Noticed that many are willing to travel (very) far for a special hunt, but was curious how far you have to go for a normal day's outing?
I'm blessed, I can walk out my back door, clear the deck and start climbing the Blue Ridge Mtns. Walk out my front door and I have to cross an access road at the end of my driveway, cross the small river and start walking up the mountain (75 yards from front door). I can walk for a full day and not cover the property's perimeter.
When the late spring/early summer nuisance bears are around we have to look before we exit the house. Those young 'uns are too dumb to stay out of your way sometimes.
Would love to hear about your special haunt.
WhiteBeard 121
If I just want to hunt, I can be on public ground with a about a 5 minute drive from my house. However, I mostly hunt some other public ground that has more critters that is about an hour and a half away. When I'm hunting over there, I stay at my parents and it's about a 20 minute drive from their house.
Up until August of last year, I could walk out my back door and be on our 91 acres of family land in a pretty decent area for deer.
We moved in August, so now I am an hour away from the family place....an hour away from several thousand acres of national forest....hour and 45 minutes away from the 1500 acre lease I'm on with 4 other guys. The lease isn't great for deer, but is loaded with turkeys and has a substantial bear population.
Out my back door for the 1300 acre sodom state forest but I usually go to 200 acres private land 4 miles up the rd.
Anywhere from a walk across the dirt road from the house, to 110 miles.
I start hunting in the back yard and can keep on for about 70 something miles.
I have to drive about 45 minutes to my spot.
Out the back door ,1 mile , 8 miles, or 800 miles!
My house sits on 68 acres that I am workin on getting deer to stay on, the lease is a mile, my bro's farm is 8 miles, and we sometimes got to CO or NE to hunt for a week or so....
15 minutes to 2 hours. Depends on where I'm hunting and how much time I have!
About 45 min. for public land. I don't know anyone with private land so, make due with what I can.
About 800 acres out my back door, 75 acres of which is mine. 2400 acres across the road. I sometimes hunt with a friend of mine on an 11,000 acre DEC land that is 45 min. away.
38 miles if I head South, and 26 miles if I head West.
I can be in the national forest in 10 minutes after work. Our family land where I do most of my hunting is 29 miles away. I'll eventually live on it and be able hunt right out the back door.
3 min to one spot 3hrs to the next.
There's a friend of mine that's letting me hunt on his place. They have about 600 acres and it's about 65 miles for me.
We draw for tags here. My elk place is 8 hours, deer 7.5 hours. There are 7 archery tags available near Reno, our best chances are far from civilization.
Back east, I drove 15 min to an hour. But we have elk, antelope and mulies
Ijust start out my back door,get in my car and drive to the freeway where I sit with thousands of others trying to get someplace but nothing is moving.Finally hours later I reach the national forest which is nothing more than burn't brush and rattlesnakes. The rugged hillsides are so crowded with hunters and others, mostly anti-hunters, that I can't find a parking space. someone saw some deer there once, before they stopped shooting the mountain lions.This has got to be the hardest hunting in the nation!
QuoteOriginally posted by bro-n-arrow:
Ijust start out my back door,get in my car and drive to the freeway where I sit with thousands of others trying to get someplace but nothing is moving.Finally hours later I reach the national forest which is nothing more than burn't brush and rattlesnakes. The rugged hillsides are so crowded with hunters and others, mostly anti-hunters, that I can't find a parking space. someone saw some deer there once, before they stopped shooting the mountain lions.This has got to be the hardest hunting in the nation!
Man, I just spit coffee all over my keyboard! That was funny stuff.
its anywhere from 45 min to 2 1/2 hrs for me. I am looking for some closer places to hunt. I did find a sweet honey hole right in the middle of the city (East St. Louis) but its a little hairy to hunt there and the drug dealers and prostitutes also use that road and IL is not a concealed carry state.
Out the back door about 50yds. got a blind for my son. Another 50 and that's his squirrel grounds, a lot of deer also. Nice public land bow only tract about 15 min. ride, then another about 10 min. from there, (deer during January)a couple more management areas within an hours drive from here also, plenty of public land around for now anyway.
Bout 3 miles as a crow flies.
45 miles to my elk or muley spot, about 3 hours for pronghorn and 20 hours driving time to hunt whitetails on my family's property in GA. I dont hunt whitetails much....
We live on our 250 acres and manage the woodland with a wildlife first policy. I love being able to walk out my back door and start hunting right away.
Lots of whitetail deer, ruffed grouse and snowshoe hare both seem to be on the upswing of their cycles and we're starting to see some ringneck pheasants about. A bear passed through last year so I'll be setting a bait or two to see if we can get more regular visits.
If I can't put meat in the freezer, it's not because the hunting ground isn't good enough...
I'm about 5 minutes from turkey and whitetails, and a half hour from where the elk are supposed to be. If I wanted to hunt antelope, they are about 5 minutes away.
Pretty lucky on my place we have Mule and Whitetail Deer. and Sometimes Antelope. Turkey and Elk are about 20 minutes- an hour away. Montana is great.
Head out the back door , clear the patio and start shooting . We own 10 acres in the midst of farmland and permission granted from everyone . Working for one farmer and helping the others , also having them scouting for me all helps. When tags are drawn all the big game is available , whitetail, mulies, moose, elk, bear, even wolves have moved in. Gotta love it.
40 minutes to camp, 20 minutes to lease
I`am lucky to be able to hunt out my backdoor!
