Views on Public hunting land

After having 2 different hunts ruined from people small game hunting I kind of feel its my fault i am having people walk around the area’s i want to hunt. I make the extra effort to get their early, Walk farther then i want too just so i hope people small game hunting wont travel as far, and hang a peice of orange so people can see me a good distance away. I still have people that just keep come stomping in or around the area i choose to hunt.

I know if i am late to getting to a spot and there are trunks there i will go to anthor spot as a repect to the people that have made the effort to get out their early and want everything to be calm

Anyone else have a problem with hunting public land. Any tips b/c when you haul a stand, climbing sticks, your hunting clothes, bow and other gear it really sucks that once you get your stand set up and finally get cooled down to put your camo on that you have someone walk through looking to shoot anything and everything that comes in sight.

Now you have an idea why I sold my hunting stuff
In my area, there are about 4,000 acres of public land available. But, like you mentioned, I have never been able to walk far enough to escape the pressure. If I can’t be alone in the woods and have no fear of having shots fired near me, I refuse to hunt. So, I am left with the one thing that I can do without having to try and get permission on…fishing. Days of getting private land are just about over and it really bothers me not to be able to hunt. I am about ready to get a group of guys together and find a place to lease.

Now you have an idea why I sold my hunting stuff
In my area, there are about 4,000 acres of public land available. But, like you mentioned, I have never been able to walk far enough to escape the pressure. If I can’t be alone in the woods and have no fear of having shots fired near me, I refuse to hunt. So, I am left with the one thing that I can do without having to try and get permission on…fishing. Days of getting private land are just about over and it really bothers me not to be able to hunt. I am about ready to get a group of guys together and find a place to lease.

I hunt public land, when I hunted it the first season I saw people walking by a few times a day, seeing them bummed me out but I still shot a deer. I have shot at least a deer a year out of that stand since I started hunting there. In my opinion the other hunters help my odds, as they’re walking around, crunching through the woods it’s gets the deer moving around. I sit quiet and get the shooting. I was watching a doe and fawn 2 seasons ago, I was watching them for 5 min or so when 2 hunters walked by. Those deer sat tight and watched the hunters walk right on by at about 30 yds!! This is during rifle season but…I have had some great success the last few years compared to the rest of our party. In my opinion the reason is the other hunters that are walking around and getting the deer moving. My stand placement isn’t in a spot that one would consider a great spot, it’s great because of the other hunters moving around the woods while I’m sitting tight.

BIRDDOG

I hunt public land, when I hunted it the first season I saw people walking by a few times a day, seeing them bummed me out but I still shot a deer. I have shot at least a deer a year out of that stand since I started hunting there. In my opinion the other hunters help my odds, as they’re walking around, crunching through the woods it’s gets the deer moving around. I sit quiet and get the shooting. I was watching a doe and fawn 2 seasons ago, I was watching them for 5 min or so when 2 hunters walked by. Those deer sat tight and watched the hunters walk right on by at about 30 yds!! This is during rifle season but…I have had some great success the last few years compared to the rest of our party. In my opinion the reason is the other hunters that are walking around and getting the deer moving. My stand placement isn’t in a spot that one would consider a great spot, it’s great because of the other hunters moving around the woods while I’m sitting tight.

BIRDDOG

I have several acres of private land i hunt and love the peace and quiet and when the gun season starts i love the fact i shouldnt have to worry about stray bullets..the deer dont get pushed into only moving at night…I also agree with birddog as i also hunt public land and the deer tend to ignore people..another plus with having many people around is that they wont be so spooked when they wind ya…public vs private…id say each has pluses and negatives but id always pick the private if id have to choose one…..good hunting Jay

I have several acres of private land i hunt and love the peace and quiet and when the gun season starts i love the fact i shouldnt have to worry about stray bullets..the deer dont get pushed into only moving at night…I also agree with birddog as i also hunt public land and the deer tend to ignore people..another plus with having many people around is that they wont be so spooked when they wind ya…public vs private…id say each has pluses and negatives but id always pick the private if id have to choose one…..good hunting Jay

