I am thinking about making a trip to kentucky next spring, chasing some long beards on public ground. I was wondering if any one might help me as to where I should get started. If I am able to go this would be my first out of state hunting trip for me. If anyone is willing to help me out please pm me
Thanks in advance
Try Daniel Boone National Forest. I hunted there for the opening week this year. It's pretty rugged terrain (all wooded with no fields). There are lots of birds out there and lots of out-of-state hunters too. They were henned up pretty bad but I managed to bring a nice KY longbeard back to NY with me...
(http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b284/WNYBowhunter/IMG_1250.jpg)
PM me for any additional questions you may have.
Quote from: joey46 on June 01, 2012, 10:17:26 AM
A "just so you know" comment. KY is a beautiful state that usually has great hunting. BUT - the hatch last season (2011) was almost a zero and so they are expecting a tough 2013 season. I lived in KY for nine years and keep in contact with a few old friends/turkey hunters. That is their early 2013 opinion. Good luck if you do make the trip.
Out of the 5 of us who went, I don't believe that there was a single jake encounter the whole trip.
Thanks for the replies guys, I was wondering about the hatch also, I think that all of the mid west 2011 hatch suffered a great deal with the weather we had. I'm not sure whats going to happen between now and next spring.
This is just my opinion but, I wouldn't make the trip if I had to hunt public land. I live in KY and have dealt with the public land headache, i dont do it anymore. That's just me, I don't even apply for the quota deer hunts anymore. The last one I drew was a coveted tag for Ballard WMA and didn't go. The group that I applied with decided to go and came home empty handed. For me, it's just too much to deal with when making a "trip" out of it. On the other hand, if you can hunt through the middle of the week, maybe the crowd won't be there but who knows??
Public land is what I hunt about half the time. Shoot me a pm and tell me what part of the state you are thinking of hunting and I may be able to help. I don't know much about any wma west of Louisville.