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Public land hunting… aggressive or conservative?

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    Public land hunting… aggressive or conservative?

    Looking to try and get a public land hunt or two under my belt this upcoming season. For those who have hunted public land… is it best to set yourself up over a game trail/bedding area and wait it out? Or have y’all moved and played it aggressive trying to track movement/sign considering you have limited time?


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    #2
    might get more feedback on the public hunting forum...???

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      #3
      I mainly hunt tried and true travel corridors that have usual scrapes rubs and bedding areas in the mix and wait it out.I have found getting out in the middle of no where during bow season way up a tree you can spot a lot of deer,then hone in on their daily routes.But this is big piney woods east Texas land I’m hunting.

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        #4
        Pinch points, downwind of bedding areas, food sources, very large scrapes. Hunt all of these spots and make sure you see midday come and go before you get down.

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          #5
          There is a living public land legend on the green screen that would be able to answer that question: GBludau..
          Last edited by RiverRat00; 07-05-2021, 11:07 PM.

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            #6
            Originally posted by Stites_Bites View Post
            Looking to try and get a public land hunt or two under my belt this upcoming season. For those who have hunted public land… is it best to set yourself up over a game trail/bedding area and wait it out? Or have y’all moved and played it aggressive trying to track movement/sign considering you have limited time?


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            There is no clear cut answer to this question. Depends on your abilities and preferences of hunting style. However, you do have to find the game trails and bedding areas before you can set up on them so probably going to be a mix of both since you mentioned 'limited time' as a variable

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              #7
              Scouting from satellite mapping is key
              Find the pinch points, look at surrounding neighboring land for possible food sources, look for water sources, deer love edges of habitat changes

              boots on ground is next if you have the time to scout. If not, locate a few pinch points and head to them. Pinch points that open to a field is a good start. Allows you to survey a wide area and see where deer come out if they don't come through where you expect

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                #8
                Topo map is the answer if you do not have time to scout. As others mentioned, too many variables once you get out there. Mark obvious points; pinch points, creeks, bench, etc. Then scout your way in, set up on the freshest sign you see.

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                  #9
                  What type of public land we taking here?? I have a few tips i will share


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                    #10
                    Originally posted by FLASH_OUTDOORS View Post
                    What type of public land we taking here?? I have a few tips i will share


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                    I’ll be in south Texas. Mesquite and thorny brush.


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                      #11
                      All I can speak from is my experience. If this is heavily pressured like the areas I hunt I would try this. Remember that these deer are very nomadic and travel around based on pressure. I always try to locate a potential bedding area on maps based off cover. I can’t typically take terrain into consideration because there isn’t much change other than small creeks in my area. Once I locate an area I think has limited pressure and thick cover, I set up on the down wind side of the area. Deer will typically move and bed on the edges of this area. That way they can smell what’s in the thick stuff that they can’t see into and they can see into the more open stuff that they can’t smell into. Bucks will cruise on the edges of these areas frequently using the wind to smell for hidden hot does in the thick cover. They can scent check and cover more ground this way rather than running through those areas. You will find more scrapes snd rubs here for that reason. Don’t fall in love with a spot. 100yrds can make the difference in seeing deer and not.


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                        #12
                        all the scouting, aerial viewing, hiking, ... you can throw all that out the door after the 1st week of other knuckleheads in the woods stirring everything up.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by FLASH_OUTDOORS View Post
                          All I can speak from is my experience. If this is heavily pressured like the areas I hunt I would try this. Remember that these deer are very nomadic and travel around based on pressure. I always try to locate a potential bedding area on maps based off cover. I can’t typically take terrain into consideration because there isn’t much change other than small creeks in my area. Once I locate an area I think has limited pressure and thick cover, I set up on the down wind side of the area. Deer will typically move and bed on the edges of this area. That way they can smell what’s in the thick stuff that they can’t see into and they can see into the more open stuff that they can’t smell into. Bucks will cruise on the edges of these areas frequently using the wind to smell for hidden hot does in the thick cover. They can scent check and cover more ground this way rather than running through those areas. You will find more scrapes snd rubs here for that reason. Don’t fall in love with a spot. 100yrds can make the difference in seeing deer and not.


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                          Are you finding a few spots along this bedding area and moving between them throughout the day? Or do you pick a spot based off the wind and wait it out patiently?

                          That seems to be the biggest issue when talking to others… they all swear by moving constantly but have yet to shoot a mature buck that way.


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                            #14
                            Originally posted by Stites_Bites View Post
                            Are you finding a few spots along this bedding area and moving between them throughout the day? Or do you pick a spot based off the wind and wait it out patiently?

                            That seems to be the biggest issue when talking to others… they all swear by moving constantly but have yet to shoot a mature buck that way.


                            Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


                            I will sit in a spot from an hour before sun up till around 11. If nothing I will move entirely. I have two stands. I will find new spot and setup and hunt. I will leave that first stand in the woods and visit it again the following morning or evening.

                            Now if I’m hunting and seeing anything, I’m not moving unless I get busted. But if I sit until 11 and see nothing at all I will move. Last year I set up as described. 2nd weekend of archery. 100yrds away a see a small buck move around 8:30. Then around 9:00 I see a young doe. So at 11 I got down, moved my stand on the way out to where I saw them and went to a different area. The following morning I came back an hour before daylight and at around 8:30 had the hunt of my life.

                            If you see deer moving and have an opportunity to move closer. Do it. Don’t sit around and think they will come to you.




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                              #15
                              Are there south Texas public deer hunts that don't take years(or decades) to draw other than LA?

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