How to deal with Public Land success

transfixer

Senior Member
I'm gonna give you some very sound advice. Don't do anything that the two of you are not genuinely agreeing on. Some of the advice you are getting here will cause a lot of animosity and resentment in your marriage. I know from experience. I had the same mentality of some others at one time. I am going to do whatni am going to do. Its my time and money and i deserve it. That is not the way a marriage works.I managed not to end up divorced, but it has taken a while to he forgiven of my selfish behavior.

While there is some truth in what you say, doing so sacrifices your wants or desires, by giving in to her "selfish" behavior ,,,,,,if you're okay with that ? fine,
 

kingfish

Senior Member
Over the years I've hunted 3 clubs in 3 states and thoroughly enjoyed them all. Some of my best friends in the whole world I met in those clubs. That being said, I've been a public land hunter for the last 22 years and wouldn't trade it for a hunt club. The challenges are everything you read about it, but the satisfaction of being successful far outweigh the difficulties.
 

Long Cut

Senior Member
Serious question. How can I justify spending money to joining a club next year to my wife. I was very fortunate to harvest a nice buck and a doe this past weekend on a WMA close to our new house. Prior to this past weekend we had been discussing the cost's of joining a lease very close to my house but now she don't want to even talk about it because I was able to catch a couple this past weekend. Tried explaining to her that it's HARD hunting public land but she say's it can't be too hard because I have killed already .... any ideas out there?

Edited to add info - In the last 25 years I have only joined a hunting club one year and that was to hear beagles run deer. I was fortunate to grow up close to an Army base and had access to hunt and fish 255K acres for the last 32 years, I'm 48 now. In my younger years we ran all over that place and have our holes we hit every year for freezer meat. There isn't an issue with me hunting or spending time away chasing the deer. I think it's just she's looking at what it cost up front to hunt public versus what it cost to hunt a club/lease instead of adding gas and time into the mix. Unfortunately I think it's an Apples to Oranges on her part ...

It’s whatever gets you out there. Both can be done for relatively cheap or extremely expensive.

When I hunted WMA’s hard, I’d spend about $5k per year in fuel alone. That’s mainly scouting but also putting in 60+ hunts a season and some WMA’s are a +50 mile one-way ride.

I’ve become more interested in the habitat management side of hunting, so the private land intrigues me more nowadays.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I realize there are a lot of clubs out there where there is drama, competition among members, members who are jerks, etc, etc,

but they all are not like that, I was in the same club for over 40yrs, ran the club for 20+ of those years , I would never join a club where the acreage to member ratio is less than 40 if its totally wooded, or less than 50 to 1 if some of it is open, club rules are necessary but don't need to be overdone, I don't like the assigned zone idea, we always preferred to allow each member one primary stand they could declare off limits to anyone else, maximum of 3 stands per hunter, the other two could be hunted by someone else as long as that person asked permission of the hunter who put them up ,

Members who caused problems were kicked out , quickly .

Public land hunting can be enjoyable, I've done it in the past, but it can also be dangerous ! with all the idiots we have in our society , I don't care for the idea of being in the woods with people who might not have much experience with hunting or firearms ,,, I know people who have gotten shot by other hunters when hunting public land or a wma, I've had people come walking by me an hour after dark while I'm sitting in my climber I've been in since before daylight .

I have no answer for the permission from the wife thing ,, that is a bigger problem than just hunting ,

Edit: you might explain to her what I mentioned above, a club is much safer in my mind than hunting public land, I'm assuming she wouldn't want you hunting in an area you wouldn't know if anyone else was around that may or may not be safe with a high powered rifle ?
There are just as many unsafe idiots in hunting clubs as there are on the WMA. How does joining a club make you suddenly a great, safe hunter?
 

sportsman94

Senior Member
There are just as many unsafe idiots in hunting clubs as there are on the WMA. How does joining a club make you suddenly a great, safe hunter?

