Public Land Hunting

[DooWap]

I've been trying to scout out some new spots to keep my options open this year and the years to come, and I've found a few spots that are looking pretty promising. I'm trying to get away from the masses as much as I can yet I know that's hard to do on public land. However, in my limited experience I've found that if you're willing to walk a ways off the beaten path you can usually get a little bit of space to yourself.

My question is, how far do you think is too far for most people to walk?? What point do you think 90% of deer hunters would consider not worth the effort??

[ClownColor]

Hard question. I've hunted in no-mans land near Cananda and heavy hunted land like sherburn and Mille lacs. I would say with no trails and straight woods, I see very few people past 1/2 mile...again-thats straight walking thru woods. With open trails on foot, "most" I see don't go past a mile before they break from a trail to head off to their stand. With that said, I see waaaaaay more poeple on ATV's than on foot so I'd say, out of most hunters around me, 90% are on atvs.

Just remember, a half mile thru the woods on no trails is a long walk...espicially draging out a deer!

[laker1]

1/2 mile if no trails. Problem is with extensive logging ATV access it is getting harder to find area with no trails at all. If it is a gated trail in a large woods you have a chance also.

Problem is first year hunting in a new area you just don't know where hunters will be present.

[nofishfisherman]

From my experience if people are on foot they tend not to go more than maybe a 1/4 mile in at most. So thats why we almost never go less than a 1/4 mile in. This is without any trails to use.

In areas with a lot of ATV trails you'll see people much further back. Even if people don't have ATV's the walking on the trails is so much easier that its easy to get back in further on foot. We make a point to not hunt by ATV trails if we can help it because there are usually going to be too many people there.

In recent years we've had to push further out into new areas to find some room to spread out. It leaves a LONG drag to get a deer out. Guys in my group have all agreed to lend a hand with dragging so we get two guys on every deer to get them out which makes it a little easier.

[Jarrid Houston]

Public Land, "the desolate area of woods, until fall...."""

[nofishfisherman]

That about sums it up. You can drive around public land for hours on end from Dec-October and see almost no one. Come November the same land starts looking like a walmart parking lot.

There is nothing more frustrating then spending time scouting new public land and picking out good spots only to get there opening morning to find trucks lined up along the road all over the place. When scouting we try to look for signs of hunters as much as we do signs of deer. If we come across stands, trail cams, or flagging tape we usually move on and start scouting other spots.

When we do key in on an area we want to hunt we try to get out to the spots VERY early in the morning to make sure we are there before anyone else that might have an idea of hunting the same area. Often times I am in my tree early enough that I still have time for a nap before its even close to shooting hours.

[ClownColor]

That about sums it up. You can drive around public land for hours on end from Dec-October and see almost no one. Come November the same land starts looking like a walmart parking lot.

There is nothing more frustrating then spending time scouting new public land and picking out good spots only to get there opening morning to find trucks lined up along the road all over the place. When scouting we try to look for signs of hunters as much as we do signs of deer. If we come across stands, trail cams, or flagging tape we usually move on and start scouting other spots.

When we do key in on an area we want to hunt we try to get out to the spots VERY early in the morning to make sure we are there before anyone else that might have an idea of hunting the same area. Often times I am in my tree early enough that I still have time for a nap before its even close to shooting hours.

Very true. Beat the rush. It's also a GREAT idea to have 2-3 stands (or locations). We are lucky to have an area where we can leave out stands. some people really hate this but you have to go into knowing that even if you have a stand out there...it's anyone's game. Never do I feel entitled to the area because I have a stand there (I won't lie, the only time if feel "entitled" is when I've been hunting the same area for years...but that's just me being selfish,lol). The reason I like that you can keep stands out is that you KNOW if someone is PLANNING to hunt the area. It sure makes it easier at 5am.

ps. a lot of hunters = deer movement. Nothing wrong with putting a stand where everyone walks by. It isn't until later in the week moving away from the crowd is beneficial.

[Coach1310]

In my experience and areas I have been, Central- North Central MN, hunting public land the first weekend of rifle amounts to understand how to play one thing, that is PRESSURE. You can find the best spot in the world, that you think is untouched, however if you have guys in stands 300 yards away at each of the pinch points feeding that spot, it can be tough. We try to use it to our advantage. We are usually the last ones to get off of our stand in the morning and the first up in the afternoon as our lunch break is really quick. We have shot a lot of deer at 11:00am and 1:00pm when other folks have nudged them on their way in or out. Don't be afraid to use ariel shots to find those pinch point/funnel areas and then work backwards to find areas where old stands might be, where hiking or 4 wheeler trails get closer, etc... this should help you avoid surprises, but no guarantee. It is public, so the guy that brings his climber out at 8am and climbs up 40 yards away from you has every right too(true story, watched it happen to me 3 years ago) The chaos of public land can keep deer on their feet more than they would like to.

[NoWiser]

I'd agree that 1/2 mile through the woods without a trail is about as much as most will do. People will walk much farther on a trail but I've found if there is a trail, there will be ATVs (legal or not) and then it is anyone's guess as to where the people will be.

I've found 3 keys to finding unhunted land are:

1. Find an area big enough so that there are not ATV trails everywhere. It is harder than you think these days.

2. Use a canoe or waders. Water will stop 95% of people.

3. Get a pack frame and quarter your deer (check the regulations). Dragging a deer 1 mile through blow downs and swamps is really, really miserable. With the right pack, carrying it in pieces is a breeze. The last buck I got we had to carry 2 miles and canoe 1 mile to get it back to the truck. It was nothing.

