For those of you who hunt public ground, what kind of hunting pressure do you usually run into? And what states would you say are better or worse than others?
Only hunt two states but all the ground I hunt is pressured hunting club or public.
My observations are that pressure is highest the first two weeks of season and weekends. After that interest dies of off and only the die hards are at it. I tend to only hunt weekends when I have time to get deep into the woods and away from people. After the first two weeks I start getting serious and taking time off in the mornings. Yeah the birds have been harassed a good bit and generally have moved a little but it still beats having a group of hunters flooding the area as soon as I start working a bird. I will also say this,
a lot of the guys I run into later in the year are decent guys and respect is dealt all the way around. Not so with the opening week crowd. I could tell some funny stories about them.
Are you hunting in the south?
Public land In several areas of SC is a joke. The last 2 weeks is best as stated above.
Northeast, Wv and Md.
A lot of variables. A few to pay attention to are.
Weekend vs week days
Proximity to a city
Opening day, early season, late season
And turkeys just being turkeys.
I like hunting PL because it give me lots of room to roam. On the PL I hunt in KY opening weekend is a nut house. I usually hunt private ground that weekend. The first week tends to be busy as well. After that crowds start dying down. By the last week I may have a few thousand acres to my self. This is especially true if gobbling slows down. Some of my best PL hunts have been either mid week or in bad weather.
The one piece of public I focus on is ~9,000 acres. Once I get back far enough it's basically private. Only ever run into 2 guys in the 7 years I've been keying in on it. I will bounce around to other parts of public. I've noticed weekends suck and as others have said after the first two weeks pressure let's up. Key is getting away from everyone or doing something different than everyone on a pressured bird. Killed one 60 yards away from four parked cars one day 10 minutes before noon when we need to be out of the woods. He had already been shot once. He couldn't stand hearing another bird gobble and came right in, gobble call on public wasn't smart but time was up. Hit him with hen calls about 2 hours earlier and he wouldn't work.
My experience is the same as others, opening week/weekend, lots of hunters, lots of birds. Later in the season pressure lightens and birds may become more responsive. Through the week is best if you can get out. Pre-season scouting and roost listening can greatly improve your odds. I'd rather hunt one hot bird by myself than go after several with a parking lot full of trucks. Good luck!
My buddy and I are pretty die hard and have a public land honey hole that gets a lot of pressure. We always get to our state land spots super early and Last year on opening day, on a Wednesday, in the rain, we got beat at 2:45am! Sometimes it's best to let the pressure die down and come back later. We ended up calling some birds in a week or so later.
My buddy has also had a guy walk through his decoys at that spot so I'd agree with the early season guys not being as courteous. We've seen as many as 5 trucks parked at this spot that's only a couple hundred acres at most.
This kinda reminds me of the old saying about a young bull and an old bull standing on a hill overlooking a field full of cows. The young bull says to the old one "let's run down there and breed some of those cows". "Nah" the old bull replies. "Let's walk down there and breed all of them". Point is to save your effort for when it matters. One of the most important things I have learned came from watching other predators. If you watch a young fox or hawk hunting if your observant you will notice something. They chase everything. They bounce from one critter to the next. No patience and a ton of energy. When they are successful it's through sheer persistence and a little luck.
Compare that to an older predator. They bypass a lot a prey until they see a high percentage opportunity. They analyze things and put themselves in the right position to strike quickly and efficiently.
Less effort/higher chance of success. I by no means have it all figured out but a lot can be learned if you pay attention.
I live in SE Michigan and hunt public land exclusively. I have 3 or 4 state recreation areas within a 1 hour drive from my house but most of my hunting is done on a 4,000 acre public parcel that is just 15 minutes from the house. The way our license system is set up if you want to hunt any of the public parcels that I hunt then you need to enter a draw. Our 6 week season is split up into four separate hunts (three 1 week hunts followed by a hunt that covers the last three weeks of the season). Each hunt has a quota of 500 licenses. I always apply for that final 3 week season. I primarily hunt weekends but will also do a weekday morning hunt, especially if I am getting near the end of the season and haven't filled my tag. In seven years of hunting these various public parcels, primarily on weekends, I have never encountered another hunter in the woods. I did run into another hunter in one of the parking areas two years ago. I tend to study Google Earth and try to find the most inaccessible areas of the parcel and concentrate my efforts there but I also sometimes hunt in areas that are only a 10 minute walk from the nearest access point. I have actually had more issues with bird watchers, dog walkers, mushroom hunters, etc. than other turkey hunters. Don't know if the lack of pressure is due to the fact that I am hunting late season or just a general lack of hunters.
