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How to narrow down public land as a newbie

ThereWillBeSpuds

ThereWillBeSpuds

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 12, 2019
Messages
648
Hi all, I have only been in the woods hunting one time, didnt see anything. I was in a ground blind on a lease my cousin used to have, he was a really sloppy hunter from what I could tell and he lives on the other side of the state so I dont want to lean on his guidance. Im trying to take it up in earnest in the coming fall and I will have to be hunting public land.

Heres my problem: there is just so much of it! I want to set myself up for success as much as possible, but I don't have time to scout a dozen different WMAs to figure out which ones I want to hunt come fall. I have this fear that I will scout a bunch and pick trees and such and then find my area swamped with people stomping around when the season starts.

Surely popular areas will be popular because people kill deer on them, but how do I know what properties have reached "nobody goes there anymore, its too crowded" saturation? The state DNR website is woefully inadequate and I have zero friends who hunt.

What do yall look for on the macro-scale when deciding what pieces of public are worth further exploration?

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I agree with Weldabeast as right now you can usually tell what parking areas got hit hard. Also easier to see stands and hunter sign right now. If possible it is good to find areas that don't have easy access. Water is one of the best deterrents. Some areas though those kind of areas can be hard to find. If the area has alot of roads then likely people are hunting there. In my experience early bow seasons even in heavy hunted areas usually don't see a ton of pressure. It gets close to the rut and pressure will ramp up.

Personally I would scout as much as I could and then next year you will have some places to jump around to. Another thing I have found is that hunting pressure in a piece of public can vary alot from year to year.
 
Honestly look for places that nobody else is going to want to hunt (swamps, edges of thickets, hard to reach areas, etc...) And start by getting as far away from parking areas as you are comfortable with!! The further away from parking the less people you will see!(The exception)> And do not discount small areas that people overlook thinking that "their won't be any deer in that spot it is to small" all deer need is placed they feel safe even if it is only 1 acre!!! To be a successful bow hunter, if you are bow hunting, all you need is 40 square yards of good deer activity in that area wether it be a crossing, where several trails come together, or just well used fruit or hard mast tree as long as deer want to be there or have to come through there you are good! Make use of topo maps and Google earth! Hope this helps!!!
 
Im going to scout a 20k acre bit of public swampland tomorrow. Specifically gonna look into canoe access.

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ThereWillBeSpuds said:
Im going to scout a 20k acre bit of public swampland tomorrow. Specifically gonna look into canoe access.

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Going to *start* scouting it, obviously i could tramp through there for years and never know it all.

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If you don’t already download a hunting App like OnX that shows you property lines for public areas near you. You may be surprised to find some public access near you that isn’t well marked (or at all). I’d also call your DNR and ask them if there were any recently acquired public properties. There was a 360 acre parcel 10 minutes from my house that was acquired in the last year, and wasn’t marked from the road until recently. We also have some county owned property that is open to hunting that isn’t always well marked. Of course nothing beats boots on the ground. Good luck
 
Get out there and pre scout. As mentioned it`s the best time of year to tell # 1 where the other hunters were and where the deer were. Best advice you will get for sure. IMG_1608.JPG
 
I use huntstand and onx to check areas out im interested in and check out property lines way before i set foot into the woods..throughout hunting season as i drive around i see cars or trucks off side of road..i mentally check the areas off and look on my apps and see if there is other access to these pieces..sometimes i use this bit of info and have the other hunters work to my advantage..alot of places i hunt are within 15 minutes from where i live and alot of suburban areas where i know theres alot of deers but access can be slim so i use these apps and 90% of the times shows access points i can go in to..once i get all the areas saved on my apps i head in the woods and scout..heck sit on the toilet and "SCOUT" before you actually scout...LOL
 
sureshotscott said:
This site has good info and good hunters, but these kind of tactical questions are the bread & butter of thehuntingbeast.com if you're not a member there yet check it out. They have some threads that have been going for YEARS lots to learn over there.
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X2 especially if you hunt Hunting beast terrain!!!!!! hes a swamp guru
 
As sureshotscott said check out youtube of The Hunting Beast and also The Hunting Public, they have good video's on how to tackle a new piece of ground, might save yourself a lot of unnecessary walking. Dan with The Hunting Beast also offers scouting work shops in February if they are not full, depending on how far you are from WI
 
So I went and walked the swamp a bit. Talked to the rangers at the state forest headquarters, and I was very encouraged. Water was super high and I didnt bring my canoe, so I wasnt able to get off trail very much. Next time I am gonna paddle.

The rangers were like "yeah for the most part folks are hunting within sight of their trucks, you see a truck and theres probably someone huntin within a couple hundred yards." This encourages the hell out of me, as I have no problem hiking or paddling in for a spell before setting up. I hope the ranger's assessment is accurate.

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Best advice I can give you is to have a little talk with yourself. Remind you that this is about the scouting and the walking and the figuring and the mistakes and the sweat and the time spent and the blown opportunities and the aha moments and all of the stuff along the way. When you kill a deer, it will feel good. But it will not feel nearly as good as reflecting on the journey.

