Public Land and how far do you walk in?

[birdshot8's]

I once scouted a place, and built a brush blind, and came back a couple of days later, planning on hunting the evening. When I pulled into the parking area, another hunter was gearing up. I asked him where he was planning to hunt, and he indicated the area I had wanted to hunt. Disappointed I told him I would go the other direction. I sat down with Interstate 80 about 100 yards behind me, I could smell the feedlot to my west and could still see my pickup truck to the east. If you read this far you have already guessed...yes I killed the largest deer I have ever gotten that evening.

 

[The Alaskan]

I walk as far as my PA-18 will take me

I wondered if one of us should chime in LOL.

My last hunting trip, I was 30 river miles from my truck. But I only "walked-in" 1/4 mile from my canoe.

But I'm a little west of the Mississippi.

 

[CapnMac]

Being from Texas, I find these discussions on hunting Public Land fascinating.
That's because public land in Texas has either a statue or a lake impinged upon it.
I used to live near (30 minute drive) Lake Somerville, CoE/TPW would issue, but lottery, 6 to 12 permits for the western end of the lake. Having hiked and fished back in those areas, I can't imagine hunting back there. A bunch of that land is only 150-250 yards waterline to parkline. At that, sight ranges are seldom more than 25 yards up along the branches the three Yegua creek watersheds.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I wondered if one of us should chime in LOL.

My last hunting trip, I was 30 river miles from my truck. But I only "walked-in" 1/4 mile from my canoe.

But I'm a little west of the Mississippi.

Oh I can beat that. My last hunt was 200 miles West of Anchorage on the Mulchatna. My walking consisted of strolling the 50yds from the truck to the plane at Merrill field.
Mind if I ask where you where hunting? 30 river miles sounds like one of my Kashwitna river hunts.

 

[d2wing]

I lost the private land I prefer to hunt so had to go public. Scouted and picked a spot 1/4 mile in. Nearby landowner said only a couple guys had hunted the area. Got there on opener and three trucks and SUVs parked there each with multiple hunters. I proceeded to my spot found out my the trees were too small for my climber so I set up behind some brush I had planned as an alternate spot. At dawn a guy snaked his way through the brush right up to me and said that he planned on hunting the spot but since I was there he would move on. I followed him out and moved to a rock pile I has considered also. A half hour later a guy came tromping up a trail and walked right up to me. He complained I had crossed his uncles land, I had permission, then he complained that I was too close to their stand on private land a few hundred yards away through thick woods. I moved again. Orange dots were here and there. And I could hear loud talking and rattling from two places. Obviously deer did not move at all and I saw nothing. Normally I love being on a stand in the woods on opener but my day was ruined. I went back midweek but the deer were clearly nocturnal. I guessed they had bedded in a large swamp but being disabled and alone they would just sneak around me if I went in after them. It was the end of it for me. I had back up spots but lost my enthusiasm. To top it off a few weeks before I had a reunion held at a ski resort. That resort had been my private hunting spot owned by my brother in law, and a very good hunting spot. I wasn't even allowed to visit my old stand spot because the trails were off limits at that time. I would like to buy a spot up North but the prices are crazy plus wolves and Asians have moved in wiping out deer in many places. Some Asians and city hunters buy up land and preseason drive the deer to their land. The dentist that shot that lion in Africa is one of them.

 

[The Alaskan]

Oh I can beat that. My last hunt was 200 miles West of Anchorage on the Mulchatna. My walking consisted of strolling the 50yds from the truck to the plane at Merrill field.
Mind if I ask where you where hunting? 30 river miles sounds like one of my Kashwitna river hunts.

Minto Flats

I'd like to do Kashwitna (heck I'd like to do a lot of rivers) but I'm working alone out of a sq stern canoe. Makes it difficult.

 

[The Alaskan]

wolves and Asians have moved in wiping out deer in many places. Some Asians and city hunters buy up land and preseason drive the deer to their land. The dentist that shot that lion in Africa is one of them.

Don't get me started on wolves and Asians.

