Whitetails and outside hunting pressure

[jonsimoneau]

I recently read a post on another site where a resident of Illinois had regretfully decided to give up hunting whitetails in Illinois. He stated that he has always hunted public grounds in this state for the last forty years but that there were now just too many people to deal with.
     I gotta say that for a guy who has lived his whole life in Illinois I don't have a lot of big bucks on the wall but I do have some. I too have done most of my hunting on public land. I have been in on a few leases from time to time including one in pike county but most of my deer have been taken on public land. A few years ago I was very seriously considering buying some hunting land and this continues to be a dream of mine. Maybe someday!  
    But with the economy the way it is now and due to some struggles in recent years even leasing quality hunting ground is out of the question for me right now as I am sure is the case for many of you!  
    But anyway thus guys post really got me thinking. I too have noticed a substantial increase in hunting pressure in my state on both public and privat lands.  Even though I have never hunted my beloved whitetails outside of Illinois I know the pressure is much more intense in other states.  
    I don't gun hunt. So last gun season I was out taking a drive with my wife. About thirty miles from my house there is a public area of about 1500 acres which is very large for my area. I decided to stop in and speak with the park ranger since I have known him for years to see how the gun hunters were doing. Also in the previous spring I had filmed about ten different bucks on this piece of public ground but never hunted there. At this ranger station they normally take pics of just about every deer taken each season. Anyway I was astounded when I went into the ranger station and saw a pic of all but one of the bucks I filmed in the summer. One buck was a large 5x5 that I filmed twice as he rose from his bed and I will admit that I was a bit sad to see that he was killed by a slug.
        We got into some conversation when I asked the ranger how many gun hunters were hunting. He told me there were sixty!  He said they also had many more guys wanting in so when one of the sixty guys left they would let another guy in. So there was pretty much always sixty gun hunters out there on 1200 acres!  I'll admit I felt bad for the deer and thought this was excessive. Keep in mind though our gun season is short compared to other states. Recently I saw some statistics on tag sales in Illinois and noticed that they had literally doubled in the last ten years. No wonder the public land is getting so crowded. Now that crossbows will be legal this year I suspect things will be even more crowded. This got me wondering how those of you from states with even more pressure deal with this?  Honestly I often find myself hunting I areas where I know I have little chance of seeing any deer simply because I know I won't see another hunter there. Peace and quiet means something to me.
       How do you guys deal with increasing pressure?  I know some will say to walk farther and get away from the roads to avoid people but in many areas of the Midwest deer cover is longitudal. Normally along a stream or river so in some of these situations it is impossible to get away from other hunters.   Now here is my next point and I will probably catch hell for it but I keep hearing people talk about how we need to recruit more hunters. I'm not seeing this at all!  I mean yes we need to continue to recruit hunters and we certainly need to introduce youngsters to our sport but it seems to me that in many areas we already have too many hunters! What do you guys think? And those of you who live in areas of intense hunting pressure how do you deal with it and what are your goals each season?  My hat goes off to guys who are able to take any deer no matter what the caliber on heavily hunted ground.

[RC]

Thats a lot of hunters!! Here in South Ga. 60 hunters on 12,000 acres would be heavy.Even on public land. A group of my friends and myself camp and hunt a local wma the last week of October evey year.It is bow only at this time and is right at 10,000 acres. There will usually be maybe two other people there other than us making it a whopping 20 folks hunting...RC

[jonsimoneau]

Wow Rc thank you. I'm trying to get a feel for hunting pressure in my area. Everyone always tells me that hunting pressure is so light in Illinois compared to other states. But then again our gun season is short. However even during the bow season this particular piece of public land will see ten to twenty hunters during the week and double that on the weekends.

[wapiti792]

Jon, I know gun season things here are covered up. Heck I own my own little piece of ground and I hunker down there 'cause the lead is flyin. I also know the local public land gets hammered during gun season.

However, during bow season here our public pieces are pretty calm. I have killed a couple of 3 year old bucks on public ground. I probably hunt 70/30 private-public. As far as overall numbers...it is tough to see them pass a crossbow bill here. I can tell you we fought it at the state level but a bigger lobby and more more money won. We didn't get anything for it either!

I think finding a quality 10 acre tract of ground that is overlooked is better than a big piece with a bunch of folks from the punkin' army sitting in it. I killed my two best bucks in a woods that is not 3 acres, next to a road that gets passed up 99% of the time. This fall I will be back there in that little jungle funnel, longbow in hand about the 15th Nov  

[Rob W.]

Thats a bunch! Many years I don't see another hunter unless it's gun season. I usually find some little hidden spots when that happens.