I am from MN and our season is only seven days, so not a lot of time to just let some days go by. My first turkey I ever shot was on public WMA. At that time we only got five days, and the zone I was hunting only allow five hunters every five days. My first turkey I ever shot was shot on a 100 acre WMA with two different hunters hunting the same WMA, so have been used to pressured hunting. But of all the states I have hunted so far FL, OK, WI, SD, WY, florida is the most crowded on there Public land. I am not one for hunting close to road if I can walk five mile to get away for the crowd I will do it. Thats what I thought I was doing in florida the first year I was down there, but later found out I was walk to a road half mile in from different direction. the second day down there a person shot my old foam jake decoy. I now feel sorry for people that live down there that have to put up with that each year if they don't draw a Qutoe lic. Most other states I hunted you cam most times find some corner to hunt that you are not bothered. Except last year in WI my season was best time for the mushroom hunters. That did not work out when you have famalies going through woods all day yelling. BUt after all the bitching I will be going back to florida again this spring to do it all over again, thats why they call it HUNTING; because you have to hunt for the right spot to TRY turkey HUNTING, LOVE IT. BE SAFE
I hunt 4 states in the Midwest on public. No pressure at all.
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Come to Pa and set up a french fry stand and you'll be rich....
We're blessed with lots of public land in Minnesota so it's usually not bad at all because there is no season long license just slots which is by design to make for a quality experience. Also if a landowner gets a license he must open his land to other hunters.
I've found this works good on public,,,find public land that has a steep hill to get to most guys wont mess with it. Also I've used a mountain bike and a sling for my gun to get way back on public because most are banned from motorized vehicles.
Quote from: Happy hooker on January 16, 2018, 04:34:07 PM
Also if a landowner gets a license he must open his land to other hunters.
Really? I never knew that.
How do you guys feel about out of staters hunting your public lands?
It can get frustrating to get to a spot and another truck, nevermind a truck with out of state plates. On one hand I think it's great and on the other a piece of me says "go hunt your own birds"
I like seeing out of staters. I've helped a few out and have even had some invites because of it. I've never taken them up on it. But it's nice to know if I ever decide to go, I have some local leg work already in place.
I have helped quite a few out. We don't have a ton of birds here in the mountains so you had better know where they are on public or its gonna be a rough week. I want to see guys that put in some effort succeed. They aren't my birds and hopefully if I ever travel to an unfamiliar state I will receive the same treatment. As long as they aren't you know what's I am more than happy to help. Even ran some guys to a gas station and back when they ran out of gas back in the middle of nowhere. However I once left a truck full of out of perfectly able bodied out of state deer hunters stuck up to their axles in a mud hole to figure out their own predicament. Shouldn't have Been driving up and down a handicapped access road all day. It was clearly marked at both access points. Hopefully the DNR helped them out. :)
This thread is why I'm so happy with Iowas 4 season approach. Season one opens on a Monday and is only 4 days long. You almost need vacation to hunt it. Second season gets you in the woods on the first Saturday and is a little longer for the working guy. Then season three is longer, but I'm not sure about dates. When four finally opens, it's about three weeks long to spread the pressure out even more. Two tags limit, one of which must be season 4. I hunt only public and have been messed up more by mushroom hunters than turkey hunters. Now I'm retired with a flexible part time job, it's perfect!
Quote from: ddturkeyhunter on January 16, 2018, 11:18:24 AM
But of all the states I have hunted so far FL, OK, WI, SD, WY, florida is the most crowded on there Public land. I now feel sorry for people that live down there that have to put up with that each year if they don't draw a Qutoe lic. Most other states I hunted you cam most times find some corner to hunt that you are not bothered.
