Public Hunting Tips

[MightyMouse]

From what I can see, these boards have a plethora of knowledge. So anyone have any good sound tips on how to hunt public land. Also, sportsmanship tips, to keep from harming the hunting of others.

[cncman]

map, scout, scout, scout, go deep, go in as far as you can, then go in some more. I always get more ideas when I scout then come back and look at the sat photos, helps put it all in persepctive. Good luck!

[312InchMagnum]

be respectful to where other hunters set up...i cant tell you the number of times we have gotten to a duck hunting spot 3 hours early to make sure we had the spot...then some disrepectful %&*@#$% shows up 15 minutes before shooting time and tries to set up 75 yards from us...

[sweldo73]

312, Surely this never happened to you at McFaddin!

[texterp]

be respectful to where other hunters set up...i cant tell you the number of times we have gotten to a duck hunting spot 3 hours early to make sure we had the spot...then some disrepectful %&*@#$% shows up 15 minutes before shooting time and tries to set up 75 yards from us...

Amen Brother! Over the dunes at 4AM sipping coffee at 5:15,m dekes a floatn and here they come, flash lights a waiving. How about that Federal Game Warden at McFaddin that walks to the ponds to check your stuff. Did it 2 years in a row to me and my son. I grew up in Nederland Class of 83 but now live in Clear Lake, hunted McFaddin a few times over the last 2 years but it is a MFer to get down there. Stuck one time and just about swamped the wife's 4wd Honda CRV (it's not real 4 wheel drive, found that out the hard way) so stopped going before I had to pay for a divorce. Have not been lucky enough to get 4wd company vehicle so deer hunt mostly.

[buzzcut]

Try to do your scouting before the season starts.If thats not possible then do it during the middle of the day when most hunters are back in camp eating lunch or napping,dont be trudging around in the woods during prime hunting time(early morn or late evening).

[Heath]

I had a hard time getting back to my blind in the morning of my 3 day hunt on public land. I plan to have a GPS or use some sort of marking tape this year, but I hate using a flash light getting into my stand.

[bowhuntgw]

used to work down there before transferring out. that guy you call a federal game warden is actually just a fed park ranger. dealt with him several times. all i can say is, "i know what you mean".

[Larry]

Don't just scout one area, either. Scout several so you have options. Plan on getting to an area you want to hunt as early as possible. If you normally like to be in position an hour before first light, get to the parking spot an hour before that. Some areas have limited parking. I like those areas. If I get there after a few others, I will go to another spot so as not to disturb hunters already there.

If you see other hunters and it's the right time to talk, introduce yourself. Don't be afraid to ask where they are hunting. Don't be afraid to set up a plan with a total stranger. You're sharing the woods, so you have something in common. I met a total stranger on public land in North Texas a few years ago. I mentioned TBH and he asked my user name. He was a lurker and knew of me! We shared where we were hunting, vowed to give each other space and give each other updates on what we saw the rest of the season.

Hunt longer. The longer you sit, the better your chance of seeing deer bumped by other hunters calling it a day.

How are you planning on hunting? Don't just walk in and throw a ground blind up. Ground blinds on public land is probably the hardest way to hunt. If there are tall straight trees, a climber rocks! I have trees in my mind all over my areas that I can move around to depending on wind or if someone's in an area I want to hunt.

Scouting is good, but remember you are probably pushing deer all around. It might take a few years to learn a new area. Don't try to cover it all in a few trips. I've felt like I wasted a few seasons walking around some public areas, but I know now what areas I DON'T want to hunt. It's just as productive to cross areas off as it is to circle others.

Be as unprepared as you can! I tend to see deer or get shots when I forget my game cart. We've stretched a few belts out by dragging animals a half-mile out of public land when I left the game cart at home.

[boss bowman]

It's just as productive to cross areas off as it is to circle others.

well every year is different and I've seen that some years certain areas are terrible and the next year they are great, I've got one area that was awsome in 2001 and 2004 but was terrible in all other years between 2000 and 2006. so don't give up on an area if it looks like it might have potential, last year and this year is day and night difference with the drought vs. flood.

[Texas Grown]

Hunt where the other hunters think deer are not going to be .

[Larry]

I know what you're saying Boss, but I'm not talking about areas that are bad now and good later. I'm talking about areas that are pointless to hunt because too many people crowd into them, someone likes to use them to ride their ATV around (fresh tracks every time I've been there), someone uses an area as a pistol range (pile of casings every time I've been through there), areas where the squirrel hunters frequent (they deserve their space to plink the little tree rats), etc. When you hunt public land that isn't just one big block of land, it does you a lot of good to narrow down your choices by crossing off the obvious areas you don't want to hunt. You don't know if areas are good/bad to begin with until you take a look.

It's not hard to figure out if an area looks like a good area. You might not find sign but it just HAS to be a good area. I've experienced what you're talking about where an area is awesome one year and a dud the next. That's when it's good to have options.

[MightyMouse]

Thanks for all the tips.. Last thing I want to do is disturb another hunter

[WIKI]

Public hunting is about trial and error. Most important thing is patience.

[chef]

scout late season..

I scouted alot on the last day of the rifle season in the Sam H. and found 3 rub areas in a 15 mile radious by kind of looking as I drove.Now I'm set up on a rub from that time and I got to patern a buck and get a glimpse of him the other evening going to his rub.It is only a theory, but I figure they take and hit them more frequently most during pre and post rut.I have been back to the other scrapes and have seen that they have been visited this year.The reason I say more frequently is because they are not out and about chasing tail yet, and after seeing that big buck walk down a trail ,he looked like he was doing a perimiter check.When I was scouting and driving I would just looking for transitions in the landscape,ex. would be a small pine platation and then a open forest w/ older mature trees, or thick yopon bushes and hackberry bushes and then a creek bottum.Those are the places I found trails in between the transitions.This is my first year bow hunting and haven't shot anything, but I saw that buck on one hunt,and another I had 5 does under my stand, 3 in front and 2 in back of me and then I got busted.Not bad for 2 out of three hunts.And when I was on the skunked hunt I found a scrape and a rub 60 yards from where I set up my climber.When I find these rubs and sometimes scrapes I have found them usually in the small pines that are about 15 to 20 feet high and have plenty of light in them to have the sun hiting them and they seem to jump out at you.I'm trying to get the big buckI saw this weekend and put a rest to the fever for a while.Good hunting...