Buck Hollow Sporting Goods - click or touch to visit their website Midwest Habitat Company

Your Public Land Experience?

mplane72

mplane72

PMA Member
Sitting here on a slow day at work doing some online public land scouting. I'm planning on expanding my hunting to some other areas of the state and doing some public land hunting this year. I'm just tired of my places, the smaller, over hunted wood lots or flat river bottoms. I'm just looking to change things up and see some new ground. I'm not asking for or about any specific area or region but feel free to share what ever you like. I know that I will have to be willing to go farther then the other guy or find the over looked spot. I'm actually looking forward to that.

I'm more interested in your over all experience. Things to be aware of like getting a deer out of the woods on Public. Interaction with other hunters, locals or travelers. Do you see a lot of pressure? Stories of success or failure. Your game plan?

I intend to have a mobile setup that comes in and out every hunt and have several areas scouted out so if I find someone parked in one area I can move on and try to find a less crowded place. If that's possible.

Thanks
 
I do most of my hunting on public land with the exception of a couple small properties. My experience hunting public is generally good, you will have some trouble with people in your area. Both hunters and the public walking around in the woods which can be frustrating, but it is part of the deal. I try to give other hunters their space as I would expect them to give me mine. I have also ran into issues with people who own surrounding properties messing with my stand setups or I feel intentionally walking by my stand during hunting hours in an effort to protect their deer. Which I can appreciate, but it is obviously frustrating.

It may take you a season to two to figure out what the deer in your area are doing and where to attack them because much of public land is big timber with little for food plots. Now is the time to be scouting finding the pinch points and highly populated areas. Often the best spots do not look obvious on a map. Also, as with all whitetail hunting it will be critical for you to find areas you can access on the right wind. My hunting partner and I set up many stands for different winds and hunt the stand that is the most favorable for a particular day. Last season I shot one around 153" so there defiantly is opportunity to chase big deer, but you really need to put the time and work in. Best of luck!
 
I've had some success on public land. My family doesn't own any so all we hunt is based on permission or on public land. I honestly feel like there are areas where the public land gets less pressure than some private spots. I hunt two private properties near where I go to school and there are other hunters on both properties. I think the label of "public" sometimes scares people away which is good for people like you and me.

Don't be afraid to walk far but also don't be afraid to hunt closer to parking spots. Sometimes those easy to get to spots get overlooked by everyone hiking way back in. Try to scout but if you cant, who knows what can walk by from October 25-November 25.
 
I don't do much public hunting anymore, but still entertain the idea every so often. Who knows, maybe I'll get back onto some public one of these days.

I try to find public hunting in rural areas. By that I mean I've scouted some spots within a half hour of DM, Ames, Boone, and some other sizeable towns and I feel that they are just covered in tree stands no matter how far you walk in. I would much rather drive a long ways and have a decent chance of seeing lower hunter activity.
Even some of the small pieces can be really good, because essentially they are nestled among larger tracts of private that may hold better deer.
 
I personally love public ground, because there is no one else to worry about. Meaning, you have just as much right as anyone else to be there. The catch, so do they.

I really think that you have to have an open mind to hunt public ground. If you do, and are ok with some hunts being messed up, you will be very successful. ie; turkey hunting- don't follow someone else in, if there truck is there before you, and you didn't talk to them, it's likely they are hunting the same birds. Go somewhere else, and pray that people would do the same for you. Deer hunting- pack your stands in, and be mobile and certainly don't be afraid to move. If you don't like what another hunter is doing, move.

99% of other hunters don't want to mess up your hunt, nor do they want you to mess up theirs. Give people the benefit of the doubt, and move on if they are jerks.

Quick story: It was a Sunday morning, middle of November, I was running late. I was going about a mile back in to the public and I was crashing through everything to get there. I get within 100 yards of where I was going to hang my stand and hear PSSSTTTT.. I freeze, look up with my headlight, not very far, and 10 ft in the tree, here is a dude in a climber. CRAP. I was literally underneath him. I felt horrible, I apologized up and down, and he was really nice and had come in through the private ground. So I told him where I was headed and we both figured I would do less damage getting in a tree asap. I was only 100 yards from him and he broke out the horns at sunrise... and continued to rattle every 10 minutes for the next two hours. I had two bucks sneak by me that he never got to see because he was busy rattling, but one was a nice 135' 8 ptr (hindsight I should have shot him). Anyhow, I screwed up this guys hunt by accident, and I could arguably say that the rattle master ruined mine by rattling and grunting every 10 minutes. But I still saw deer, and snuck out of there around 9:00 by sneaking through the crick bottom. No reason getting to worked up over it.

There are plenty of critters on public. I like it.
 