We used to have nice grouse hunting near our cabin, but every year, about two weeks before season, large Asian family groups, (and I'm not being a racist, this is a known issue and they are ALL from that particular ethnicity) come into the area, trespass, and hunt in big groups. They roll through with shotguns on 4-wheelers and wipe out every grouse on the road. (They come down to the road's edge to get gravel every day.)

Every summer, I count covey after covey. By season opener, nothing. All gone. Nothing left but the trash at their campsite. Many people have reported it to fish n game, but since it's not moose being poached F&G doesn't much care.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Hmong, I'm guessing

 

[Skyshot]

I hunt the Cherokee National Forest in East Tennessee. It's always been hard to judge distances more than elevation. With cellphone apps like Trimble that has taken the guess work out of a hunt. I typically will hunt anywhere from 1 to 3.5 miles in but also I will climb in elevation from 1200 feet to 5000 ft and pull or decend as much as a 29 percent gradient. I've occasionally made a kill in the morning and not made it to the truck before dark. Very seldom do I see hunters.

 

[Captcurt]

Biggest problem here

Is the season lenght on public land. There is 150,000 acres of National forest plus Corp land around 2 nearby lakes that have a shorter season than private land. We had a lease that was surrounded on 3 sides by government land. I could take a doe on the lease but not on the other side of the fence. Plus, the season only ran thru 2 weekends on the Corp land but ran another 2 weeks on the lease. You need a lawyer to read the regs.

 

[627PCFan]

Well lesson learned here. I went to Green Ridge State forest Friday, set up my stand for saturday, camped out. GPS said my stand was 1 mile in. 3 unfriendly fellas I met the day before waited until 5 minutes before shooting time to go past me no more than 75 yards and proceeded to shoot 1 buck a piece. I never saw a deer.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Minto Flats

I'd like to do Kashwitna (heck I'd like to do a lot of rivers) but I'm working alone out of a sq stern canoe. Makes it difficult.

I've done the Kash alone. Very successfully I might add. Do NOT use that canoe if you plan on floating to the Parks highway. It gets rough after the North fork. Rent a 14-15 foot cat raft. Packs with ease into a cub, and can carry a ton and still maneuver.
Call Mike Meekins on this. He can fly you in [onto a sandbar] from Willow. 1/2 hour.
http://meekinsairservice.com/

 

[Sun Tzu warrior]

I live in Mississippi, and have hunted public land. Here the deer get very high pressure, some of the best success I've had, was by finding the parking area with the most vehicles, and going up a tree 50 to 75 yards behind the parking area. I get there before anyone else, having pre-scouted the parking areas. When the hunters go in, while it is dark, the deer avoid them by hanging out by their cars.
STW

 

[d2wing]

Good one, Sun.

 

[Psycho]

I hunt public land in GA every year and my "spot" varies between 3/8 to 9/10 of a mile in. Although I walk much further in, someone I hunt with only walks in about 250 yards from the parking/camping area and sees deer every year. Go figure.

 

[AStone]

I like 2 - 4 mi in.

Way past where most can/want to walk.

 

[WestKentucky]

I bow hunt public ground periodically. I never put on my hiking boots. I find a spot near a road where people seem to avoid for some reason, rough terrain is usually the best reason, and I figure out how to hunt it. Deer figure out their safe places and go to them when they get pressured, so that's where I want to be. Tennis shoes and a backpack style climbing stand have made for some really interesting days.

For gun seasons I avoid public ground. Too many trigger happy yayhoos that don't know not to shoot towards my location.

 

[WestKentucky]

Don't get me started on wolves and Asians.

We used to have nice grouse hunting near our cabin, but every year, about two weeks before season, large Asian family groups, (and I'm not being a racist, this is a known issue and they are ALL from that particular ethnicity) come into the area, trespass, and hunt in big groups. They roll through with shotguns on 4-wheelers and wipe out every grouse on the road. (They come down to the road's edge to get gravel every day.)

Every summer, I count covey after covey. By season opener, nothing. All gone. Nothing left but the trash at their campsite. Many people have reported it to fish n game, but since it's not moose being poached F&G doesn't much care.

