Public land deer hunting has become kind of a fad the last few years, making pressure rise and ability to find good hunting even tougher. But has public land hunting gone the way of the dinosaur? Although tougher, I don’t think so, as there’s still plenty of land and opportunity to be had if you know what to look for. So whether you’re a newbie to the public land game or a seasoned vet, here’s 3 tips to help you get access to new hotspots and maybe notch a tag on a good whitetail this season.
Everyone has their favorite “hotspot” when it comes to whitetail hunting. The problem is, sometimes the perennial hotter-than-lava stand doesn’t radiate heat waves, and can even turn arctic cold in a short time. Changes such as ecological succession over the years, annual crop rotation, and increased hunting pressure on neighboring properties can all play a role in these changes, and the best remedy many times is finding a new and better whitetail honey hole to add to your repertoire. We looked at 3 ways to gain access to new private land hot spots in our last article (check it out HERE), but now we’re going to dive into what it really takes on public land.
Public Land Hunting – The Challenge:
PUBLIC LAND: how much of a gambler are you? To take the plunge into investing time and effort into public land hunting, you have to be a bit like Kenny Rogers in a cheesy 1980’s western. I say this because you’ve got to accept the fact that there are many more factors you’re gambling with, and you have to be ok with this. You have to accept putting in effort and having many hunts screwed up due to a variety of factors, many of which are other people. The risks can be high, however, the chances are still there to win and win big if you know how to play. Primarily hunting Michigan public land for over a decade has given me first hand experience with some of the risk. One such risk is people getting very territorial and thinking they own a hunting spot just because they have hunted there for a certain number of years. This seems to be quite a theme I’ve run into, and although I suggest trying to avoid these toxic hunters, sometimes you just cannot.
A few years ago I had a run-in with a local who thought he owned a certain large swamp. He had camped out in the parking lot, and was very aggressive in his encounters, successfully driving away other hunters. I tried to avoid where he hunted, but persisted in the area. His reaction was to smear dog feces under all my truck handles before I returned from my evening hunt (he had a dog at his camp). This led to an encounter with the police, DNR, and him being banned from that area by the DNR. Although an unpleasant experience, over the years since this encounter I’ve arrowed several nice bucks in this general area and had close encounters with others. You have to be ready for encounters like this and keep a good attitude on public ground. Let it roll off your back and realize there are other areas to hunt when you have a run-in, and be better than this guy was and respect others’ rights. If you can do that, and I haven’t discouraged you yet, here are some keys to remember when investing energy and time into public land hunting.
Public Land Hunting Tip #1: Hunt the Unhuntable.
A good gauge for me for finding pressured deer on public land is finding spots where I just don’t want to go or that I think are unhuntable. If it discourages me, it will others and probably be great cover and security for deer. These are places I want to be or hunt in, or as close to as possible. Sometimes it helps to think rabbits instead of deer. If a rabbit could hide there and feel safe from predators, and you can’t even navigate it, then there’s a good chance deer will flock there too when pressure is on (which in Michigan is any time after October 1st – the bow opener).
You need to find a way to hunt this or the fringes where deer will show in daylight. I’m basically saying you need good, thick cover. A trend lately with all the podcast hype and mobile hunting is to find a spot way back in that you have to use a boat to get to or which is a 2+ mile hike and hunt that. This may work, but the problem is now everyone knows this “secret” and I readily find stands scattered in these “hard to access” areas. The actual approach you want is to find cover without other hunters and then find a way to hunt that, wherever that is.
Public Land Hunting Tip #2: Find the Buffet
Once you find the cover you now need to find a food source. I’ve found that the closer a food source is to this prime deer cover, the more chance you have at getting the daylight movement you need. Small bucks and does will give you chances outside of the thick cover, but mature bucks will not. So, look for food like agricultural fields that butt right up to this cover, or food sources like acorns or wild apple trees right within it. If you’re used to seeing lots of deer and long vistas through the woods, this is not for you. Get used to not seeing many deer and close quarters shots if you want good consistent success on public land. Once you’ve identified many areas like this, and have scouted on foot (winter or spring are best – well outside of hunting season), it’s time to figure out the million dollar question – which ones can you actually hunt?
Public Land Hunting Tip #3: Assess the Access.
The third leg of the stool that will allow a spot to stand on its own is figuring out how you can access it without alerting any deer you’re hunting it. This is a question you must answer because if you can’t do this, it is just a pipe dream and in actuality is really unhuntable. If you determine this, scratch it off the list. I like challenges, so some spots become a riddle to solve, but one must be honest here in the plausibility of hunting certain areas. Some areas are one hunt spots due to the pressure you will put on them while accessing, and should be saved until the exact right conditions.
Others hunt easier with less pressure and can be hunted more often without spooking deer. Definitely figure this out for each spot. The goal with any spot is to think tactically and plan how you can surgically remove a deer from that area without any deer even knowing you are there. Can you access by kayak, a ditch, or a long way around that will minimize intrusion? Get creative on both entry, and exit approaches to maximize these hard to hunt but high yield locations.
Once you do, and this is key, you must have dozens of these you can hunt for various conditions and times of year so you do not over hunt any one spot, and can have a first sit quality hunt almost every time out. This way, if someone else also thinks it’s a great spot and sets up camp, you can just move on to another great spot and avoid being the territorial nazi I described earlier. As a general rule, I try to start closer to fields and crops earlier in the year, when deer aren’t quite pressured as badly, and switch to my deeper and even more secluded spots as the season goes on.
There are no hard and fast rules to finding your best new hunting spot for this fall, but with some strategy and persistence, new ground can definitely be in your future.
HIGH IQ TAKEAWAYS AND CHALLENGES:
- How many of your public land hunting areas meet these 3 criteria?
- Make a list of your hunting spots, and on a piece of paper grade them by the top 3 criteria (unhuntable, buffet, access). What are you missing and what do you need to look for to find better areas and up your odds?
- Get our FREE Pressured Public Lands Hunting Guide, 8 new approaches to help you beat the crowds HERE!
