Hunting situation suggestions

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I have been eying up a close piece of public property.

I have reviewed maps and satellite images and determined a few areas that required a closer look.

Today I had an extremely good scouting venture. in all I saw 4 deer, 1 was a nice little buck who was spooked but didn't know what or where i was. Found a shed antler and covered myself in ticks. Saw a fox and an eaten turkey. Missed a grey squirrel and felt very fortunate to have public property to use.  

One area I found was great, screamed deer. I cant stop thinking of this area.  Every time I thought I found the perfect spot to sit, I found a tree stand. there were 3 total. Only one that was smack dab in the middle of the perfect funnel.

I kept walking want found one more promising spot passed it and then it comes out to a golf course.  

this spot has a huge ravine with a running creek at the bottom. Its adjoined by a hard wood ridge and a small little shelf that funnels the traffic from every direction.

Here's my big question, Do you guys hunt there anyway or keep looking?

This is a bow only area so maybe hit it up during rifle season? Mind you I am not hunting for trophy bucks, any deer will be  a trophy for me.

Also, who else is bothered by tree stands hung on public property, then left as if to "claim" an area? If I was a jerk i would set my climber up on the same tree just below his stand.    

[GRINCH]

Charlie  golf courses have ususally offered pretty good deer hunting,I'd set up in the ravine.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I liked that spot. It was full of wood ducks.

there were a few good trails heading out to the fairway.

[Shawn Leonard]

Charlie it is first come first serve but I have hunted this area for years and it is not unusual for guys to set a stand so guys know the area is being hunted. Would you rather go in real early on a perfect day and get all set up and while still dark a guy come in and use a climber to start up a tree 25 yards from ya, not knowing you were there. Give the guys some space and set up within a hundred yards or so. Public land in the area you are talking can be very good but it gets hit hard. Find a spot that appears no one else is hunting, it may not have much sign or it may be 20 yards from a house, but you can bet if the deer feel safe there when season opens and a ton of guys hit the woods that is where the deer will be. I have hunted where I think you mean, all over the area as a matter of fact. If you are not choosy and put in your time, it won't be that hard to kill deer in there. I stopped hunting it because I got tired of all the slob hunters in there. Shawn

When I hunt public land every year i have guys tell me where I cannot go because they put in tree stands, one fellow put in 6. On a piece of private ground a nice fellow that has a collection of 30 stands, we think most of them he stole from others, he told the land owner that he should not let anyone on because he has the area covered, the land owner wants does shot and he did not fall for it. Even though they like to think the tree stand equals a no-trespassing sign it does not. Some people put numerous tree stands and they go unused most of the time.  I hunt on the ground and if there is a tree stand there big deal. If who ever uses the tree stand shows up I move down a ways, because the area has been disturbed anyway. I like areas that have good deer nice and no place to hang a tree stand. Once the woods gets busy, that is where the deer end up.

[ishiwannabe]

You found the deer, and the main thing thing that will move them...hunters. Now try to judge where the deer will head when the hunters move into their stands. Is there one parking area or multiple?
The ravine sounds good, they probably feed on the fairway at night, then browse through on the way to bedding.
Some good advice above too. The main thing is mot to let stands or hunters discourage you. The biggest buck I have shot to date was from public land. I knew the other hunters usually showed up at daybreak, then walked in. I set up following a hunch that they would nudge the deer towards a certain ravine...and they did just that.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by Shawn Leonard:
Charlie it is first come first serve but I have hunted this area for years and it is not unusual for guys to set a stand so guys know the area is being hunted. Would you rather go in real early on a perfect day and get all set up and while still dark a guy come in and use a climber to start up a tree 25 yards from ya, not knowing you were there. Give the guys some space and set up within a hundred yards or so. Public land in the area you are talking can be very good but it gets hit hard. Find a spot that appears no one else is hunting, it may not have much sign or it may be 20 yards from a house, but you can bet if the deer feel safe there when season opens and a ton of guys hit the woods that is where the deer will be. Shawn

Shawn,  That's what I was thinking. I was actually just a tad discouraged at the time.  The so I had found had no parking areas and from the map appeared not to have trails.

