Public land hunting questions

[gtsticker]

So I am planning on doing so hunting out of state for whitetail this year and had a few questions about how you start narrowing down your search. I am not trying to kill a trophy just have fun and kill something.

1. Some state website give an estimate of deer population and hunter demand. Most with high populations have lots of hunters. Do you hunt these anyway or look at places with lower deer population and less hunters?

2. What time of year do you focus on? Rut, pre rut, early or late season.

3. Are some of the smaller lakeside hunting areas any good.

4. Do the larger properties normally have more pressure.

5. When is the best time to scout public land.

Thanks I know it’s a lot it I figured if I can gain some knowledge it will help me without locating some properties to hunt. Thanks in advance


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Krautzy]

1. I tend to lean toward less people if I can find it. Try to find something far away from the nearest big city.

2. Either opening weekend or rut. Since you wont get to hunt it a lot (more than likely) focus on the times of the year bucks will be on their feet the most historically.

3. Lakes can be good, but you will run into people and the bottom line is the deer are gonna be where people aren't

4. Yes and no, bigger the property more spots for the deer to hide

5. We try to scout in august and if we can after the season. But honestly i scout the most when i'm there to hunt

[TheSchwartz]

1. Some state website give an estimate of deer population and hunter demand. Most with high populations have lots of hunters. Do you hunt these anyway or look at places with lower deer population and less hunters?

2. What time of year do you focus on? Rut, pre rut, early or late season.

3. Are some of the smaller lakeside hunting areas any good.

4. Do the larger properties normally have more pressure.

5. When is the best time to scout public land.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1. I'm not sure about this for public hunting areas. TPWD will list success rates on their drawn hunts. Proximity to a major metropolitan area seems to affect hunter density more than anything else. I'd take an area with lower hunting pressure and less deer than a hunting area with more deer and more pressure. Public land whitetails go nocturnal really quickly when over-pressured. A unit can have high deer density, but if they only move around at night, or don't actually bed in the unit, then it doesn't really matter.

2. Cold fronts. My favorite time of year to hunt is pre-rut, when the first fronts start to roll in. If you have limited time to hunt (which most do), I would suggest hunting opportunistically when the weather looks good. If possible, go during the week.

3. Yes. Many require permits through Corps of Engineers, some do lottery systems. Make sure you check local regs.

4. Hard to say. People generally flock to larger units, but you also have a better chance of escaping the crowds on bigger sections as well. Just depends on the situation, terrain, location, etc. Look for hunting areas that are closed to vehicle access. Generally, people don't like to walk very far.

5. In my opinion, as close to the season opener as possible, without pressuring the deer too much. Scouting on public is difficult because deer patterns are constantly changing in response to hunting pressure (in addition to the usual reasons - food sources, weather, etc.). Everything changes once the season starts.

[HogCommander]

I hunted public land in Maryland for several years...here are a few thoughts:

1. MD had a huge deer population and declining number of hunters. As a result the season opened early, closed late and the bag limits were incredible.

2. I hunted the whole season but not as often when it was still hot and humid. I would recommend hunting weekdays rather than weekends on public land because there are fewer hunters out during the week.

3. Food, water and cover are a whitetails basic needs. I scouted for these, then set up near game trail intersections.

4. Generally speaking bigger WMAs drew more hunters, especially on opening day and weekends. I came to prefer smaller, less popular areas.

5. For areas I haven't hunted before, I prefer to have a look a month or so before the season opens. That said, I wouldn't make a special trip if it was out of state just to scout.

Things that really came in handy:

A climber tree stand...easy to transport on foot and lots of choices setting up for the wind, terrain, etc

A game cart...makes it easier to hunt farther away from the parking area and avoid those that hunt close to the entrance

Patience with other hunters. The ones that wait till the magic hours to loudly walk right through where you've been sitting quietly for hours. The ones that see you and post up 100 yds from you anyway. The ones that are squirrel hunting with a 12 guage during bow season. Etc.

Even with the annoyances, you can still have fun and make a successful harvest on public land. Good luck OP!