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Public land ettiquete?

HomeBrewer

Junior Member
19
0
Coshocton
So I'm new to hunting. Just started last deer season. I have only been able to hunt public land and always come across other hunters. I try to stay as far away from them as possible and usually when I see one I just turn around and head another direction. I usually find myself posted up in what I think is a poor spot. Any info or tips on how to hunt public land?
 

Mike

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,840
223
Up Nort
Find an area where it is difficult to get to and or a long ass hike; find a creek to cross. Most are not willing to venture too far. After doing this, I saw a lot more deer and a lot less hunters in the few spots that I hunt on public land. Bing.com has a killer "birds eye" view aerial map feature.
 

HomeBrewer

Junior Member
19
0
Coshocton
Thanks for the tips fellas. I'm looking at Woodbury Wildlife Area map...would you recommend woodlands or "croplands" in quotations bc I don't see many crops on there?
 

Curran

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,971
172
Central Ohio
#1 - Good for you for even asking the question & thinking that way. Hunting Public Land can be frustrating with people walking in on you if you're already set up in a spot hunting, so glad to hear that even though you're new to the sport, you obviously know common courtesy. Keep up the good work.

#2 - Get there early, and get there early. You may still have somebody walk in on you, but at least you were there first, and they look like the bad guy if they don't turn back & go elsewhere. Oh, and get there early.

# 3 - Scout from the computer. Like Mike mentioned, use sites like Bing.com to fly over areas. Look for hard to access spots that are likely pinch points or funnels for deer & start there. Typically the farther back you go, the less people you'll encounter.

#4 - Try and use other hunters to your advantage. Find the easy access spots that most people will hunt, and think about how those hunters will influence deer movement away from that spot.

#5 - When possible, hunt the weekdays. Public Lands get the most pressure on Saturdays & Sundays. Try to get out during the week, and hunt on a Thursday.
 

HomeBrewer

Junior Member
19
0
Coshocton
Also I drive a Monte Carlo so some of the tough spots are impossible to get to. I can't get down some of the back roads. My car is like a freakin' low rider. Damn I need a truck! Any tips on how to interact with hunters I come across or what I should do if I see other hunters in an area I'm in?
 

HomeBrewer

Junior Member
19
0
Coshocton
I'm going out tomorrow morning. Anyone familiar with Coshocton area know if I would be better in Woodbury or Wills Creek area? I know I should have been scouting well in advance but I'm new to all this and am gradually gaining an understanding of what to do. My friends don't hunt so I'm flying solo on all this...live and learn right? This site has been really helpful!
 

Hoytmania

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
11,518
167
Gods Country
Homebrew first off I want to say hello and welcome. Glad you are finding the site useful because that is what it is meant to be. A place for outdoors men and women to learn from each others experiences and share all those experiences. Unfortunately I am not from the Chosocton area. I do know that there are a few members from that area. I know Mao is and could probably give you some advice on which place would be better. I am pretty sure he hunts mostly private land so I don't think you would be in competition for any public "honey holes". Maybe you should just shoot him a pm and see what he has to say.

Best of luck and looking forward to hearing some of your hunting stories. :smiley_coolpeace:
 

Mountaineer

Banned
661
0
WV
HB..

It doesnt matter what publicland you hunt..big bucks will exist there. First of all..You must understand what your hunting...If you dont respect big bucks and their behaviors you wont consistently get chances at em...Understnad your quarry before you start stomping all through the woods. ..I started hunting Ohio publicland in 07..Ive taken a 160 class...a 145 class and a 150 class...Ill take another mature buck this season..why??..because i understand what im hunting....Do the research on behavior of big bucks and how they react to human pressure and you will start filling your tags. PM me and ill give ya some tips on publicland big bucks.

GL

I see this is about turkeys..Your on your own...I cannot hunt and be consistently succesful at something that has no idea what its going to do from one minute to the next. Cant help ya on turkeys..dude.
 