While gun hunting, I would agree that pressure is good. But, when you are bowhunting, quiet is better. When you have a large number of people carrying .22’s and shotguns and shooting high and low with no regard to other’s in the woods, your hunting time is not going to be real productive for the most part. Sure, you will get lucky once in awhile, but it is not the norm. But, if that is all you have, then a choice has to be made. I made the choise to hang it up because it was an effort in futility around the LaCrosse area

While gun hunting, I would agree that pressure is good. But, when you are bowhunting, quiet is better. When you have a large number of people carrying .22’s and shotguns and shooting high and low with no regard to other’s in the woods, your hunting time is not going to be real productive for the most part. Sure, you will get lucky once in awhile, but it is not the norm. But, if that is all you have, then a choice has to be made. I made the choise to hang it up because it was an effort in futility around the LaCrosse area

I hunt public land some. But I tend to hunt it during the week. If a guy is lucky enough to be able to get out during the week hunting or fishing it is amazing how peaceful and quiet it is. So everybody who feels sad for me being at work right now, cheer up! I’ll be hitting Mille Lacs this Wednesday!

dd

I hunt public land some. But I tend to hunt it during the week. If a guy is lucky enough to be able to get out during the week hunting or fishing it is amazing how peaceful and quiet it is. So everybody who feels sad for me being at work right now, cheer up! I’ll be hitting Mille Lacs this Wednesday!

dd

I understand what AmWatson is saying about the public land in WI.It truely is sad. I have hunted it with him and you can not get far enough away from the certain little tree rat hunters. It is truley dangerous. Call me what you want,but I dont think they should be able to hunt untill they can speak english, and pay taxes like the rest of us.I am lucky that we dont have the pressure down here in Iowa.But they are starting to venture down here too.Hopefully it dont get as bad as up there.

I understand what AmWatson is saying about the public land in WI.It truely is sad. I have hunted it with him and you can not get far enough away from the certain little tree rat hunters. It is truley dangerous. Call me what you want,but I dont think they should be able to hunt untill they can speak english, and pay taxes like the rest of us.I am lucky that we dont have the pressure down here in Iowa.But they are starting to venture down here too.Hopefully it dont get as bad as up there.

Well first off I will say I have hunted public land all my life. While gun hunting if you do your thinking and planning ahead of time you can work it out to your advantage. On the other hand bowhunting can be tough. We have the luxury of having somewhere around 16,000 acres of pulbic land to choose from in one county. That in itself is a big help. One thing I have noticed in my years of hunting is if you hunt on roads that have a berm or a gate on them close to the main road you usally dont get to much pressure. That is if you make the hike far back in the woods. I have 3 stand locations this year that are over a mile walk. This is ok but it also brings up the fact of trying to drag a deer over a mile
Like mentioned before if you have the luxury of being able to hunt during the week that is great. On an average weekday I will see 3 to 4 other trucks around. On a weekend it is not uncommon to see 25 to 30 trucks. It can get a little frusterating at times but I deal with it. If you spend enough time around the land you can usally figure out the most common spots people are going to go. With that being said dont overlook the obvious spots that everyone seems to forget about. With private land getting harder and harder to hunt on look for public land use to increase
Good luck to all who have a chance to get out hunting

Well first off I will say I have hunted public land all my life. While gun hunting if you do your thinking and planning ahead of time you can work it out to your advantage. On the other hand bowhunting can be tough. We have the luxury of having somewhere around 16,000 acres of pulbic land to choose from in one county. That in itself is a big help. One thing I have noticed in my years of hunting is if you hunt on roads that have a berm or a gate on them close to the main road you usally dont get to much pressure. That is if you make the hike far back in the woods. I have 3 stand locations this year that are over a mile walk. This is ok but it also brings up the fact of trying to drag a deer over a mile
Like mentioned before if you have the luxury of being able to hunt during the week that is great. On an average weekday I will see 3 to 4 other trucks around. On a weekend it is not uncommon to see 25 to 30 trucks. It can get a little frusterating at times but I deal with it. If you spend enough time around the land you can usally figure out the most common spots people are going to go. With that being said dont overlook the obvious spots that everyone seems to forget about. With private land getting harder and harder to hunt on look for public land use to increase
Good luck to all who have a chance to get out hunting

I have a chunk of private land that the owners allow me to hunt which is nice but the majority of my hunting is PUBLIC land and that is exactly what it is PUBLIC land. There is no stated claim to it and there is no thinking we will ever be on it alone for it is open to the PUBLIC and all types of hunting. At times it can get hecktic but one just has to suck it up and deal with the pros and cons of it unless one has the money to buy there OWN land. Us sportsman that are not blessed being born rich muct really appreciate and try and take care of the public land that our states open for us to hunt.

