Do you hunt from home?

[Big Flounder]

My wife and I built a house three years ago on our fifteen acres. The property is basically a big bedding area surrounded by neighboring forests and farm fields, so we see deer almost every day. I’m blessed in that I walk further to get the mail than I do to climb into my treestand.

 

[tkhuntsman]

After a trip to the shooting range I was talking w my father about how hunting has changed, the technology, and the travel involved.

Anyway we were wondering how many folks get to hunt from the house anymore? Sleep in your own bed set an alarm and go hunting. It seems with guys chasing the best perceived unit, out of state guys, and heck even front "rangers" setting up camps that it is getting less and less as in my fathers day they never traveled to hunt.. Now I am lucky as most of my scouting/hunting is from home w overnights and 2 nights mixed in there. Or almost everything I hunt is a hour or 2 from the front door even if ya count the hike, dirt bike, side by side, or jeep to approach.

So how many of you guys sleep in your own bed and hunt from your house? Does not matter what ya hunt just wondering how many folks get to hunt like this and what ya are hunting?

I'm in MT and I hunt elk, deer, and bear from home most of the year. There is better hunting to be had if I travel and camp out in the back country several hours from home. Family and work commitments don't allow a lot of opportunities to travel these days but it will get better in time.

 

[roosiebull]

The past 5 years I had a lot for elk, our place was backed up to NF land, which was awesome to have that option

Before and after owning that property, I always hunt close to home, but can not just walk out the door onto public land

Ultimately, if I had a big property with game, I probably wouldn’t hunt it much, if at all around here, I would save it for new hunters and enjoy having them around… I like the process of hunting more than success, and I like hard hunting.

I would likely have a different perspective if I lived in a different place

 

[Och832]

I have done it before, but decent hunting starts 2 hours drive or so from my house--- so if i wanted to have boots on ground and walk into an area away from other people id need to leave my house 4 hours before sunrise--- and if I wanted to stay till 30 min after sunset ( legal hunting hours)-- then hike back to truck then drive 2 hours to get home-- then do it all over again the next day I'd probably only get 2 hours or so of sleep each day.

If I'm going to do that type of hunting- I just sleep in my truck bed to eliminate the drive time over a long weekend--- if I'm gonna go for the whole 7 or 10 day season, I'll usually drag my camper to nat forest spot--- then I'll do hike in hunting and just carry a warm bag and limited food/supplies for a few days then drop back to camper for more supplies when/if needed

Some states have long hunting seasons -- weeks to months long-- but most bg hunting in co is only 7-10 days, I don't want to waste time driving to/from home half the season.

During turkey season ( it's a few months long for otc tags) I'll go for a few days several times throughout the season till i tag out but sleep in my truck bed at night

I would love to have a place I could hunt out my back door but family and job keep me planted closer to town than id like.

 

[jcaud]

I have a decent chunk of public about 10 minutes from my house, but my family owns a farm about an hour from where I live so I go there if I’ve got the time. Way less pressure and deer (whitetail) quality is way higher.

But hunting for mule deer or elk requires a days worth of driving. Can do some pig hunting with a little over half day drive.

 

[Rotnguns]

After a trip to the shooting range I was talking w my father about how hunting has changed, the technology, and the travel involved.

Anyway we were wondering how many folks get to hunt from the house anymore? Sleep in your own bed set an alarm and go hunting. It seems with guys chasing the best perceived unit, out of state guys, and heck even front "rangers" setting up camps that it is getting less and less as in my fathers day they never traveled to hunt.. Now I am lucky as most of my scouting/hunting is from home w overnights and 2 nights mixed in there. Or almost everything I hunt is a hour or 2 from the front door even if ya count the hike, dirt bike, side by side, or jeep to approach.

So how many of you guys sleep in your own bed and hunt from your house? Does not matter what ya hunt just wondering how many folks get to hunt like this and what ya are hunting?

I almost always hunt from my house, but I'm fortunate to live in Southwest Idaho. Planning an expedition to Caribou-Targhee next spring though, so that will require a campout.

 

[Rich M]

We used to drive a couple hours to hunt. Hunting was a 9-day rifle season and we hunted out a cabin or camp. That was it for the year.

Then as I got older they started to extend the seasons - suddenly there were archery and ML seasons. Then the seasons got longer and longer. Now some guys hunt from August thru February. I prefer about 10 days and that's enough for me. Goes back to the week-long rifle season i grew up w, I'm certain of that.

Down here I hunt a WMA and an annual 3-5 day quota hunt about an hour from home - not a lot of places where you can just drive out and go hunt around here.

