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NC Public Lands

A

ATAK140Jim

New Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2019
Messages
12
I am new to NC and only have a small piece of property to deer hunt. Deer movement is very minimal. I would like to try hunting some public lands but do not know which ones hold deer or not. I hunted public lands in MD and did very well but I have not been able to figure them out down here. Open to any suggestions. Not looking to steal anyone's spot.

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ATAK140Jim said:
I am new to NC and only have a small piece of property to deer hunt. Deer movement is very minimal. I would like to try hunting some public lands but do not know which ones hold deer or not. I hunted public lands in MD and did very well but I have not been able to figure them out down here. Open to any suggestions. Not looking to steal anyone's spot.

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I live in Onslow County

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Hunting on base? If so, there are a ton of great places. The trick with public on the crystal coast, is to get creative with entry! Try and score a used canoe/kayak. Then paddle the creeks in deep. Your gonna want to find the habitat diversity that is key to hunting whitetail anywhere. With so many guys running dogs water is your friend! Deep water like a creek will stop the dogs most of the time, look for islands, or high points in swamps. Stones creek, holy shelter, rocky run, and white oak are all great and I've killed deer on them all! Again getting creative is the key to hunting these because they have good access. I mostly hunted off base simply because I knew those places wouldn't be closed on days I had available to hunt, but on base hunting is good too!
 
ATAK140Jim said:
I am new to NC and only have a small piece of property to deer hunt. Deer movement is very minimal. I would like to try hunting some public lands but do not know which ones hold deer or not. I hunted public lands in MD and did very well but I have not been able to figure them out down here. Open to any suggestions. Not looking to steal anyone's spot.

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On mobile, forgive me if this doesn't make much sense.

Alright, well I'm from Craven County which is right next to Onslow. I've been hunting here my whole life and I've taken many deer with both a rifle and compound. I mostly hunt with a compound these days especially in the croatan and i take a good buck every year.

Its very hard hunting here, especially with the heat and the dog runners. (i personally think dog running should be limited to private land.) Your best chance to get a nice buck with a compound is to beat the dog runners out but that also means fighting the heat.

Most of the hunters here in Eastern NC don't actually go into the woods but stay in their trucks. But let me tell ya, those dogs will go far FAR deeper into the woods than you and no, the water doesn't stop them. Ive seen dogs swim across the Neuse river more times then I can remember. Around here they use long legged walker hounds and honestly the dogs are really impressive.
You can't avoid the dogs once rifle season opens unless you're on private land.

If you want some actual hunting advice then send me a private message and I'll help you out, it's just too much to type.

Welcome to the forums btw!
 
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