I see the same thing, only around here it is the Amish community more so than anybody else. They have large family groups here and seems like every year there are more than a few stories of Amish tresspassing, hunting out of season, and the game wardens do try to go after them but there isn't much way to do so. When caught redheaded there is no proof of identity, and they refuse being photographed on religious grounds, so there's not much to do outside of booking them into the county jail, and they will bail out quickly and resume their tricks somewhere else. If you can't identify someone, it's very hard to make them accountable.

 

[buck460XVR]

I've got a coupla nice bucks withing sight of main highways on public land. Again, the secret is not how far you go in, but finding a spot where deer want to go and are not bothered by other hunters. Sometimes these places are not obvious, because the deer only go there when they are heavily pressured, thus preseason scouting shows little or no sign. Later part of the season or right after the season ends there will be fresh sign. I like snow and the last part of the season. Find an area where there are few human tracks, and you will generally find the most deer tracks. Sometimes you need to put the location down in your journal for next year. Sometimes, the next year the deer aren't there because someone else found the spot or pressure has changed. The better you get to know the area, the more of these little out of the way spots you'll find. Blood trailing archery shot deer showed me many of these. After a few years and several bucks heading for the same dense area in a secluded swamp to die, tells me it's not a coincidence. Once you find a spot like that, you know most other areas similar may hold deer.

A few years back I had parked my truck at a parking area in a large state forest area. We has just received about 8 inches of snow the night before. I was walking down a U.S. highway to get to an area I regularly still hunt late in the season, an area I know for years got little pressure from other hunters. As I'm walking down the highway and scanning the woods on either side of the road and for tracks crossing the road, I notice something brown amongst all the pure white on a small piece of high ground in the middle of a swamp, not 100 yards from the road. I know odds are it's a deer and I'm being watched by it. Stopping and getting out my binos would probably make it get up and go. So I continue down the road, downwind until I get out of sight and begin to work my way back as slow and as quietly as possible. I also have to make sure I'm a legal shooting distance from the road. The heavy snow cover hanging in the thick brush did a good job of concealing me until I got to the edge of the swamp, with the small island less than 100 yards away. Putting my binos on the spot and watching for a few minutes, I discovered there were 3 does and a nice basket 8 bedded there. I had tags for both. All I could see from the woodline was their heads. I didn't dare try to re-position myself because they had already spotted movement from me that made them suspicious. So I wait, swapping my binos for my gun. Finally one of the does stood up, and shook herself off. Then one by one they all did, with the buck being the last. Having my scope on them for the last hour, I was ready and took a good shot, the buck took off and dropped after about 40 yards with the does all looking at him. I swung back and took one of the does. Usually the drag outta that area is long and hard, with one deer, by yourself. Today, I had two deer less than 150 yards from the road and fresh snow to drag them thru. Sometimes, you just get lucky.

Still, the water in the swamp between them and me, was thigh deep........

 

[CoRoMo]

I can draw a circle on a map that would only be 2/3 of a mile in diameter. Stumbled onto it nine years ago and have been packing elk out with regularity ever since. We've killed 9 elk in these last 9 years, all inside that circle. It's my spot, or so I would like to think.

We have a hard time telling how far in it is from the trailhead, used to think 5 miles in, but if it's at all over 4 miles, it ain't by much; three and a half at least.

I'm usually the first one in there and eventually one or maybe even a second hunter will wander through come the afternoon, but it's a hard hike and nobody else thinks they need to go in so far.

Packing one or two elk out of there is a major, major chore.

 

[BP Hunter]

I hunt in SE Washington State. I can only hunt in public hands. I moved from TX and was used to still hunting. When I moved here I did the same and was wondering why there were so many hunters wlaking around. I realized that my tactics had to be different.

My favorite hunting area has few hunters. I usually walk as far as 3 miles in. I usually see a couple or the first mile but then thery refused to go in deeper. I always end up coming home with deer. I field butcher it and carry the meat out.