We just bought some land in an adjacent state in an area with a decent deer population - first time we camped there (last week), woke up to 4 deer in the pasture. Hunting season just got easier if we need to put something on ice.

I do have 1 or 2 more western hunts in me - buying antelope points and considering a cow elk hunt. Those will be completed in the next 10 yrs or so. Then just gonna take it easy and enjoy whatever is available at that time.

 

[MallardSX2]

Yes. Lol

 

[Bluumoon]

I’m fortunate to have acreage I can shoot and hunt on right out the back door for deer and prairie dogs. Elk spots are an 1-1.5hrs away for my preferred spots.

Bigger issue for me during elk season would be getting tied up in household needs/guilt trips about going back out. It’s easier to just stay out.

 

[gregsky]

I miss the days when I used to live in the mountains. Easy 30min trips to hunting and fishing spots. Where I live now I can get to coyote areas within 1-2 hours but that's about it for day hunts.
The draws for specific units make it really difficult to hunt without significant travelling.

 

[amassi]

Yep ducks, geese and turkeys all less than 30 mins
Deer and bears about an hour away
But I prefer to hunt out of state the hunts are better quality and the distance is a good thing


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[buffybr]

One of several bulls that I've taken on my land above my house. Not really a hunt, but they taste just as good as the ones that I've shot miles back in a wilderness.

 

[OwenHa]

I hunt from home pretty often. I have about an hour drive. During deer season I normally camp though because we have an early season which makes for very long days. For wild pigs, birds and turkey I normally day hunt when days are shorter later in the fall, winter and spring. I also do one out of state hunt every year.

 

[mi650]

I step out my backdoor and walk 150-200 yards.

I haven't hunted anywhere else for >20 years.

 

[Stache Attack]

I seem to be hunting from home a lot more. Watching public more, asking for private permission, and getting friends on some tags for atleast antelope here.

When I chased elk a lot more I did quite a bit of 3-5 nights in and only do that a couple times a year now that I am married.

Seem to be happy with cows now if I don’t have a fancy bull tag, cows are everywhere and no landowners want them around.

 

[Pharmseller]

Could

But won’t

Wouldn’t be hunting, to me.




P

 

[Cedarsavage]

Both I live on 20 acres that touches 15k acres of public, own another 14 acres a few miles away, hunt all over this peninsula and usually 1-2 other states a season. This year I shot one behind my house and another 1.5 hours away on public

 

[JustABritCrazy]

State Forest boundary line is 25 yards away on the east side. My stand is 167 yards away from my air conditioner. Still travel 2 hours each way on the weekends to hunt from our camp where I grew up hunting. Works out well.

 

[Dakota Dude]

Yes. my hunting buddies travel to my house from all over to sleep in an apartment in my basement. We laugh every year because our "hunting camp" comes with beds, heat, recliners, big screen tvs and a steam shower. We hunt elk, deer, bear, coyotes, turkeys, grouse, ducks, and geese all within 10-15 minutes of my house. This year I've had friends and family stay in the basement apartment for every big game season.

A large herd of muleys rut in my yard every year. Its always fun to watch. I could harvest 180"+ class deer every year from my porch, but where is the fun in that. It is more fun to watch them every morning and evening with my kids rut about 10 yards from my front door. We've come a long way from backpacking in 4 miles and sleeping side by side in a backpacking tent while it dumps rain/snow.

I am lucky to be able to glass animals on most of my favorite spots right from my dining room. The other spots I glass either from my office, or on the way to my office. Blessed is an understatement, but I made a lot of right decisions to make this lifestyle happen.

 

[copenmechanism]

Guessing the answer to your question is going to be heavily dependent on geography. Where i live currently (SE New England) there are very few (public) places to hunt and they are congested at best. Between public opinions on hunting/hunters/guns/etc and legal concerns, most landowners refuse permission. That being the case, I can and do "sit" in the woods (I struggle to call it hunting) and hope hunting pressure from some other joe will send a buck my way. Ultimately though, travel hunts of at least a couple days are the best way to scrounge up some success.

Not sure where you are in New England, but you might be surprised at how many under the radar spots there are which you could get permission on. Shoot me a PM and I can tell you about one organization that owns land all over NE and are great about permission… but I spoke to their land manager and the spots I hunt (in heavily populated areas) only have 1-2 other hunters at most. Same goes for a variety of other land trusts and conservation organizations. Many of them are worried about habitat management because of the overpopulation of deer and might be overjoyed if you could help “solve their problem” — especially if you don’t mind taking does.