Whitetails and outside hunting pressure

[mark land]

Jon, I posted on that thread you are referring to and yes there can be alot of NR/Resident pressure on some areas, but there are also some areas that recieve very little pressure and some looking around can find some nice tracts of land.  The thing about IL is there are little tracts of public land scattered all over the state and not all are well know or marked either.  Plat books will give up some of these little known secrets.  
There are only 20,000 NR archery ES permits available for sale and of those usually only 11-12,000 get sold, so that's not alot of hunters in my opinion, but the problem comes when they are concentrated in small areas then it seems to be more of a problem then it really is.  
Gun season is a whole nuther matter and when it starts I am beating a hasty retreat out of your state for sure, never saw such a circus up there in my life and glad I don't gun hunt.

[wapiti792]

One side-effect of the whole Outhouse Channel culture is that some of the bowhunting pressure on public spots will start to be diminshed because everybody knows you can't kill a big deer on a small piece of ground...you gotta go to Mumbojumbo Outfitters to get 'er done. For those of us who hunt some public pieces I applaud the "Hunting Celebs" who promotes big leases and big outfitters. From a private ground perspective it stinks. I have lost some great farms to the machine of the hunting "industry".

I have learned to hunt smarter because of my stickbow. I look for overlooked pieces of ground, a funnel, a pinch, a grown-up homestead, a waterway that connects pieces of hardwoods. This has helped me because as the larger areas I used to have has been squeezed by leases and what-not, causing me to hone down my focus, to be more cautious with wind, and overall more resourceful. I can honestly say because of the pressure from other hunters I actually have had opportunities I would not have had, both public and private.

Jon, we know we have it good here in the Peoples Republic of Illinois where you can't have a weapon to defend your family without a "FOID" card but we still get to hunt some pretty good whitetails with a single string bow...Thank God  

[jonsimoneau]

Mike. Great post. I agree with you too.

[Izzy]

I dont think it can be avoided on the majority of whitetail habitat, especially public land. I do most of my hunting on private property and even on the larger 275 acre section that is only legally hunted by me other than 5 guys opening weekend of rifle season, there are many negative effects from hunters on the surrounding properties.

      The only deer Ive ever seen that behaved like I imagined that true, pure, unmolested deer would  was on a 30,000 acre ranch in eastern Wyoming. I would suspect that not many of us have access to such a piece of land. The only land in NY like that is public with low, low deer densities and even there you have to deal with other hunters.

       Outside pressure is something that I think the majority of us just have to endure or throw in the towel. There are a lot more hunters on a lot less land these days.

[gringol]

I think we hunters as a community don't do a very good job of lobbying for protection of existing public lands or procurement of additional public lands.  We do a good job of fighting for the right to hunt and the right to own guns, but I think we could do a lot more to preserve open, undeveloped spaces.  I get the feeling that most hunters lean to the right politically, but there are a lot of left-leaning interest groups that could be very helpful in preserving public land.  The right to hunt is useless without a place to hunt.  Hunting in the US is changing from a tradition of the middle class to a sport for the very wealthy, and in my opinion this is almost entirely a function of the loss of undeveloped, publically accessible land to hunt on.  

In FL right now, our governor is attempting to sell off land that was purchased with tax-payer dollars to preserve Florida's wildlife and water supply.  That land provides a huge percentage of the WMA land in the state.  Our governor is a Republican.  On this issue, the dems are a bigger ally to hunters than the GOP.  My point is that traditionally supportive political parties will pull the rug from under us if we don't pay attention, and sometimes we need to look for allies in places we normally wouldn't go near.  Tree-hugging hippies have done a lot to preserve wild places over the years, and we really have quite a bit in common with those weirdos.

[stack]

I got luckey this year and found a lease of only 40 acres but it is land locked with  farms on all 4 sides. So I should not have any problem with people walking in on me. Only problem is it is 180 miles from home so I will only be hunting weekends and any vacation time I take. I have been hunting public land in Southern Mi for the last several years and it seems like every tree has a stand in it. Seems like the only place to hunt on public any more is as deep in the nastiest swamp you can find which is some pretty good hunting just tough getting the game out.

[John Scifres]

I have little luck in killing deer on public land in Indiana.  However, in the big woods tracts in Southern Indiana, I rarely have a problem having a good experience.  There are just too few deer and therefore fewer hunters.  In managed land or small tracts adjacent to ag land, public land is often not worth the battle with other hunters.  Still, I enjoy a group hunt every year on just such a place.

Many private tracts are converting to leases as our reputation as a big deer state grows and the Midwest Whitetails website gains in popularity.  Folks are more willing to lease than they used to be and the need has grown more urgent in many minds.  This forces more folks onto public lands.  We have been lucky to increase our public land stocks here in Indiana in the last few years but it's probably not gonna help a whole lot during gun seasons.  We do have a lot longer gun season than you do though so it gets spread out some.  

