Getting started hunting public

[Hoss606]

First step is tags...

WI cheap... tons of public
Iowa expensive and a draw that requires multiple pts
IL expensive
MO reasonable
Ohio - last I looked cheap

And so on... you need a tag to hunt

Then, next step is what is the best stuff you can access and stay in your budget/time

Lots of guys on this site sleep in their truck on outta state hunts... so cost is relative to what ur comfortable with

Where do you live? Lots of knowledgeable guys here willing to help

I'm from Alabama. I'm lucky in the fact that I'm self employed, so I'm flexible with my schedule. At least sometimes. Thank you so much for the help. I'm going to start checking on the tag process now. I excited to get started.

im also from Alabama I been hunting out of state for 5 years now just on public land in Kentucky it's so much fun.

Man I've got a guided hunt set up in Kentucky for this year. I'm going public from here on out and Kentucky and Illinois are my top picks. I'm from just south of Birmingham. How bout you??

I'm about 30 mins north of Bham. And I go to Kentucky every year to hunt public land. So much cheaper then a guided hunt. And

I'm NE of Huntsville. I've thought about hunting public in Kentucky but some guys from work and I started taking a trip to Barbour wma to hunt now. Of course ain't nothing like out of state places but beats where I'm at now.

[Billyjack]

Oh yeah, and that's with a two deer per day bag limit..

[Hoss606]

I live in North west Alabama. I've got 150.000 acres of public land within an hour and a half of my house, and that's not counting Mississippi and Tennessee...it's more land than I'll be able to cover in my lifetime, and i have seen some absolute giants come out of the black warior....

Black Warrior Is where I need to start taking my hunting trips

[GoInLight]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

[Hoss606]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

I believe it is part of Bankhead national forest. Black warrior is the wma. Most people I know refer to the whole area as Bankhead. Then subcategories of forest or management area. Do you hunt public in bama?

[GoInLight]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

I believe it is part of Bankhead national forest. Black warrior is the wma. Most people I know refer to the whole area as Bankhead. Then subcategories of forest or management area. Do you hunt public in bama?

Man I used to hunt cababa wma a long time ago, but I've been hunting in clubs around auburn for the last few years. I'm going to hunt public this year though. I need more land to walk around on. Hunting club guys are getting mad at me!!

[Tvirgets]

My brother and I did our first out of state hunt last year in the midwest. I can't speak to where you hunt in Alabama, but we experienced things there that just do not happen where we hunt in SW Miss. On the fourth day my brother killed an older buck that was about 160". He was moving an hour and a half before dark!! We went for 9 days the first trip then a quick 3 day weekend later in the year where I got an oppertunity at another deer of similar caliber but did not close the deal. In 12 days of hunting we both got shot oppertunities at mature deer on public land.

We did a lot of aeriel scouting before we went but it ended up not being necessary. If you choose an area that has potential for big deer and lots of public land, you should have a decent chance just winging it. We found that, for the area we were in, it was best to just drive all day, speed scouting different properties. At the end of the day, we would go back and hunt whichever one looked the best (had fresh big buck tracks and potential bedding based on the aerial map of that propoerty).

If you want to stay cheap, rent a mid sized compact (ford edge is my preference) and sleep in state parks. most of the state parks are free and there are usually enough of them to be within an hour or so drive of whatever area you are hutning.

But again, like others have said, just do it. Do it......DO IT

[GoInLight]

My brother and I did our first out of state hunt last year in the midwest. I can't speak to where you hunt in Alabama, but we experienced things there that just do not happen where we hunt in SW Miss. On the fourth day my brother killed an older buck that was about 160". He was moving an hour and a half before dark!! We went for 9 days the first trip then a quick 3 day weekend later in the year where I got an oppertunity at another deer of similar caliber but did not close the deal. In 12 days of hunting we both got shot oppertunities at mature deer on public land.

We did a lot of aeriel scouting before we went but it ended up not being necessary. If you choose an area that has potential for big deer and lots of public land, you should have a decent chance just winging it. We found that, for the area we were in, it was best to just drive all day, speed scouting different properties. At the end of the day, we would go back and hunt whichever one looked the best (had fresh big buck tracks and potential bedding based on the aerial map of that propoerty).

If you want to stay cheap, rent a mid sized compact (ford edge is my preference) and sleep in state parks. most of the state parks are free and there are usually enough of them to be within an hour or so drive of whatever area you are hutning.

But again, like others have said, just do it. Do it......DO IT

Man that is so encouraging!!! I'm glad you guys had fun! I'm for sure going, I'm already doing the planning!

