Due to the ever-increasing commercial developments, privately-owned land is growing scarce, and landowners willing to allow hunters access to their land are even fewer. If you want to avoid the hassle of searching for private land to hunt, you are left with only two options, and because joining a club is so expensive, I, along with hundreds of thousands of other hunters, hunt reguarly on public land.
I am fortunate enough to live in an area with lots of land open for public hunting, and so I do about 90% of my hunting on public land. The problem, of course, is one that all public land hunters encounter: extreme hunting pressure. During our rifle season, it is not uncommon to see vehicles parked every 100-200 feet along the entrance roads. Taking deer on a regular basis under these conditions is difficult, but possible. You just have to have the right gameplan. Hopefully, I can give you a few pointers to start you in the right direction.
First off, there are a couple of things to keep in mind before you get ready to hunt high-pressure public land. Number one, there aren't a lot of big bucks in these areas because most bucks are killed as yearlings. However, there will be a few big bucks out there. Finding them, of course, is not easy. If a buck has survived on public land long enough to grow a big set of antlers, he had to be smart to do it, and so even if you do find his domain, chances are he may be completely nocturnal. I have hunted one particular buck off and on for three years now...and have never seen him. I see sign that he is still in the area but catching a glimpse of him is easier said than done.
The second thing to remember is just what I've already mentioned: taking deer from high-pressure public land on a regular basis is very hard to do. I hunted public land six years before I started to see...and shoot...deer consistently.
As you prepare to hunt high-pressure public land, the main thing is to ensure that you have a back-up plan ready to put into action. If you're hunting extremely pressured areas, you should not be surprised to get to your location on opening morning only to find that another hunter has beaten you to it. For this reason, I always pick out about four different and precise stand locations. If my number one spot is taken, I want a number two spot just down the road.
When I'm doing my scouting, I spend equal time on at least three locations. I don't want one top spot and two "reserve" spots. I want my #3 spot to be a spot that I can look just as forward to hunting as my #1 spot, if worse comes to worse and I actually need a third selection.
Also, because someone else may take my chosen spot, I never hang stands or put up blinds early. I always wait until the morning of my hunt and I always take them out with me, even if I'm only going out for lunch. There are too many dishonest people wandering around out there.
One thing to keep in mind when looking for a spot to hunt is that the deer aren't always going to be where the hunters are. For some reason, most hunters seem to believe this and will flock to a spot where a vehicle was parked yesterday. What you wind up with is everyone crowding into some areas while others go unnoticed. Everyone wants to hunt where "Bob" saw that big buck at last year.
As a result, some prime areas are left vacant. These areas are usually those that are located on the edge of public land, or in other unlikely places. Hunters will drive right by these areas in an attempt to get as deep into the woods as possible, not realizing that they are driving right by prime deer locations that hold big bucks. Just because the area does not look inviting and just because other hunters ignore it does not mean that it doesn't hold deer. In my years of public land hunting, much of my hunting, most of the deer I've seen, and 100% of the deer I've taken have come from little areas that everyone else ignored. Every single deer! That's hardly a coincidence.
When you're doing your scouting on high-pressure public land, remember this: All the time you spend scouting trails and monitoring deer movement will be for naught if you don't take a deer in the first few days. When the season begins and the shooting starts, the deer are going to hear shots coming from every direction, they are going to see hunters every time they move, and you're going to have hunters tramping all through the woods. You can do everything possible to eliminate your scent, but you're powerless to erase the scent of the guy who comes along behind you.
As a result, the deer are going to completely change their patterns. Most big bucks will go nocturnal. Everything that you thought you knew about them will change. Areas that didn't hold sign before the season started will start to turn up deer. For example, I hunted a location last year and took a doe, a buck, and my brother took a yearling buck. We also saw numerous other bucks in this location while hunting. Here's the catch: This area held absolutely no sign before the season started, but once the season began and the pressure kicked in, these deer retreated to this particular area, looking for a safe haven to escape the other hunters.
Which brings up another point: it is my belief that, over time, deer learn where the hunters will or will not be on opening day. Public land hunters are very predictable; they hunt the same areas year after year. If they aren't hunting an area, someone else who spotted their car parked on the side of the road in the same place day after day will take over the area, believing that it must hold deer. And then you have those areas which go relatively unnoticed and are ignored by hunters. The deer key in on these areas and, each year, once the shooting starts, they will retreat back to them. They may not use the areas any at all during the spring and summer, but when fall rolls around, you can count on it: they will be back there!
My location that I just mentioned is just an example of that. I headed back to that area this summer to do some scouting and, guess what? Once again, there was no sign there. However, I would bet my bow and rifle that once the hunting pressure kicks in, those deer will be right back in this area. Many of the deer I've taken from public land over the years came from areas that fit this theory.
This also leads to my next point: no matter how long an area stands vacant to hunters, if you start hunting it, other hunters will follow. If you hunt it, they will come, so to speak. Throughout the past eight years that I have spent hunting public land, I have found several such locations that were out-of-the-way locations with no other hunters. I enjoyed solitary hunting in these areas for a couple of years and then...here come the hunters. When other public land hunters are driving into the woods, they are taking note on where they are seeing cars parked. If they see the same vehicle parked in a location day after day, they are going to realize that it must be a good spot, and they will move in.
For instance, my family hunted a location on public land for four years with absolutely no other hunters around. This was public land, but we sort of came to think of it as "ours" because we were the only ones hunting it. And then, suddenly, we were invaded by other hunters. Now, two years later, we no longer hunt the location because there are so many other hunters in the area. At one time this was considered one of those "out-of-the-way locations" that other hunters ignored.
Lastly, I would like to point out what I feel is one of the most important keys to hunting high-pressure public land: Get into the woods early! This will not only ensure that you get your favorite location (as public land is basically a first come-first serve type of deal) but will/can also put you in great shape when other hunters start to arrive. As day breaks and orange-clad figures start to fill the woods, the deer are going to start moving...and, in all likelyhood, some are going to bolt past your stand, if you are set up in the right locations.
Once you are on your stand, stay put. As most other hunters break for lunch, the deer are going to get stirred up once again. In fact, if you're hunting along access roads, you'll probably be hearing vehicles much of the day. My experiences on public land that is heavily hunted have told me that from about 30 minutes after daybreak until about 9:00 and from about an hour before dusk until dark are the only times the woods will really settle down. At all other times, hunters are either coming or going.
And that's basically it. Doing all the things I've mentioned here won't guarantee a punched tag, but it's a start. Just remember the basics of what I said: Have more than one location picked out, look for those out-of-the-way places instead of just playing follow-the-leader, be prepared for deer movement to change, and go early/stay late. That will get you started.
As I said, taking deer consistently on high-pressure land is difficult. Taking big bucks is even more on the fringe of impossible.But for anyone with the patience to stick with it, hunting high-pressure public land can be both fun and rewarding.
