Do you fear public hunting areas?

[Hickrylb]

I want to try HUNTING on a local public area in mid to late Oct ,but not knowing where others may be or how well they are safety wise ,I thought the safe way to travel way in the back country would be lotsa blaze orange ,do you public ground bowhunters have any recommendations?

[Beau J]

Not really.. All I hunt is public land. I wear orange if it's required but don't worry much about getting shot by accident.. I know it could/does happen but it's never bothered me too much..BeauJ

[dirtguy]

I hunt both public and private.  The public land I hunt I gain access to over private land (a friend's house) that puts me in a spot on the public land that is well away from public access.  It is essentially way back in with out having to hoof it so far.

[Jakeemt]

All I hunt is public. Never had an issue. I don't rifle hunt public land though. Just bow.

[Kopper1013]

All I hunt is public land, things don't get shady until the guns come out then I'm covered in blaze orange.
I have had plenty of success on public land and wouldn't tell any one to be scared of it. Expect to run into some people who don't have hunters etiquette and will walk in late, maybe setup close to you and so forth if it bothers you move everyone hunts different. I will say I had a guy set up and climb a tree 35 yards from me one day, I wasn't to pleased but killed a doe that evening and he watched the whole thing hahaha.

[RC]

I hunt mostly public land. Never an issue and less pressure than some of the leases I have been on. RC

[Basinboy]

I usually don't bow hunt during the either sex gun hunts. That's when the masses of orange are out.
I prefer hunting public land since I can't sit in the same spot more than twice so I need lots of area to hunt  
I live near a 28,000 acre wma so I have plenty room to roam

[MnFn]

Nope.  Don't worry about it at all.  Reasonably concerned during  two -three weeks in  November because of rifle hunters but that is all.

[CRM_95]

I hunt public land a little bit here in East Texas. My days off are Sunday and Monday. On Mondays it seems like there's nobody else in the woods after the weekend is over. I always wear orange because it's required. If it wasn't I wouldn't bother during bow season.

[dbd870]

Even though it's been a long time since I have hunted on public land I would not be concerned during archery season.  Gun season - pass.

[Biathlonman]

I'm far more likely to get shot at work, public land doesn't bother me a bit.

[Michael Arnette]

With Oklahoma's recent legalization of crossbows I have started to change my actions during bow season on public land.
1: I always wear blaze orange, normally just a hat
2: I always use a flashlight at night or in low light conditions
3: when I'm walking out of an area I whistle, in I just stay quiet

I personally think blaze orange in some form should be a legal requirement because of cross bows

[tradhunterRN]

Agreed with the above comments! I only fear not being able to bag game on the public land near me!    :p  

On a side note Hickry, if you live near me you should PM me! Need more local trad hunters!

[macbow]

Missouri recently added crossbow to all archery seasons.

In the past never had a concern. But I've seen some,sloppy safety practices from cross bow shooters.

[tradhunterRN]

So, why do these crossbows keep getting allowed year after year in an increasing number of states?!

It's just allowing the orange army out into the woods more frequently!

I am ok with the concept of crossbows for those who are physically limited, but come on!

[Sam McMichael]

I used to hunt public land a lot. Quite honestly, I found that if you got beyond 400 to 500 yards from the road, you ran into relatively few people.

[CoachBGriff]

I hunt quite a bit of public land, and I've never worried about someone shooting me.  

Like others have said, I only bow hunt public land.  

I wear orange on my way to the stand during muzzle-loader season.

Many years ago in total darkness as I neared the parking area, I heard a compound squeak.  I yelled and got a growning 'oh no' from the trees that were about 80 yards away.  A knucklehead drew at me over an hour past sundown.   Since then, I am pretty sure that knucklehead's life has not been the same, I got very angry and I think he wet his pants, he dropped his bow and was shaking so bad that he could barely get out of the tree stand, pleading for his life the whole time.   He feared the circumstances either way. whether he would have hit me  or missed me.  I do not make a move in low light conditions without a light since then.   The biggest problem on our smaller and scarce public areas is hunters filling them up with unused tree stands and cameras, at the same time thinking that those areas are theirs alone whether they are there or not.  Some guys are putting up way too many tree stands.  I have lost track of how often someone has told me that they caught me on a trail cam and came to tell me that no one could hunt there because they claimed it.  That is not how the law reads at all in Iowa, all tree stands are on a first come first basis whether it is the owner or not.  I am pushing for  leave no trace hunting.  When you go home all of your stuff goes home with you.
   I do have concerns at times with the muzzle seasons,  as example, last fall I called in a little fork yearling.  I did not want to shoot it, I just wanted to talk to him.  When the little guy was about twenty feet from a muzzle went off.  a little girl with the youth season shot at it from well over a hundred yards away.  She grazed it. but did not kill it. I saw it later in the season.    I have seen the inline muzzle guys take 300 yard plus shots at deer in fields.   They are not same hunters that were using the cap and ball guns with the late season years ago.  The original cap and ball hunters were the safest gun hunters in the area and the most courteous.

[Burly]

I only hunt public land a in Michigan and have never had any major problems. It is getting more crowded by me since the introduction of Apr's Now I have to get creative ,like using a canoe or going farther back in the nasty stuff. I don't hunt in the lower during gun season ,I head to the Western Yoop were it's quiet.

[old_goat2]

I don't have any problems doing it, it sucks sometimes when people blow your set, but sometimes they push animals to you too!