Scouting and hunting public land. I don't know how!

[swampcrawler]

First, I apologize for my the long post. I'm bad about using three words where one would suffice. Generally I'd like to start a nice healthy thread for tips, experiences, etc on scouting public lands or large parcels of land. I, and I'm sure others, could surely use anything you experienced guys could share!

So, sadly the season is now more or less over for most of us, and it's time to start preparing for the next! As most of you guys know, I'm new to traditional bows and bow hunting in general. I never did the compound thing, but have hunted all my life.

But, at the ripe old age of 24, I have finally figured out that I know practically nothing about the art of hunting. See, I'm from Louisiana and grew up hunting like most everyone here does. Join a lease or get permissions for tiny patches of private land, drag ladder stand 100 yards from the road, strap it to tree, clear shooting lane, install corn feeder, and proceed to sit there every day till something happens upon you. That's Not to say that I have any issue with those who hunt this way, but as my circumstances have evolved, I find myself to now be a public land hunter. And wow, what a change.

For the last several years I've sort of half heartedly hunted these places, mostly the Pearl River and Sandy Hollow WMA for those of you who know the area. And I honestly have no clue what to do with these massive tracts of land!

So here is how it has gone so far. I've scouted shamefully little. My "scouting" is usually done while squirrel hunting during the season, and consists mostly of trying to figure out how to get into places that aren't swarmed with other hunters. My whole purpose thus far has been avoiding people. So much so that I'm concentrated on looking for people sign and have noticed little in the way of animal patterns., and honestly I don't truly know what to look for! I know and notice scrapes, rubs, and very heavily worn trails, tracks in wet ground and such, but have no clue how to actually draw any information from that other than "there was a deer here once".

So I'm here looking for tips from you diehard public land hunters. My terrain is low, flat, wet and dense, so anyone familiar with a similar area would be ideal but any help at all is appreciated. I plan to actually put my work in over the summer for scouting and planning this year, but I just honestly don't know how!

Where does one even start? How do you choose where to scout out of thousands of acres? Do you try hard to avoid other hunters and Get way deep in there away from any easy access? If so, how far? I know a lot of folks also suggest hunting the spots that are simply overlooked, like right behind the checking station or bordering large highways?
Any tools such as apps or web services (besides the obvious google earth) to use?

Looking forward to accessing the wealth of big woods hunting which no doubt resides here!

[Bluefeather]

Welcome to trad bowhunting! When I'm going into an area I'm not familiar with the first thing I do is to use Google Earth to see the lay of the land. You can do a lot of initial scouting from your computer. I also usually buy a topo map of that area to carry with me when I do some live scouting. If you've not used either one,they are not hard to learn. What I look for is spots that will funnel game through a narrow area like a narrow band of trees joining two larger areas or a saddle on a ridgeline that animals will pass through. Hopefully this will help you get started and you'll learn more as you go along.  Dan

[twigflicker]

Donald,

I sent you a PM... Hope it gives you some ideas...

Jonathan

[ESP]

Google earth and  boots on ground , are my two best friends for public land.

[Trenton G.]

I do a lot of my scouting while out picking morels. Gives me a good idea of what a piece is like. I like to go in even a bit earlier if I can while there is still some snow on the ground in order to see any trails. I know these may be winter trails, but it gives me an idea. Also, around here I look for swamps, two-three year old clear cuts that have grown up in thick browse, as well as hayfields. Lots of deer bounce back and forth between these areas so I look for ambush areas. Like Bluefeather mentioned, look for natural pinch points or paths of least resistance. Deer will usually use these.

If possible, when hunting public, I try and pattern the other hunters as much as the deer. There are certain pieces where I know that the guys who hunt it very rarely go far in. There are others where I know the guys go way back in. If you figure out where these guys are, it's easy to avoid them. It is also easy to use this to your advantage. Setup where deer that might get bumped by another hunter might come by you. I've had luck with this before, but that was when I still had wheels.

Hunting public is always a bit of a gamble. It has it's disadvantages, but can also be very productive if hunted the right way. It just takes some trial and error.

[BlacktailBowhunter]

It's been made uber easy. OnX hunt maps. I wish I'd have purchased it sooner. I've been driving past public land for years and had no idea it was open to hunt.

It gives landowners names and addresses. Lots of which are private timber companies that allow access

As far as scouting, get out and walk as much of the land as possible. I live in oregon where the food source is a clear cut. I try to walk the circumference of the food source to determine pinch points, corners where timber converts to reprod or thick cover. If you cover enough ground, the animals will tell you where they like to travel and bed.

You can bait, so put numerous trail cams out to gather info.

I don't ever stop scouting. I'm in the woods year round looking for new area. Out here a lot of guys park at a gate and walk in on logging roads. I cruise the road and look for likely crossing areas and head in straight off the road.

I like to pick spots that go uphill or downhill because the bulk of hunters out here don't want to feel there legs burn and I can have a great area to myself for just a little bit of cardio.

Ron French aka tree killer/OregonTK said something that really hit home with me years ago. It was to the affect, "most hunters are visitors to the woods, and they're not part of the woods". In essence, get out relax, slow down and observe every detail.

You might find good sign in an area and be content or you can scout harder and find great sign.

The buck I killed this past season was 3/4 of a mile in with over half the distance downhill. The less lazy you are, the better chance you'll have at finding those hard to reach honey holes

[greg fields]

All good advice above, I'd be out walking now and trying to avoid the snakes, mosquitoes, and whatever else you have crawling around down there...  To me, learning a piece of ground takes a year or two or three to get an idea how game runs, how people come and go, getting to and from stands without sppoking everything, having back up satnds ready in case someone is hunting where you wanted to be, knowing how to get to other stands in the dark, etc.   New land to explore is exciting, but is also alot of work and I know I have wasted much time walking around, for little gain.  Good luck.

