Private land vs. public land?

[huntinsonovagun]

Wow....8 acres is not much land to hunt at all!! I hunt 99% public land. Been a few years since I hunted private, but looks like I will be hunting some private land this year.

I have killed 4 deer in the past 2 years hunting public land with a bow. Not too shabby.....

[dogdoc]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I have never deer hunted on public land. As far as private land I usually only kill one deer a year. Since I started der hunting in '91 only one year did i kill 2 deer.

However--I try my best to practice QDM and I pass up smaller bucks. I've also been passing up does since I started managing my own land. This year will probably change as I am now starting to see more does.

todd

[Wimpy]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I hunt private and usually have a good success rate but no big monster buck yet,am thinking of trying public land with my bow,I here there's not much archery hunting pressure.

[LifeNRA]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I hunt private land about 75% and public land 25% of the time.

[ruttinbuc]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

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Wow....8 acres is not much land to hunt at all!!

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It depends where that 8 acres is!

I hunt private here in NJ and public when I take the show on the road. You would be surprised how much GOOD public land there is out there.

[markyj987]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

That 8 acres is a big eight acres. By that, I mean with the terrain--flattened out, it'd probably be about 15-20. That, with the varying cover, bedding, and staging areas--not to mention tasty salad bars sluggunner's put in there--it's 8 acres of whitetail haven. Hence the name Deerhaven Woods.

I recently got a tip about a public hunting area not too far out of Milwaukee--and have heard it has some BIG bucks on it. I really think I'm going to try bowhunting it this fall.

[jbeck]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

We have 200 acres in pa and lease 400 acres around us. I hunt private unless the acorns are really heavy, then I hunt the adjoining state land on top of the mountain. We also have 5,000 acres in south east montana. the 5,000 is deeded land that also has 9,000 acres of BLM ground with it. Pap has a 3,000 acre lease in south dakota, but I haven't hunted there yet. I'm really spoiled, and my success rate is really high.

[Guest Finn]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

My Dad and uncle own 320 acres and the neighbors own 600 to the south and west of us. Then a paper company owns 240 to the north so I feel extremely fortunate.

Our success rates are 100% on does, really anytime we want one. I haven't killed a buck in the past 2 years but could have filled that tag, just elected to let them grow.

[horst]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I hunt probably 75% public land and 25% private.

Im not sure how you want to define a success rate but Im usually outta tags at the end of the year.Most of these deer come from public ground as well.

As far as Big bucks go, I see bucks on the public ground every year that are P&Y class and I cant say that about the private ground around here.I dont kill one that big every year, matter of fact Ive only taken 2 that were even close, but I know theyre out there.

[HuntingInMaine]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I only hunt private land that is open to the public, so I don't know how you would classify that. I guess I am lucky to live in an area where very few people would even think of posting their land. I have hunted for 4 years and have only gotten one deer, but had a chance at at least one deer a year. The ones that I have passed on (or missed...) weren't monsters, but I was very happy with the one I did shoot last year.

[huntn4bucks]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

As far as deer hunting goes, I almost totally hunt private land. I own several hundred acres, lease several hundred acres, and also have permission to hunt other private property consisting of about 2000 acres. I've killed at least 1 buck every year for the past 10 years and some years I've killed 3-4 bucks. A good buck in our area is pretty much anything at or above the 125s. I've taken several 125 class bucks and one in the 130s. There's nothing like owning your own land but I've seen and read many articles of monster bucks being taken on public land. I would definitely give it a try.

[Doc]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

It doesn't sound like a lot of people are using public land according to the replies on this thread. However, it sure is a different story when you actually go to some of these public parcels during opening day .... lol. The point about private land which is wide open to anyone who wants to hunt it, is a good point. Some of those kinds of hunting lands can be just as crowded and overhunted as any state or federal lands.

Doc

[slugshooter]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I've only hunted public land, but not by choice, I would much rather hunt private land. Some of the yokels that hunt the land I do are idiots and unfriendly, not all of them, but a lot of them look at you like you are intruding on their property, if they see you at the store with a deer in the back of the truck and they know the area you hunt, they'll try and beat you to it the next week, last year on opening day my buddy was at the gate we have been hunting the last 4 years, 3 trucks pulled up and told him they were hunting there and they have been the last few years....news to us, since we've been the only ones there on Saturdays for 4 or 5 years. Anyway, push came to shove.....literally, and my buddy left before things got too out of hand.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

Whitetails - 100% private and 100% success (if I choose to pull the trigger, don't always)

Mule deer - 95% public and about 50% success. The only reason it's not 100% public is because we have a small population of mule deer where I whitetail hunt and a 2 week season on them. I usually won't see one during that time, but it coincides with part of the whitetail season, so I'll count it as mule deer hunting. So far, all of the mule deer I've killed have been "out west" on public land.

[bfletch7441]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I'd say 75% private and 25% public land.

I like to manage and hunt our private land, my in-laws own 350 acres in Oklahoma, but have been reluctant to shoot many deer. I would rather go to public land and pick off a few does to fill the freezer.

Ben

[DSGB]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I hunt mostly on private land in Alabama, but hunt some on my buddy's land in Georgia, as well as public land in Georgia. I took two deer last year, one on public land with my bow, the other on private land with a gun. I used to hunt Ft. Benning exclusively, and killed two or three a year, and four a couple times. I hunted exclusively on my grandfather's land a few years ago, along with some land he leased (all private), and killed six deer that year, and two were nice bucks - one of which I has mounted. I'd say my success has been about the same, considering the amount of time I hunt each of them.

[whitetailkiller]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

i used to hunt public land ,but now hunt private land as a lot of land has recently been made available to me!!!

[horst]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

[ QUOTE ]

It doesn't sound like a lot of people are using public land according to the replies on this thread. However, it sure is a different story when you actually go to some of these public parcels during opening day .... lol. The point about private land which is wide open to anyone who wants to hunt it, is a good point. Some of those kinds of hunting lands can be just as crowded and overhunted as any state or federal lands.

Doc

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Maybe its just my area but as far as deer hunting goes the public land actually holds more, and bigger deer with less hunters chasing them than the majority of the private ground around here.

I think theres a few reasons for this.The private grounds all wide open farm ground around here, very easy to hunt and you can drive within a couple feet of anything you kill, or anywhere you wanna hang a stand.Its just much easier.

Public ground on the other hands closed to vehichles.Its all high weeds, cattail sloughs, or way off the beaten path.Its a lot tougher hunting and a lot more work.But its where the majority of the good cover is and that holds way more deer than the open ground.It also lets them live a lot longer than the open ground deer.But most of the hunters in my area seem to prefer the easier farmground to hunt.

[billygoat]

Re: Private land vs. public land?

I've been fortunate to secure hunting rights to private land for the last 20 years. And in those 20 years, I can only think of one where I did not put meat in the freezer, and that was because I was in college. Most of the time I put several deer in the freezer. I have 4 deer on the wall that stretch to the 130" mark. I am still waiting for a "giant"... but many of us will hunt out whole lives and never put that 180" deer on the wall, so I feel very fortunate to have the deer I do!