Last edited:
I am close to giving up on trying to find private ground to hunt. It is getting increasingly difficult to find quality private ground that you don't have to pay out the .... to lease. Respecting the landowners property and lending a helping hand doesnt work anymore, and if you don't have the land locked down with a lease it probably gets hunted harder than most public areas anyways. The good thing about most public areas is they are great habitat and obviously have deer living on them, so it's just a matter of learning how to hunt them. I've found that most people who hunt public land exclusively (bow season anyways, never bothered with gun) will have more respect for other hunters and try to avoid messing them up as opposed to some people who hunt private ground and think they own the place and the deer on it. Key thing is staying mobile and always have a plan B or C in case circumstances change
 
I hunt a lot of public and it can be very frustrating at times, but there are big bucks to be found if you do your homework. The deer are definitely smarter and more educated than a lot of private ground deer so tactics are different in my experience. I think public gets over called on quite a bit so I usually leave calling as a last resort if I can. My experience with other hunters has been pretty good, it seems it's the non hunters using the ground that are the least courteous.

I usually look for pinch points off topo maps and scout several trees where I can set up the lone wolf for different winds. There are a lot of thin strips of public along rivers that are often overlooked and can be good as well. I usually have a lot of places all to myself on weekdays so if you can get the time off, avoid hunting on weekends if you can. Just remember that the deer don't know if it's private or public ground! Good luck!
 
I've ventured into public in the last year because the private ground seems to have fewer and fewer deer and also less deer of the quality I want to harvest.
I have mixed reviews yes the deer were of the caliber I was looking for and good numbers and even the 3 biggest deer I seen all year were on public.
But I was given a couple deterants at least for a certain spot with a stolen camera and stolen stand and heavy hunting pressure. While other spots were I'd say untouched maybe a rabbit hunter or 2 and some ppl out excersing but no bowhunter that I ever seen.
If you can hunt weekdays your pretty much left to yourself which is how I will hint going forward, weekdays on public and weekend on private.
One of the best spots I found on public was close to the road I'd have to assume it gets hunted but the sign was the beat there
 
Looks like most of you have the same thoughts and are in the same situation I am. Hunting heavily hunted private land can be just as tough, maybe worse then Public. I'm sure there will be some frustrations but I'm excited about seeing some new ground and changing some things up.
 
I agree keep an open mind and do your homework. Maybe lay off when the pressure is on the first week of Nov. Then get back after it later. Know plenty of guys doing this with good success.
 
I have a lot of public within a few minutes drive of my house and I agree that weekdays on public is best and weekends on private. Also that first week of November is crazy. I dont run cameras on state and dont leave sticks in the tree so at least if some a**clown wants to steal my stand he has to work for it. It can be crazy, early muzz also. Squirrel hunters and still hunters cause some anxiety but I am learning you have to hang tight. I also dont care to hunt a spot if someone is parked there mostly. I try to be first then whoever comes in later can make the decision. I like the fact that you dont have to worry about a quad rolling by or some other vehicle. I need the exercise so I am all for walking everywhere when hunting. You may see some strange stuff people do.
 
Oct-Lull said:
I have a lot of public within a few minutes drive of my house and I agree that weekdays on public is best and weekends on private. Also that first week of November is crazy. I dont run cameras on state and dont leave sticks in the tree so at least if some a**clown wants to steal my stand he has to work for it. It can be crazy, early muzz also. Squirrel hunters and still hunters cause some anxiety but I am learning you have to hang tight. I also dont care to hunt a spot if someone is parked there mostly. I try to be first then whoever comes in later can make the decision. I like the fact that you dont have to worry about a quad rolling by or some other vehicle. I need the exercise so I am all for walking everywhere when hunting. You may see some strange stuff people do.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips we didn't get the public buzz until about the 10th and we just drove the roads to see what we had to work with and we only saw one truck and 3 shooter bucks from the road haha I was sold on the idea after that lol
 
I've only hunted public during shotgun 2, so I haven't had a very good experience seeing a lot of deer. However, I know there are good bucks that come from public, and probably more does, so I wouldn't rule out hunting public during bow season if I had to. I did take a stroll on public once during bow season, just to scout a little as I had other things to do the rest of the day. No one in any of the parking areas on a Saturday morning. Couldn't believe it. If there had been a vehicle, I probably would have kept driving. I just hate the thought of walking in where someone is hunting, not only for safety but for not wanting to ruin their hunt too. I'm sure if I do hunt public sometime, it's bound to happen, and I'm sure someone would do the same to me. As long as it's not intentional, it should be fine. One thing I try to keep in mind on private ground is you never know when or where something might happen, so give it your best shot. Even neighbors doing stuff on their land...I try to think that maybe they will bust some deer my direction. Actually this has happened when someone was going in on an ATV to cut firewood...busted a buck and several does toward my stand. Didn't get a shot at them, but still, they were headed the right direction. Same could apply on public if someone is walking in the area you are hunting.
 
I hunt nearly exclusively public land for deer in Iowa. I try to find the less pressured areas and I'm not afraid of a good hike. I can usually get my tags filled and maybe see 1-2 decent bucks per year. My home area is a really pressured part of Iowa with a dense population - but I still do OK. I don't go into the season needing a 150" + deer, however.

It's all about how much work you are willing to put in. With the state of our deer herd - you cant just open the truck door and shoot one right out of the parking lot. It takes some work. But - if you aren't afraid to work a little harder than the next guy - you will do just fine.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom