Public Land?

[deerminator]

Just thought I would ask, what do you all think of the public land available in your part of the state? If you don't mind sharing, please tell us the general region where you hunt and what you think of the available spots and pressures. Not looking for anyone to reveal specific tracts of land or their honey holes. Just general observations.

For instance, I hear a lot about over-pressured lands, non-courteous hunters, and how tough it is to just get a deer on some of the over-hunted wildlife areas in the Cities and up north. But where I hunt, in Central Minnesota, I continue to be amazed at the lack of pressure on what I consider to be good public lands spots. I only bowhunt and 90% of the time on private land, but I'm thinking about doing more public land hunting next year as through the DNR's recreation compass and Google Earth and good old hoofing it on foot, I've discovered more and more good spots that no one hunts - even during slug season here. I don't think a lot of people realize the lands that are open to hunting outside of state forests and WMAs like SNAs and AMAs, etc.

If these spots were available up north or in the cities, you all that hunt those areas could get away from some of those jerks mentioned in other posts and maybe have more opportunities.

[gurkster]

I agree with you. The further north you go the more public land there is. Around the cities public land is limited. I live in Chisago County and think the limited public land is ok, but pressured. If I go up north Hinckley to Bemidji and N, NE of there I find tons of public land all to myself. We used to deer hunt the Superior Nantional Forest and never saw other hunters. In fact it would have helped if a few other parties were in the area, just to move the deer. I assume most of the complaints are on WMA's and the like closer to the cities. I find if I go in the area I mentioned, stay away for the well know state forets, etc there is plenty of unhunted public land. If you get more than a half mile off a road/trail/path you can be all alone even in more popular spots too. This is what I find. I have lived in a few other states and we have it pretty good here in MN for public hunting land IMO.

[Coach1310]

We hunt near Merrifield and there is quite a bit of public land. The better the trail system, the more the pressure in our experience. One section of State was posted off limits to vehicles a while back and that decreased the pressure. If you can find some land off the beaten path and are willing to head in a bit, you can always find a spot. The bummer is you just never know..... this year a bowhunter was perched in the EXACT tree I usually put my stand for rifle.... just how it goes. I wish there was more public land, but thankfully we have somewhere to hunt.

[Bear55]

I hunt in central MN and also up north, certainly more public land up north but there is lots of it out there if you are willing to look for it. I rarely see other hunters but I am also willing to go much further back than anyone else in my area. Pretty easy to have a half or square mile all to yourself if you want it. Problem is most people don't want to work for it so you have some land overrun with hunters and other tracks void of hunters. I had to stay close to home to hunt this weekend and was shocked to have 1000+ acres of public just about all to myself, two other hunters that I was aware of. I also hoofed it in .8 miles but there was just no one else around.

I hunt a lot of different public land, what I find these days are a lot of old old stands way back, no one hunts these areas any more. Our grandfathers were much more willing to walk through the woods and hunt further back than modern hunters that is for sure. You have to get off the beat path and avoid any areas someone can get an atv into.

[96trigger]

Public land is crazy full in SEMN, seems like everyone wants to hunt whitewater and the zumbro river valley. Great hunting, but lots of people.

[Jeff13]

I hunt public land in Cass county. Been hunting there for 20 years and been pretty successful. Key is to go further in than everyone else, it really makes a difference. No one goes back to far now because you can't hunt from a permanent stand anymore. People don't like to carry ladder stands in very far. I bought a climber and carry it in where no one else is willing to go. The most frustrating thing for me and public land is the logging. You may show up in the fall and loggers have logged out a hunting area. They have been logging heavy in the woods I hunt and hunters are now getting tighter together because there areas have been logged out. I saw the counties 7 year plan and it looks like they are going to wipe out the Forrest. Not sure if there going to take every tree, or selective harvest different kinds, I sure hope its selective.

[Grumpy]

I hunt on public land in Polk County. This year there were lots of hunters, but mostly along the roads or in a few locations that hunters consider to be prime areas. Lots and lots of WMA, USFWS, WPA land that does not get touched by hunters. Cattail sloughs and prairie don't look as attractive as trees, so everyone hunts the wooded areas, which are usually the WMA's.

There's one particular area where I have harvested a number of deer over the years, but no one ever hunts. So I guess I dont' think there's any shortage of places to hunt.

[PackerBacker12]

Hey Jeff, I also hunt cass county public land and have the same problem with logging. Just wondering where you found the 7 year plan for the logging? I would be interested in seeing that. Just logged out a big area again right where we normally put our stands. They have been logging in our area for years. We dont like seeing the dots on the trees!

[TruthWalleyes]

I'm from SW MN, and usually fill a tag there on either private or public land. I think there is ample state land available in that area. Specifically Murray county and surrounding area. I have plenty of private land to hunt, but i also do well in public land, specifically sloughs. 99% of hunters won't step foot in cattails, and that's where i take 99% of my steps!!

I also have been hunting primarily in SE MN for the last 5 years. Specifically zones 347/348 preston, lanesboro, forestville, etc...It is the exact opposite of SW MN. There is next to zero public land, and i won't step foot into some of the public land as it is way overpressured and safety becomes a concern. I do hunt some land that butts up to forestville though and tagged a deer there sunday.

[MUSKY18]

I hunt public land in central MN, and while there is a bunch of little WMA's, so get way more pressure than others. There are some WMA's that the DNR lets farmers go in and plant crops. About half the crops are left standing for the deer. ONe of the WMA's I bow hunt on still has a standing bean field and standing corn. However, these get the living heck pounded out of them. I think the deer are nocturnal year round! I have been trying to hunt the more "out of the way" WMA's that seem no one knows about, or so I thought. Have been bow hunting on some of these, never seen a soul besides myself. Come gun season, they look like a sea of orange. Deer go nocturnal and then the land isn't really that good to hunt anymore. I still have a couple places where I haven't seen hardly any gun hunters, but haven't ever really seen that much for deer either out there. Maybe one day tho.....

[LightningBG]

Once those logged areas start to regrow, the deer will be loving it.

[Jeff13]

Packerbacker12- I got the logging info off the Cass county HSOforum. Yes I hate those paint marks all over the place to, crazy thing was they were logging Yesterday with deer hunters in the woods. It's great when they begin to regrow the deer do love it.

[PackerBacker12]

Yeah the deer might like it but dam it is hard to drag a deer outta! ha ha shot a nice 10 this weekend and had to drag the thing through all the deadfall and small regrowth. I was only going to shoot a nice deer because I knew it would be a son of a to drag through that mess.

[Big_Jman]

Once those logged areas start to regrow, the deer will be loving it.

I am curious how you can say that? Cass County loves to replant with Popple trees that grow tighter than prison bars. I have been hunting a square mile track that has been gutted. Every time they cut, hunting is awesome for a year or two, then the deer disappear. It has taken 10-15 years for a clear cut to grow back so it is hunt-able again. I have actually done clear cutting in a clear cut to try and thin things out so I can hunt a track sooner. How do you hunt a clear cut?

Lastly, do not even get me started on how irresponsible Cass county has been. I have personally seen hundreds of prime whitetail feeding areas get destroyed. we are now seeing smaller racks and smaller populations. I assume due to the lack of good food.

[PackerBacker12]

Big_J I also agree that the clear cuts are impossible to hunt after a few years. You cant see more than 5 feet into it. I think the deer slip through them but you cannot hunt it. We have also seen less deer the past 3-4 years. This year I saw 3 deer total all weekend, which is more than all the other guys in our party (12 guys) combined! Did not see any wolves this year but 2 years ago we seen more wolves one morning than deer! Do you guys think that the deer use the clear cuts more or the open hardwoods more? I find it hard to believe that they use the hardwoods more, we have stands in the woods and have seen very few deer lately. Whether it is from the new clear cuts, more wolves or less deer I dont know.

[Jeff13]

I've found that the deer use the clear cuts in there early years for food and cover. Great places to hide. Once the regrowth hits a certain point I've seen less deer, maybe because they cannot reach the food anymore. I've found edges of clear cuts and the hardwoods to be great spots. Open hardwoods I believe are not holding as much deer because the lack of cover. I hunt pinch points heading into the clear cuts during rifle season because the deer begin to filter into them in my area when the orange army comes afield. I also believe Cass county is very irresponsible when logging because they leave the woods an absolute mess. It's crazy to me how much they take down and just leave it to waste.

[Buckhunt]

I have hunted public land in the greater st cloud and brained areas in the past ten years. Definitely more land in the Brained area but also more orange in November. I would attribute it mostly to ease of access. Most pieces I've been to in the north are logging type tracts with easy access from trucks and four wheelers. Most are difficult to get more than 1/2 mile away from some type of road. I know of several pieces by St. Cloud that get very little pressure - almost all of the public land there has no motorized access beyond the parking lot.

I dont think there will ever be enough public lands with price of crops where they are.

[analyzer]

I have hunted the elba area/whitewater the past few years, and am surprised at the way the logging guys leave the woods. There was an area that was clear cut a number of years ago, and they went in and chopped the majority of it down, and just left it like pickup sticks. I took a closer look, and it appears they assign someone to go in, and butch down any undesirable hardwoods, so the desirable ones have a chance to thrive. But they just leave the crud lay where it's at. It's a mess. It's dam near unhuntable. I'm sure it's great for the birds, and small creatures to nest in, but it's awful for the deer hunters. It doesn't appear the deer are walking through there either. I once was in favor of letting logging companies clear the blowdown in the boundary waters, but not after witnessing this mess.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I have hunted the elba area/whitewater the past few years, and am surprised at the way the logging guys leave the woods. There was an area that was clear cut a number of years ago, and they went in and chopped the majority of it down, and just left it like pickup sticks. I took a closer look, and it appears they assign someone to go in, and butch down any undesirable hardwoods, so the desirable ones have a chance to thrive. But they just leave the crud lay where it's at. It's a mess. It's dam near unhuntable. I'm sure it's great for the birds, and small creatures to nest in, but it's awful for the deer hunters. It doesn't appear the deer are walking through there either. I once was in favor of letting logging companies clear the blowdown in the boundary waters, but not after witnessing this mess.

Think about what nature would do to a site, such as fire or blowdown. The best resource managers can do is try to extract the material and leave it as close to natural as possible. You need to think deeper than a deer hunter walking through a site. Think about the ecosystem at large, mushrooms, insects, fungi, etc. These are the basis for what follows and without them we will look like Europe or Finland. No songbirds in Finland. More important things than a deer hunter having easy access.

[pikerliker]

Over the last 2 years I have hunted WMA's in SE and South Central MN, State Forest in NW and National Forest in NE Minnesota. I have had good experences in all areas, and some deerless squirrel and hunter watching outings. I have met some great people including 2 complete strangers one that helped me drag a doe out of a steep ravine and another who helped me get her to the parking area of a WMA after I shot her late Saturday the 3rd. Neither one of them had to do that and it goes to show me that there are some great sportsmen and women out there hunting public land.

[Archerysniper]

Over the last 2 years I have hunted WMA's in SE and South Central MN, State Forest in NW and National Forest in NE Minnesota. I have had good experences in all areas, and some deerless squirrel and hunter watching outings. I have met some great people including 2 complete strangers one that helped me drag a doe out of a steep ravine and another who helped me get her to the parking area of a WMA after I shot her late Saturday the 3rd. Neither one of them had to do that and it goes to show me that there are some great sportsmen and women out there hunting public land.

I hope that every one that reads this will remember and pass it along.

[jay83196]

That's good story, there are good people out there and we should help each other. Sure at times seems the rude people out weigh the thoughtful.