Hunting for Mature Bucks on Public Land

[humblehunter22]

Good Morning Everyone,

Touching base to try and ask this question here in Hope's to maybe get some light better shed on this subject matter. Due to some unfortunate circumstances and things that be I have found myself unable to continue hunting a piece of private property that I had managed to secure access to at the end of the season last year. With that being said silly me unfortunately placed all bets on that 1 horse only being a sure thing. Now that I find myself placed back in the race of hunting public land in general and overall refusal to "hang it up" just because I know that public land always has the capacity to produce quality deer if you are willing to put the effort and time in to work for them as opposed to enjoying the fruits of private land benefits. So given the situation I have mentioned and the last minute developments. My question more or less is for those of you who may work successfully on the fly or by being able to play off an audible or maybe those who travel out of state and bounce from place to place on the go. How exactly do you tackle these type of scenarios when you are trying to find those spots or areas to set up on and blindly hunt for mature bucks on public lands? I understand the key factors involved being to be willing to go where no one else wants to go in terms of distance in the woods or overall toughness of access, as well as the tall tell signs you are supposed to look for being food, source of water and bedding areas. But more or less how do you evaluate your imagry in terms of scanning it over and identifying the equivalent of knowing that something or some area on that map just stands out to you that you absolutely have to go check into yourself? Seeing as with each passing week this late in the game I also know the rutt is not far off to be as well so what kind of set ups would you look into hunting in regards to that. I.e. clearcutt, hardwoods, creek bottoms, pines etc.... I have a baseline plan in my head of how to best tackle this for the remainder of the season but I always find it is better to ask when in doubt because I'm sure there is a wealth of knowledge and experience amongst the masses on this great group and in evaluation of myself in terms of situations like this I do not have much experience or knowledge on how to go off of. I have been one to meticulously plan, plan, and plan some more and then when I think I have done enough I go back to the drawing board and do my due diligence of PCC's and PCI's in terms of my plans. That along with hours spent in terms of boots on ground in the areas I intend to hunt just trying to follow along the seasonal patterns and understand the shifts in activity leading up through the season. I look forward to hearing some feedback and hopefully learning something that I have might not have considered or thought of. Thanks everyone.

 

[Waddams]

First - I'm a noob and still feel like I have very little idea of what I'm really doing. That said, like you said, I found myself a spot on public land that is a long walk to get to and started scouted it after last season. Put cameras in, etc. Eventually found a sub-area where there were multiple big, giant bucks showing up on camera regularly and in daylight. Now I've got a ladder stand that I hauled in there set up, as well as a ground blind in a different spot. And yeah, the long haul with that stuff to get it way back in there (over a mile walk, and it's not flat all the way) was a pain.

That said, during archery, I saw deer on just about every sit, even if they didn't come within bow range. Getting anything I kill out might be a chore as well, but I've got a decent game cart and will manage.

I've also spent some time during archery wandering around and scouting the area in more detail. Have found certain areas and funnels that always have more tracks and droppings, some rubs on trees, a few scrapes so far, and a few places along a lake edge where they like to go water. Turns out the lake edges are pretty steep except a few places and it lends itself to pretty much every beastie in the woods having constricted places to get a drink. I ended up changing my ground blind location from it's initial set point to a different one after said scouting.

I'm pretty confident that when I can get back out there with my rifle, I'll be filling my freezer one way or another because like I said, I've seen deer many times, just not within bow range, but also at ranges that would be easy shots with my rifle. I have yet to see one of those bruisers with my own eyes, but they are always on camera when I go check. Hoping they'll be chasing does and being stupid at some point that coincides with when I'm sitting in the right place and the right time.

So all that to say - for me at least, it has taken time in the woods. A lot of time spent scouting. Multiple trips to the same area and a lot of walking. Honestly, it's been a lot of hard work, and is going to continue to be a lot of hard work. However, I feel like I'm learning at such an accelerated rated, I learn something new every time I'm out there in terms of what terrain and environment conditions to zero in on first when scouting, ie - how to go find them quicker. I've noticed a few things that I've learned to spot from aerial tools like Google Earth that seem to help zero in on them easier as well, so the effort has been worth it.