Try applying
5 years to build points to draw a
4 day permit for your favorite local WMA...SUCKS...but I got it this year so now the pressure is on !!! Luckily I have had some private land to keep me from relying strictly on the romp and stomp tracts that tend to get so crazy. That and I hunt out of state, which seems pretty ironic when I think of all the guys I pass that are going toward Osceola territory as Im driving North to get away from it :z-dizzy:. Now I love our birds, and I enjoy meeting hunters from other places but the Osceola title (IMHO) is a curse for the average FL turkey hunter with little or no options other than our over run public land.
Quote from: guesswho on January 16, 2018, 05:51:18 PM
I like seeing out of staters. I've helped a few out and have even had some invites because of it. I've never taken them up on it. But it's nice to know if I ever decide to go, I have some local leg work already in place.
Not many of us left. I enjoy talking to NR when I happen to be out of the woods on the public I hunt in IL during fall.
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Quote from: 2eagles on January 16, 2018, 07:42:26 PM
This thread is why I'm so happy with Iowas 4 season approach. Season one opens on a Monday and is only 4 days long. You almost need vacation to hunt it. Second season gets you in the woods on the first Saturday and is a little longer for the working guy. Then season three is longer, but I'm not sure about dates. When four finally opens, it's about three weeks long to spread the pressure out even more. Two tags limit, one of which must be season 4. I hunt only public and have been messed up more by mushroom hunters than turkey hunters. Now I'm retired with a flexible part time job, it's perfect!
IL is set up the same way but you left out the best part of the IA Spring season. All day hunting.
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Quote from: CtRider on January 16, 2018, 05:16:29 PM
How do you guys feel about out of staters hunting your public lands?
It can get frustrating to get to a spot and another truck, nevermind a truck with out of state plates. On one hand I think it's great and on the other a piece of me says "go hunt your own birds"
Doesn't bother me. I'm not really going to point them to birds or share info but if they're willing to pay for an out of state tag I say have at it.
With that said..... I did help a buckeye kill a bird on a WMA once. Two guys that looked to be college age we're at a parking area as I was pulling in for an afternoon hunt. They were on they're last day and griping about not hearing or seeing any birds. In an un-characteristic moment of kindness/weakness I had one of them pull out there phone and open the huntstand app. I dropped a pin about a mile back and told them to go there knowing it was a decent afternoon spot. Two hours later I heard a shot. One of them busted a 2 year old. They waited for me at the truck and we're very gracious. I honestly can't say I would normally do that. Maybe they reminded me of myself when I was their age pounding it out on public land I wasn't familiar with.
It's up about 500% here.
Will only get worse and worse each year...
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Will only get worse and worse each year...
Yes i to believe it will only keep getting worse, but that is only because people are becoming more lazy and have no woods smarts, and want instant gratification. You will have to hunt for you spot to go hunting, but better then no hunting at all.
That.. and the fact that the U.S is adding about 3.3 million people per year. The large percentage of increase is in the same 5 states.
Forget about trying hunt public in Fla in 10 years... unless you don't mind by 5 other hunters within 100 yards of you.
population growth has been, and will always be the #1 threat to hunters and the environment as a whole.
i have wandered myself how public land is, this is a good read. I personally have never hunted any Public land (game land in NC is what we call it). I have thought about giving some of the national forest and game lands aka public land a try though. I just dont want to waste an hour and half driving to a place to find 60 trucks and 120 hunters blowing crow calls, and cranking down on box calls all day. :character0029: :TrainWreck1:
I hunt mostly public land in Michigan and Indiana. Usually don't run into very many hunter except on the weekends. Most guys are very courteous and won't hunt on top of you. But every now and then you'll run into some guy that won't be denied his "spot". If I see a truck in a parking lot I'll head to the next one. Fortunately I've done this a while and have a lot of backup spots.
Quote from: BottomLand54 on January 17, 2018, 09:45:51 AM
i have wandered myself how public land is, this is a good read. I personally have never hunted any Public land (game land in NC is what we call it). I have thought about giving some of the national forest and game lands aka public land a try though. I just dont want to waste an hour and half driving to a place to find 60 trucks and 120 hunters blowing crow calls, and cranking down on box calls all day. :character0029: :TrainWreck1:
I understand not wanting to waste good turkey hunting time, but you should really try it sometime. The reason for it, because its different. If its over crowded you will appreciate the area you hunt now, and it is so sweet if you harvest a bird knowing there are so many hunters after them.
