public deer hunting

[JDS]

I have always done private land hunting. I am seriously considering trying public this year. I know absolutely zero about it. Just curious about the process and so forth. Is it better to dive into a smaller one such as Cedar Hill swamp and Shelton Ferry or a big one like Yanahli? Is there generally a sea of hunters in each one as I have been lead to believe by other hunters I have personally talked to? If they are not quota does each sell permits and so forth? Again just completely ignorant on this and would like to learn and start taking advantage of all that is available to us. Thanks for any help and input.

 

[dirtyhands]

I hunt mostly public land and I really enjoy it. The places I hunt are non quota and do not require any special permits. The two I frequent the most are quite small and I like it. I've been to some bigger ones that are further away but it's a little overwhelming when looking at that much land. I typically hunt on Mondays and Tuesdays and I never see anyone else other the my brother in law that goes with me. I cannot speak for all public land as I'm sure there's some that have more hunters then deer. To answer your question I'd start on a smaller wma preferably one that doesn't require any special permits just to make easy.

 

[ImThere]

Everything Poser said

On the flip side if I had private land I wouldn't hunt public land


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[Ridgeraider]

Check TWRA handbook, some public hunting areas require an additional $25.00 permit and some do not allow center fire rifles. I've taken deer on public land but it is different than private land. You can't leave treestand, blinds or cameras over night. You can't use any type of screw in steps or cut limbs or shooting lanes. Most hunters try to give each other space but if your set up before daylight and someone comes in after sun rise and sets up close to you there's really nothing you can do about it, so it can be frustrating.

 

[TNRifleman]

You will need a lot of patience and some planning. When I go to the Wolf River WMA, I always have 3-4 location options in mind based first one the wind but also on how many cars are in the parking lot. Be willing to walk a ways and or go through some rough stuff that others will avoid or stop short of. Also, if you can hunt the weekdays, you will have much more of the place to yourself, at least in my experience.

The other area to have patience in is that people will tend to move around a lot and earlier than you might think. I have seen people coming back out of the woods an hour after sun up. Just when you think you've seen it all, prepare to be surprised.

 

[Bone Collector]

I own a small tract and so does my brother. I don;t have any large tracts of private land that I can hunt anymore.

I hunt public through bow season. It is a little crowded opening weekend, but calms down until the opener of ML. That is when I generally start hunting my private spots.

It takes time to get used to the lay of the land and figure how the animals use the land, but once you do it is like hunting large blocks of private land, with more skittish game and the possibility of a hunter walking up on you.

 

[csi-tech]

I have seen some great deer on yahnali. I drive my patrol car along Tom J. Hitch Pkwy. at night. Many of those deer come off of the WMA and OMG. I have seen some bruisers out there. A friend had a 160" or better on camera in broad daylight. It looked like a caribou.

 

[JDS]

Thanks guys for all of the input. I think I may try out one of the smaller ones after bow opener.

On the flip side if I had private land I wouldn't hunt public land

I do have a 400-450 acre piece that I get to hunt with several other guys. A couple of which absolutely hammer it. I will still spend majority of hunts there. However I would like to start extending my options into other properties and figured I would start with some public land.

 

[Forvols]

I am going to give some time to public land hunting this year also, in the NE end of TN. I going to pick 2-3 areas do my scouting in squirrel season. Hopefully be able to mark my stand(s) location with GPS. I will probably do more bowhunting on public land and rifle hunt on my land.

 

[Tennessee Lead]

I'll be hunting public land again this season. I've been lucky and had a great private spot for 4 years and took 4 solid bucks but I won't have it this year. I'm hoping to use squirrel season as a chance to find some new ground around here.

 

[TN Whitetail Freak]

Those who follow me know I've been hunting state land going on 13 yrs throughout 10 counties here in west tn. The thing about public land is you have to learn it year by year I can get a gist of a piece of public land in 2 years minimum. Last year I got into some great bucks within weeks but that comes with my scouting experience and cyber scouting ability from the computer helps narrow down a chunk of land to a few hundred yards. There is a thread somewhere on here where I looked at dozens of properties doing it. Main thing is research the land online, people talk and that's a good place to start. Secondly cyber scout then boots on the ground. Thirdly have dozens of hunting spots, I have 50+. Mix it up and hunt perfect winds

 

[AT Hiker]

Keep everything in perspective, expect the unexpected and utilize ALL year to plan.

On the flip side if I had private land I wouldn't hunt public land


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To me hunting public is a blast. The whole researching side of it is most of the fun, that is what lacks for me on private land. Granted decent private land is great for easily filling the freezer.



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[JeepKuntry]

East TN public land can be tricky. I've killed a few on public land. But the majority have come from private land. Archery tends to still be low pressure but after the opening weekend of ML public land changes. The deer patterns change. Find the thicket place and set up.

 

[TLRanger]

Hunting public land is not near as bad as some people seem to think. I have plenty of private land to hunt and still hunt some on a WMA's. Why? Because I see just as many deer on the WMA's as I see on the private land. The only down side to public land hunting is that you may have someone come in on you while you are hunting. Usually this does not happen (except in turkey season). Of course I am in unit "L" where there is a deer behind every tree and half of them are big bucks!