I hope to have a private land spot to go one day and I figure deer are deer, what I'm going through right now will just make it that much easier if/when I've got a private land spot.

 

[gma1320]

One thing I've noticed is that in a lot of cases the most obvious places hold a good deer because it is often overlooked. I.e. right behind a camp site, entrances to wmas, roads or trails. Sometimes right out in the open even.

 

[HabershamHunter85]

I grew up hunting public land, I know most of the NF in my area like the back of my hand. From the time to time though I will go farther back or hit a new spot I find on Google maps. My success has usually come from hunting the edge of pine thickets that have oaks and mountain laurel on the perimeter usually along a ridge. Bucks will travel the hollers and go into the pine thickets usually right after daylight. Find a spot like this on Google Maps or Google Earth, hunt it, and when you get done scout it for rubs and trails. You won't be able to tell if there are acorns there by looking at the maps but you can find the thickets. Also look at the topo map to get an idea of the land. I have found that usually when scouting, if you find a spot that is thick and you think who would hunt this, that is the place to hang a stand. Those mature public land bucks are smart, and they don't like being out in the open to much, until the rut then they lose their mind for a bit. But that's my two cents, find heavy cover with some trails and food source, and you will find the deer. I hunt in the mountains so it will probably differ from your area. Also like GMA said, you don't have to hike 2 miles back in the woods. You would be surprised at how many bucks are hanging out right by the public land entrances. Then at the same time, those 2 mile hikes are worth it sometimes. The pic below shows the area I usually look for on a map.

 

[mallardsx2]

Best advice when it comes to public land hunting is to do what everyone else doesnt want to do.

Taking a boat
Take a bike
Crossing deep creeks
Hiking further
Hunting steep side-hills
Hunting in the rain

Although it always does amaze me I almost always find some kind of remnants of someone else already being where I hunt no matter where I go. lol

 

[Buckman18]

Ive killed many, many mature public land bucks in the mountains. The only advice you need is: keep walking until you find him.

 

[humblehunter22]

Thanks for all of the great information so far everyone. You dont know how much I truly appreciate honest and open advice and tips in regards to this topic. I will try to reply as best I can to the above mentioned. In terms Waddams I am right there with you brother, my 1st public land deer i killed was 3 miles on a particular section of public land on the last day of a rifle hunt in 2015 while i was home on post deployment leave. I literally looked up the maps of the property after getting the ok from the wife that I could hunt for a day. I scanned the maps over found I nice hardwood creek bottom nestled between a series of hardwood ridges and a 1st year clear cutt so I automatically said that's where I'll be is on the corner of that pocket watching the hardwoods and the clearcutt. Sure enough killed a 3 point at 8 am after starting my morning at 1 am walking in to locate a tree to hunt from. As well last years season I tried to focus on hunting the more shallow spots and easier access places on some public land as I have a bad knee now which hinders me most days so I tried the shallow spots hunting last season on public land and as is expected Spent more time waving off, whistling at unsuspecting hunters coming into areas after I have been there trying to set up which is fine with me that's why they call it public land is because it is fair game and open access to anyone. Had several hunts where deer were killed right above or below me from hunters that set up within 100 yards. So my focus is to push myself to go back to the deep aspect of hunting public land to prevent the possibility or issue of doing so.

 

[Waddams]

humberhunter - i've thought about not going so deep, trying to find game trails where they cross roads, and just go in a few hundred yards. I haven't done the scouting to find such a place yet, but I will say when driving, I see 'em on public land crossing roads or hanging out along the edge regularly.

My deep spot, there's some up and down, but there is a very old logging road (ATV access not allowed on it) that's overgrown but still has a decent gravel base to it. I walk in and out on it. If I kill anything, it will make the game cart easier to manage. There are other hunters that go in and out there too, it's just none of them go back as far as I do.

