Going full public this year, done with leasing game

[jspradley]

Got my spots picked out in the Sam Houston Natl Forest, hopefully it won't be mortal kombat getting through the 100 yard zone from the road. lol

 

[Newtosavage]

If I had that much public land within an hour's drive, I would never pay a cent to lease property for hunting, for all the reasons you mention and then some.

There simply is no more satisfying feeling than taking a deer off public land. That alone is worth a ton to me.

I currently have what most folks around me would describe as a "sweet" deal on 200 acres of private land, covered with deer. Landowner doe tags and 3-4 mature bucks on or through the property every year, guaranteed.

The "cost" of that lease is putting in over 100 hours of farm work every summer for the landowner (which doesn't sound like much until you have to squeeze it into the weekends 4-5 hours at a time all summer long), then taking care of the feeders which always seem to malfunction, then buying feed, then dealing with neighbors or the landowners grandkids who show up unannounced, then maintaining stands and blinds, etc., etc. That doesn't even get into dealing with the cattle, which always stampede when we try to get to our stands in the dark, or stand there and stare at us in our stands. Add to that the landowner's house and her daughter's house occupy nearly half the 200 acres and there are limited safe directions to even shoot, and it sure makes me miss hunting public land. Being restricted to the same 100 acres all season just isn't why I hunt. It turns it into a game of shooting and not hunting.

I know how ungrateful that all sounds (again, people who don't put in all the work tell me what a great deal I have. LOL) but sometimes folks don't realize what a hassle it can be to have a private land lease until they get one. Sure, other hunters showing up on public land are frustrating but there are ways to avoid them if a person is willing to put in the distance.

So good for you and good luck to you!

 

[Newtosavage]

Got my spots picked out in the Sam Houston Natl Forest, hopefully it won't be mortal kombat getting through the 100 yard zone from the road. lol

It's amazing how few hunters you find if you go even 1/2 mile into the Sam. Those city folk with the bore-sighted Academy rifles are afraid of their own shadow. LOL

 

[jspradley]

It's amazing how few hunters you find if you go even 1/2 mile into the Sam. Those city folk with the bore-sighted Academy rifles are afraid of their own shadow. LOL

All them black Panthers, 500lb boars and water moccasins that chase people out there!

 

[Newtosavage]

All them black Panthers, 500lb boars and water moccasins that chase people out there!

Exactly. Or, the idea of getting lost scares them to death even though there isn't a place on the entire NF where you can't hear a road or a dog barking. LOL

 

[jspradley]

Exactly. Or, the idea of getting lost scares them to death even though there isn't a place on the entire NF where you can't hear a road or a dog barking. LOL

Yup! I'm not gonna complain about it though!

 

[Newtosavage]

Yup! I'm not gonna complain about it though!

Me either!

 

[Jsunkler]

Dropped my leases a few years back and have been enjoying the public land and little family ground I have access to.

Went from a huge headache of managing a lease for other members, fixing stands, cutting lanes, managing feeders, trail cams, etc. The only benefit was I had the entire place to myself in archery season, but come the week of gun season I would always get calls/texts: "Where have you been seeing the big ones?" "Where have you been sitting and what have you been seeing" "Can you send me all the pictures from the trail cameras?" "I do not know where the stands are, even with a map, could you walk me into the stand i want to hunt" "Can I sight my firearm in on the property the day before the season opens?" "Can you handle gutting my deer and taking it to the processor" "Where did you kill that big one with your bow, I want to hunt that stand"

On top of neighbors promising we all are in agreement that we arent shooting young bucks, only to see numerous young bucks on their meat poles after opening weekend.

Now all I do is scout in the summers and hunt with a climber, so simple its hard to imagine its the same type of hunting. I get more excited with a deer encounter on public than I ever did with a deer on private ground.

 

[jspradley]

Deer bring out the absolute worst in so many people, I cant even imagine what a pain in the dingdong it would be dealing with lease mates.

