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How to Find Public Land Spots Other Hunters Miss

How to Find Public Land Spots Other Hunters Miss

Public land is all the rage now, and hunters are flocking to it in droves. It’s “cool” again, and those who find success enjoy the feelings of accomplishment that follows it. And in an age full of inflation, you can’t beat the fact that it’s much cheaper to hunt public properties. These reasons and more are big ones to hunt public land this season. But if you do, consider following this five-step plan.

Step 1: Know Where to Look
The importance of knowing where to search for public ground is crucial. The process of finding overlooked hunting grounds isn’t difficult, once you know when, where, and how to search for it. For those starting from scratch, start by zooming out. Some states are heavily pressured, and others receive less attention. Obviously, finding where fewer hunters go is a great start. Some of these states tend to include Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and more.

Step 2: Check Public Programs
Push in a little further, and it’s time to focus on various types of public lands. According to Hunter-Ed.com, some (but not all) state parks, state forests, wildlife management areas, national forests, National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and other properties offer hunting opportunities. Oftentimes, you can find some overlooked gems in these programs.

Other lesser-known programs exist, too. Some third-party trusts offer public hunting. Some states offer programs open specifically to disabled and veteran hunters. There are also grasslands, county lands, county forests, and other public options. Even some private lands are open to public hunting, including the Walk-In Hunting Access Program (WIHA), which is utilized in numerous states. Similar programs include the Land Access Program (OLAP) in Oklahoma, Hunter Access Program (HAP) in Pennsylvania and Michigan, Private Land Access (IPLA) in Indiana. Habitat and Access Program (IHAP) in Iowa, Block Management (BMP) in Montana, Open Fields and Waters (OFW) and Passing Along the Heritage (PATH) in Nebraska, PLOTS in North Dakota, Public Access (PALS) in Virginia, etc. You can even find similar programs inside city limits, such as the Metro Bowhunters Resource Base in Minnesota and the Community Hunting Access Program (CHAP) in Indiana.

Step 3: Use Available Resources
There are many digital scouting tools at our disposal. Hunting-focused apps offer powerful features that help locate potential hunting hotspots without stepping foot on them. Of course, it’s important to verify, but finding potential hunting spots, and crossing off places to avoid, can save a lot of time. Additionally, certain terrain features attract bigger deer, including brushy areas, islands, leeward ridges, oxbows, marshes, swamps, etc.

It’s also important to remember that there are specific areas and situations that produce limited pressure. Some areas are harder to reach, such as land-locked public that’s surrounded by private. This requires gaining trespass permission. Or, public lands that only offer water access, effectively requiring a boat, canoe, or kayak to reach them. Regardless of the situation, areas that are difficult or impossible to access without additional steps are spots to consider, as long as you’re willing to put forth additional effort.

Step 4: Research Your Selected Areas
Once you’ve discovered specific properties you’re interested in, do more research on them. Search these online to see what information pops up. Examples include old-school forums and hunting media. If these areas are being talked about a lot, chances are they receive more pressure. If you find very little info on these, they might receive less attention. This is a very important step to complete. Then, once done, it’s time to move.

Step 5: Find Your Hunting Hotspot
Once in the field, there are certain things to do and not do. First, consider avoiding obvious hotspots. Oftentimes, anything that looks incredible on a map is going to attract other hunters. Perhaps give it a look, if you so choose, but if it’s getting hit hard, move on.

Be willing to cover long distances. It might require hiking deeper into a property. It also might require parking, and then traveling a good ways down the road before diving into your spot. Oftentimes, bucks live close to roadways so long as they aren’t close to parking lots and other areas with frequent travel.

Plus, now that everyone is saying, “go further,” a lot of hunters are walking right past big deer because fewer hunters are willing to hunt closer to roads. So, just be smart. Scout your way in. If you find deer sign you think is daylight-related, but no sign of hunting pressure, give it a try. If it looks like other hunters are hitting that spot, move on.

Next, find areas that look good to you and offer what deer need, but that are more subtle to most hunters. Hunt where others don’t, and that’s where you’ll find deer, even mature deer. This might be some edge cover that’s less noticeable, topographical features that some hunters miss, or some other land feature that deer will flock to, such as food, water, or bedding cover, that gets minimal or no attention.

Another thing to consider is hunting along escape routes. These take time to learn, but once you know, you know. This is especially true for gun season openers. Some hunters will push deer, and if you’re set up correctly, you can catch these whitetails escaping that pressure.

And lastly, don’t forget the basics. Deer need food, water, cover, and security. Be willing to adjust on the fly. Check those boxes, and you’ll find overlooked public hunting spots. If you find a great piece of property, it trumps everything else, whether it’s in a “great” public land state, in a certain program, in a hard-to-reach area, or not. Just go hunt it and fill your tags.

Bonus Q&A: How to place trail cameras on public lands?
First, verify it’s legal to place trail cameras on the public land of interest. If it is, position cameras in a manner that makes them difficult to see and steal. Steps to take include:
1. Avoid high-traffic areas that see higher levels of human activity.
2. Use low-profile cameras that have smaller sizes and coloring that blend with trees.
3. Use brown bungie cords or paracord instead of larger straps. These are less noticeable.
4. Use treestand sticks to hang cameras higher out of reach. This deters tampering and theft.
5. Attach fake antennas to give the appearance of a cell camera.
6. Use a lock box, cable, or simple lock.
7. Don’t leave cameras unattended for too long.

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