Finding less pressure on Public Land

[FLAK]

Which state?

AL.

 

[540-Virginian]

You guys not seeing people should think before you post any specifics. Loose lips have ruined a lot of good hunting.

true but saying I hunt National Forest leaves a lot of acres to try and figure out... at least in Virginia. But heck if anyone is on here and hunts National Forest in Virginia hit me up I’d love a buddy to share some spots with and keep tabs / check in with. Roaming these hills gets lonely some days haha. I see a ton of Bear and willing To share my spot if someone goes bear hunting with me as I’ve never pursued them.

 

[540-Virginian]

I would say that the OP is lucky. But I’m from Wisconsin. We have a ton of public land in the northern part of the state where there aren’t a lot of people or deer, and we have a ton of deer everywhere else in the state where there are more people and far less public land.
There was a post a while back about there being more hunters now than ever in western states where there’s a lot of public land, but numbers of hunters are decreasing in eastern states because land access is becoming difficult and/or expensive.

that’s interesting and what I’m seeing from all the replies. Virginia has some easy to get to WMA close to major cities and I’ve heard they’re crowded. But go an hours drive and it’s empty of people. There are more deer in the towns and cities now than the woods I feel. but no luck getting liberals to let you hunt even though CWD and other diseases are spreading like mad through the deers population from there being too many (and the liberals feeding them with corn in their backyards)

 

[CarlTuesday]

Im a weekend warrior in Maryland and have had the same experience - outside of opening day (which I didnt hunt anyways) I have generally had the woods to myself.

Opposite of my central MD experience. A lot of the WMA public land requires a reservation and you could be calling in two minutes after the dnr office opened and have a lot of the good stuff full booked all throughout bow season, start of ML, and a lot of days during gun season.

Weekends suck worse for this since no Sunday hunting on most of the public land, and Saturday /Friday tend to be booked full... Some other places you can find less of a crowd, but for sure more people put than the last two years.

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[Geewhiz]

Public land in Montana was insane this year. More people than ever.

 

[kloppy]

Opposite of my central MD experience. A lot of the WMA public land requires a reservation and you could be calling in two minutes after the dnr office opened and have a lot of the good stuff full booked all throughout bow season, start of ML, and a lot of days during gun season.

Weekends suck worse for this since no Sunday hunting on most of the public land, and Saturday /Friday tend to be booked full... Some other places you can find less of a crowd, but for sure more people put than the last two years.

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Wow - what county? I am somewhat central MD too and there are no spots anywhere near here that require reservations. But, it is MD after all. Not surprising.

 

[Elk2008]

I am in MT also and it was packed this year. Even weekdays were really busy!!

 

[.204smokechaser]

I hunt Idaho and the last two years had an entire road system to myself and multiple trails as well. Never seen another hunter besides my 2 buddies out on foot.

Obviously varies unit to unit, some areas in Idaho are packed like 10A and other units/zones that were/are hit hard by wolves don't have any WT hunting pressure and nice bucks and bulls

 

[lycoflyfisher]

Turkey season in PA this past spring was insane. People all over the place. I have never heard so many people owl hoot and crow call at the same roosted gobbler....

This fall I noticed a lot more folks including non hunters driving around through the public land I hunt in NCPA. But other than our early antlerless muzzleloader, JR/Sr rifle antlerless and bear muzzleloader overlap in mid October and the openers for rifle bear and deer there were not many people out and about. It may be different in the eastern part of the state due to more people and an influx from NJ. But if you are willing to drive a little bit especially on some rougher forestry roads and then walk you will have a lot of ground to yourself.

 

[Appalachian Mtnman]

Here in SC I noticed less hunters this year but a decent amount last year.

 

[Fordguy]

Funny you mentioned this- I drove by several public hunting areas on the morning of the second and third day of michigan firearm deer season on my way to a check station. Not a vehicle or hunter to be seen. That's a first. Those are productive areas with heavy cover, some swamp and also not too far from ag and hay/alfalfa. First week usually has a bunch of vehicles parked there every morning.

 

[edcrosbys]

I'm starting scouting/backpacking in Northern GWNF this spring in hopes of finding some spots for next year. I don't have any spots to share and not looking to steal any, but feel free to hit me up if you want to join on some scouting or someone close to call if you need something.

 

[Lowg08]

Here in western North Carolina it is from what I have seen over the past two years. It’s literally little to no pressure. I have not seen another truck in any of my spots in 2 years. I also use the onX layer with the purple tint to find the least pressured places

 

[nhol100]

I've lived in three different midwest states the last 4-5 years and can say its seems I am always running into people, doesn't matter how far back in you go. But I have always been able to find a place or two where people dont seem to go and thats what I focus on. But at the same time I have no real history with these places to say if its getting better or worse. I know I have also been hunting out west for a while and its definitely becoming more crowded.

 

[Cfriend]

I seemed to see way more pressure this year than usual in Maryland and West Virginia. I wonder if Covid had something to do with it...

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[Bowman276]

George Washington National Forrest was like a war zone this year. I was 3 miles deep and still getting run over.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

true but saying I hunt National Forest leaves a lot of acres to try and figure out... at least in Virginia. But heck if anyone is on here and hunts National Forest in Virginia hit me up I’d love a buddy to share some spots with and keep tabs / check in with. Roaming these hills gets lonely some days haha. I see a ton of Bear and willing To share my spot if someone goes bear hunting with me as I’ve never pursued them.

we just live in a special place,

over where I hunt on National Forest there used to be at least 4-5 spots where people camped, like huge army tents and multiple campers in spots. Now i drive up in there and might see 3 vehicles during rifle season and during bow season literally no one. Might run into some guys chasing bears during training season but they are usually neighbors lol

 

[Bowman276]

we just live in a special place,

over where I hunt on National Forest there used to be at least 4-5 spots where people camped, like huge army tents and multiple campers in spots. Now i drive up in there and might see 3 vehicles during rifle season and during bow season literally no one. Might run into some guys chasing bears during training season but they are usually neighbors lol

If you also mentioned converted school buses I suspect you are hunting back in Rough Mountain

 

[WCB]

Hunt during the week. This year was an odd year with people staying home or working from home and being able to get out more but generally there is zero pressure mid week.

 

[540-Virginian]

George Washington National Forrest was like a war zone this year. I was 3 miles deep and still getting run over.

What county? And what season?