I can’t speak to the guy you quoted, but I feel much more at ease when I know where other people are hunting. Especially when it’s not potentially right on top of me. I’ll give my anecdotal experience from Thursday again. It was a bonus buck hunt, because my local wmas don’t offer any other opportunities during rifle season. I hunted the bottom edge of a nasty grown up cutover thinking that I could shine someone off if they came from the way I came from. I also thought I’d have a 150 yard buffer with the thickness of the clearcut. About daylight I hear something moving through the clearcut. Then, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a climber climbing a pine. I broke out a map and could see the only section with trees big enough to climb that showed on the aerial was about 80-100 yards away. I know good and well that guy didn’t know I was there and the thought of hearing his rifle touch off made me super uneasy. I know people say to go far and get away from people, but in the wmas I hunt around here I would challenge you to find a spot that doesn’t have a road or foot traffic only path within 200 yards of it. Combine that with the amount of people on the bonus buck rut hunts and the fact that most places can be accessed from multiple directions and there’s no reasonable way to avoid that uneasy feeling to me. I still hunt the hunts and it is a version of fun, but it’s not the rest and relaxation I get hunting somewhere where I know where other people are sitting
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
But I do agree that there are plenty, if not more, unsafe idiots on hunting clubs. You just often know where they are at
The secret to hunting public is don't hunt the obvious spots where the idiots are. There are millions of acres. Don't go to a "parking area" or near a food plot, or anywhere else obvious. It's very, very rare for me to encounter another hunter on public.
 

Browning Slayer

Official Voice Of The Dawgs !
There are just as many unsafe idiots in hunting clubs as there are on the WMA. How does joining a club make you suddenly a great, safe hunter?
In my club I'm the only one that drinks beer and hunts. Errbody else is safe. Which makes me safer. :bounce:
 

transfixer

Senior Member
There are just as many unsafe idiots in hunting clubs as there are on the WMA. How does joining a club make you suddenly a great, safe hunter?

It doesn't, but like I mentioned, members that cause issues are dealt with quickly if the club is managed right, I kicked out quite a few members for drinking in the woods, killing deer they didn't have tags for, bringing friends to hunt without clearing it first, etc,etc, in the 40+ yrs we had our club there was never an instance of someone being shot at, much less shot, but myself and others met and talked with potential members before we ever allowed them to join, if we didn't get a good feeling from them, we didn't let them join, many, many people didn't make the cut
 

Browning Slayer

Official Voice Of The Dawgs !
In the 7 years I've had my lease, I've never had one person walk up on me. So there's that. Matter of fact. Never had anyone walk up on me in any hunting club I've been a member of.
 

Triple C

Senior Member
Fortunate to hunt my own piece of dirt. But prior, was in a number of clubs from late 70's. Enjoyed 'em all. Many wonderful memories made with my boys on a club around campfires and cookouts with good friends back in the day. Still miss that at times.

Perhaps lucky, but just never encountered the ill will and drama that some speak of with their club experience.

Save early and often and one day...buy your own hunting grounds.
 

gma1320

I like a Useles Billy Thread
While there is some truth in what you say, doing so sacrifices your wants or desires, by giving in to her "selfish" behavior ,,,,,,if you're okay with that ? fine,
Mutual agreement goes both ways.
 

Doug B.

Senior Member
The secret to hunting public is don't hunt the obvious spots where the idiots are. There are millions of acres. Don't go to a "parking area" or near a food plot, or anywhere else obvious. It's very, very rare for me to encounter another hunter on public.
The problem with this conversation is the terminology. What most people here are calling public land is WMA's of only a few thousand acres.
What NCHillbilly and I consider public is millions of acres. I can hunt all season and never see another hunter. Which is safer? Definitely not a hunting club!!!

I read all these post talking about public land being unsafe and I'm like "what!". Then I realize where the guy is talking about.

The answer is still the same. Don't hunt where the idiots are. It's funny. Here in the mountains when Coleman River and Lake Burton were WMA's people would flock here to hunt them. They still flock here for Warwoman WMA. But when they took Coleman River and Lake Burton out of the WMA people instantly stopped coming to hunt there. IT IS STILL PUBLIC LAND!!!! IT IS STILL NATIONAL FOREST!!!! It is still huntable!

For me, public land is safe. There is NO drama. Ther is no charge. I have been in clubs. They were great! No drama. No jealousy. No problems.......ever! But I wouldn't trade public land for ALL the hunt clubs that there are!!!
 

Doug B.

Senior Member
The problem with this conversation is the terminology. What most people here are calling public land is WMA's of only a few thousand acres.
What NCHillbilly and I consider public is millions of acres. I can hunt all season and never see another hunter. Which is safer? Definitely not a hunting club!!!