Quote from: BottomLand54 on January 17, 2018, 09:45:51 AM
i have wandered myself how public land is, this is a good read. I personally have never hunted any Public land (game land in NC is what we call it). I have thought about giving some of the national forest and game lands aka public land a try though. I just dont want to waste an hour and half driving to a place to find 60 trucks and 120 hunters blowing crow calls, and cranking down on box calls all day. :character0029: :TrainWreck1:
Give NF land a shot sometime. The best thing about some public land is the sheer acreage you have to roam and imo that means opportunity to work more birds.
If you go during the week and hunt an area with difficult access you might be surprised at how few people are in there.
The first two weeks of the TN season is crazy on public land where I live. I'm right on the KY border so Kentuckians flood in while there season isnt open. I try to just hunt private those first two weeks.
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National Forest lands don't seem as crowded as smaller wma's due to the sheer acreage involved. But the smaller tracts can be good too. You need to scout and hunt several spots in my opinion and have backup plans if it does get crowded. Over the years you should be able to develop more and more options as you get to know the land. I enjoy our public lands, there are some drawbacks but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
I just consider myself to be part of the pressure, to be absent from it would mean I would not be hunting.
I also hunt only public land. I have a number of spots that are 1 1/4 miles from the nearest parking area.
Haven't hunted public land for a couple years now. However, a good topo to study the terrain and then some boots on the ground usually gets results. Almost always hunt last few weeks of season and hardly ever see anyone. If I get onto a bird great, if not, I'm sure to find some mushrooms and there is nothing like being in the mountains in the Spring.
In regards to out of state'rs: not a problem with a couple of million acres to hunt I don't mind sharing. Probably never see them again anyway.
Did have an experience with some out of state hunters once while deer hunting. Entered at one point and was leaving at another when I ran into a guy. Talked to him and he said he was the cook for a group of funeral directors that were hunting the area. Ask me to turn down the Chilly he had on the stove when I passed their camp. I did but it really gave me the creeps. LOL
I've hunted public lands in Florida, West Virginia, and New Mexico. By far the highest pressure was Florida. I seen other hunters every day of the ten days I hunted. Next to that would be PA and then WV then NM. In my home state of PA I am seeing more and more hunters every year on public land. Either the word is getting out that the hunting isn't half bad or more and more people are loosing their private land access. I'd bank on the latter. As far as non residents go you'd think being a hunter that's hunted a few different states and is actively working on plans for others I'd be more welcoming but I'm not. While I'm not going to tell them to go back home I'm also not going to help them, and I'm definitely more willing to report their game violations than a resident's.
Quote from: Bowhunter123224 on January 21, 2018, 08:51:15 PM
While I'm not going to tell them to go back home I'm also not going to help them, and I'm definitely more willing to report their game violations than a resident's.
My experience with out of state hunters is they typically don't need anyone's help filling tags. While there is always an exception to the case, out of state hunters who are NOT hunting with an outfitter are well educated having done their research long before buying a non-resident tag. Last thing anyone wants to do is violate a law and be from out of state - a lot of costs traveling back for a court hearing - so they play it cool, and they know law enforcement sees the out of state plates and are being watched. And they spend money on local food, fuel and lodging, so win/win. Just my :z-twocents:
Border states with earlier seasons get hit harder the first week, so see a lot of guys crossing the state line to get a jump on the season. The out of state guys "hunting my birds" mentality is unfortunate. I like meeting new people, I'm not afraid to make them feel welcome on the public ground. And I hope that would be reciprocated when I travel. I've met a lot of good people from all over the place through turkey hunting.
I hunt a 500,000 acre National Forest near my house. Still a lot of pressure during the opener, since the huntable land is targeted. But by mid season, I often do not see a soul. I used to get out there on opening and fight the crowds, but now I stick to private for the first couple weekends. I still hunt early on weekdays, or if we locate one of the beaten path. But I am in North Florida, where the crowd is thinner.
