Public or Private - Where do you hunt?

[DaveShooter]

I hunt public but I have also hunted private land as well. I have taken all types of game and deer on both through the yrs.About trash yes their are alot of folks I would hate to see the inside of their homes I mean if they trash up mother earth, than their house on inside and out must be a dump or land-fill.
I have seen deer on private and public hunting lands. Alot of folks don't or won't let you hunt on their land do to liabilty reasons or they hunt their land with family.

[ch312]

Here in Southern Ont we only have to option of hunting private land. And many people have a hard time finding a hunting spot. its not until you get 2 hours north that crown land becomes available.

hmmm...you might want to look a bit harder if you think private land is the only option for us here in southern ontario

[maple]

Currently I hunt on a 350 acre "farm". Mind you, I spend a lot more time helping the owners with wood cutting and helping out then I do hunting. Fortunately, it works out very well since I have taken many nice deer there. We have beome good friends over the years and I feel privileged to be able to hunt there.

However, my best deer was taken on public land.

Here in Canada, over 75% of land is public, although much of it is waaay north and largely inaccessible. In the US, less than 10% is public. These numbers are approximate, but gives the big picture. No doubt it has an effect on availability.

Maple

[agingcrossbower]

I hunt on both. Our family has private land but there is a lot of young hunters come up the ranks so its time to step aside. I now hunt on a friends land and it is Gods country. I am very lucky to get the chance to hunt it. VERY VERY Lucky.
Public land in general is over hunted but there is deer there to get.

[bigbuckonly1]

I hunt only public land, been hunting Talladega national forest public land for the past 19 years, have had to deal with some dog pressure, & very little human pressure, really enjoy scouting the big woods & picking stand sites, you really feel very good when all your scouting pays of, I usually try to get further of the beaten path & get further from the other hunters. Enclosed are pictures from some of my better public land bucks. Taken dozens & dozens of 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, pointers & spikes thru the years, past several years have been only taking the older mature deer, letting lots of small bucks walk.

[georgiaboy]

I hunt public land,here in south Ga. Most private land is leased by dog club's.
I hunt on a military base so the fed boy's don't tolerate a lot of stupidity!!
The base is very well managed,and some 140-150 class bucks are taken every year!

[DuckHunt]

I hunt a very small private lot (<15 acres wooded) in Northern Virginia mostly, but I live walking distance from 700 acres of public land in West Virginia. The Virginia private land is in a very overpopulated (deer) area. I can kill a deer just about any day I go hunting there. I passed on five of them Saturday. Unfortunately, that means that we don't have quite the antler quality that most enjoy. Quantity yes, quality not so much.

I spend a few days on the public land down the street each season and will again next week. It is extremely over-hunted. There will be no less than 100 folks descend on the area on Monday. Most every deer will slip right out the other end as the masses make their entrance. After the second day of rifle season, most everything is either nocturnal or has completely moved off of the 700 acre parcel onto the thousands of acres of surrounding private land that has little or no pressured. There are a few nice deer killed on the public land each year. By a few, I mean about three. If you pass on any small buck, he may not make it out of your sight before someone drops him.

If you want to climb a tree, you probably want to bring one along. And don't be surprised if someone comes in right after daylight and climbs a tree 75 yards upwind of you right on the deer trail you're hunting.

No, I'm not complaining.

DuckHunt

[weezy]

I hunt about 200 acres of private land.But its split up between 3 properties.
One patch of woods I hunt is only 5 arces.This is where I have taken my last 3 bucks too.Its a small patch of woods between two decent sized woods.I dont have permission for the big woods on either side but the owners let me look for my deer if they go over there after I shoot them.Its very un pressered.I see 5-25 deer every evening I hunt.I have seen deer there every evening ive hunted there for the last 5 years.EVERYTIME!One guy hunts the bigger of the woods about 5 times the entire season and thats it and no one hunts the other.

[Riflemanz]

I hunt on 200 acres private land here in se wisconsin metro hunting area.Owners don't hunt.

[Raymond]

I hunt on 7.5 acres in back of my house which belongs to me. And I have another 50 to 60 acres of private land own by my sister. Way in back on the mountains, and due to my health this season it has not been hunted by me or no one else. The other 450 acres around the 50 to 60 acre lot does not get hunted either. Gates and manpower keep this properties closed. I was so looking forward to hunt on this plot of land. There should be some big racks in there. I hope I can hunt there next year.