It is so hard for me to even think about going out here in IL. on public land after two gun seasons. Out do you guys cope with it?
Look at it as going out and being a part. . not so much as shooting anything. I am in the CWD area of Wisconsin. As I understand it, there was, and will be a gun season here for the rest of the year and for the last month or near.
Where I used to see lots of deer, I now rarely see any. Things sure changed here. I go anyway cause I like to be out there.
ChuckC
I would like to sympathize, but I live in over-hunted Michigan. Our boom-boom season is 2 weeks long, muzz season is 3 weeks long and we sell a million deer tags a year. Talk about having a hard time heading back out on public land. I will go again when work allows, but man its tough up here after the barrage.
I hunt both public and private.... The land that is private is in the part of my state where deer season comes in on Aug. 15 and its wide open with what every weapon you choose. I get excited to even see a deer after thanksgiving but, I just consider it more of a challange. When it gets hard I say "You can kill one if you don't go"
Can't..... oops
Here in Iowa, shotgun season runs from Dec. 4th to the 19th. Can`t wait for the pumpkin army to go home.
Here in AR, we have had a rifle season for the last month. Before that there was a week long muzzeloader season, a youth season and there will be another gun season in a couple of weeks.
The deer are still in the woods. You just have to turn up the super-sneeky mode in order to get a shot. I enjoy hunting this time of year. It is like the "do you have what it takes" time of year to me. I save tags just for now. When other bowhunters talk about not being able to get close to deer, it makes me feel like I am doing a good job as a hunter to be able to take a deer. Then I get to hear one or two of the guys I work with say,"Yeah, and he hunts with a longbow". :bigsmyl: :thumbsup:
God Bless,
Nathan
Ranger, I hear ya. It's a 10x tougher for sure. But there are still some deer out there. I just try to get in between the thickest most secluded places I can find and where there's food nearby. Still better than the couch, most days anyways :bigsmyl:
I hear what you say, it is tough, but at least you are out there and if nothing else making plans for next archery season.
Back in my younger days I headed back into the wilderness areas even during gun season on the National Forests Pretty much we had the area to ourselfs. But now I am lucky to be 30 & 40 minutes from 2 Military Bases that have Archery only areas all season.
Earl
The public areas around me have limited gun hunting. So they do not seem to get to stirred up. Most generaly I will have the entire place to myself most days of late season. The drawback is it is open to anyone during the late antlerless season, after that it is void of deer for a good while!
I can't speak for other areas but here there is always opportunity if you want to brave the toughest access.
The deer have not disappeared. They are in the thickest, hardest to hunt areas and only come out at night. You have to throw away all your normal tactics and get in there where they live to get them. Still hunting works well in these conditions. I love late season for one reason. All the deer are concetrated in a few small areas and while harder to hunt, they are much easier to find. The standard sit and wait tactics just don't work. You have to hunt inside safety zones and bedding areas to get on deer. I know it is a violation of what most folks tell you, but is sure does work in the late season on pressured deer.
Most years down here I hunt the entire gun season with my longbow on public land ( legal here).
I consider gun hunters my drivers, I find a good brushy escape trail and hunt it dawn to dusk, normally it works pretty well especailly when all the gun hunters walk back to their trucks for lunch.
I tell ya bud, last night going home from hunting my farm I saw a giant 8 with 3 does on PUBLIC ground near my house. They are still out there! Guess where I am hunting this weekend...not my farm, not the 40 at my house but a little spot of public ground that happens to have a 5.5 year old deer on it :)
Ranger:
I don't know where you are in IL but I am still seeing deer on public ground. Went through a bunch of Shawnee this afternoon driving home and saw 3 bucks and 12 does all within 100 yds of main county gravel roads. The biggest buck was likely 130 or so.... Did not seem to have a care in the world other than eating.
No gun hunting allowed on the public land I frequent.
We are just now getting ready for the rut in some places. I hunt on different lands, but mostly public. In Lousiana, there are a lot of lands where they deer rut late - around Christmas or even into January. Other places, it peaks around Thanksgiving. So, lots of hunting left to go here.
I have spent most of this season learning a new piece of land that is extremely remote. Requires camping, canoe (or small motorboat) access, and takes the better part of a day to reach the area I want to hunt. I expect this season will be mostly devoted to scouting and learning, but I have enjoyed it so far. I'm planning two more 25 mile paddles before Christmas, and most likely will be after them till Jan 31.
QuoteOriginally posted by Ragnarok Forge:
The deer have not disappeared. They are in the thickest, hardest to hunt areas and only come out at night. You have to throw away all your normal tactics and get in there where they live to get them. Still hunting works well in these conditions. I love late season for one reason. All the deer are concetrated in a few small areas and while harder to hunt, they are much easier to find. The standard sit and wait tactics just don't work. You have to hunt inside safety zones and bedding areas to get on deer. I know it is a violation of what most folks tell you, but is sure does work in the late season on pressured deer.