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HomeBrewer

Junior Member
19
0
Coshocton
I appreciate all tips from anyone on this site! Don't hesitate to put your 2 cents in if you look at this post. I'm sure I'm not the only one that will benefit from hearing about others experiences or info on how to respect other hunters on public land.
 
public land deer arent like normal deer , they get slammed with so much pressure , i have hunted public land deer for almost my whole hunting carrer thats 20 years , curran gave you the best advice so far , pressured deer dont act like noraml deer on public land , 90 percent of deer i see taken on public land are taken on pinch points , weather they are pushed from drives or just running from people who sling 50 slugs at em they will take the path of least resistance to get to cover escape routes , escape routes , escape routes , more big deer are taking off of public land from escape routes , get in there scout found where big deer are living and if your gonna bow hunt it hunt like you normally would a property , but if your gonna gun hunt it set up on a escape route , most times deer are pushed out of bedrooms by either drivers or just some idiot bumbling round looking for a deer to shoot and when he goes to bolt he is gonna use a way out he knows best which is closest to cover , hunt slowly , very slowly , if you have to look down at your feet to make sure you dont make noise breakign a stick or something your walking to fast , i watched a ravine get pounded hard first 5 hours of light on first day of season , me and my buddy got bored and decided to get up and do a two man drive on this ravine to kill some time and get feeling back in oiur cold legs , we started walking through a thicket of small trees that every one walked around cause it had about a foot of water laying in it and had a hillside of nothing but mud , well that little thicket that everyone walked around that wasnt even more then 50 square yards held the biggest deer my buddy has ever shot at , a 150 class 10 point with double drops , every one else walked around it and this deer knew he was safe , anyway , because every one else walked normally round it the deer knew where they were and stayed put , we walked with a 3 step gait , take three loud steps then stop for up to a minute then take 3 quiet steps , the deer get nervous and bolt cause one minute they know where your at and the next your in a tottally different spot , they get nervous and bolt from thier hiding spots
 

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
Ettiquete on public with regards to other hunters is a"life is not fair" game. From your post you have done the right thing. If you stumble across someone just go another way. If you actually got right up to someone just apologize and wish them good luck.

I generally haven't entered when someone else beat me to a parking spot. I would move along to another parking area where no one is. That is where the get there early part comes in. Unfortunately, others will not be as respectful. I have had a guy climb a tree with his climber not 30 yards from me. It didn't matter what I said, the guy was going to hunt from that tree.

So as everyone has said, get there early, get to places most will be too lazy to get to. If someone approaches just let them know you are there and hope they will be as respectful as you would be...
 

Huckleberry Finn

Senior Member
15,973
135
#1 - Good for you for even asking the question & thinking that way. Hunting Public Land can be frustrating with people walking in on you if you're already set up in a spot hunting, so glad to hear that even though you're new to the sport, you obviously know common courtesy. Keep up the good work.

I echo that!

You asked about how to interact with other hunters. Be friendly and polite, but don't be afraid to hold your ground either. There's no golden rule, it depends on the situation.

Oh, and welcome to TOO!
 

Mountaineer

Banned
661
0
WV
If you do what everybody else does, you'll get what everybody else does.

Publicland hunting is about timing..wheather its deer or turkeys.

GL
 

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
38,841
260
In my opinion there isn't any etiquette on public land. We all here know how it should be done, and we know what manners are. But i guarantee you right now 95% of them out there roaming public don't. I'm not going to lie to you. Unless you are hunting Wayne national, AEP or some other larger chunk, you might as well go ahead and get mad now. State parks etc you are going to get stepped on no matter what. And 95% of the time those people aren't going to have an ounce of manners about it.

I've had people walk right under me an hour after daylight and set up 100 yards behind me in a finger cutting me off from the woods. They knew i was there, i even kind of asked "what are you doing man" and they just kept walking, sat their ass down under a tree, light up a smoke, and started "hunting"...

I've hiked my ass back a mile and a half carrying my stand and my gear, only to have someone drive by on a quad an hour after daylight..

I've been the first to a pull off only to walk out and there be 4 other trucks there blocking me in.

I've had people walk under me then climb a tree 60 yards away between me and the bedding area.

All that and i have NEVER hunted close to the truck.

The best advice i can give you is..

Find the thickest nasty stuff and hunt in the middle of it. Or find a creek and cross it. Or walk until you don't see beer cans, candy wrappers, deer piss, buck jam, C'mere deeer bags and hunt there. There are big deer on almost each piece of public land. No doubt. IMO find the thick stuff, find a tree in it, and hunt there.

And after you hunt public in the morning, change clothes and spend the rest of the day knocking on doors and asking permission.. In the end, it will be a better use of your time.