So no matter what you hunt,what time you hunt and where you hunt if you are on PUBLIC land then just suck it up and deal with the fact it is open to the public and we that wish everyone would be respectful most likely wont be. I look at it like this others are drawn to that property for the same reasons I am,something looks appealing to them and the sign says PUBLIC…Just my .02

I have a chunk of private land that the owners allow me to hunt which is nice but the majority of my hunting is PUBLIC land and that is exactly what it is PUBLIC land. There is no stated claim to it and there is no thinking we will ever be on it alone for it is open to the PUBLIC and all types of hunting. At times it can get hecktic but one just has to suck it up and deal with the pros and cons of it unless one has the money to buy there OWN land. Us sportsman that are not blessed being born rich muct really appreciate and try and take care of the public land that our states open for us to hunt.

So no matter what you hunt,what time you hunt and where you hunt if you are on PUBLIC land then just suck it up and deal with the fact it is open to the public and we that wish everyone would be respectful most likely wont be. I look at it like this others are drawn to that property for the same reasons I am,something looks appealing to them and the sign says PUBLIC…Just my .02

The area im hunting is WhiteWater State Park. I think their is what 22,000 acres? Well anyways ive done my homework, ive got topo’s of almost the whole area, have area’s marked where i found deer sign/sheds. been scouting in the summer. I pick stand locations that are a far walk in efforts to get away from the crowd and hopefully be able to spend sometime in the woods by myself. I am beside myself when i walk, a very hard walk, into a valley up the other side and across to my spot, closet parking lot is a good distance aways, takes me bout a hour-hour and a half depending on how hot it is. i still have people coming through my area.

Are people that gunho’ about small game hunting? I dont mean to sound racsist but it the asain/mhong people that are doing this, i know i was raised up on better morals to try not to bother other people b/c i know the amount of effort that goes into a hunt and the sleepless nights before hoping for the one buck to come through, but instead a person comes through.

just upsets me when i walk that far, do that much work to get away from people and still have peopple around. Oh well what can ya do i guess. i have private land to hunt but its mostly fields and the deer just pass through it so its only good during the morning and night i like to sit all day so i choose this public land to try out before the rut

man that was long post

The area im hunting is WhiteWater State Park. I think their is what 22,000 acres? Well anyways ive done my homework, ive got topo’s of almost the whole area, have area’s marked where i found deer sign/sheds. been scouting in the summer. I pick stand locations that are a far walk in efforts to get away from the crowd and hopefully be able to spend sometime in the woods by myself. I am beside myself when i walk, a very hard walk, into a valley up the other side and across to my spot, closet parking lot is a good distance aways, takes me bout a hour-hour and a half depending on how hot it is. i still have people coming through my area.

Are people that gunho’ about small game hunting? I dont mean to sound racsist but it the asain/mhong people that are doing this, i know i was raised up on better morals to try not to bother other people b/c i know the amount of effort that goes into a hunt and the sleepless nights before hoping for the one buck to come through, but instead a person comes through.

just upsets me when i walk that far, do that much work to get away from people and still have peopple around. Oh well what can ya do i guess. i have private land to hunt but its mostly fields and the deer just pass through it so its only good during the morning and night i like to sit all day so i choose this public land to try out before the rut

man that was long post

I hunt private land but there are so many others on it that it seems like public land. I have had a lot of deer(majority does & fawns) come by my stand after seeing another hunter tromp by my stand. I have seen a couple nice bucks, too. But I have not shot a deer in three years. I have a bare spot on my wall I was trying to fill. It sucks but its better to be in the woods than not being in the woods! Sit tight and you might be surprised!

I hunt private land but there are so many others on it that it seems like public land. I have had a lot of deer(majority does & fawns) come by my stand after seeing another hunter tromp by my stand. I have seen a couple nice bucks, too. But I have not shot a deer in three years. I have a bare spot on my wall I was trying to fill. It sucks but its better to be in the woods than not being in the woods! Sit tight and you might be surprised!