Exactly !!
Sleep in and go out around 9am. ;)
I hunt public land in NJ and the firearm season is 6 days long. This year they added bear to the season with 6 day firearm. I was pissed they are not allowing us bow folks to go for the bear. I took the week off from hunting since I have had a pretty good year so far. I'll start up again next week, and I know I will see deer. I can hunt up to mid Feb. and it looks like it's gonna be a cold one.
There are still plenty of deer and turkey out there to hunt. I look at it as a whole new season, since the rut coming to end and all the animals are pressured. New challange.
OK, OK, you guys talked me in to going out this afternoon wish me luck.
Thanks
Don't worry about it, just go out and have a good time! It's just another phase of the season to figure out the best way to hunt your area!
3 years public land here. Before was pristine 1000 acres of my friend's land lost in the backroads, byways, & unnamed creeks. Deer (some large) & hogs here but huge difference. That's why they call it hunting.
had a great place to hunt hogs here in ca a good freind was the head guide had steady clients the property next to the one he was on sold to pot growers they shot every pig that crossed over the line calling the law was not an option
Seems like this may be one of those questions that has an anwer that begins, 'It all depends...'. First thing I consider is how big is the tract you'd like to hunt?. If it's large, say over 600 acres and a mile or more square, I'd go for the interior, or any spot within the track that is more than a quarter mile away from the nearest point of public access. My experience says 70-80% of hunters set up within a short distance of their vehicle. Several folks have already commented on how pressured deer go nocturnal. But I find these night time deer often get up and move around for food and water in the middle of the day. Perhaps they have been conditioned to 'typical' early morning and late afternoon hunting hours.
If it's a much smaller track, say less than 200 acres, I'd check out the perimeter with private property. I think pressured deer do go nocturnal, but I think they also move a short distance to avoid areas of human congestion. A move of just 200-300 yards can take them off the public land if it's a small track. Again, I'd try mid day. It's usually the warmest part of the day with the fewest humans.
On one piece of public land I put up a climbing stand, climbed the tree twice in four years of using it. It did make a comfortable place for me to sit while I waited to head back to the car. I shot 6 deer because of that stand, all shot after 9 a.m. while I was sneaking back to my van. It seemed that as soon as the other tree monkeys rattled out of their stand and stomped out of the woods, the deer would complete their morning pattern. Even though I was as deep in as I could get, I could still tell when all of the guys that stayed within sight of their pickups were leaving, after that the deer moved around.
Interesting. IL & NJ have such limited gun hunting compared to what I have to deal with.
Gun seasons here are 8 to 12 weeks - more than bow seasons.
"We" hunt only (bow only) units in GA, SC, NC, WV - with some fall hunting here in NC during the bow season - which is often very good.
Honestly it is a waste of my time personally to hunt places after they have been worked over by guns - whether there is some game there or not. I switched to bow only units in a few states 20 years ago and opportunity continually grows each year.
We ran some bow only clubs in the 90's and some later - but that is even becoming obselete with all the urban units opening up. I get some calls from landowners who want a bow only club to take their place over and at this point I can't justify the expense.
Look around close to town - might be some opportunity there???
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there are still big bucks out there an lots of deer in genral.you just got to hunt!they dont pack-up an fly away.there is a 3yr old buck that will be 4 next year an a 4yr old buck that will be 5,get my point they are still there.go getum
I think the food plots on some of our lands and the fact that they are not so big makes the private land deer still cross them. the trick is getting in deeper than the late season muzzle loaders. Most of them are shooting for range with their rifles, so they watch the fields, leaving the back brushy pockets alone. Most are not very good hunters as far as stealth is concerned, so they tend to plow deer out of their way as they go around.
My brother and I used to have "scent drives" when things got tough. Get the wind at your back and walk slow through a thicket, then the other guy set up down wind and wait. If the guy doing the walking goes easy and doesn't bust them out real hard the guy waiting can get a shot because the deer won't be coming out like a turpentined cat.
I've killed several deer this way and they were moving at a stiff walk. One whistle or a bleat got them to stop just long enough for me to get the shot off.
My brother is the master at moving deer without pushing them hard. We had a 2 man scent drive a few times a season and had about a 50% success rate that one of us would see deer. We didn't get a shot but maybe 10% of the time, but it broke the monotony of just sitting and waiting, but not seeing anything.
Get a buddy to go with you and try it, you might be surprised what you can walk up.
Just head for the thickest stuff you can find, & when ya do kill him {or her} just remember, Ya did it the Hard Way ... Good Luck ...