Public land...the struggle is real...

[cameron]

So this area that I'm referring to isn't technically "public land".I say that because it is not owned the Game and Fish, It is considered "commonwealth" land within the city that I live in. The whole city is divided into lots and the area between the lots can be bowhunted.You're not supposed to hunt the undeveloped lots unless you own it but most of the undeveloped lots are just owned so that people have access to the amenities that the city offers (golf courses, lakes, etc.) So they get hunted anyways. Because of the ease of access the "commonwealth" land gets hammered! I've had some great bucks on camera throughout the years but have never been able to bag one of my target bucks. Keep in mind, this is just a tiny area of the whole city.

I'm curious how many stands/bait piles that you run into on a yearly basis on your primary hunting land.

In this picture
Green dot-my house
Blue dots-spots that I have hunted or had bait sites over the last couple of years.
Orange dots-spots that I have killed
Yellow dots-current stands/bait piles that I've found this year.
Pink lines-roads that get road hunted super hard
Red area-private land on edge of town



[ Post made via Android ]

[whitetailassasin]

Do you get daylight mature buck pictures here outside of the rut? Pre rut? Rut? Post rut?

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[cameron]

Do you get daylight mature buck pictures here outside of the rut? Pre rut? Rut? Post rut?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Yes, pre season and usually some when it gets really cold or we get some snow.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Outdoor814]

Where I live now it is mostly private posted property besides the game lands and Erie national wildlife refuge. You can hunt both with the exception of bear on the refuge.
I find stands almost every time I walk these public areas.
Recently my buddy and I have gotten permission to hunt the 78 acres surrounding his property and have had people sit in our personal stands.
I've just come to realize that anywhere you go you are going to encounter other hunters. That's how I found this site and why I started reading about Dan's hunting tactics to avoide these types of situations.

[ Post made via Android ]

[cameron]

Where I live now it is mostly private posted property besides the game lands and Erie national wildlife refuge. You can hunt both with the exception of bear on the refuge.
I find stands almost every time I walk these public areas.
Recently my buddy and I have gotten permission to hunt the 78 acres surrounding his property and have had people sit in our personal stands.
I've just come to realize that anywhere you go you are going to encounter other hunters. That's how I found this site and why I started reading about Dan's hunting tactics to avoide these types of situations.

[ Post made via Android ]

Yea, I used to get really frustrated when I ran into other hunters, especially after I had been hunting an area but now I just go on my way and find somewhere else. Most of the time these guys have ruined the spot anyways. For instance, the yellow and orange dots on the ridge to the northeast of my house. I've hunted there for 5 years sparingly. I used to always keep corn and a camera there until last year someone put a stand and camera about 40 yards away from mine on the private land. I ran into the guys and they acknowledged that I was set up there but kept on hunting their stand. So this year I hunted out of the same tree when the wind was right a couple of times. I went back 2 weeks ago and someone had put up a ladder stand in the exact tree that i hunt out of and a 50 gallon drum full of corn on top of 3 T posts. I'm just praying that they don't kill any of the studs that I've had on camera over there for multiple years.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Outdoor814]

I completely understand. Some hunters have no problem encroaching others hunting area. Knowing well someone is hunting there.
By buddy who I spoke of earlier was on the private land first day of rifle and had seen over 10 other hunters. We are the only two people with permission to hunt it.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Outdoor814]

That would be a shame if they did.

[ Post made via Android ]

[kenn1320]

I walked a piece of public for the first time last week. Green line is my path, went east and out to brush in swamp, then down and around clockwise. Hit posted land and cut back through the swamp to the island, then onto main land and back to car. Mind you our season ends Jan 1 and there were still 6 stands and 2 trail cams indicated by the red and white dots. No telling how many mobile hunters had hit this land earlier, or ones that only bow hunted, or hunted and removed their stands already. Deer sign was non existent. 3 of the stands had clear evidence of bait piles, including one on the island. My main focus was going to be out in the swamp, but decided to walk some of the transition to the south while I was out there. That main finger woods is wide open park like, so I had no intention of hunting it. I have other examples of stands everywhere. I havent found that spot that doesnt have a stand or sign people have been actively hunting it. That island is tiny and had 2 stands within 20yds of each other. It had oaks on it and the one stand still had a bait pile. Guy must of had a strong back to carry bait out there, it was over my boots black muck water.

correction, the white dot on the bottom was in fact a stand, not a camera. Could still be more stands in the main woods I didnt look.

[Hawthorne]

I have two private pieces in southern mi. Their are so many hunters on the other surrounding pieces I think its worse than the public I hunted this year in Michigan. This is farm country with small to medium sized woodlots. No qdm in my area and any buck over 2.5 are getting more rare every year.

[ Post made via Android ]

[kenn1320]

I have two private pieces in southern mi. Their are so many hunters on the other surrounding pieces I think its worse than the public I hunted this year in Michigan. This is farm country with small to medium sized woodlots. No qdm in my area and any buck over 2.5 are getting more rare every year.