I looked at a satellite image and was able to see hwy the area is good. It is an isolated hardwood ridge.  I was able to find a few more just like it that I hope to check out today.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by ishiwannabe:
You found the deer, and the main thing thing that will move them...hunters. Now try to judge where the deer will head when the hunters move into their stands. Is there one parking area or multiple?
The ravine sounds good, they probably feed on the fairway at night, then browse through on the way to bedding.
Some good advice above too. The main thing is mot to let stands or hunters discourage you. The biggest buck I have shot to date was from public land. I knew the other hunters usually showed up at daybreak, then walked in. I set up following a hunch that they would nudge the deer towards a certain ravine...and they did just that.

Thanks Jamie.  I will be giving you a copy of my map.

I bet mid week hunting here would be great.  

I think I found one good spot that would serve as an escape route.  problem is I cannot determine a good way in. obviously way before light,but there is a reason deer seem to like it here, they know you are coming.

[YORNOC]

I am one of the culprits, and understand fully the argument to it. I don't own climbers, and the trees I hunt from wont allow it. I cant set up and take down a stand every day that I hunt.
I have gone in to find a stand set ten yards from me, or someone cuts a walking trail right over the deer run I'm hunting to get to theirs. It sucks, but its public. No one owns the trees or the ground, so you can get as annoyed as you want...but it will do you no good. If someone sets a stand in the same tree as me when I'm not there, tough cookies for me. Its kinda crappy, since there are lots of trees and areas to setup..but in the end everybody has the right of way.  If someone is IN MY stand without asking, I have an issue. If someone takes my stand down to put theirs up, theres gonna be trouble. Public parking, if someone leaves their car unlocked can I just get in and sit in it? Its public right? No one owns the spot...so is it okay? Of course not. A tree stand is no different.
Now, its understood that if I'm not there, of course its okay to set up in the same tree as me. I have no say in it. Just dont move my stand. In the parking lot, you dont move someone elses car so you can park there.
My favorite way to deal with it, is to meet the people hunting if possible, get some phone numbers and if I wont be there, feel free to use the stand all you want once we know each other. You can pee all over, smell the whole place up, nap in the big scrape, tough for me. Thats public land hunting.
 But at least getting to know who else is in there and sharing stands etc., will often turn the annoyance into comraderie. Sometimes not, but it is what it is.

[Izzy]

Some really solid advice from all of the above posts. I know a few of the fellas hunting there and none of them are are real ogres. Davids advice is great. Talk to those guys when you see em on the road, let them know your plans and as long as your not telling them that they need to move their stands for you theyll all be ok, they have to be.. If you do run into any illegal monkey business or threats, give me a shout, If Im working I wont be too far from you.  

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks Guys.

I guess I was just venting a little bit. It was the first area I found where I actually "felt it", if that makes any sense, then I find a stand perched overhead.

The way I see it is, I know where the deer will be getting pressured from and I can hope to plan accordingly.  

Izzy, I did find a bait pile with a trail cam hung over it. Don't plan to hunt there so I am not all too concerned even though I did see one deer back there.

David,  I hope to meet the fella whose stand is back there, not sure how he gets to it but maybe I will leave a note in a zip lock bag with my phone #. At least this way I will be able to tell how much he plans on being in there and we can avoid messing each others hunts up. That place is way too big to be set on only one spot.

Also I met another guy who has been hunting there for a few years, who will give me some pointers.