Once you’ve had that little chat with yourself, go walk. I’ve come full circle on this - maps don’t mean jack to a person who has no woodsman-ship. They will just waste your time and spin your wheels. You don’t know what you don’t know yet.

the best way to shorten the learning curve is to get a mentor. If you’re unwilling or unable to do it, then walk. Walk walk walk walk. Find a deer trail and walk it till you run into the deer that made it. Take notes. Pay attention to terrain, and changes in vegetation. Enjoy being outside in nature.

I’m of the opinion that children should be introduced to new hobbies or interests slowly, and given small wins along the way to keep them interested In progressing. Adults don’t need to be babied. Hunting is type 2 fun. It’s supposed to suck a little. You’re supposed to sweat, almost drown, not kill deer, get yelled at by the guy ‘who’s been hunting here hiswhole life and it’s HIS land’ On public, think you have a spot that’s hard to get to and hunt itonly to have a guy coming from opposite direction and it takes him five minutes to get there and ruin your hunt.

in order of priority if I were giving advice to someone just getting into public land:

- get the notion that you’re going to kill deer immediately out of your head. If that’s in there, you’re missing the point of hunting, and you’re setting yourself up for failure.

- leave digital map scouting for after you’ve figured out how to get into deer sign with your boots. It’s a waste of time.

- get a mentor. It will mean the world to you and likely to them.

- walk.

- walk more.

- walk even more.

- read books about deer diet, and behavior patterns.

- have fun.
 
kyler1945 said:
Best advice I can give you is to have a little talk with yourself. Remind you that this is about the scouting and the walking and the figuring and the mistakes and the sweat and the time spent and the blown opportunities and the aha moments and all of the stuff along the way. When you kill a deer, it will feel good. But it will not feel nearly as good as reflecting on the journey.

Once you’ve had that little chat with yourself, go walk. I’ve come full circle on this - maps don’t mean jack to a person who has no woodsman-ship. They will just waste your time and spin your wheels. You don’t know what you don’t know yet.

the best way to shorten the learning curve is to get a mentor. If you’re unwilling or unable to do it, then walk. Walk walk walk walk. Find a deer trail and walk it till you run into the deer that made it. Take notes. Pay attention to terrain, and changes in vegetation. Enjoy being outside in nature.

I’m of the opinion that children should be introduced to new hobbies or interests slowly, and given small wins along the way to keep them interested In progressing. Adults don’t need to be babied. Hunting is type 2 fun. It’s supposed to suck a little. You’re supposed to sweat, almost drown, not kill deer, get yelled at by the guy ‘who’s been hunting here hiswhole life and it’s HIS land’ On public, think you have a spot that’s hard to get to and hunt itonly to have a guy coming from opposite direction and it takes him five minutes to get there and ruin your hunt.

in order of priority if I were giving advice to someone just getting into public land:

- get the notion that you’re going to kill deer immediately out of your head. If that’s in there, you’re missing the point of hunting, and you’re setting yourself up for failure.

- leave digital map scouting for after you’ve figured out how to get into deer sign with your boots. It’s a waste of time.

- get a mentor. It will mean the world to you and likely to them.

- walk.

- walk more.

- walk even more.

- read books about deer diet, and behavior patterns.

- have fun.
Click to expand...

Mike drop!!!
 
kyler1945 said:
Best advice I can give you is to have a little talk with yourself. Remind you that this is about the scouting and the walking and the figuring and the mistakes and the sweat and the time spent and the blown opportunities and the aha moments and all of the stuff along the way. When you kill a deer, it will feel good. But it will not feel nearly as good as reflecting on the journey.

Once you’ve had that little chat with yourself, go walk. I’ve come full circle on this - maps don’t mean jack to a person who has no woodsman-ship. They will just waste your time and spin your wheels. You don’t know what you don’t know yet.

the best way to shorten the learning curve is to get a mentor. If you’re unwilling or unable to do it, then walk. Walk walk walk walk. Find a deer trail and walk it till you run into the deer that made it. Take notes. Pay attention to terrain, and changes in vegetation. Enjoy being outside in nature.

I’m of the opinion that children should be introduced to new hobbies or interests slowly, and given small wins along the way to keep them interested In progressing. Adults don’t need to be babied. Hunting is type 2 fun. It’s supposed to suck a little. You’re supposed to sweat, almost drown, not kill deer, get yelled at by the guy ‘who’s been hunting here hiswhole life and it’s HIS land’ On public, think you have a spot that’s hard to get to and hunt itonly to have a guy coming from opposite direction and it takes him five minutes to get there and ruin your hunt.

in order of priority if I were giving advice to someone just getting into public land:

- get the notion that you’re going to kill deer immediately out of your head. If that’s in there, you’re missing the point of hunting, and you’re setting yourself up for failure.

- leave digital map scouting for after you’ve figured out how to get into deer sign with your boots. It’s a waste of time.

- get a mentor. It will mean the world to you and likely to them.

- walk.

- walk more.

- walk even more.

- read books about deer diet, and behavior patterns.

- have fun.
Click to expand...
I am fully expecting not to kill deer for a while, that said, I am also not one of those guys that is immediately antler obsessed. Im fine with putting an arrow through any legal deer that I have a good shot on.

I am absolutely planning on wearing out some boots in this endevor. Honestly I am looking forward to having a reason to make myself get out in the woods.

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