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For those that hunt public land!!!

How far parking, roads, homes, etc.. Do you typically try and get when hunting on public land. We have all heard that you have to go deeper than the other hunters. But it seems that doesn't work as well anymore. You either have guys that ride atv's in from the private. You have people that leave stands/blinds up year round and just have to hike themself and their weapon out there. You also get the guys that walk up on you when you have been there for a few hours. They get all lippy claiming they've hunted that area for years and you have to move.

I have some killer spots scouted out for this season that are only a half mile from the road. Pretty close for my likes, but it's where the buck sign is. Most importantly it's where the hunter sign wasn't. I still have 5 or 6 spots that are a good 1.5 to 2 mile jaunt one way. But I have found some honey holes close also. So lets hear it. Are you get as far from the truck as you can type. Or do you like to be within a few hundred yards of the old huntin rig;)

It depends where I hunt. In the Northern Kettle Moraine area, which is a good area, in se Wis, I find other hunters, very respectful. mostly state land, do not find, left over stands or hassles,,,,,, some of it, is also private, leased to the state.....

I killed one of my better bucks, in a 7acre parcel, by a creek,,,,, I hunt where the sign is, but also know that a lot of that sign is made at night....

I continue to hunt bedding areas, and in a lot of junk..... if I blow a spot, I just go to another one......

In the north, I do not have to deal with houses, or ATV etc, in fact, I find little abuse of the ATV;s, they do stick to authorized trails....... I have a good spot off of one of those......

however my problem, is left over stands, where guys get a little possessive of their spots,,,, usually not a problem, last late season got a real hassle, and that is being taken care of,,,,

I am spring scouting know, I like to get deep, and find those pockets, but as I get older I have to be careful also

My best hunting on public is about a mile deep and has a natural barrier coming from the other direction. Once you go a half mile in you start to see less hunters during the bow season. During the gun season they all tend to move on snowmobile trails or in some fields. Nobody really goes through the brush.

For me it depends. I started a thread a while ago, about over looked spots. An area that has high human pressure. I had a feeling about a particular area close to a fire lane where guys would park and walk down and go a ways back. But right off the fire lane the deer were bedding. This area was 200 yards walking distance, but the sign was evident of big buck bedding. And I know with the right conditions, I can get in there and see some good deer.

Typically for me, I go back a good ways. Places where guys never go. And hunting is fantastic. This year I bought a Conoe and a trolling motor.

Overall, I don't think you have to put a number on it. If the sign is there, and it fits the script. Than go hunt it.

The rifle season makes more sense to go further.

Where are you hunting where you can walk 2 miles and it's the shortest route to the spot? There aren't a whole lot of sections that are that big.

That depends on what public land I'm hunting. The Cedarburg Bog, The Kettles, The Chequamegon, Oneida county land, Collins Marsh, Grafton, Belgium - parking is unique to each one.

I hunt Chequamegon mostly and have a couple good stands 1/2 mile from road but most are 1-2 mile walk. I don't like any hikers, grouse hunters etc messing me up. Never seen another person while on bow stand doing it this way and would,t have it any other way.

This is the truth...

When I did hunt public land for deer - been a few years now - many times I could watch the traffic pass by me. In other spots I could hear the traffic pass by....

These areas were passed up by many folks as well as myself when I first started hunting those areas.

Scouting however provided me with the information that showed me plenty of deer activity close to the road.

I worked with a Native American fella years back and he used to kid me saying "You white guys only go far enough in the woods - so you can still see your truck"...

I could never see my truck - but he wasn't far off base - at least for me in some of my spots!

That being said - I would never ever hunt that area during gun deer season - a tad dangerous I thought!

Bow hunting - never saw another hunter while on stand...

I actually read this deer hunting tip many years ago... "Deer are where you find them"... No kidding?

Zinger, not a 2 mile straight shot. But to avoid bedding areas, feeding areas in the morning or after dark it ends up that. Also a few of my close to parking spots I come in from a different direction. The wind direction can also determine how far I walk to some spots. I don't want my scent blowing into bedding areas when entering my stands. IMO clean entrance/exit is one of the most important aspects of a good standsite.

I very rarely am able to take the "shortest" route to a stand, and if I can it doesn't mean that I should.

I've killed mature bucks as close as 200 yards to a paved road, and well over a mile from the nearest road. There are very few spots that I can hunt that I can go more than a mile without crossing some sort of trail. Be it logging road, snowmobile, etc....

Distance makes very little difference . My best spot is 50 yards from a major freeway . Best spot # 2 is 60 yards from a road ..

But best spot # 3 is 600 yards from where I park . Best spot # 4 that I was working on until the Walleyes started biting is 550 yards .

I agree with Ruger, there are some nice close spots. I find more of them in southern wis, next to roadways, they are over looked, and can be very good. sometimes listening to the traffic can be a pain, but heck if the sign is there......

with the snow for the most part gone in the north, I am off for the month, to get my post scouting done, stand prep done, and follow rub lines all over the place.....

scouting the north is tough, since they tend to wander so much in the big timber, but have some spots, that I found last year during the rut, that I want to get into a prep...

also going to a new system this year, as far as tree stand hunting goes,,,,,,,

going to be selling a lot of stuff, I know longer will be using l

as said above, big bucks are where you find them!

LOL,one of the best big buck stands I had I could look down the hill 50 yards and watch cars go buy. It was an unreal spot on forest crop. Sad day when it got sold.

Been hunting public for 30 years. Best hunting is away from parking areas. Sometimes very close to houses, city limits, activity. Partly because the hunters don't want to be there and partly because the deer are used to hearing human noises and scents in such areas.

If you want to get away from other hunters. =go across water, even less then knee deep. =go where parking is a pain, park one spot and walk down the roadside. =don't go in far. Hunters often want to go to the end of the dirt trail. They want to get out before it gets to dark. They push the deer to you on the way out. =go where another hunter would be embarrassed to hunt. One of my spots is literally 10 yards from a fence that also is the city limits. Another where I can seed down a opening to the local laundry mat. Another is the first pothole you come to when walking in. The other hunters all go in further to the other potholes. =early season, close to the road is often good as deer stage before it is dark enough for them to cross the road. Often they are fixated on the road traffic and not looking in the trees. =several other spots are way in. Some require me to cross a small stream. Just deep enough to worry about. Another through some real thick stuff on the edge of an opening. About 50 yards of nasty stuff then it opens up enough for 30+ yard shots. =many hunters hate dealing with hills. If it is steep enough it is a barrier. I have spent some afternoons quietly hunting where I could easily enjoy the music being played by a near by property owner. Worst places are often where there is a good parking spot, an old two track that weaves deep into some property. Especially if there is good sign. A could rubs or a big scrape and everyone wants to hunt there.

Easy parking, easy walking and hard to get lost. That is what most hunter are looking for.

Your right 48 , plus they don't want to carry that 50 lb bag of " wildlife feed " too far .

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