[Shawn Leonard]

Charlie mid-week will be good but late season on days when it is near zero will be real good! Shawn

[adkmountainken]

hey bro now ya see why i stick to the mountain, HARD hunting but i have the whole thing to MYSELF!!!!! would like to join ya for a day though just to hunt with ya there.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks Shawn.  I am thinking although I will be in there during archery season I will see more game during Rifle and late season. Last year the acorns were on the ground everywhere even in March.  Better get the warm weather gear ready, unless I get the job done early    

Ken, I love the Mountain too but with price of gas, work cutting my OT and the drive time, Its not as feasible for me this year.  Its an hour drive to the mounatin. In the same amount of time I could be to Washington County or Columbia County where deer pop's are 10 times your area which I did a lot last year. I like mixing things up and hunting with a lot of people. This year however, I will need to stick close to home and save money. I will no longer be able to put 40 bucks a week in the tank.

I have a few area's in the pine bush, I will be more than happy to take you along. I have not experienced it during hunting season yet but I think a lot of area may get over looked.


The Pine Bush I found a way to make it in 15 minutes.  I love the mountain but just cant swing it like I did last year financially and time wise.  My last 3 paychecks were spent before I received them. I will get a good hunt or two in with you this year but It wont be every weekend.

[buckeye_hunter]

If there are hunters hitting the obvious funnels hard go to secondary ones that don't look as good. Deer will quickly change their pattern by as little as 100 yds if an area gets too much pressure. The secondary funnels will suprisingly become the main ones in a short time.

I found an area on public land that seemed a total no-brainer. I learned in just a couple days that it was a no-brainer to a lot of other guys too. I hunted that spot and saw zero deer and soon figured it out. I moved 150 yards to a funnel that shouldn't have been as good and saw deer almost immediately. If that one gets buggered up too much I have yet another spot in mind. Look for the slightly less obvious funnel that is a little further than someone else wants to drag a deer!

Good luck!

[Izzy]

Buckeyes suggestion to hunt secondary funnels to avoid heavily pressured funnels is a great strategy. A lot of those stand areas have been used by the same people for years and when you fail to adapt a spot can get burned out in a short time, let alone years of use.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thank You Buckeye and Izzy. That makes a lot of sense. I am really looking forward to tghis season. (minus the ticks).

Izzy, I will talk with you and hopefully Steve this Friday.

Secondary Funnels, man this is like playing Poker, second guessing second guesses.

This is good stuff.

[Izzy]

I'll be at the shoot Friday with Noah and my friend Mike. Your gonna need someone to talk to after the public breakup note you wrote poor ken.  

[Zmonster]

Charlie, this is all great advice. Your situation reminds of one that happened to one of my cadets last year. He had put in a lot of time scouting during the pre season, and really narrowed down an area to hunt. This is public land on West Point. No tree stands in the area and it was hard to get too. He put in his stand early, and a camera that returned excellent sign. On opening morning, he gets in and notices someone sitting in a climber 15 yards from his stand. The cadet was perturbed, but told himself that he had put in all the hard work, so he is going to hunt it. So up the tree he climbs… When the morning sun comes up, both hunters were faced with an awkward situation as they could both easily see each other. A few hours pass and the buck that my cadet had been watching, offers him a shot, and he took it right in front of the guy who set up near him. The other guy gets down from the tree and gives my cadet the song and dance of that was his buck and that he doesn’t get the chance to hunt very often blah blah blah…

I don’t get the chance to hunt very often either, but that my friend is life, and those were the cards that were dealt. The cadet put in the work and the other hunter was trying to hit pay dirt on someone else’s hard work. When I see stands in the public land I hunt, I play off them. Where will they go to avoid the high pressure areas? That’s where I’d go… You gotta be smarter than the next guy. I don’t want to disturb other peoples hunt, cause I know what it’s like. So I get away from the area. When I’m in an area all set up waiting for shooting light and someone walks right past me, I get annoyed as well, but I find enjoyment in leaving that area unnoticed as that hunter sets up. I guess that’s the scout in me. Get in and get out unobserved.

Good luck brother…

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Originally posted by Izzy:
I'll be at the shoot Friday with Noah and my friend Mike. Your gonna need someone to talk to after the public breakup note you wrote poor ken.      

LOL,

Not breaking up just want to see other people is all.