deer hunting in Southeast MN

[husker65]

Does anyone know of a good public hunting land in southeast MN area. I am looking for a spot for myself and my friend to deer hunt. I hear there are big bucks in that area but need some advice as to where to hunt them. Would greatly appreciate any advice. (I am bow hunting).

Thanks!

[TruthWalleyes]

There are very few. Very few. Google recreational compass.

[highlife4me]

Look for the smaller WMA's in the area. There are a few to be found. They do not get pressured near as much as the larger WMA's. I use to hunt south of Preston and found an area that had not been hunted in a long time, not even a wheel track in the parking lot.

[GFNER]

I hunt the Wabasha/Kellog area near Whitewater. There are thousands of acres of GOOD state forest and management areas nearby, just hit them before the gun season.

[surewood]

Never hunted that way, but heard good things about white water if you're willing to get in a ways.

[96trigger]

I don't want to be negative but you are going to find it difficult to try and find a good spot now. On Friday there will be a line of cars continuously headed to whitewater. your going to be up against some heavy odds. The people from around here that are successful on the state land have great knowledge of where to go and how to avoid the crowds. They have figured this out through years of experience, not a couple days before firearm opener.

Your best options are to find small chunks of land that nobody else knows about (difficult), or find the biggest chunk of public land you can and get as far back as possible and do it yesterday. Biggest problem with most of the stateland down here is that it is bordered by private land, the deeper you get into state land, the closer you get to someones private property. That land may or may not have hunting pressure. You won't know which areas are good, and which are bad. Hunting bluff country is also a different animal. Knowing the deer patterns between the hardwoods and farm fields, and knowing wind thermals, all play a role in being successful.

That said, we do have some great hunting down here, but right now it is very slow. That can change in an instant. If you can find a place, and you do get some good setups, you do have a chance at seeing a good buck.

[TruthWalleyes]

That's SE MN in a nutshell! nice

[husker65]

thanks for the info!