Public land pressure

[Happy hooker]

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.

[guesswho]

Also if a landowner gets a license he must open his land to other hunters.

Really?   I never knew that.   

[CtRider]

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"

[guesswho]

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.

[Happy]

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.

[2eagles]

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!

[born2hunt]

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  . 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.

[fallhnt]

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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[fallhnt]

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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[Kylongspur88]

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.

[nativeks]

It's up about 500% here.

[FL-Boss]

Will only get worse and worse each year...

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[ddturkeyhunter]

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.

[FL-Boss]

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.

[BottomLand54]

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.