Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

If you choose "All Of The Above" and don't mind saying let us know which you have the best sucess on........

I have better luck on private. But the public land I hunt is close (1 to 2 hour drive) from some huge cities.

I have better luck on private land but enjoy the challenge of hunting public land. The private land I hunt also has other hunters hunting it also but not as many as the public land has.

Quote from: harvester on February 12, 2012, 08:55:56 PM
I have better luck on private land but enjoy the challenge of hunting public land. The private land I hunt also has other hunters hunting it also but not as many as the public land has.

One of the leases I belong to has more pressure than some of the public land I hunt. About 4 years ago I roosted a turkey the evening before season opened. The next morning at 3:30 I was within 300 yards of his tree. At 5:45 I started counting trucks coming in to hunt on about 2000 acres (we have 8500 leased but at that time only about 2k that was huntable due to clear cutting. We now have less.)I stopped counting at 43 when my turkey gobbled first..........He was dead 15 minutes later. To date, my only double bearded turkey.

Best on private

I have better luck on private. But I hunt public land more.

It is about 50/50 for me. I have actually harvested more public land birds but see more birds on private land. Now, I haven't taken a public land bird in about 5 years simply because the area I am living in now has very little public land and very few birds on it and it is extremely over hunted.

I used to hunt private more but got tired of being used by the land owner so I mainly hunt public now unless I've got an invite from friends. I have success on either but it's certainly "easier" when on private land and not having to contend with other hunters.

My biggest bird, however, came from public land. We nearly walked up on him around a 90* corner in the road after chasing him all morning. He just about blew our hats off our head we were so close - maybe 10yards around the bend!

Success on public land is all dependent on how hard you're willing to hunt.

I chose all of the above.  I have killed more birds on private, but some of my best have been public.

I hunt private never have hunted public.

     Been better on private for me.

its about 50/50 for me. i had a buddy that killed turkeys only on private and he thouht he was the cats meow with a mouth call. he called way too loud and too much. always cuttin at turkeys. i finally got him to come to the gov woods with me an i put him on a bird. after his first cuttin sequence he didnt hear him for over 30 mins he give up on em. he stills hunt private and tells me im crazy for huntin public. i love public land. it makes yoiu a better hunter. well in south mississippi it does ;)

I hunt both and there's no doubt the one's I hunt on private property are easier- way more plentiful too.   To be honest the public land I hunt has less pressure than the private ground and a lot of day's we will have 550,000 acres to ourselves but then again a good day on the public ground is one where you "hear" a single gobble.  I only heard one bird gobbling last year.   The predator's keep em shut down.   I guess if I had to worry about snakes, gators, bobcats, panthers, etc etc I wouldn't gobble either.  :newmascot:

Quote from: slave601 on February 12, 2012, 09:37:04 PM
its about 50/50 for me. i had a buddy that killed turkeys only on private and he thouht he was the cats meow with a mouth call. he called way too loud and too much. always cuttin at turkeys. i finally got him to come to the gov woods with me an i put him on a bird. after his first cuttin sequence he didnt hear him for over 30 mins he give up on em. he stills hunt private and tells me im crazy for huntin public. i love public land. it makes yoiu a better hunter. well in south mississippi it does ;)

:icon_thumright:

I am lucky enough to hunt private land most of the time, but have hunted public, as well.

I hunt both, but seem to have a little better luck on private due to lower pressure at times.  It feels good getting them either way of course, but it seems to be alittle tougher on public at times.  

Some of the private I hunt has near as much or more pressure at times as public.  One thing that just really dulls me out is when another hunter busts a bird I'm on, but its part of the game. I tend to be a bit more aggressive in high pressure areas, taking a few more gambles on closing the distance to a hot bird. Thats one thing I like about private land that has hardly any pressure, you can just take your time and let a tom do his thing. None of the worry about 5 other guys moving in on a hot bird etc.

 Most of the time it is public land for me.

I have better success on public land because I don't have a good spot of private land to hunt. Out of the 25 or so birds I've killed, probably 20 of them have come off public land.



