size in Michigan and are easily overpressured on private - more so than quite a few of the public parcels I end up hunting. As an example, you might have a square mile of private parcel that has eight different property owners who all hunt themselves or have some friends or door-knockers that routinely hunt their property each season. I got tired of having a landowner tell me where I could or couldn't hunt because of Cousin Joe or Uncle Ted's favorite spot and dealing with the same amount of people that I may see on public-land anyways. So, I decided that a 55,000 acre public area may give me a shot at hunting on my own terms and possibly finding a few bucks that have been overlooked by the masses. It worked!

Here is the one problem most folks have with their private parcels. They feel that since they are paying for the 40-acres they hunt, they need to devote their time to the location since they have their greenbacks invested there - no matter if a good buck resides there or not! I will not hunt an area unless I know that a buck of the caliber I want to potentially harvest is living there - period! I know that sounds like I am a in that sense, but I went up through the ranks snuffing out young bucks like everyone else and now want a bigger challenge. That may not be everyone's choice, but I choose to tread down a different path and feel good about my decision. I eat a ton of empty tags at season's end but that is the trade-off.

As far as being a "better hunter" than the rest, it is not up to me to tell someone if I am a better hunter, that is not why I go to the woods each Fall. Bragging rights are neat, but they just aren't me. If someone were to look at me and think I am a better hunter than them, then they need to take a better look at themselves and decide "why" they think I may be a better hunter. It may just come down to dedication and determination....not neccesarily more skill. The guys that consistently get it done will shine on public or private, pressured or non-pressured. I can definitely say that those who hunt on highly managed ranches or high-fenced areas with no hunting pressure will be quickly discouraged with the public-land game. It is a totally different ball of wax.

So, let your conscience be your guide and decide if the public-land game is one you want to pursue or if a private gig is more your speed. You get out what you put in - no matter the setting.

PLH

Re: Public Land

Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:21 am
by venisonassassin
Spysar wrote:Do you hunt it out of neccesity? Because you don't have private? Do you do it even though you have plenty of private? Is public land ever better than private? Do you think you are better than other hunters cause you take deer on public?


I sure don't think I'm better than other hunters. My number one reason for hunting public is because I love to roam around and scout new areas, and large public tracts are the best way to do that. The repetition of hunting small private parcels and the same stands gets old. I like to keep my hunting fresh and I get fired up when I find good new sign...