[ Post made via Android ]

Im finding this as well. In the thumb where I have primarily hunted my whole life, its big fields, tiny wood lots. There are more hunters than available woods, so trespassing is WAY out of control. I used to think I had it better than public land hunters, but Im finding thats not the case. At least on the bigger public tracts up north, its thick nasty cover where a deer can make it another year. Im not the owner of the land in the thumb, so management of the cover is not an option. Some parts are thick, but not enough to keep the locals from driving it. Head north on the public land, you will have room to roam a bit, at least during bow season.

[Hawthorne]

I have two private pieces in southern mi. Their are so many hunters on the other surrounding pieces I think its worse than the public I hunted this year in Michigan. This is farm country with small to medium sized woodlots. No qdm in my area and any buck over 2.5 are getting more rare every year.

[ Post made via Android ]

Im finding this as well. In the thumb where I have primarily hunted my whole life, its big fields, tiny wood lots. There are more hunters than available woods, so trespassing is WAY out of control. I used to think I had it better than public land hunters, but Im finding thats not the case. At least on the bigger public tracts up north, its thick nasty cover where a deer can make it another year. Im not the owner of the land in the thumb, so management of the cover is not an option. Some parts are thick, but not enough to keep the locals from driving it. Head north on the public land, you will have room to roam a bit, at least during bow season.

Its been on my mind to head north or south to indiana or Ohio. Also been thinking about scouting some ground in the Northwest 12

[ Post made via Android ]

[cameron]

I have two private pieces in southern mi. Their are so many hunters on the other surrounding pieces I think its worse than the public I hunted this year in Michigan. This is farm country with small to medium sized woodlots. No qdm in my area and any buck over 2.5 are getting more rare every year.

[ Post made via Android ]

Im finding this as well. In the thumb where I have primarily hunted my whole life, its big fields, tiny wood lots. There are more hunters than available woods, so trespassing is WAY out of control. I used to think I had it better than public land hunters, but Im finding thats not the case. At least on the bigger public tracts up north, its thick nasty cover where a deer can make it another year. Im not the owner of the land in the thumb, so management of the cover is not an option. Some parts are thick, but not enough to keep the locals from driving it. Head north on the public land, you will have room to roam a bit, at least during bow season.

I'll never understand how someone can be comfortable trespassing on a regular basis! What the heck is going through these guys mind when they set out to do this?! I know around where I live, I'd be scared of getting shot.

[ Post made via Android ]

[kenn1320]

I have two private pieces in southern mi. Their are so many hunters on the other surrounding pieces I think its worse than the public I hunted this year in Michigan. This is farm country with small to medium sized woodlots. No qdm in my area and any buck over 2.5 are getting more rare every year.

[ Post made via Android ]

Im finding this as well. In the thumb where I have primarily hunted my whole life, its big fields, tiny wood lots. There are more hunters than available woods, so trespassing is WAY out of control. I used to think I had it better than public land hunters, but Im finding thats not the case. At least on the bigger public tracts up north, its thick nasty cover where a deer can make it another year. Im not the owner of the land in the thumb, so management of the cover is not an option. Some parts are thick, but not enough to keep the locals from driving it. Head north on the public land, you will have room to roam a bit, at least during bow season.

I'll never understand how someone can be comfortable trespassing on a regular basis! What the heck is going through these guys mind when they set out to do this?! I know around where I live, I'd be scared of getting shot.

[ Post made via Android ]

simple really, its vacant land. When you live in the area, you know everybodys business and pattern absent land owners. No joke, what Im about to tell you will floor you. My dad bought 40acres up in the thumb years ago. The guy he bought it from lived in town and initial road observations of deer looked promising. The hunting went down hill quickly shortly after buying it. We found a tire one spring with corn in it, somebody baiting turkeys. Some years later my dad built a house and moved up there. He got to know the locals and they openly admitted to hunting the place after the "local" sold it. Stated they knew when we would show up and leave like clock work. Why you would admit something like that years later is beyond me, but they did. The land I hunt is 30min from him and vacant. Theres about 120 acres of woods in the entire section and 80 of it is the land i can hunt. Constantly finding sign and have caught the neighbors several times. I also get second hand info from relatives that live in that section. Its very frustrating to say the least!

[keb]

u say u have not been able to tag u buck ur after in years?

prob time to find a new place, I have been victim to places that were close to home and convenient to hunt that held some good deer. But due to pressure and other things it was a waste of time.

I started to see and kill bigger deer buy hunting less and traveling father.

[oldrank]

I deal with pressure of this magnitude on just about every public land piece I hunt. I maneuver around the pressure and still have decent success killing bucks. I dont try and pretend there are monster bucks behind every tree. I am happy being successful with killing bucks that meet my standards. I do find mature buck sign and occasionally kill a good one. I would bet at any given time in Oct-Nov in Michigan I am never far from a bait pile or a tree stand. No matter where I am.

[ Post made via Android ]