What's a good public land whitetail state in the midwest?

[khafen74]

I live in Utah and am looking into hunting whitetails somewhere in the Midwest. I'd like to do a public land rifle hunt. Doesn't have to be a large tract of land. I've looked into Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Kansas a little bit. But I've never been to any of those states. I'm happy with any deer (large buck, small buck, or doe), not antler size expectations. What are your thoughts.

 

[molliesmaster]

California.

 

[LFC911]

Not a lot of public ground (~1%) compared to out west but there is a fare amount of private walk in hunting access (WIHA) in KS. Should be pretty easy to get a meat buck if you can get a tag. https://ksdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a6467b7c4f714053ab63003607674413

 

[khafen74]

Not a lot of public ground (~1%) compared to out west but there is a fare amount of private walk in hunting access (WIHA) in KS. Should be pretty easy to get a meat buck if you can get a tag. https://ksdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=a6467b7c4f714053ab63003607674413

Great to know. Thanks for the link!

 

[yeti12]

Nebraska doesn't have much public land, but there is some here and if you don't have antler expectations you could probably fill a tag pretty easily.

 

[Kurts86]

Are you looking to hunt specific terrain because all states you mentioned are vastly different in their Eastern quarters than their western sides. They are all more timbered and midwestern/ozark areas on the eastern sides and they transition to be much more western spot and stalk in their middle and become much more like eastern Colorado in the western part.

Generally Nebraska will be the cheapest and easiest tag to get and Kansas will be more expensive and will take some points. I have no experience with Oklahoma. Kansas and Nebraska both have good WIHA programs in most of the state. Both have very limited national forest options and what is there gets hit hard.

PM me for more details, it’s nice to see someone wanting to just hunt a whitetail and not chasing inches of antler.

 

[longspeak74]

Wisconsin. Lots of public land and reasonable OTC tags.

 

[BravoNovember]

Wisconsin. Lots of public land and reasonable OTC tags.

No deer in Wisconsin, too many wolves…

 

[thinny]

No deer in Wisconsin, too many wolves…

Wait.... thats MNs line

 

[khafen74]

Are you looking to hunt specific terrain because all states you mentioned are vastly different in their Eastern quarters than their western sides. They are all more timbered and midwestern/ozark areas on the eastern sides and they transition to be much more western spot and stalk in their middle and become much more like eastern Colorado in the western part.

Generally Nebraska will be the cheapest and easiest tag to get and Kansas will be more expensive and will take some points. I have no experience with Oklahoma. Kansas and Nebraska both have good WIHA programs in most of the state. Both have very limited national forest options and what is there gets hit hard.

PM me for more details, it’s nice to see someone wanting to just hunt a whitetail and not chasing inches of antler.

Thanks! I'd like to start out hunting spot-and-stalk type terrain, because that's what I'm used to and it gives me a chance to cover ground, see the landscapes, and get a better idea of animal behavior. Mostly, I just want to experience some new landscapes. Public land is great, but I'm really after any publicly accessible land. Getting permission to hunt private is tough when you're a nonresident.

I'll do a little more research based on your suggestions and send you a message when I know a little more.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Love all the Midwesterns clam up tighter than a ducks ass when a guy from out west starts snooping around for white tail info… hahahaha but if you don’t tell them the unit and drainage to chase a bull in your a jerk…. Ummm yeah okay

 

[LFC911]

Love all the Midwesterns clam up tighter than a ducks ass when a guy from out west starts snooping around for white tail info… hahahaha but if you don’t tell them the unit and drainage to chase a bull in your a jerk…. Ummm yeah okay

I think i was pretty forthcoming and helpful with info and not blowing up any spots.

 

[khafen74]

Love all the Midwesterns clam up tighter than a ducks ass when a guy from out west starts snooping around for white tail info… hahahaha but if you don’t tell them the unit and drainage to chase a bull in your a jerk…. Ummm yeah okay

Haha. And to be honest. I don't want specific places. Finding a place to hunt is part of the fun for me. That's what makes it hunting. I'm mostly interested in exploring some new landscapes for new animals.

 

[The_Jim]

Nebraska rifle can be fun if you go into it with the right expectations. I know some guys that come up from New Mexico every year and have a blast. Some good deer get taken on public every year, but you'll see more younger deer than mature on public. Even in the western units with Mule deer, your more likely to run into whitetails these days...

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Iowa sucks for the amount of public land, however, during late muzzleloader season you can have the run of lots of places, especially if you're willing to go later in the season. The snowier and colder the better the hunting. Find a good food source, be patient, and you can do really well during late season. Iowa doesn't restrict muzzleloaders either, so all modern smoke poles with scopes are allowed.

The available public can be crazy busy during regular gun seasons.

If you're a bow hunter, you can do really well on public, but it may take longer to "pattern" a good buck than during late muzzleloader. They get extremely food centric in late December and early January when the weather is bad, and IMO, late season may be the best time to kill a good buck.

 

[Kurts86]

For what it’s worth Iowa, Kansas and Illinois are held up as the top tier whitetail states to hunt because of trophy potential and relatively tight tag allocations. Unsurprisingly none of these states have rut rifle hunts. These usually take a few years to get a tag depending on the season and where. To be honest unless you have a place lined up I wouldn’t worry about hunting those states. I’ve been a resident of 2/3 of these states and unless you have private access they are fairly overrated. Public land in these states is often hit hard by other midwestern state residents on their Rut-cation.

 

[jcaud]

Nebraska can be a really fun time, but like it was said above, expectations need to be realistic. A lot of people and not a ton of old bucks, but there’s the opportunity to see a bunch of deer.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

PM sent

 

[MuleyFever]

Since you said spot and stalk I wouldnt rule out the Dakotas.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Haha. And to be honest. I don't want specific places. Finding a place to hunt is part of the fun for me. That's what makes it hunting. I'm mostly interested in exploring some new landscapes for new animals.

I’m born and raised in Co, have no desire to do the Midwest thing if you are after whitetail I would much rather hunt them in ID, MT, or parts of Nebraska. I know you weren’t asking for honey holes, I just enjoy stirring the pot and some of the… well there isn’t anywhere to hunt… responses. Seems like there is enough places for nerds like “the hunting public” to shoot plenty of animals on public land in the “Midwest”