[Bill from NJ]

A Topo map and a compass for your area of interest.

Try to walk the areas that look good for you throughout the different seasons.

Look for available food and water, bedding areas.

It takes some time, but is well worth it.

Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. All have a different amounts of animal traffic.

Have fun and enjoy yourself out there.

You Gots to put your time in to reek the benefits ....

[Cwilder]

Follow the food and learn about the other hunters habits

[michaelschwister]

When in doubt walk along the banks of streams, find trails that cross, then follow the trails to ridgetops/trail interesections. On public lands I look for areas that are no hunting / limited access along one or more boundaries. ALso, look for areas that are at least one mile from vehicle access. I see you are in LA.  Walk the edges of palmettos along the cyrpus swamps. Especially look for islands that you have to wade to.  I have had great luck on coastal GA on these types of islands. Big bucks and hogs love to hide out there.  Also look for live oaks and water oaks during season for a hot night spot.

[Walt Francis]

All good advise above, especially The OnX Maps.

This is what I always recommend to new whitetail bowhunters. Buy Gene Wenzel's book Come November, then read, re-read, study the techniques and strategies he presents, and then implement them.  I usually read/study it at least once a year.  Another option is to buy, Gene and Barry's book, Treestand Strategies, it is the Cliff Notes version of Come November.  It has more clarification/information then most whitetail hunters will ever use, correctly.  Both books are out of print but can be found on the auction site.

[ChiefStingingArrow]

I read Mapping Trophy Whitetail by Brad Herndon and that changed my whole perspective on how to approach scouting and hunting.

[John Scifres]

There is a blog on Midwest Whitetail about public land hunting that might help.  I agree about Brad's book:  https://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Trophy-Bucks-Brad-Herndon/dp/0873495039

Big woods are tough.  You have to hunt the terrain.

[Friend]

Like every year, there will be a thread regarding boredom between now and turkey season.

January thru mid-March is the time that 75% of my scouting, strategizing and prep work takes place. Over 95% of my work is complete a couple of months before season.

1.   Incorporating and or capitalizing on possible experience incurred from the previous season

2.   Terrain, traffic and accessibility is most visible

3.   Work accomplished earlier has the most minimal impact on the quarry
 
***Many more significant benefits   spent 2 ½ hours today just prepping one new location…enhanced fulfillment…was totally absorbed in this endeavor and lost track of time.

***My own close encounters tripled immediately after committing to this methodology over 25 years ago.

***Preparation elevates every worthwhile human endeavor.

[Soonerlongbow]

I'm no good at scouting on public land either but I've used a canoe a couple times to slip around undetected.

[Michael Arnette]

Originally posted by Walt Francis:
All good advise above, especially The OnX Maps.

This is what I always recommend to new whitetail bowhunters. Buy Gene Wenzel's book Come November, then read, re-read, study the techniques and strategies he presents, and then implement them.  I usually read/study it at least once a year.  Another option is to buy, Gene and Barry's book, Treestand Strategies, it is the Cliff Notes version of Come November.  It has more clarification/information then most whitetail hunters will ever use, correctly.  Both books are out of print but can be found on the auction site.

The Wensel brothers books will change the way you hunt entirely! I haven't read any besides come November but I'm sure all of them are excellent

[Sam McMichael]

Lots of good advice has already been given. You indicated that you have hunted a long time before taking up bow hunting, so a lot of your scouting practices will still be valid. However, stand placement must account for a much shorter field of fire with the bow. The one thing I would recommend is that, if possible, when checking out public land find a location back in the boonies in the thick stuff that has fewer hunters using it.

[Bud B.]

Originally posted by swampcrawler:
...... I, and I'm sure others, could surely use anything you experienced guys could share!

Use the county or Parish gis map viewing. Get familiar with the layer tool to find flood plains, ect. Our gis photos are taken in winter here in NC. You can find evergreen, holly, and honeysuckle thickets that way.

Here is the link for the Sandy Hollow Parish.

 http://tangis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=127a12843977466e84691863294547c3

[DarrinG]

Google maps or your county GIS is an invaluable tool for scouting. I use them all the time. The satellite view directly overhead will allow you to see corners, edges, funnels...all sorts of good areas. Once you find these areas on the maps, then it's time for boots on the ground to go to these areas and put actual eyeballs on the sign. It's amazing what you can discover about a tract of land for hunting/scouting purposes by using the maps, and it will save you a bunch of boot leather and time.

[Mint]

Hunt the edges! That's in the Wensel books and is the best advice there is. Doesn't matter what the edge is, hardwoods against pines, pines against swamp or a field etc. any kind of edge will pay off.

When will you be hunting is another thing, on weekends with the crowds or mid-week when not many are hunting?

On Long Island public land means some pressure. I avoid the spots where other hunters might be on the weekends. If hunting mid-week I'll huntthe spots that havea lot of sign since the deer know the pressure is on the weekends.

If hunting the weekend I go to the thick stuff close to an edge and as close as I can get to houses. Deer know the safe zones are by the houses. We can hunt within 150ft of a house.

If you are hunting large tracts like you said I would check any swamps that have islands like said above and any peninsulas from the river if thick. Oak heads in the middle of palmetto patches are great too.

Checking out the far edges of the hunting property is always a good bet. Seems like a lot of hunters like to hunt the middle of the property.