Crazy

[dan]

The public land behind my house is just crazy right now!
T-ZONE Hunters filling the woods to slaughter deer... Opening weekend of pheasant hunting filling the woods with bird hunters...
2nd week of duck season and the marsh is full of duck hunters blasting away... Small game opened and squirrel hunters have filled the ridges...
All the cornfields are full of combines...
Deer are all headed for private ground!

[Dor]

Put your armor on, come back in a week.

[Spysar]

Time for a road trip!!!

[adrenalin]

Wow, remember the days when we could only bowhunt up until gun season, then bowhunt all late season. Sure hope a new Governor can bring that back. Probably never happen though. Sure makes you appreciate a nice buck when you see one. Got the kayak ready for next weekend, I'm going in as deep as I can go, and hopefully that's where the big guys been pushed to.

[dan]

I hear that... Im planning on going deep tomorrow too.

[Autumn Ninja]

Yessss!!! Thats what makes hunting and putting big mature bucks down on public land year after year so awesome!!!

[PLB]

Yessss!!! Thats what makes hunting and putting big mature bucks down on public land year after year so awesome!!!

Yes! That's why I hunted up north in a no Doe area this wknd

[Sam Ubl]

Taking a beast off public surely sounds gratifying, but I don't think there's any harm in knockin' on a few doors.

[DropTyne]

I'm with Sam on this one, I enjoy the rewards of hunting public land (I have bone to back it up) but I personally have 3 pieces of private ground that I do not pay a cent to hunt that are pretty good, no family relation either, just a good door knocking. I would say I hunt private/public about 50/50. There is a special feeling when your tax dollars that were used to purchase and maintain the public land reward you in the form of a nice buck, but I also believe those that hunt public should respect the fact that taking a mature buck is always a difficult task on any piece of ground.

Not talking about high dollar, high acreage, high fence private, just your run of the mill private. As a matter of fact I am certain that if I let some skilled public hunters loose on a hunk of the private I hunt in Waupaca they would find that unless they did the same amount of homework they did on public they would be eating alot of neon tags over the years.

I cut my teeth on public, but I would never downplay someones success because of where or what method a mature buck was killed as long as it was legal.

My $.02

[Singing Bridge]

I don't think anyone is downplaying the taking of a private land buck, last I checked this is the public land forum? There are certainly some private land areas that are crawling with hunters, and you would have at least a similar, or apples to apples comparison to heavy pressure public land. There are also public land areas with little to no hunting pressure, it just depends on what your circumstances are. In my experience, the most difficult of hunting circustances takes place when your hunting area has a tremendous amount of pressure from others- public or private. A situation such as this creates very difficult circumstances, and the reward for success is high.

[DropTyne]

I agree and after I posted that I came to the realization that I was indeed in the public land forum.....

I do however also agree that alot of private land is hit just as hard as public and that there are those little hunks of public with little or no hunting pressure. When you find these honey holes hang on to them because I have had a piece of public like that once and now it gets pounded.

[Singing Bridge]

When you find these honey holes hang on to them because I have had a piece of public like that once and now it gets pounded.

Good point, DropTyne- kind of a "Loose Lips Sinks Ships" deal. In heavy pressure areas, its best to keep those honey holes to yourself.

[TreeToad]

The T-zone hunt took a beating behind my cousins place. We have seen fewer and fewer deer since 2004. Well the two public entrances were loaded with cars all four days and my cousin said there was a ton of shooting. A buddy of his was driving by one of the lots and watched two guys dragging a huge buck to the truck. He stopped and told them it was a doe only hunt and they thru the buck in the truck and took off. It had 15 points and went over 160. At least he got the license number and called it in. I haven't heard if they caught the guys yet. Sucks.... My cousin drove by and one group of five guys had three fawns laying on the ground. They came over because the area they were from didn't have a T-zone hunt. The area has so much potential. Just hard to get excited about hunting up there when this kind of crap keeps happening. We'll see how it goes up there the next two weekends. He hasen't got much on camera this week after the pounding the woods got last week.

TreeToad

[solocam88]

The T-zone hunt took a beating behind my cousins place. We have seen fewer and fewer deer since 2004. Well the two public entrances were loaded with cars all four days and my cousin said there was a ton of shooting. A buddy of his was driving by one of the lots and watched two guys dragging a huge buck to the truck. He stopped and told them it was a doe only hunt and they thru the buck in the truck and took off. It had 15 points and went over 160. At least he got the license number and called it in. I haven't heard if they caught the guys yet. Sucks.... My cousin drove by and one group of five guys had three fawns laying on the ground. They came over because the area they were from didn't have a T-zone hunt. The area has so much potential. Just hard to get excited about hunting up there when this kind of crap keeps happening. We'll see how it goes up there the next two weekends. He hasen't got much on camera this week after the pounding the woods got last week.

TreeToad

I hope those SOBs get caught , the TZONE is so pathetic.

[Sam Ubl]

Disabled hunters can shoot a buck during the T-Zone. A guy down the road shot a 130" 8 point off public during the T-Zone and dealt with a lot of BS trying to register it. He qualifies and has a disabled license, plus he bowhunts with a crossbow.

Now, these guys may have been plain breaking the law, but it would seem to me that if they were on public land and new about it, they would have been a bit more precarious about getting the deer out - not just throwing it in the truck and driving off. Just saying, not contending.