I do have some other places I'd like to go scout out that I've found on Google Earth, similar to what HabershamHunter posted. One day I'll get around to it.

 

[rugerfan]

I will put my limited experience out there, as I am by no means an expert on hunting or even on chasing mature bucks, not sure how mature the one that is in my avatar is, nor do I even care at this point, but I have seen a lot more deer on public land so far this year, than I have in the past, part of that is playing it smart, playing the wind, slowly stalking in and out, and not just pushing through and putting a stand up and expecting to see deer. Put boots on the ground before season and studied maps, heavy cover, light cover, food sources, access points that looked overly used and access points that did not look like they were used in quite some time. I also payed attention to people sign, where other people parked, watch as other people bump a deer, and how that deer reacts and where does it go.

I think you just have to keep moving around until you find what you are looking for.

 

[humblehunter22]

Yes sir Waddams my main go to spot that I have learned on in terms of the better big buck activity I have found on the piece of public land that is local to me the majority of my walk in is off of an old logging road that dead ends into sadly enough a decent sized what I call grass patch now that used to be a nice food plot several years back that the DNR has since abandoned keeping up with. But I follow the road to the dead end and then bank off behind the food plot and thats where the fun begins on my treck to the spot for me. It is a hardwood creek bottom that is bordered on 1 side by 5 yr old clearcutt and the opposite side is a hardwood ridge line that transitions into a thick planted pine section on the knob of the ridge. And is where I had seen to this day my largest ever typical racked buck while in the woods. I was scouting the area out in preparation for a rifle hunt there last year the week before the hunt and while walking the creek bottom I came across 1 lone trail that was beat down to the dirt that you could just tell after walking several hundred yards of the creek out that bingo this is it this is how they access in and out of this section that this crossing is the key you have been looking for. So I walked up on this singular best down cattle trail no grass no leaves no debris nothing just bare dirt. So I see that this particular trail leads up onto the hardwood ridge above me so I ease out of the creek and up the side of this small ridge following the side of the trail up to where it plains out. Once at the top I see the trail forks into 2 directions and I immediately spot out several scrapes within a row near each other on the edge of this ridge. So I am thinking to myself I do not need to see anymore this is a solid bet for here I'll just mark it down snap a pic or 2 and leave. Well as I am standing at the head of this trail marking my location down on my map on my phone. I hear something rustling around moving my way just on the opposite side of this small hill which I at 1st assumed it was nothing just a squirrel no more than that. Well I finish making my notes and pin dropped I go to put my phone away and as I look up I matched eyes with this beautifully symmetrical racked 9 point good respectable sag in his front brisket and he is just starting me down and knows exactly what is going on. I don't as much as snap 1 or 2 blurry pics off before he is off to the races back on up into the pines up above. I didnt know whether to faint from excitement or wet my drawers first hahaha. I will be planning a visit to the same general area again here soon in hopes that he is still present in the area and the trail has not changed up in terms of usage. Unfortunately the conditions were solid rains for the rifle hunt and after the 1st day of getting soaked all the way back there I changed my plan up and hunted shallow.

 

[humblehunter22]

Yes sir rugerfan 2015 ultimately was the turning point for me in terms of how I hunted public lands and how i developed my plan to hunt public from season to season. Granted i do hang and hunt from a stand when i hunt but as mentioned when prepared unlike the current case being I usually spend February up through a week or 2 before archery walking places out every few days or so learning the terrain and activity as well studying imagry and comparing different trends I make note of while in the woods in terms of my own personal tracker of seasonal patterns.

 

[Biggs64]

You can save a lot of leg work by cyber-scouting before you even hit the woods. Most WMAs have interactive maps online where you can view terrain features, topography, and satellite images. I try to look for edge habitat near changes in terrain and usually find good sign when I decide to scout in these types of areas. When I'm hunting a spot for the first time, I will usually wait until daylight and scout my way into a spot until I see good sign like rubs, scrapes, heavily browsed food sources, etc.