Some things I love about hunting national forest

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1STRANGEWILDERNESS
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Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby 1STRANGEWILDERNESS » Tue Aug 23, 2022 12:44 pm

Well, the other day some fellow peed in my Cheerios and I had a sour taste for a while after. Was a bit negative. Other than that I’ve had a good run going. So I wanted to post something on a positive note

Things I Love - Bigwoods/national forest

Hardly ever run into another hunter in the woods and 9 times of 10 they are friendly when I do.

Not being restricted by property lines as I am on private or small public. I can usually move and hunt where I need to. Not feeling like I have a hand tied behind my back because there’s a property line between me and THE spot I need to be to kill THE deer. wishing I could move to another location but can’t..Hardly ever have to worry about a boundary line as most tracks are sprawling. Covering 1000’s upon 1000’s of acres

The seclusion/serenity in a huge northern wilderness

The woodsmanship required to get on deer and especially a shooter buck. It’s a challenge I love.

The brutality of nature out there. Extreme cold LONG winters w deep snow, wolves, coyote, cougar, bobcat, bear.. It’s a truly wild place.

What do you love about areas you hunt?


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Tennhunter3
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Tennhunter3 » Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:14 pm

Difficult question I'm not sure I love the areas I hunt.
I would just say I'm constantly challenged from many different things that take place. I'm humbled in big woods many times I feel alone in a huge place.

It does feel great to watch a buck get out of a bed I found and walk to me. To have that occur in big woods is awesome with such a low density.

I guess I love going to New properties or I've been made to love it since the areas I grew up hunting are long gone. More of refusal to quit.

This year I'm excited because I will be on some new Tennessee wmas. With alot of different environments.
Thick pine forest, brushy fields , logging , crp and swamp plus the lbl hill country.

Might even take a run at the steep hills of Catoosa and fields of Ohio. With cwd I have to keep adapting and learn new ways to hunt in new unique challenging environments. Often in counties I know little about.

I have some good bucks located though I know these new areas are going to push me to my limit.
Last edited by Tennhunter3 on Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Boogieman1
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Boogieman1 » Tue Aug 23, 2022 1:20 pm

If I am gonna keep it 100% honest here there is only one thing I love about the public I hunt. That is the price it costs to hunt it! Yep that’s all I got.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby oldrank » Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:34 pm

I have always enjoyed the vastness of public land. Borders become a non issue or just another piece to a puzzle. The whole public land thing has always been a big game to me. I always look at every situation and look for the answer it takes to win vs the people and the animal. It is ever evolving. This year will be interesting as I'm really changing my game. 1 step ahead.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Groundhunter@1 » Tue Aug 23, 2022 11:23 pm

The reason I bought where I did, was that I love the big woods, and the room I have. I also knew at the time, in my mid 60s, the clock was running. I have had a wonderful time in the UP, and understand what it is...... Sure the bucks I get to hunt in SW Wis, are great, but its not as much fun, as the wilderness I get to explore. I just feel different in the big woods. I throw caution to the wind,,,, if I want to make a fire and have a hot lunch, thats what I do,,,, I love to track, and I can track up here for miles, and tracking teaches you so much about deer.

If I was to give a tip, to a young beginning hunter, I would take them out, after a snow, and just track. After season I love to back track, learn alot about your area, that way. As far as wolves, maybe a mountain lion, and last year, I could have shot a 50 inch moose, (hope one day there is a season). A moose in a seepage, at 25 yards is special. made my whole season. What I learned to do about wolves, is learn how to hunt deer, with them. i have no other choice. I reached out to Boundry Water hunters, that I knew, and picked up a few tips. I have also learned a few things,,,,

If you want easy, this is not the place. But there are some great deer here. I know of a 163, shot in Octanogon County. There was a 160, shot in Iron County, rifle season. I know exactly where that buck was killed, and what camp, shot it. It was private, but surrounded by public, and yes, you bet, it was on a drainage area. South of Kention, is a huge swamp area. These bucks back in there, hardly if ever, see anyone. a 4 wheeler going slow and steady, does not bother them. They just tuck in. Also in many respects, they are not out much in late afternoon. I have found that IF wolves have moved into the area, those old bucks will be up and feed mid day. Because when the wolves go on the early evening prowl, they dont move,,,,,,,,,, I have shot small racks up here, if you compare it to SW Wis, but the deer that do survive, have put on the weight. I shot a 15 inch spread 7, most of you would have passed up, but it weighed 182.

Alot of guys bait up here, hunt this bush, like they do in Canada, but there are other ways to hunt, if that is not your thing. All the state and Federal DNR personnel, have all been nice and helpful. I have also met some interesting characters up here, those that subside, well off the grid, for many reasons. The quality of my fellow deer hunters here, I have found to be friendly, and also helpful if help is needed.

Yes, I do like it here, for that reason. You will here guys complain, the deer herd is gone, waste of time, etc etc.... Again, its not easy, but you got to bust your hump in some areas. I met a young guy in his 30's. Back Packs into the Porkies, every fall, for at least a week. How he has gotten them bucks out, is simply amazing, has to be half mule, but he says, he just loves the solitude, and its a committment, and not easy. I know I could not hunt the Porkies, too much for me now, so I stay in the low areas.........

