So don't know if this is a regional thing or not but just wondering what you hunt more of public or private ground?
For myself I hunt 90% Private ground on around 3,000 acres of prime turkey hunting land, I do tend to hunt public when I venture out of my home state of Wisconsin just because of ease of access, I do have a few out of state private spots to hunt but do so on a pretty limited basis.
MK M GOBL
Public
Private
Public
I have multiple private land places to hunt and do a lot, but I grew up hunting public land and still do it just for the fact that I know the land so well.
Public
All private for me, around 1500 acres to keep me busy all season.
I hunt mostly on private, but none of my best spots are exclusive, most are open to anyone who stops and knocks on the farmers door. Some of them get hunted so heavy they look like public land in Florida, others I usually have pretty much to myself. All the common public land issues apply to the "private" land I hunt, guys stalking your calling, walking in on your setups even though they saw your car, bumping birds that your working, etc. On the plus side it's really good turkey country and most of the guys I bump into are the type that run around with whatever call Michael Waddell is pushing that year and couldn't call in a turkey if you locked them in a broom closet with one.
I do think some of it is regional. I've really enjoyed hunting some of the large well managed WMA's and National Forest lands in the southeast, sometimes I think some of you don't always realize how blessed you are to have such fantastic public ground available. In my immediate area most of the public land is the unwanted hilltop land that nobody could farm so it went to the state, and if it is state forest it is often pine monoculture. It largely goes unmanaged and frankly there just aren't many turkeys there, they are all down on the farmland in the valleys because they aren't stupid. Luckily though, turkey hunting isn't part of the culture up here in NY like it is in the south, so it's still relatively easy to get access to those farms. You'll be sharing it with anyone else who asks permission, but if you hunt harder and smarter than the other guys you'll do fine.
100% public for me.
All private
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All private land now. Grew up hunting 100% public land in Florida. Those tough public land Osceola's will dang sure make you appreciate good private land.
80/20 public/ private
100% private.
About half and half. However, the private land is usually more crowded than the public, go figure.
90% public, its tough sometimes but Ive kept at it since the mid 80's.
Met some really nice people over the years, some not so nice. LOL!! :)
Public
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Public.
Private
Gman
60% private & 40% public
All private
Both. I learned to turkey hunt on state land and have taken some of my best birds there. My friends sister owns over a 100 acres where I've done very well.
Pretty much the same as Alloutdoors for me too. Private owned but most of time the owners let anyone hunt. More pressure than a lot of our public lands. But I know the land better so I just try to deal with it.
70% private and 30% public.
The private farms near my house are small (88 acres & 125 acres), but the surrounding properties get heavy hunting pressure. The public land several counties away is 6,000+ acres where I seldom hear or see another hunter.
Used one tag on private and one on public last Spring.
Jim
All public.......but I have some opportunities on private this year for a change. We'll see!
I'd say 50/50. I own 125 acres and have about 1000 more private acres I can hunt but I'm also surrounded by 140,000 acres of public land and really enjoy hunting those large tracts of woods.
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Mostly private land, sort of a 70/30 split, but lately a lot of other hunters are hunting this "private" land as well. So now I would have to say mostly public. :gobble:
I hunt both. my lease has 6 turkey hunters on 1300 acres. they hunt like I do , everyday they are not at work. so its got a lot of pressure. I will slip off into some hidden spots on public where I grew up hunting, and still do well. these places require a 2 or 3 mile walk to get to. usually I have it to myself being that far back.
Mostly private in my home state of Michigan.
All public in the other states which include Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kansas and South Dakota.
All public.
I have a decent amount of private land to hunt but its mostly smaller patches. I hit those a lot for quick pre-work hunts. I hunt a lot of public though and try to find the out of the way spots. I usually kill more birds on public than I do private.
Public in Florida, private and public in Missouri and Wisconsin. I was fortunate to get invited to hunt on 1100 acres in Missouri. In Wisconsin I have two adjacent farms of 720 acres that I hunt in the fourth period, and the later seasons are on public land.
Private. Multiple small pieces.
I have a 700 acre lease that borders national forest. I would have to say I spend 80% of my time running around the national forest chasing birds, the other 20% or so would be on our lease hunting.
When I go out of state I almost always hunt 100% private land. With that being said I wouldn't hesitate a minute hunting public ground out of state, I have just been fortunate to have access to some good private ground.
Probably 70% private 30% public for me. Like some of the others have said, between the other guys with permission and the ones that sneak in, the public land can be less congested at times.
I've been the only one with permission to hunt a smallish woodlot here for years, but that doesn't stop everybody and their brother from sneaking in. The way I look at it, even if a property isn't posted, and this one is, somebody owns it and I don't set foot on it without asking. I sure don't sneak in and hunt it if I'm turned down.
Bob
90% public
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions
100% Private
Public
All private here in Missouri. Public out of state,which hasnt been very often(or often enough I should say!)
Public in both Washington and Idaho.
all private in Ohio. Picked up some more areas to hunt in the past month. Looking forward to scouting them.
I typically hunt about 85% public and 15% private here in Mississippi.
Mostly public. It is extremely difficult to get access in my area so the areas I do hunt are typically heavily pressured.
Public. Sure is fun to occasionally shoot
a bird everyone else had a chance at.
Regards
Turk :fud:
90% private, 10% public
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About 85-90% public for me. Do have a few decent public spots that don't get used much by others that I will head to from time to time.
All public.
So far, it's all been private. I'm looking at the possibility of trying some public land in Maryland this year though. Just depends on how it all works out on the piece of private ground I've got access to over there. The club I belong to has a rather large chunk of ground. The last the website was updated said something like 45-55 thousand acres but that's been some time ago. It's probably closer to 70k at this point but I'm not certain about that. Anyway, there's enough members that it may as well be public land at times. My buddy and I hunt it fairly frequently for turkeys and have done well there. It's often a matter of getting away from the truck. Never really did much of that until I started hunting with him. Now, we just get out and go different directions. With all the ate traffic, it can be hard to get away from people at times. One just has to get out and go though.
In the three states I hunt in one is private property and two public land.
All private here in upstate NY however will be trying my hand at public SD hunt in a few weeks!
I hunt both but more public in NC more room to roam
Probably close to a 50/50 split. Killed 6 birds last year 3 from each.
Mostly on private land but on a occasion i do hunt on some public ground.
60/40 private/public. Success rate? 90/10 private/public. I think a lot of that has to do with the small tracts I hunt require more patience and less moving around. I stick it out longer. I have started sticking it out longer on public and have been in the game a lot more often. I have bounced around a lot and it really helps me to learn the lay of the land and I am getting more knowledge about the public land I am now hunting. Easier to call a bird where he already wants to be. At least for me.