[Hoss606]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

I believe it is part of Bankhead national forest. Black warrior is the wma. Most people I know refer to the whole area as Bankhead. Then subcategories of forest or management area. Do you hunt public in bama?

Man I used to hunt cababa wma a long time ago, but I've been hunting in clubs around auburn for the last few years. I'm going to hunt public this year though. I need more land to walk around on. Hunting club guys are getting mad at me!!

Have you tried Barbour wma?

[GoInLight]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

I believe it is part of Bankhead national forest. Black warrior is the wma. Most people I know refer to the whole area as Bankhead. Then subcategories of forest or management area. Do you hunt public in bama?

Man I used to hunt cababa wma a long time ago, but I've been hunting in clubs around auburn for the last few years. I'm going to hunt public this year though. I need more land to walk around on. Hunting club guys are getting mad at me!!

Have you tried Barbour wma?

Man I haven't. I meant cahaba wma. Haha!! I'm getting away from the hunting club stuff this year, so I plan on hunting several public spots. I'll definitely check it out. Do you guys have good luck there?

[Divergent]

I have a hunt to Kentucky and a hunt to Kansas booked for this year, both are with outfitters. I'd like to start hunting out of state on public land. My question is how did you guys get started? How did you decide which state, and which area to hunt? Did you pre scout or scout when you got there? How long are the hunts normally? How much do they cost on average? What online resources do you use to narrow down property? I'm by no means asking for specifics on any hunting locations just in general how you decided where to go? I know things like stay away from large city's and try to find land that is hard to access. Thank you for any help!

I've been trying to find friends to go to Kentucky or Illinois, but nobody seems that adventurous. If you ever want to tackle some public just let me know. I'm seriously contemplating a solo hunt in Kentucky this year around September.

[GoInLight]

I have a hunt to Kentucky and a hunt to Kansas booked for this year, both are with outfitters. I'd like to start hunting out of state on public land. My question is how did you guys get started? How did you decide which state, and which area to hunt? Did you pre scout or scout when you got there? How long are the hunts normally? How much do they cost on average? What online resources do you use to narrow down property? I'm by no means asking for specifics on any hunting locations just in general how you decided where to go? I know things like stay away from large city's and try to find land that is hard to access. Thank you for any help!

I've been trying to find friends to go to Kentucky or Illinois, but nobody seems that adventurous. If you ever want to tackle some public just let me know. I'm seriously contemplating a solo hunt in Kentucky this year around September.

We definitely need to do it man. I will text you or call you this afternoon and we need to plan something out.

[Divergent]

I have a hunt to Kentucky and a hunt to Kansas booked for this year, both are with outfitters. I'd like to start hunting out of state on public land. My question is how did you guys get started? How did you decide which state, and which area to hunt? Did you pre scout or scout when you got there? How long are the hunts normally? How much do they cost on average? What online resources do you use to narrow down property? I'm by no means asking for specifics on any hunting locations just in general how you decided where to go? I know things like stay away from large city's and try to find land that is hard to access. Thank you for any help!

I've been trying to find friends to go to Kentucky or Illinois, but nobody seems that adventurous. If you ever want to tackle some public just let me know. I'm seriously contemplating a solo hunt in Kentucky this year around September.

We definitely need to do it man. I will text you or call you this afternoon and we need to plan something out.

Sounds good. I work 12hr shifts at night. If I don't respond right away I'm probably asleep, but I'll get back to you.

[88jeep]

Is black warrior the same as sipsey wildlife refuge. There's somewhere up there that's walk in only. Might be a way to beat the crowds.

I believe it is part of Bankhead national forest. Black warrior is the wma. Most people I know refer to the whole area as Bankhead. Then subcategories of forest or management area. Do you hunt public in bama?

The Sipsey Wilderness Area is inside of Black Warrior WMA which is inside of the Bankhead National Forest. All together its around 200,000 acres. The management area is divided into 2 zones. Each zone has is own hunting dates and different restrictions.

[Ajc5o5o]

Hi everyone, brand new to the site and I've already spent the past 4 hours pouring over all of the info on the boards, love it! I'm fairly new to hunting, this will be my second season and I hunt only public land in upstate NY. If anyone else is in the Rochester NY area please messsge me it would be great to hook up! To get to my question...I've found a ton of what I believe to be bedding areas but what confuses me is that I've not once seen a deer in these areas during daylight hours. From what I understand that's where they should be a large portion of the day. I've been cautious with my scent and approached these areas using the wind, both scouting and on the rare occasion hunting last season. So I guess what I'm asking is if they aren't bedding there during the day at I most likely mis identifying these areas? Also what is the ideal time to scout bedding areas, both season and time of day? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I struggled to locate deer last season.