I have found another key, and that is any area, with some ridges, or higher area, with a big swamp, within,,,,,, I am forever scouting up here, I just love it. You wont see any Kuiu or Sitka warriors up here, mostly carharts, and plaid shirts, ,,,,,,,
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby greenhorndave » Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:40 am

Great posts.

The never-ending possibilities in huge national forests is what I like. The adventure of checking out spots, the anticipation. Sometimes it’s a bust, sometimes not. Like was said before. patterning and predicting hunter pressure seems easier as well compared to more highly pressured areas.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:56 am

One of the main reasons I moved to Montana is the amount of public land. It's pretty hard to get hunting permission in the southern half of Michigan's lower peninsula, and I got tired of playing that game. Montana has some incredibly vast expanses of public, so the adventure is as big as my appetite. And if a guy puts in the work, there are some quality animals around. I've seen bull elk 330"+, 160"+ mule deer, 140"+ whitetail, etc. all on public land. Killing them is a whole different story :lol:
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby hunter_mike » Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:16 am

i think you nailed it. Main reason ive been drawn more towards the big unending pieces of public land is the idea that the biggest bucks out there spend the nearly their entire life standing or bedding on land that I can actually hunt on.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby brancher147 » Wed Aug 24, 2022 6:46 am

I just love hunting the mountains and trying new areas. And I have enough National Forest around me to hunt a lifetime and still have new places. Also love the challenge and there’s something about pulling a big old buck off some public mountain he’s lived his whole life on.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby wolverinebuckman » Wed Aug 24, 2022 11:37 am

When we narrowed down our home search in Kentucky to the final two, we made the trip down to look them over. One was 80 acres of a hill and trees. It was nice, we thought a lot about it that night.
When we made it to the second house the next day, just driving through the DB forest had me on the hook. Pulling into the drive pretty well sold me. 25 acres that bleeds into a quarter million continuous acres of national forest. I am a walk, or short drive, from all the hunting I could ask for.

After years of hunting a 40 acre farm, as well as some small, contained public parcels in flat, marshy SE Michigan, this is like my leash has been taken off in a topographic wonderland! This past scouting season has helped me grow tremendously, and I'm looking forward to learning these seemingly endless hills over the years to come.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby KLEMZ » Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:27 pm

Things I Love About Hunting Northwoods National Forest....

-It's more about hunting bucks on their natural patterns than figuring out humans on their natural patterns. My brain is wired to understand the "Laws Of Nature", so, when humans are eliminated from the equation....hunting bucks becomes WAY easier and MORE FUN!

-What do I mean by humans being eliminated? Well, the far northern corners of Wisconsin have a reputation of having too many wolves and not enough deer. Hunters have left in droves, searching for high deer density and easier hunting.

-Avoiding the remaining humans, (bait hunters), is easy to me because they are all within 150 yards of motorized access. Everything else is just understanding terrain, food, and deer habits....it's like fishing in Canada for walleyes. There, you can fish classic structure and do very well because other humans haven't hit that spot in a couple years. Anywhere else and the "classic structure" is a wasteland due to human pressure.

-The northwoods national forest lands still provide the opportunity of normal deer habits!!! But, as always, it takes a LOT of work!!
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Evanszach7 » Wed Aug 24, 2022 12:59 pm

Good thread. Grew up hunting East TN, with my Grandpa, my mentor. He passed last year. I can't always make it to TN, but every time I hunt WNF or Shawnee it takes me back to those East TN hills and hollers. Less trash, people, old stands, and the occasional trickle of danger and adventure. Couldn't see it all in one lifetime.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Dewey » Wed Aug 24, 2022 1:11 pm

Although I don’t do it nearly as much anymore I love hunting the large tracts of national, state and county forest of the far Northwoods. I learned in the million acre Ottawa National Forest of the MI UP in my younger years. Nothing like walking for hours and never seeing another person while bowhunting. You can’t match that solitude anywhere else in the midwest. Far north-central WI was my hunting grounds for a lot of years but wolves and lack of deer pushed me back south. Hopefully in my lifetime things get better up there because I truly miss it. The Northwoods gets in your blood and you can never lose it.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby HunterBob » Wed Aug 24, 2022 10:55 pm

I agree with the enjoyment of the solitude, the challenge, and the beauty of lands that are still wild (or mostly so). When I spend a day out in the places where few seem to go and don't speak or have to listen to someone else speaking, it does something to replenish and enrich me.
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Re: Some things I love about hunting national forest

Unread postby Trail » Thu Aug 25, 2022 5:11 am

The solitude of hunting large forests is the biggest draw for me. I grew up hunting on a back 40 where you couldn't turn without running into the border so being able to walk for pretty much as long as you want to in any direction is something special to me. Being miles deep in a forest or swamp is some of the purest hunting to me, although big woods have kicked my but over and over before.

I'd like to take a trip up north one year and experience the 100,000 thousand plus acre properties. I know it would be something truly special for me to experience even if my chances of tagging a buck would be low. As crazy as it sounds its a trip I'd put only after a public land elk hunt.


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