What size are most of your public land scouts?

[willsk85]

Hey Guys,

I am new to this forum and new to this type of hunting. I just sort of came across this and as I read more and more I felt this was a pretty solid way to hunt and one you don't hear much about. I have Dan's Marsh Hunting DVD on it's way to my house and can't wait to watch it!

Now, on to the business. Is there an minimum size of public land that you look for when cyber scouting? I know there are other aspects that come into play, mainly accessibility by other hunters. But I am wondering if you find a piece of land, say 150 acres or less, has limited accessibility, do you bother spending a scouting mission on it? I have quite a few pieces of land like this in my area and just wondering what other peoples thoughts are.

I personally would like to and will scout these areas, but just curious as to what other more experienced hunters, hunting this way, have to say.

Thanks guys for your time!

[dan]

I hunt and scout properties from 20 acres to thousands of acres... Size is not a restraint.

[PK_]

Welcome to the forum!

I personally try to stay away from smaller properties because I hate the property line issue. That is just a personal preference. Most public in my state are thousands of acres…

But if there was a small piece of public near my home I would scout every nook and cranny looking for a buck that was living between the pressure...

[KLEMZ]

But if there was a small piece of public near my home I would scout every nook and cranny looking for a buck that was living between the pressure...

I agree with this! It is worth it to scout the closest properties to your home, even if small. When i first started scouting for big buck beds, I covered a lot of public areas within a three county area near my home. After 5 years of doing this, and learning from experience where the primary bedding areas were located, I have learned that i have some great spots close to home on small (150 acre) properties. I have just as good a chance of dropping a pig close to home (15 minute drive) as i do with a 50 minute drive from home. The size of the property is not a big factor in my opinion.

[seazofcheeze]

I have two pretty decent public land spots, one is 160acres and the other is 80. Both are land locked by private on 3 sides with the only legal access by wading a waist deep river that's 50yds wide. Needless to say, these properties see a lot less pressure than most of the public in my area. If you can find small properties with tough access, I'd pay extra attention to those.

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[Czabs]

I like em big and small

[whitetailassasin]

Typically in the thousands for me. I go for thick, swampy, and hard to get to. Will test your physical ability. But can produce good old bucks.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[willsk85]

I appreciate the posts and insight guys! Looks like I have a lot of scouting to do!

[Dewey]

I never really bother scouting anything that is less than thousands of acres only for the reasons that I like to have room to roam and found that dealing with hunting pressure is much harder on the smaller stuff especially if access is easy. With that being said if I do find the right hidden 40 acres that nobody else knows about I wouldn't hesitate to at least check it out. So far I haven't had much luck on the smaller stuff. Too much readily available info out there now directing people to the hidden smaller chunks of land. One of the really big negatives of the internet.

[willsk85]

I never really bother scouting anything that is less than thousands of acres only for the reasons that I like to have room to roam and found that dealing with hunting pressure is much harder on the smaller stuff especially if access is easy. With that being said if I do find the right hidden 40 acres that nobody else knows about I wouldn't hesitate to at least check it out. So far I haven't had much luck on the smaller stuff. Too much readily available info out there now directing people to the hidden smaller chunks of land. One of the really big negatives of the internet.

I feel ya Dewey. I have a 30,000 acre public spot 50 minutes from my house and will spend quite some time out there. I also have at least a dozen spots 80-500+ acres within 20-30 or less from my house. Some look to be too easy to access and others have limited access and are at last worth a scout to see if it's worth my time.

[PK_]

Access has already been touched on but also type and diversity of habitat is huge for me. I would rather hunt 100 acres of swamp than 1,000 acres of open hardwoods. So you could have a 100 acre property with say 3-4 great setups and a 1,000 acre property with the same or less...

[Missionshooter]

Access has already been touched on but also type and diversity of habitat is huge for me. I would rather hunt 100 acres of swamp than 1,000 acres of open hardwoods. So you could have a 100 acre property with say 3-4 great setups and a 1,000 acre property with the same or less...

I agree with this. My best spots have something that makes other hunters avoid them like thickets or rough terrain or water limiting access. The flat easily walkable areas seem to get pounded around me...