Rob

[ChuckC]

Its a pain, and I whole heartedly agree with you on the recruitment issue.  There comes a point. . .   As for numbers of tags, be careful that you understand exactly what that entails.  If they change a rule and start offering multiple tags for any reason, that may skew the results.  In WI, for the last. .  I don't know. .  maybe 8-10 years, we have had unlimited free tags in the CWD areas.  I don't believe they even have any idea how many tags are out there.  

I used to live in IL and hunted a lot of areas, most public, but including a great farm too.  But then they decided to raise the rates.  As I recall, they more than tripled for non-residents.  I think anyone who comes to IL now from the outside really has a dream, or a lot of money.
ChuckC

[knobby]

This part of eastern Wisconsin gets pounded during gun season. I always take a ride about 9:00 opening morning of gun season, and am amazed at the numbers. I have no interest in gun season, but I too feel sorry for the deer.  In a large chunk of public land nearby, there are three parking areas within about a mile which offer access to anyone that wants to go there. It's not unheard of to count over 50 vehicles parked there.(How many guys are in each vehicle?)
Like Mike just said, find those little overlooked "honey-holes" and enjoy the solitude, just as the whitetails will be doing in there.  Obviously you won't see a lot of deer, but will have a chance to kill some of those that you see.  Also, it doesn't hurt to keep your expectations in line with want's available on the public land.  You'll be awfully disappointed if you set the bar too high.  I'm tickled with a 2 1/2 year old buck from public land.(That's all I hunt) Towards the end of the season (before gun hunting starts), the bar is set even lower, because I know what the odds are after the lead starts flying. Sounds like you enjoy the hunt for what it is, which is a good attitude to have as we share those public lands with many others. It can be frustrating, but sure makes a filled tag that much more appreciated.
Good luck, hunt smart and hunt safely!

[rolltidehunter]

some of the public area around me do not get preasured at all during bow season. we have some large public areas like RC does. now on special gun days you will see alot more trucks. gun season is long but you can find places to your slef b/c of the amount of land available. public land 20 years ago got pounded hard but now that the CLUB aspect of hunting is here and all the landowners leasing ground for some dough and all the NO IT ALLS on tv tell you that the only way to kill deer is by leaseing ground and only shooting big deer is cool...... no one hunts public ground anymore..

[awbowman]

On any given weekend, If I went to my local WMA there would probably be around 500 people in 43,000 acres.  Now granted not all is huntable so I'd say 1 hunter every 100 or so acres.

My lease has 1 memeber for every 100 acres or so, but we aren't ever all around at one time.

BTW, set up on an escape route in the Swamp and pressure from the other hunters is a BIG POSITIVE.  I have friends that routinely hunt in hip boots or waders.  They will even set up IN the swamp in a pirogue or canoe.

[Arwin]

All I hunt is heavily pressured public ground and  have been blessed to take at least 2 deer a season for the last 12 years.

 If you want to watch a real circus, come to Michigan for opening day of firearms. The woods are full of Michigan Fudds. Public land is lined with cars and trucks for miles...no joke.

 We have 750,000 hunters in the field on Nov 15th and I still hunt with my longbow.         I hunt in areas too thick for long range shots.

 Public land around here is insane with pressure. Best bet is to walk into the cover that no "sane" person would go into. If I don't want to walk into it, that is where the deer are.
 
 I've spent many mornings sitting in a tree in a swamp, wet up to my hips. A little discomfort is worth the effort. Hip boots would be too bulky to carry in as far as I go.  If needed I pack an extra pair of pants.

 I used to get SO mad when a hunting spot got intruded upon, until one day I saw a deer following a hunter who had walked past me. Now I just keep quiet unless the intruder is milling around.

  Go in deep, stay quiet and hunt into the afternoon. Once the pressure gets really bad the deer will start to move around noon. You know... when most hunters are at home....       They pattern us quicker than we do them.

 Try to avoid hunting weekends too. If that is all you have for time, then try to figure out how to position yourself so other hunters (who usually arrive just before dawn) push the deer to you. I will sit in a tree stand 2 hrs before daylight if necessary just to beat the other guys.

 Bedding areas... learn where they are but don't intrude too much.  Keep it to yourself and only hunt on perfect winds. A good bedding area can be a season long honey hole on pressured land.    

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I think a lot of guys are losing private lands and are hunting public grounds more.  I also feel like there are way too many hunters in the woods most places I hunt.

I know a lot of guys are fed up with WI deer numbers in the southern part and are spending 1-2 weeks hunting in IL, MN and other surrounding states instead.