I read all these post talking about public land being unsafe and I'm like "what!". Then I realize where the guy is talking about.

The answer is still the same. Don't hunt where the idiots are. It's funny. Here in the mountains when Coleman River and Lake Burton were WMA's people would flock here to hunt them. They still flock here for Warwoman WMA. But when they took Coleman River and Lake Burton out of the WMA people instantly stopped coming to hunt there. IT IS STILL PUBLIC LAND!!!! IT IS STILL NATIONAL FOREST!!!! It is still huntable!

For me, public land is safe. There is NO drama. Ther is no charge. I have been in clubs. They were great! No drama. No jealousy. No problems.......ever! But I wouldn't trade public land for ALL the hunt clubs that there are!!!
Sorry! I know I was off topic. But reading others posts here caused me to throw in my two cents!
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
It doesn't, but like I mentioned, members that cause issues are dealt with quickly if the club is managed right, I kicked out quite a few members for drinking in the woods, killing deer they didn't have tags for, bringing friends to hunt without clearing it first, etc,etc, in the 40+ yrs we had our club there was never an instance of someone being shot at, much less shot, but myself and others met and talked with potential members before we ever allowed them to join, if we didn't get a good feeling from them, we didn't let them join, many, many people didn't make the cut
How do you know that somebody ain't snuck in there hunting that don't belong to the club?
 

sportsman94

Senior Member
The secret to hunting public is don't hunt the obvious spots where the idiots are. There are millions of acres. Don't go to a "parking area" or near a food plot, or anywhere else obvious. It's very, very rare for me to encounter another hunter on public.

If I was hunting a remote piece of public land I would agree. The places around me have checkerboard patterns of roads and trails. Think every couple hundred yards there’s a road or a trail so even if you park in between where there isn’t any parking spot you will be surrounded by people. I think the kinds of places we hunt are obviously very different. I will host if you want to come to one of these bonus buck hunts and try to find a spot without other hunters. I will make you cook though so I don’t embarrass myself! I realize I could drive a couple hours and get to places where this isn’t an issue. I’m talking about what is local to me and the OP though
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
If I was hunting a remote piece of public land I would agree. The places around me have checkerboard patterns of roads and trails. Think every couple hundred yards there’s a road or a trail so even if you park in between where there isn’t any parking spot you will be surrounded by people. I think the kinds of places we hunt are obviously very different. I will host if you want to come to one of these bonus buck hunts and try to find a spot without other hunters. I will make you cook though so I don’t embarrass myself! I realize I could drive a couple hours and get to places where this isn’t an issue. I’m talking about what is local to me and the OP though
I hunt public halfway down the SC/GA line a lot, and don't run into folks. It's not just here in the mountains. I guess if you've got a tiny public spot, you might have issues, but if you're on a 200 acre lease with 10 other folks, I don't see a lot of difference.
 

sportsman94

Senior Member
The problem with this conversation is the terminology. What most people here are calling public land is WMA's of only a few thousand acres.
What NCHillbilly and I consider public is millions of acres. I can hunt all season and never see another hunter. Which is safer? Definitely not a hunting club!!!

I read all these post talking about public land being unsafe and I'm like "what!". Then I realize where the guy is talking about.

The answer is still the same. Don't hunt where the idiots are. It's funny. Here in the mountains when Coleman River and Lake Burton were WMA's people would flock here to hunt them. They still flock here for Warwoman WMA. But when they took Coleman River and Lake Burton out of the WMA people instantly stopped coming to hunt there. IT IS STILL PUBLIC LAND!!!! IT IS STILL NATIONAL FOREST!!!! It is still huntable!

For me, public land is safe. There is NO drama. Ther is no charge. I have been in clubs. They were great! No drama. No jealousy. No problems.......ever! But I wouldn't trade public land for ALL the hunt clubs that there are!!!

You are right Doug. I didn’t know what NCH public land was like, but I assumed it was similar to the national forest. I could certainly drive up to national forest and hunt, but if that was my sole source then my opportunities to go would be greatly limited. For hunting what public land I have available around me my options are to join the masses in a less than relaxing environment to try to get a buck on a three day hunt. Every time I have been on one of these hunts I’ve been walked in on. And that’s not hunting obvious places either. If I had national forest within a short drive of the house I would most likely never entertain the idea of a club
 
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