 

[Dooger]

I refuse to pay a dime to hunt land. Granted, I live in a State with a population of 10 million. The best hunting in the State is 4+ hours south and the public ground hardly holds a deer due to the pressure. I’ve been hunting public in other States since 2006. No regrets.

It’s all big woods near my home, but deer numbers are low and the racks stunted due to the stress of bad winters and predators. We had a big winter kill five years ago. Honestly, the herd has been on a downhill slide for over 20 years. I’ve seen it happen in two other Great Lakes States and a Province too. Sorta wish I lived elsewhere. Jealous of where some of you are from.

 

[vortex]

Absolutely wont regret it!!!! I switched 20 years ago and killed some hammers. I like to move often and scout vast areas! Its a blast!!!


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[Shoeghazer]

I love hunting public land. Been hunting it for nearly 30yrs now. You'll have to change your tactics a bit, but in the end you'll become a better overall hunter. And don't let people tell you there's no deer, or only small ones. Big public land deer are just plain smarter. Here's a public land deer from PA for ya.

 

[timekiller13]

Well I have had 4 sits so far on public land this year. I have a seen a nice 10pt in velvet, a decent 8pt, 3 yearling bucks and a hand full of does. I had a yearling 6pt at 7 yds yesterday evening. He showed up 5 times throughout the afternoon. Could have shot him every time. I have hunted anywhere from 1.57 miles from the truck to as close as 100 yds. Last night I hunted 100 yds from the truck. I saw 2 young bucks, the 6pt and a 3pt. When I walked out, there was a 4pt standing beside my truck. I was setup just off the main road that traverses this piece of public land. I watched 3 trucks drive right past my position and head to the furtherest parking lot. There was zero sign of anyone having hunted in this general spot. Guess it's "too close" to the road. I think it could be a killer spot come rifle season. Everyone wants to drive to the top of this public piece. I think the pressure from the top will push these deer right down to me.

 

[Newtosavage]

Damn I miss the excitement of seeing deer from my stand on public land. You're killing me timekiller. LOL I'm also a "too close to the road" hunter on heavily pressured public land. These whitetails use their nose, and when they find areas that aren't full of human scent, they hunker down even if that means they are 50 yards from a highway. Most of my public land whitetails have come from within easy earshot of a well traveled road.

Got a call from the landowner at the lease yesterday asking if I can come mow the same 20 ac. of pasture that I mowed for her 3 months ago, because she "don't want to see any weeds." (sigh) This is the last year of that nonsense. It's just not worth the constant work when I could be fishing or doing some real hunting on public land instead.

 

[jspradley]

Can't wait to get out there and sweat my gonads off on public land this weekend!

 

[Teemster]

Wish I had some good public around me to do the same. However, I do like the excitement of finding new leases.

 

[jspradley]

Wish I had some good public around me to do the same. However, I do like the excitement of finding new leases.

Where do you live?

 

[KHNC]

I was on a 2000 acre lease in SC for 3 years, until 2 years ago. We had 15 members. Of those, 10-12 hunted every weekend , and usually brought a guest. We had designated sign in sections to hunt as well. A couple weeks into the season, most all the deer moved to a nocturnal pattern. The sheer amount of atv and foot traffic disturbance seemed to make it worse than public land. All for a small 2k per year membership fee.

 

[Boxerboxer]

I stopped hunting private land when I picked up a bow. In retrospect I think it was stupid, because I had access for free to a great little 80 acre piece of timber/CRP in Illinois farm country with corn and beans all around it, big pond in the middle, food plot on the property, and tons of deer, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, but at the end of the day the animals I've taken on public land felt like something more significant than my first deer, which I shot on that 80 acre piece. I wouldn't probably turn down a private land opportunity if it fell in my lap, but I don't plan to go knocking on doors any time soon either.

 

[Teemster]

Where do you live?

Ha, Florida. I hunt IL leases and public land in GA where I’m from.