Hunting on public land, any tips?

Bravo 4 · #8 11-29-2011, 08:24 PM

If the public land you are hunting is anything like what I usually have to hunt, all I can say is good luck (you'll need it). Scouting is almost useless, opening day there are people all over the place and the deer are just in survival mode. I do get lucky from time to time because I do what y'all did. Set myself in a place where I can cover as much area as possible and hope to catch one that's been pushed by somebody else. The thing I have over most is extended range...and some patience.

Oh yeah, stay out as long as you can stand it. Most "hunters" will only stay out for a couple/few hours. Let them get the deer up and moving.

Jinx-) · #9 11-29-2011, 09:22 PM

On the last day we tried stalk deer in the Cliffside State forest after we spent half a day in Connecticut Hill Game management area, but then we realized that rifles are not welcome in Tompkins county so we quickly switched to neighboring county were hunters with rifles were welcomed, I had my Buckmaster binoculars and we were slowly moving uphill, one thing we noticed there were no vehicles parked at the entrance and we didn't meet any hunters while we were there.

Bravo 4 · #10 12-01-2011, 01:32 PM

Yesterday, i had this nice 8 point walk by at thirty yards, the cell phone pics suck. Hard to take pics of a moving deer in the scope. I was positioned uphill where two large draws converge coming up from a valley. The hunters that push him and his two doe past me were walked up about 5 minutes later.
Then in the afternoon had a really nice buck chasing some doe and I was trying to get on him for about an hour. I had one good chance at him not moving or in a thicket and another hunter actually drove up and spooked them off.

theflyonthewall · #11 12-01-2011, 06:09 PM

Bravo, that just BITES! Sounds like you were in a great spot. Too bad a bunch of "yay-hoos" had to ruin it for ya.

rockfish1 · #12 12-01-2011, 06:52 PM

Why did you take his picture? I would have shot him instead.

Bravo 4 · #13 12-01-2011, 07:46 PM

Well I snuck away early today (still in uniform

) and headed out to get on that bigger buck from yesterday...but somebody beat me to it! Two totally different guys were dragging him out.

Bravo 4 · #14 12-01-2011, 07:53 PM

Remember what I said about luck? The guy that shot it had never been out in this spot and just found a comfy place to sit. He didn't seem to be in very good health, so I helped him and his companion load it in their truck, congratulated him and proceeded to go out and watch a half dozen doe feed for a couple hours. In a little while I'm gonna go cry myself to sleep...like a man!