The last thing I'd say is to make sure you go prepared to sit ALL DAY. I can't stress this enough if you want to shoot a deer. My last 6 deer were shot between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

If hunting and protecting roadless areas interests you, check out Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. They are a good group of like-minded individuals dedicated to making sure we have these remote areas in the future.

[Bear55]

Agree with NoWiser, water can be your friend, cross something wet and you will find more solitude. 1/2 mile with no trails will slow most anyone down or a mile from parking in general will do the same. If it is public high ground I rarely waste my time unless its hard to get to.

[DooWap]

Thanks for all the feed back. I don't mind making a long walk out to get away from everyone but I have definitely thought about the drag if I did end up shooting one that far out. I was hiking out to scout some spots this weekend and had made it a couple miles back. I thought to myself, that would be quite a drag (no pun intended) if I shot one back here.

Interesting point on illegal ATV usage, I was wondering how many people run into this. I was walking back on some gated trails with signs explicitly saying no ATV usage and even confirmed with the office that manages that particular land that there is no motorized usage there. It would really suck to bust your butt only to have some guy putt up on a four wheeler.

[DooWap]

The last thing I'd say is to make sure you go prepared to sit ALL DAY. I can't stress this enough if you want to shoot a deer. My last 6 deer were shot between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

If hunting and protecting roadless areas interests you, check out Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. They are a good group of like-minded individuals dedicated to making sure we have these remote areas in the future.

I'm definitely in the camp of hunting all day long. I've shot probably 50% of my deer while everyone was in for lunch. Once I'm in the stand I'm there until the sun goes down, or until the morning coffee kicks in!

[huntnfish]

I thought to myself, that would be quite a drag (no pun intended) if I shot one back here.

I would look into quartering your deer in the woods if you're going to be that far back like Nowiser said. I've never had to do it in MN but according to the regs you only have to have the head attached until its registered. That may mean that you can phone in the registration and haul out a little less. You would want to check into that though.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

Much of this has been said, but I'll go ahead and share my experiences. I hunt public land, almost exclusively, for the last 10-12 years. The same spot for the last 7 or 8.

Years past I'd get in right around 1.5 miles, and very rarely see any hunters aside from the people hunting private land to the south of me. Occasionally there'd be a stray hunter that would show up sweating and winded or lost. Tons of deer on the trail cameras, but I never personally shot a deer that far back. Saw a few, missed a dandy buck.

Last year I found a spot maybe 1/4 mile from the truck, but had a water feature to cross, unless you wanted to go the "long" way around (maybe 3/4 mile). I could see hunters everywhere, but none crossed over to where I was. To be honest, I was shocked at how many people were hunting the land around me, as I really hadn't seen anyone in the past years. I saw two deer opening day, got one, missed the other.

Personally, if I'm going to walk 1+ mile in, I'm sitting for the entire day for sure. Although I do this 95% of the time regardless of how far my hike is. The key for me is having plenty to eat, and spacing it out throughout the day. I eat at 10, 12, and 2. I always have something to look forward to, because most of the time it isn't deer

There's a lot of nice portable stand setups available that are easy to carry, and relatively lightweight. A stand + food/water is about 30 pounds, so it isn't THAT bad to carry.

[Jarrid Houston]

I'm definitely in the camp of hunting all day long. I've shot probably 50% of my deer while everyone was in for lunch. Once I'm in the stand I'm there until the sun goes down, or until the morning coffee kicks in!

[DooWap]

I also will log all day light hrs if I can, spending a full day with the Gameboy (video games), hunting/fishing magazines, and a bottle of water, and an empty bottle of water. Empty bottle of water is for a place to relieve the morning coffee so I don't have to move. But when #2 calls, well then...........

Ha, yeah I was talking about when #2 calls as well. I've almost had to do the fire pole slide down the tree it's hit me so quickly!!

Again, thanks for all the tips. I like the idea of quartering the deer instead of dragging it. Might have to watch some Youtube videos and give it a try.

[Mike #1]

Think about how far you are willing to drag a deer out, then work your way backwards, that is what I do. Since I hunt alone that limits me, this also emphasizes making your shot count.

[pikerliker]

In my experience and areas I have been, Central- North Central MN, hunting public land the first weekend of rifle amounts to understand how to play one thing, that is PRESSURE. You can find the best spot in the world, that you think is untouched, however if you have guys in stands 300 yards away at each of the pinch points feeding that spot, it can be tough. We try to use it to our advantage. We are usually the last ones to get off of our stand in the morning and the first up in the afternoon as our lunch break is really quick. We have shot a lot of deer at 11:00am and 1:00pm when other folks have nudged them on their way in or out. Don't be afraid to use ariel shots to find those pinch point/funnel areas and then work backwards to find areas where old stands might be, where hiking or 4 wheeler trails get closer, etc... this should help you avoid surprises, but no guarantee. It is public, so the guy that brings his climber out at 8am and climbs up 40 yards away from you has every right too(true story, watched it happen to me 3 years ago) The chaos of public land can keep deer on their feet more than they would like to.

I have found the same thing coach with the 11-1 times. I have even flirted with the idea of not getting up into my stand until 8 or 9 and hunting until 2!