Poll - Distance from parking area you hunt

[ofor]

One of the public properties I hunt is no parking along the road the entire perimeter of the property so it is not uncommon to walk a mile and then set up within 300 yards from the perimeter road. So a long walk doesn’t necessarily mean deep for me. Still has the same result of getting away from pressure but the drag out is not bad. One drag out this year to the road was only 150 yards and the other was 30 yards. Both were a healthy walk from the parking.

 

[shwacker]

I used to always try to get deep, would hardly pay attention to sign that wasn’t at least 1/2 mile back, assuming anything close was already pressured. I still go deep if that’s where they are but, I’ve made a conscious effort to not discard a spot that is very small or right off the road.

This years buck was only about 200 yards from the road, 300 from the parking area. Saw 4 shooters and 4 smaller bucks from this spot in 2 days.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Robert loper]

Alot of summertime observing and trail camera data tells me usually where to be
I will say this, which may not make sense but if it does you know whats up.
in high pressured areas im either walking a long long way or im walking a super short distance.
Very rarely in between and thats outside of the rut.
The Rut changes everything.

 

[bfriendly]

I’m hunting different public land and usually see houses from where I am on archery only areas…..even if I’ve walked 3-500 yards. I’ll walk a couple hundred yards during gun hunts on WMAs, but many of the best places to be can be close to the road. I seldom go a mile+, but if I get an ebike next year, I’ll be going to areas I have only seen a few times, but will remember forever.

 

[kyler1945]

There you have it. Roughly 85% of the folks who answered the poll on this forum typically walk 1/2 mile or more from access most of the time.

I'm thinking that this means something like 50-60% of "hunter time spent in woods sitting on butt hunting" is done 1/2 mile or more from access.

Hmmm

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

Early bow season I dnt go far, I’ve killed handful a deer where I could see my truck from the stand. But my furthest spot (I dnt go here often but every single time I do I kill) is about a 2-2.5 miles paddle and almost 3/4 miles walk and the area always produces deer. I found it some years ago it’s a wild orange grove in the middle of nowhere in the woods. But my mile + walks can be counted on 2 hands. It also depends on if I have a logging trail to walk down a ways before the woods etc etc. doing a mile through solid woods is no walk in the park. Heck we got a place here if anyone has heard of Thistlewaite in LA, I’d like to see someone walk more than 200yds through any part of those woods. Pretty much why I switched to saddle so that I can make my walking frame smaller to be able to hunt Thistlewaite more efficiently and other places of course but she’s a diff animal.

 

[Tim0712]

After work I can usually see the truck or I’m within 500yards. But for all day sits ESPECIALLY during the rut all my spots worth going are anywhere from 1.5 to 4 miles deep and the colder it’s get out the deeper I gotta go

 

[Sbrammer]

So mostly I follow the sign, and my pattern seems to be I find it not too far from the vehicle - easily within few hundred yards to 1/2 mile. However, I have to say my areas are great early season areas, but once the foliage starts to peel back and first week of black powder hits, then I'm scurrying all over the landscape trying to find where the next party is.

 

[Apex7]

This one is a little trickier. I know there's a lot of ways to ask this question, so let's go with it. I understand that distance is not what typically dictates where you hunt. I am simply trying to get an idea of what most folks do. It won't be exact, but which of the poll choices best describes you?

As always, your thoughts and opinions are much appreciated!

I'm typically over 1/2 mile from parking, and usually in the 1mile+ range. However, my biggest deer to date was exactly 150 yards from a parking lot, and 100 yards from the nearest road. I have some success in overlook spots close to access, but I typically prefer outwalking folks.

I really don't walk I ride my e-bike. This hunting season I'll be riding my new Bakcou Mule e-bike. I ride about 1/2 mile or so. I hunt in a suburban whitetail program so even if I walked it wouldn't be far and the only reason I use a bike is because of a injured back and pelvic.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

200 yards at most of my spots. Mostly private ground. Place i killed my public land buck last year, i was only 200 yds off the road though it was a half mile from where I parked

 

[Silvio]

Certainly close hunting spots from where you park can be productive...but only on the first or second sits....once morning noise, headlites,, road traffic, and flashlite ascending into an area patterns change dramatically. Seek finding security cover transitions to set up for long all day hunts...the buck odds are more in your favor without the all the ruckus

 

[Cajunyankee]

I shot a nice buck out the living room window when I was 14 years old. Needless to say my parents lost their minds when I shot the 243 inside the house. They were still in bed. My mother Yelled at me for 30 mins and caused me to miss the school bus. Then she yelled at me for another 20 mins because she had to drive me to school for missing the bus.