Public Land Hot Spots!

[FLGobstopper]

Seems like every time I read a post on this forum and other ones, people ask questions about hunting public land and then follow it up with, "I'm not looking for anyone's hot spots".

So I figured since no one wants them... all of you are  to give them to me! 

I'm especially interested in Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming but any other State will do.

Please include photos, gps coordinates, and driving instructions via pm.

[nsselle]

How bout southern IL, plenty of land down here! I wont give you GPS coords since i dont have em but you can hop in my truck and we can go kill some birds, lol. Good luck my man

[THattaway]

"I'm not looking for anyone's hot spots" means any spots you will be told about will be spots the teller doesn't hunt or only used to hunt because he now has much better land to hunt. Usually it's someone else's hotspot that he happens to know about and doesn't care if it's told.
DNRs are great places to ask for info on decent spots to hunt, areas with good bird numbers.

[FLGobstopper]

nsselle sounds like a good plan for a hunt swap.

Yeah, I've been known to help some guys out from time to time and put them on some birds in a public area. I haven't really ever had anybody return the favor to the same degree though. Like THattaway said, with turkey hunting or any kind of hunting you gotta learn how to read between the lines.

I guess one of the reasons I do share info from time to time it is because I always enjoy finding new spots and new areas to hunt and I like a change of scenery so I typically have a fair amount of areas I hunt. For me it's one of the draws of turkey hunting plus I do like helping someone out if their struggling or on a limited time to hunt.

[nsselle]

I couldn't agree with you more FLGobstopper, I primarily hunt southern IL public land. I have killed numerous birds. I usually go for third season south zone because it happens to fall on a weekend, the thursday and friday of that season are usually the best since the woods tend to be a little less crowded. But it is what it is and it is what I have to hunt. Can get crowded sometimes and the birds quite down but if you have patience it usually pays off.  Its usually right off the roost dead bird or sit until about 11am until they pick back up again. The down side we can only hunt till 1pm here. But as far as public land, there is a ton of it, just have to walk a little further than the next guy. I dont mind it, like you said change of scenery is great. Same story with deer hunting here. On a different note, one of these days ill venture out west, was supposed to last year, but had a baby, that comes into play now as well lol.

[silvestris]

I have enjoyed finding a thank you note on my windshield a few times after directing the clueless to a bird on public ground.

[Rockhound]

This forum alone has killed very many public lands across the nation.

[nsselle]

@rockhound, its public land what are you going to do? Everyone deserves a chance to hunt it, is what it is.  Yeh we all would like 500 acres of private ground, but my broke  cant afford that so I an extremely thankful for what we have and make the best of it.

[LI Outdoorsman]

Hey  FLGobstopper I'm looking for some info on hunting the Oxford area of florida, Sumter County.. Primarily private...I know about the WMA's ..I did the research..seems like a pain for little results..My Dad just bought a farm down there and I'm hearing about birds being spotted periodically in the area..Willing to trade info / or a hunt in Upstate NY for Eastern's at my private camp if you coud PM me and help me out.
This shouldnt burn any spots!

[sps20]

 :turkey2:All I hunt is public land here (pa.) and elsewhere.
Gives me a lot of satisfaction to score among the masses.
And yes I've sent people to places that hold birds.
If that is ruining public land I'm guilty!
Regards
Turk

[chcltlabz]

I've been on here asking for a few pointers several times. 

I always offer help when people here are looking for advice too.  I do use PMs though, because helping someone who asks for help is one thing, broadcasting help to the world of people who aren't willing to ask for help is another.  Plus, people get very testy when they see a spot they hunt announced to the world.  I saw what can happen on a piece of paper company land that was open to the public in NY was featured in an Outdoor Life article, and that was before the internet craze.

I don't ask for anything in return.  Sometimes you get a thank you, sometimes they don't even respond.  Those folks don't ever get a tip again, and to be honest, I'm incredibly skeptical of the character of anyone who can't even muster up a thank you for offering them help.  Some have traded information, some I've swapped hunts with.  I've even taken people hunting with me to these spots.  The way I see it, every place we hunt, public or private changes from year to year, heck, day to day.  One piece of public land I hunt will be swarming with people one week and completely empty the next.  You move on to the next spot, and call it a day.  If I'm so worried about my success that I can't handle someone else knowing about that spot, I should probably work on some private land spots.

We all have to start somewhere, and I know all too well what its like to struggle to get your bearings in a new area.  Especially if you're traveling a long ways from home.  If you're like me, vacation days and time away from the family are in short supply, so hitting the ground running is extremely valuable.

Sometimes, people go out of their way to help you, sometimes you'll hear crickets.  I think it says a great deal about the character of people from certain areas too.  I hate to generalize, but wow.  I've even seen seen comments about how locals don't take kindly to seeing out of state license plates and will slash your tires if you hunt there.  Some people need to rethink their outlook on life.  The way I see it, if someone is going to take the time to type up a response about how your car will be bombed, or how the hunting is horrible and there's a hunter behind every tree, they're probably trying to hide something, and its usually their honey hole.  (BTW, I've killed a few birds in these "horrible" spots).

In the end, I've gotten help, I've given help and I've made some great friends along the way.

[nsselle]

Well said chcl

[PEA SHOOTER]

State property. Owen Putnam state forest. Indiana. all Public land birds.  You really have to do your homework get a DNR map and find a piece of property that doesn't get hunted much it's really hard but it can be done. 

[THattaway]

Don't assume just because someone doesn't embrace internet hotspot advice requests that he doesn't do his part to mentor/sponsor/help/teach/inspire new turkey hunters. I figure I had my share of sponsors and have always felt compelled to pay it forward when I could. Most on here are probably do the same, just takes getting to know them a little to receive such.

Like it or not, when you hunt public land you are competing with other hunters, usually a few more variables in the mix, but the satisfaction level can make your effort more than worthwhile.

[FLGobstopper]

I grew up duck hunting with my dad and that's back when the limits were super low in the 80's and there weren't many people who even put the effort forth. Still we hunted public land and occasionally had encounters with other hunters battling for spots, racing, coming in late, setting up on top of you, setting up down wind to intercept circling birds, sky blasting, and sometimes doing down right dirty things to shoot three ducks. I've had decoys shot and peppered from extremely close range and that kind of stuff takes the enjoyment out of hunting real quick. Today water fowling is ridiculous with people and it seems that lack of respect and ethics displayed is the exception rather than the norm.

So, I guess you could say I've been pretty accustomed to the highs and lows of hunting public land. I love battling the birds not other hunters so I scout and hunt hard to stay away from or out of others way. I've also learned to talk to guys that I see in the woods and if they seem pretty reasonable work with them instead of fighting them. I've have actually made some great friends that way and helped them kill some birds and vice versa.

I starting turkey hunting on my own as a late teen and it didn't take long to realize that the public land turkey hunters aren't like duck hunters when it comes to their etiquette. For the most part I'd say that's still pretty true all though I've had my fair share of public land slob turkey hunters as well. However, as a whole I would say the nod goes to turkey hunters as being more gentlemanly than duck hunters and if you approach it with the right attitude you can have some very satisfying hunts.