Shane

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I hunt both, but the last 10 years or so mainly public land. To me public and private are about the same. The private land i hunt isnt one of these big managed plantations, so birds get hunted just the same as public land....just way less people.

Looking hard for some private land here in Northern California but not having any luck.....unless something changes in a month, public land it is.

backyard is a public hunting area, dont hunt there much.

I hunt 99% private, but last year I killed one of my best birds on public.

I hunt both but public land birds are more challenging and make for a more rewarding experience.

Hunt the two about the same. The public land I hunt is pretty big and after the first week of the season only the die hards are out and the birds really aren't too pressured. I have about equal success on both.

Private land for me because of where I hunt now. It has been good for me and my group so far.

as long as i get to hunt doesn't  matter

I hunt 90% public land but maybe the last week i'll hunt some private

if i had to pick it would be private,but most of land i have acess to is public.

Turkey hunt ----> +/-75% private, +/-25% public.

Deer hunt ----> +/-90% public, +/-10% private.

 :smiley-patriotic-flagwaver-an    A.O.T.A

Generally private. I keep trying to draw on of the limited NC gameland permits but haven't got one yet.

Almost entirely public.  There's been a few occasions I've sat in my parents 4 acres that very rarely has a turkey pass through, but everything else has been on public.  Only killed birds on public. 

for deer I hunt mostly public, the areas I hunt in PA and NY you just cant get permission to hunt deer but turkeys are completely different. ITs one of the reasons I love turkey hunting, its just so much easier to get permission that it doesnt become a hassle just to find a place like deer can be.

Deer 75% public 25% private

Turkeys 1% public and 99% private

I have better luck on public but 95 % of my hunting is on public .

Private. I work really hard to secure multiple private hunting spots in different counties. Public land turkey hunting ticks me off I've tried it

All private ground for me. I have put in for youth public draw hunts for my son, but hadn't drawn.

I hunt both. However last year I hunted a farm in SE mi. for the first time. Prior to that all my hunting was in N. Mi. I would have tro say its about 50/50 on the private/public thing.Between Kamski ,woodsman4god and myself we have 91 acres we own and hunt. We also have 40 acres that abuts our place that we can hunt. We are surrounded by public land.

Depends on where I'm hunting. Here, virtually all private anymore, but out-of-state, normally public only. I've had good success on both, and killed virtually all my birds on public land even here in MO for many years.

I hunt both.  The days hunted to kill ratio is about the same.  My private lands are hit harder than most public lands, plus throw in the fact that a big private tract is 300 acres it can be tough.  I'd much rather hunt a 5,000 acre public spot that has birds than a 150 acre of private.    I hunt Public land ranks right up there with he was henned up and they are call shy ect.

I turkey hunt almost exclusively on public land. I might make 1 hunt a season on private grounds. Deer hunting is almost the exact opposite. I only make a handfull of hunts a season on public land.

I have had success on both, but my best gobbler came from Pa. state forest land. I look at it this way, the turkeys don't know what's public or private.

i hunt mostly private at the moment. i didn't Hunt public ground this year  for the first time in about 15 years but, to me it all depends on how good the private land is. a good number of birds and having it all to yourself is hard to beat.

I ask the same question to a guy from Mississippi awhile back, his reply was....Posted mostly I guess!

Private

I hunt public more than private and have much more luck on public.
Even though I own 100 acres, I hate to have to sit on it and call to a vocal turkey 2 farms over knowing nobody is on him.

Thanks for the input guys!

About 70 percent private, but I will go to middle tennessee with my brother-in-law and hunt a few days on public land. I typically have better success on private, naturally, but there is one public place that is our secret honey hole. It is the closest thing to a sure thing that I have ever found when turkey hunting. It is on a field and the turkeys WILL be there. It may be right off the roost. It may be noon or not until 4 that afternoon, but they will eventually be there. If you can wait him out, you can kill him there. The only problem is that isn't the kind of hunting I like to do. I'd much rather run and gun through the hardwoods. Make one gobble and get set up on him.

I like the challenge of public hunting vs private, but sometimes it gets a little crowded.