Bout 10 min to my property from the house. Moving out there later this year. It has been a life long dream to hunt out my back door. I am feeling very blessed.
5 minutes at home in NE Florida or 4 hours to hunt my lease in SW Georgia.
I drive about 100 miles, I usually stay overnight.
The "back 40" is literally out back. My closest stand at home is 500 yards from the house and the farthest is about 1/2 mile. Decent hunting, I rarely hunt at home and not see at least the resident does and fawns. Maximum convenience with enough potential to make it worthwhile.
If I have the time though, I really like hunting the big public woods that is about 10 minutes north of me. I don't know how many acres, it's about 10x13 miles. It's completely different from home, no crop fields...strictly big-woods Minnesota deer hunting with very few trails and access only from the edges. Tough hunting, many outings I don't see a deer. Feels more like I'm actually hunting though, at home I feel more like a strategic sniper...the old resident does come out and look to see which stand I'm in that night...lol.
I'm fortunate to have both.
130 to 160 miles one way depending on where I choose to hunt. :banghead:
For white-tail hunting I can see the gate to my hunting spot from my back door.
I move about a bit for other critters.
8/10ths of a mile, 4 miles, 50 miles. Those are private properties. State land spots could be 5-30 miles.
40 miles to Lake Aquilla (Corps of Engineers Land).
100 yards to 60 miles.
30 minutes to my hunting spot on private property
In the center of the valley here. If I go west its about 20 minutes to my first spot. Foot of the coast range (coyote heaven). If I go east its maybe an hour to the foot hills of the sierras More coyotes and blacktails. An hour and a half more im on top of the world.Sonora Pass.Mulies and blacktails. But moastly bears and lions now and some coyotes. We realy need a lion season here.
9 miles to my small place on the East side of the county.
Fortunate to have food plots in my front yard, If you get tired of mowing the lawn, plant something that benefits yourself and the wildlife. I throw additional sunflowers in my powerplant for the wife. Plenty of quality public land around if your willing to walk since PA initiated a point restriction.
Approximately 7750 miles next March.
Anywhere between 100 yds and 250 miles from home ! I hunt 3 states. :archer2:
Back home in TN my family is very blessed to be able to hunt our fifty acres on which we have several stands. I've killed deer as close as 100 yards from the house. Also with about a ten minute drive I could hunt several thousand acres of my favorite public land which is hardly used during archery season. Here in Cali is a different story however. As far as I can tell the closest place that is worth hunting is about an hour and a half which I'm more than willing to drive of course.
When I get the opportunity to hunt at a good freinds place,it is about 10 minutes down the road.Otherwise,my normal lease is about a 2 1/2 hour drive...but a beautiful drive it is.
It varies, but I can walk out my back door and have access to about 150 acres, I can drive 2 minutes and have 300 more. I have a bow only area that is 137 acres and that is a 5 minute drive if I hustle, the deer hunting and bunny hunting are pretty good anywhere I hunt. I also have an 800 acre lease in Ohio and that is 700 or so. Shawn
My side fence is National Forest: 3-pt or antlerless mule deer.
Im about 20 mins from a good 4,000 acre bow only wma. Its got great deer but they are a little pressured. My favorite hunting ground is a NWR i grew up hunting, its an hour away and 42,000 acres
Out my backdoor. 2000 acres.
Out the back door for 180 acres. Drive 20 minutes for another 75.
I can walk to the end of my road & hunt a small block of woods, urban hunting at it's best. The public land I hunt ranges from 30 mins. to 2 1/2 hr drives.
I've got two great places to hunt one I can see off my deck but it is a 50 mile drive the other is out of state and a 350+ mile drive.
On Guam, out my back door. For my annual Texas hunt, over 7,000 miles, LOL.
I can go from my driveway to sitting in the stand in just under an hour. I also hunt with a friend in Arkansas and that takes about 6 hours (so I usually take a day off and make it a long weekend).
Back door for me as well, I only have 8 acres, but it butts up against neighboring properties which I have rights to hunt. I also have a bow-only protected 500 acres across my street. For NJ standards I am pretty blessed.
Out my back door for a quick hunt I have access to about 30 acres 2 hour drive to deer camp in Georgia......stabow
About and 1/2 hour to 6 hour drive for big game .
35 or 40 steps
For whitetails its 3 hour drive for me, but well worth it. I have many times left at 2 am to get into the tree before daylight. Got to do it! Ha! Mike
farthest is a 25 minute drive and where I usually deer hunt.
my main turkey and squirrel spot is about a 2 minute drive. Also not bad for hunting Doe.
3 1/2hrs from my front door to my camper on the lease. I wish it was closer but it is not.
All you guys that get to hunt out your back doors are lucky indeed!
Bisch
20 minute ride and a 15 minute walk to my favorite spot in an area I've been hunting for at least 25 years.
The woods are getting smaller though. Housing developments and a golf course have taken a huge bite out of the woods. I would like to find another area but I've become so comfortable there. The day is coming though.
About 130 miles for me to get from home to my place in The Catskill Mountains... With good weather the trip can be half the fun!
... mike ...
For deer, about an 1 1/2 hours on long Island. for turkey it is 3 1/2 hours to the Catskills.
For me, its a 5 minute slow stroll South down my lane to my small woods or a short 15 minute ride straight East to some prime deer hunting on state land.
4 1/2 hours one way
I don't get to go as much as I used to (when it was 2 1/2 hrs) but the country is pretty and the hunting buddies are good guys.