I hunt 90% public in Georgia...to me scouting is the biggest key. it'll get you on birds and it can help you avoid pressure from other hunters. I have also run squirrel dogs on public lands since I was about 9 years old (I'm 31 now). Following dogs tends to get you well off the beaten paths and really helps me do some early scouting...im talking from November til the end of February. then my heavier scouting begins in early March. I always have my little garmin etrex with me, and if I see a spot with good sign, i'll mark it while the dogs are working.
Georgia public land pressure is hit or miss. some areas get hammered and some not as much. I have yet to see another person in the woods in the two other states that I've hunted....but that'll probably change this year as i'll be giving Florida a try for the first time.
Quote from: CtRider on January 16, 2018, 05:16:29 PM
How do you guys feel about out of staters hunting your public lands?
It can get frustrating to get to a spot and another truck, nevermind a truck with out of state plates. On one hand I think it's great and on the other a piece of me says "go hunt your own birds"
Finishing up my Slam in March. Not sure how I could be upset at out of staters when I am one frequently.
I only hunt on public land here and last year was the only time I had a hard time getting away from other hunters. It seemed like they handed out maps to my favorite spots. These are places I have hunted for years and never ran into another hunter.
I hun NY & Ct public & very rarely see hunters
I hunt only public land mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi.I also try to hunt a few other states every season. Like everything else hunting pressure is relative. Ive hunted public WMAs in other states were every local complained about lack of birds and to many people compared to La these places were turkey hunting paradise with lots of gobblers and few people. Ones opinion on what is pressured and what isn't is based on what the norm is in your area. In case you want to get a base line to judge by come to Louisiana and deal with scattered remnants of a turkey population and thousands of wannabes with turkey fans wired to there guns looking for a field to fan in lol.
Quote from: Phillipshunt on January 27, 2018, 10:54:18 AM
I hunt only public land mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi.I also try to hunt a few other states every season. Like everything else hunting pressure is relative. Ive hunted public WMAs in other states were every local complained about lack of birds and to many people compared to La these places were turkey hunting paradise with lots of gobblers and few people. Ones opinion on what is pressured and what isn't is based on what the norm is in your area. In case you want to get a base line to judge by come to Louisiana and deal with scattered remnants of a turkey population and thousands of wannabes with turkey fans wired to there guns looking for a field to fan in lol.
Them wannabes must have been friends or cousins to some of the wannabes I seen in a WMA in florida the last time I was down there. Some times I almost feel like I should have on a blaze orange vest when walking around, like they did from the car to the blind. But when they got to there blind they didn't take there vest off. It wasn't hard to pin point where they were, I could see them through the trees at 80 yards, and hear them because they never stopped calling. Didnt go back to that area anymore, Just add that story, along with the Idoit story of the guy that shot my decoy.
I live on the Tennessee & North Carolina line. On the Tennessee side we have the Cherokee NF & on the North Carolina side we have the Pisgah NF. If you don't mind walking the mountains you'll have more room to yourself than you can imagine. Most men stay on the farms below.
I live in New York and am only 20 miles from New Jersey. Last Spring, I bought a few Turkey permits over the counter at 21 bucks each. Worth it believe me! And of course my out of State hunting license costs 135 bucks. Again-- no problem. There was a line in the Tackle shop where I was and when I got to the front of the line and gave my preferred zone and time periods-- the guy says very loudly-- You Are A Non- Resident!! I was kind of taken aback and just said-- that's right. There were about 4 other turkey hunters behind me in the line. For a few moments-- I did not think I would get my tags!! He was loud and the owner heard him as he was walking nearby. I have not seen this bald headed guy since last Spring at that Tackle Shop.
We have a camp in NY. My brothers and I hunt together every year. We hunt public land and have come up with a few tricks. When we get competition from "outsiders" we park a truck at a spot as a decoy. Gives you a chance to save a spot if you get bumped. Seems a bit slimy but it works. After the first week it gets less pressure and is manageable. We are working with a depleted stock in NY and it gets harder every year to hear gobbling, like it used to be.