I hunted WhiteWater WMA for 5 years and I never really had a problem. There are some nice deer in there, but I never really saw them until the gun season was about to start. I would try a different area. I really liked hunting there, because it was so big you could go any where and didnt really have a problem with hunters. What I didnt like was the long walks to your stand.

I hunted WhiteWater WMA for 5 years and I never really had a problem. There are some nice deer in there, but I never really saw them until the gun season was about to start. I would try a different area. I really liked hunting there, because it was so big you could go any where and didnt really have a problem with hunters. What I didnt like was the long walks to your stand.

I have been cursed with the public land disease for my entire life. I have hunted from Crookston to Whitewater and had many hunts disrupted by people walking around and just not paying attention to other people. If I know there is someone in an area I stay out, they were there first and that is how it works. What I cannot understand is how some people can look into a tree and see a 170lb orange blob and walk right on past, no effort to be courteous. Maybe the DNR needs to add a hunters etiquette class that all new hunters must pass (in english). Sorry to rant!

I have been cursed with the public land disease for my entire life. I have hunted from Crookston to Whitewater and had many hunts disrupted by people walking around and just not paying attention to other people. If I know there is someone in an area I stay out, they were there first and that is how it works. What I cannot understand is how some people can look into a tree and see a 170lb orange blob and walk right on past, no effort to be courteous. Maybe the DNR needs to add a hunters etiquette class that all new hunters must pass (in english). Sorry to rant!

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I have been cursed with the public land disease for my entire life. I have hunted from Crookston to Whitewater and had many hunts disrupted by people walking around and just not paying attention to other people. If I know there is someone in an area I stay out, they were there first and that is how it works. What I cannot understand is how some people can look into a tree and see a 170lb orange blob and walk right on past, no effort to be courteous. Maybe the DNR needs to add a hunters etiquette class that all new hunters must pass (in english). Sorry to rant!

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Id love to see a certain class had to be taken to hunt public land. But even if they did have it they dont have the kind of man power to enforce, ive been hunting every weekend since opener in whitewater for the most part have not seen one DNR officer.

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I have been cursed with the public land disease for my entire life. I have hunted from Crookston to Whitewater and had many hunts disrupted by people walking around and just not paying attention to other people. If I know there is someone in an area I stay out, they were there first and that is how it works. What I cannot understand is how some people can look into a tree and see a 170lb orange blob and walk right on past, no effort to be courteous. Maybe the DNR needs to add a hunters etiquette class that all new hunters must pass (in english). Sorry to rant!

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Id love to see a certain class had to be taken to hunt public land. But even if they did have it they dont have the kind of man power to enforce, ive been hunting every weekend since opener in whitewater for the most part have not seen one DNR officer.

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ive been hunting every weekend since opener in whitewater for the most part have not seen one DNR officer.

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I have hunted the Whitewater a few times this year myself And have seen the Dnr only while on the roads. They were driving down 74 not lookin to be accomplishing much! They stopped and checked me a couple weeks before season and asked what I was doing and asked if I had any guns which I did he asked to see them and checked if they had been fired recently and left! I drive through there frequently and see many people I would check out that seem like they are up to no good almost every time!

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ive been hunting every weekend since opener in whitewater for the most part have not seen one DNR officer.

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I have hunted the Whitewater a few times this year myself And have seen the Dnr only while on the roads. They were driving down 74 not lookin to be accomplishing much! They stopped and checked me a couple weeks before season and asked what I was doing and asked if I had any guns which I did he asked to see them and checked if they had been fired recently and left! I drive through there frequently and see many people I would check out that seem like they are up to no good almost every time!

well guys, I guess I can’t complain too much, I hunt private land and have a state forest that butts up to th back side of our farm. well I have had more guys sitting in my deer stand in the last few years than I can remember. the funny thing of that is, there is a no trespassing sign nailed to my deer stand right on the side that faces the state land. I have it head hight so it isn’t covered by brush and stuff like that, plus you have to walk right past it when you go to use the stairs up to my stand. then to top it off, they always leave me a present in my folding chair, so this year, I am building an enclosed one with a padlock on the door. I catch them in my stand this year, I am going to add some 220v electric to the metal handle. then maybe they will get the hint, stay out!!!!!

shane