Public land deer hunting can be a challenge and at times frustrating. The stigma of public land deer hunting has long swayed hunters to seek out leases and private farms to hunt. I can tell you I’ve hunted some great private land and a lease over the years and prefer public land myself. To me with a big enough piece of public land to hunt, and with a few tactics I will highlight in this article, you might like public land deer hunting yourself.
The first thing that comes to mind when discussing public land and deer hunting is the pressure that the deer receive throughout the season and even during the off-season. Deer see horseback riders, mountain bikers, and hikers all year. While you might think that public land deer would become receptive to the intrusion into their home. I think because of the hunting season and hunting pressures each fall that the deer have learned to just avoid human contact altogether. So, throughout the year, when deer are getting pressure from these activities, they will seek a place with less intrusion. Locating these areas is the number one priority for hunting deer on public land.
Deer spend all year determining where human traffic is most prevalent. These are usually parking areas and hiking trails. All the places that hunters use when deer hunting on public land. So, even before the season, the deer have already located their “safe” areas to spend their days. This means that the first thing you should do is to locate all the easy access points on the public hunting grounds where you hunt deer. Knowing where these places are can eliminate a large part of the public hunting land so you can focus on the more productive areas where you should spend your time scouting.
Using a Boat
My favorite way to access these less accessible areas when I’m hunting deer on public land is by boat. I started using a boat many years ago. There are many advantages to using a boat when hunting on public land. The most obvious is to get to more remote areas, away from those areas where most people frequent throughout the year. There are a couple of other reasons that using a boat works so well when hunting pressured whitetails on public land.
A great aspect of hunting from a boat is entry and exit. One thing that I’ve learned, after 40 years of bowhunting, is to always come up with a clean entry into the area you plan to hunt. Usually, this clean entry offers a clean exit as well. Getting into an area where deer are comfortable and relaxed without spooking them, even one time is vital to success. My hunting boat is a small lightweight Jon boat with an 8 hp motor, it works great for getting into shallow bays and can be easily dragged up on shore while I hunt. A boat will get you into the heart of good deer hunting and by coming in from the back side of where people have pushed them from, without putting down any scent or noise, you will have the upper hand. Using drainages like creeks and gullies is my favorite way to enter and exit these areas. I will hang a stand at the top of a drainage without ever checking for deer sign. More times than not these drainages lead up to ridgelines, that deer use to travel. This unobtrusive tactic, hunting the spot without scouting it, can be exciting as you wait to see what’s in the area. It is also a great spot to place a trail camera to monitor movement.
Run, Gun and Rattle
Run, gun and rattle is a method that’s most effective during the pre-rut when bucks are cruising and on their feet much of the day. This tactic can be done on foot, but with a boat, you can cover much more ground. By entering areas that you know hold deer you can get in and quickly do your best rattle sequence to see what happens. When rattling for deer, I like to give each spot about 30 minutes, plenty of time for a buck to sneak in. I prefer using a treestand; however, if the cover is right, I will set up on the ground. With a treestand, you will be worn out if you do this all day. Most of the time you will see or hear something that keeps you in one spot longer. If I see deer and maybe a small buck comes to the horns, I’ll sit a couple of hours or even the rest of the day. You never know what’s going to come by during the pre-rut and rut. When you find a place where the deer are comfortable, they will continue to chase and “do their thing” all day long if conditions are right.
Scouting on Public Land
Scouting has always been a tough thing for me to do during the season when hunting deer on public land. A great time to scout for next season is shortly after this season. Going in and scouting large areas of public land during or even just before the season, I feel, can be counterproductive. You will be intruding on areas that you think the deer have gone to escape human intrusion. It is best to use maps and cameras, especially cellular trail cameras, to minimize your intrusion on public land. Boots-on-the-ground scouting is best done just after the season ends when your presence doesn’t matter.
Maps are still my go-to method for finding potential stand sites. I have hunted the same public land for many years, and I can tell you that each year is different, especially on big, wooded properties with limited agriculture. The deer follow the food and when acorns and other mast begin to drop the deer will find it. A great tactic to use with your maps is to get in the woods where you don’t plan to hunt and see what ridge or type of mast is prevalent that season. You can then apply your findings to the hot spots you find on the map. Did a north-facing hillside produce the most mast? Are there more acorns dropping near creeks or lakes? Once this is determined you can narrow your search to these areas to fine-tune your scouting. Finding travel routes like saddles and hubs near these types of areas can be all you need to harvest your public land whitetail this season. It’s best to go at your scouting with a plan when hunting pressured deer on public land.