I managed to find a thick area close to where a lot of guys go. It seems like everyone wants to go wayyy in to get past everyone else, seems like the closer to the road I hunt, the better off I am. I saw a lot of deer but had a hard time getting shooting. This year may be it.

Try to pattern the hunters, then you will find the deer.

[Rick Richard]

I hunt in Illinois also on public land and have success almost every year on quality bucks.  I do just the opposite then most folks by hunting close to the road or in spots where most would not consider hunting

[ron w]

I hunt public land 75% of the time. I never or hardly ever see another hunter, but that's because of poor management. There are very few deer in these areas [.5 Bucks per sq/mile]. Many of the guys that hunted these spots quit and their kids have not followed in their fathers foot steps because they want to see deer also. I continue to hunt in the areas that I speak of because I have easy access and it's close to home. I know south of me on State land there are many more hunters because of larger deer numbers. I hunted in Pike county Ill. a few years ago on a lease and was amazed at the deer I saw, it spoiled it for me here...lol! I saw 7 bucks in 3 days and 5 of them were better than 150 class. I have only seen 3 deer of the caliber in New York in 40 years and one of those was dead. If you have deer ....you will have hunters, that is just the way it is!

[Lost Arra]

Jon: find a copy of Gene Wensel's book, Come November. He addresses many of the issues you describe.  Especially Chapters 11 and 12.

[maineac]

Illinois has become a mecca for deer hunters.  It has gained the reputation for big bucks, so folks are traveling to hunt your public lands, trying to save a few bucks.  those with more money are leasing land in your state of hiring outfitters who are leasing.  I would imagine you have more pressure than most states.

[buckeye_hunter]

In Ohio, it depends on the area. Delaware wildlife area in Central Ohiogets 20-30 bowhunters a day for about 6,900 acres. A high percentage of the hunters are crossbow hunters for better or worse. AEP has about 60-100 bow hunters daily, but on 60,000 acres. So a thousand acres each isn't bad!

During gun season we have over 500,000 hunters in the field annually! The wildlife areas are ridiculous that time of year. I don't and won't hunt public land in Ohio during gun season anymore. I have a couple private places I can go during gun if I need to hunt then. I have had too many shots fired my direction on public land. I mean some VERY close calls! A few shots intentionally sent my way by locals that didn't like "outsiders" hunting "their" public land.... go figure.

-Charlie

[JCJ]

Here in MN we have surveyed hunters twice and asked them where they primarily hunt whitetail deer. The surveys included both archery and firearms deer hunters

75% hunt on private land. The vast majority hunt the same private land each year.

The other 25% share the more than 10 million acres of public hunting land in the state.

[jonsimoneau]

By the way I hope my original post did not seem like I was complaining. I know I have it better than most here in Illinois. I'm just trying to get a feel for what it is like in other states and am curious as to what some of you guys are faced with each year.

[DoubleB20]

Here in Texas most hunting is private leases. I'm fortunate to have a small lease in some farm country in Central Texas and there are only four of us and we might hunt it every other week or so and normally not all at the same time. We have lots of public land, the closer to the metro areas the more hunters, but I've hunted some of the close public places during the week and don't see anyone. We also have public draw hunts, entry is only $3 per category. If you're interested in hunting Texas, the deadline for Archery deer hunts is August 9. Don't have to buy a license until you get drawn. If you get drawn, there's an additional charge, most are $130 for 3-4 days. Mule deer, Whitetail, exotics, javelina and hogs - oh and turkey. There are also several COE hunting areas - some are draw and some are free access.

[toddster]

jonsimoneau, I know what your talking about since I live and bowhunt in central illinois and have seen a sizable increase in the amount of bowhunters in years past, and it kinda dwindled a little.  As far as hunting pressure, I don't think the animals have any more pressure than they do in august and september here with squirrel season coming in.  I believe and do change my tactics when an area does get pressured more.  We all know that hunting unpressured deer is great but on public property not a choice.  The deer may be pushed or move, but they are still there, little more weary, but still huntable.  Case in point, last year I had the whole season off, do to knee replacement.  I was seeing some nice deer in an area, then about the third week seen alot of people showing up and really pressuring the deer.  I backed out of the area and looked at aerials and figured where they got pushed.  Luck, was with me and the fourth week arrowed a nice buck.  I believe like everything else, you have to adapt to the animals conditions.  yes, there are times, they will be drove to nocturnal or out of area, but I think it takes alot to do that.  I have seen this years ago, they it turned out December was the best hunting, because after second shotgun season, hardly anyone was around.