As the current generation of hunters ages and  dies off, the lack of recruiting will show more prominently.  I see few young hunters around so our pain has an endpoint if we can just outlive all the rest of the sumsabeeches out there  

[Hoyt]

I hunt public land in the southern part of the state..National Forest. I've hunted pretty much only public land for over 40yrs and prefer it. Less rules, etc. I have permission to hunt private land, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I saw one other human in the woods since I've been hunting this area and that was coming out during gun season one mid morning. I have counted about 200 gun shots on opening mornings of gun season though.

Archery, it's like I own it. As I know you are aware, there's just so much of this National Forest it's easy to find your own spot. Especially with so much farmland bordering it and so many chunks with no or limited access to them.

I've hunted public land in Ga., S.C., and Fl..and especially Ocala National Forest, Fl. is a circus.

I rode through there one Sun. about mid day in the dog hunt area and it was like a parade. One vehicle after the other with three abreast in the back of pickups rifles on top of the cabs. One woman driving her male friend with him in a white dress shirt laying on the hood of the car leaning back against the windshield with rifle in hand. One man driving his station wagon with his female friend sitting on top of the roof cross-legged with her compound and arrow nocked. A man sitting on top of a 10' ladder in the road with bow. Packs of dogs running everywhere, people on CB's everywhere, somebody on every curve in a lounge chair with rifle and a cooler at their side....and last but not least a guy gets out of his truck at a parking section shoulders his auto, lights a cig. and sticks it in his mouth, picks up a recurve, nocks an arrow, then opens his Budwieser has it in his right hand..walks off into the woods.

[gringol]

Hoyt, I've seen the FL dog hunting circus too.  I love a good working dog, but they have no business hunting big game on public land.  It chases all the game out of the woods, bring in some of the most "colorful" people (who give all hunters a bad rap) and shouldn't be legal.  If I had a choice I'd take crossbows during bow season everyday over dog hunting anyday.  Bow season in the Ocala is remarkably quiet, but it's really the only public land on the FL peninsula that doesn't get completely overrun.

[WoodsyDave]

I remember when I first started bow hunting. I never saw another hunter, period. It was wonderful and peaceful to be in the woods enjoying nature. I also remember the very first bowhunter I ever saw in the woods. We practically ran to each other to talk. That was neat.

Now, however, you really have to hunt to find a place where someone won't come walking by at the prime time you are expecting to see deer.  We can still get away from the crowds in this neck of the woods, but I feel for you guys that can't still hunt 75yds without bumping into someone. Enjoying nature "undisturbed" is what drew me to bowhunting in the first place.

WoodsyDave

[AWPForester]

I most definately would not be in that ruckus either.  In WV we are blessed with lots of public ground that takes considerable effort to get into, so that limits but does not exclude everyone.  Alot of out of staters hunt where I do too.  But it usually is not a problem to get way alone either.  I am so blessed to live here.  Good luck and God Bless

[Blaino]

I like to hunt the small tracks of land like 5 acres.  A lot of people dismiss them because of the size. Also, anytime water has to be used to get access 3/4 of the people won't bother. Those two factors are why I hunt a lot of public land on my home lake.... Besides if I don't drop the string I'll hit a couple of brush piles for some crappie on the way back to the hill and still bring home meat!

[LongStick64]

I only hunt State land that is Archery only, even if that means that I won't be hunting prime property. I've tried in the past to co exist even with small game hunters and it is miserable. I can't count how many small gamers have spooked bedded deer and pushed them till they were just too spooked to allow me to shoot.

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Hey Jon, get out there and work the neighborhood, get on some private ground, man!

Here in IN I'm far enough north that there's not much public ground, and the nearest gets hit pretty hard - around 1000 acres, during bow season maybe 20 guys a day during the week and 50-60 on the weekend days.  During gun season they usually run out of sign up sheets in the check in station.  The guys down south with lots of Hoosier National probably see less pressure.

Gotta get on something private...

R

[Jason R. Wesbrock]

Originally posted by Ryan Rothhaar:
Hey Jon, get out there and work the neighborhood, get on some private ground, man!

I agree. If I had to rely on public land in NE Illinois for my hunting pastime, well, my golf game would probably be a lot better.  

[jonsimoneau]

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

WOW...what an eye opener! You guys make me appreciate it up here even more. I may not see many deer but am happy as I never see any other hunters. I feel for you guys!...Ryan

[jonsimoneau]

Believe me Ryan. I'm trying!  Good luck this season guys.

[Montanawidower]

As an old hippie I knew from my days in Colorado used to say.... "Its a crowded planet man!".  

On that note, I hunted Ill. for the first time in 20 years last fall and heard my uncle sing the same blues.

 He was born and raised in the town he lives in and has hunted half the county over his sixty five years.  He was THE original bowhunter in Wayne County in the fifties and sixties.  

 He now has one lonely spot left to hunt exclusively.  Most all of his old haunts have changed hands, or are leased by out of state and northern Ill wealthy folk.  

Kind of sad if you ask me.  

Jeff

[jonsimoneau]

Yea. The point is if the pressure has increased so much here in Illinois I can't imagine what some of you guys in other states must be going through!