Good Lord I am So TIRED of hunting state land.

[Mark 1911]

I too am stuck on mostly state land. And it does have more than it's share of frustrations, and it gets tiring getting out there early in the afternoon only to have some slacker come wandering in an hour before sunset, or five minutes after daylight,etc. HOWEVER, I have to be honest here, and say one of my biggest pet peeves, and please no offense, and apologies if I am misunderstanding your OP, is people like you, who put up a fixed stand on public ground and think that claims the spot for themselves. It's PUBLIC ground. Do you hunt every single day, morning and night? How are people supposed to know if you are hunting at any one time? There is limited land, if you could claim a spot, they would ALL be claimed and it would not be public anymore. If I come in and someone is physically in an area,I back out and find somewhere else,and I appreciate it when others do the same, and most do with the exception of the occasional Ahole. I would never climb up right next to you. But, your stand? You aren't there, and I hunt the area. People stick a ladder stand up, leave it, then act like you are trespassing if you hunt anywhere near it. I had a guy last year put a stand up in an area I've hunted for YEARS and never had any run ins. No big deal, if I thought he was there I went somewhere else. Went in early one afternoon , got in my climber. Bout four o'clock here he comes in. I whistle and wave. Dude comes unglued. Base of my tree yelling. I don't intimidate though,and he left with a new understanding of public ground. Only nastiness I've ever experienced while hunting, all because a guy thought he could claim a piece of public land to himself. I personally wish all fixed stands were banned from public ground.Some states do, for just this reason. Get a good comfy climber or some mobile sticks and light hang on and you can go wherever you want, and, no-one can mess with or stand or use your scouting by finding your stand locations.

Yes it's public land. So by definition those stands are not up there all year round. They are allowed to be put up on September 15th for the duration of deer season. So obviously someone put them there with the intention of hunting that spot. We didn't put the stand there to advertise to other hunters that the spot was scouted and found to be a good spot. If you're hunting a state fish and game area that contains 10 or 20 square miles of land, why would you want to hunt the same spot that someone else either already hunted or is planning to hunt? Why compete for a shot at the same deer? Why create hard feelings between people who just want to enjoy the hunt? There are many reasons to go find a spot that is not being hunted by someone else. Besides hunting on top of another hunter and deciding who is going to shoot the deer out from under who, there is the question of how much pressure can be put on an area until the deer change their patterns, pick up human scent because instead of one person using the area once or twice a week, now perhaps another person is using the area during the week, creating excessive pressure on one spot. Besides disturbing their habitat, there is the increased chance that someone will spook a deer, causing them to find another location. There is the question of safety during gun season. Nobody is claiming that spot as "their own", but with a little effort to spot other hunters' stands, and a willingness to scout your own area, the experience is going to be that much better all the way around for everyone. To me it is just downright lazy, rude, and speaks to not knowing much about how to hunt, when a person knowingly puts up a stand in such close proximity to another hunter. I understand that its easy sometimes to miss a stand that's in the vicinity, but at least be willing to move on when you know your mistake. On the other hand, in my situation, someone put up a stand not 30 yards from mine and hunted it for 4 days during the week when I was gone, and came back on the 5th day, Saturday, hoping maybe I wouldn't show up. There is no way he didn't see that stand practically under his feet for 4 days. That is an example of simply not caring about anyone else. He is creating human traffic and pressure in an area that might have otherwise been productive if left alone for a few days. That is just thickheaded inconsiderate stupidity and someone like that is a very poor excuse for a deer hunter, and a poor excuse for a sportsman in general.

 

[Mark 1911]

I gave up hunting for 20 years due to similar experiences on state land. I won't even consider it.

I love the hunt, and I'm willing to walk a long way to get away from most of the guys. Until I find some private land to hunt that's within a reasonable driving distance, it's about my only choice unless I want to give up deer hunting. I'd rather work a little harder than most guys for a better experience, but I'm not ready to give up hunting, I love it too much to do that.

 

[phylodog]

I love the hunt, and I'm willing to walk a long way to get away from most of the guys. Until I find some private land to hunt that's within a reasonable driving distance, it's about my only choice unless I want to give up deer hunting. I'd rather work a little harder than most guys for a better experience, but I'm not ready to give up hunting, I love it too much to do that.

I gave it an honest effort when I got out of the Army. My last attempt pushed me over the edge after doing everything I could think of to distance myself from other people and it still failed. I will never hunt public ground in Indiana again. I wish you all the best and hope things work out so you can enjoy some quality hunting but if my current situation were to change and I lost the ground I currently enjoy I'll be selling off a lot of gear and picking up a new pastime.

 

[Mark 1911]

I gave it an honest effort when I got out of the Army. My last attempt pushed me over the edge after doing everything I could think of to distance myself from other people and it still failed. I will never hunt public ground in Indiana again. I wish you all the best and hope things work out so you can enjoy some quality hunting but if my current situation were to change and I lost the ground I currently enjoy I'll be selling off a lot of gear and picking up a new pastime.

Given the frustration and disappointment of this past weekend, I can certainly understood why you would make that decision and I can't say that I fault you one bit. I have never had two encroachment experiences before on back-to-back days and I started hunting state land for deer in 1989. I'm totally fed up right now. I have access to private land in MI and WI, and will be hunting rifle up in WI over Thanksgiving weekend, but its way too far to go more than once or twice - not to mention the cost of non-resident tags. I am going to put a LOT more effort into finding some land in northern Indiana to hunt. It will take some effort, but that's OK. I'm going to try simply driving around and spotting some nice tracts of woods, then looking up the owners at the tax assessor's office and writing a bunch of letters until I find someone whose willing and doesn't want to get rich off a deer lease.

 

[Max Volume]

I'm going to try simply driving around and spotting some nice tracts of woods, then looking up the owners at the tax assessor's office and writing a bunch of letters until I find someone whose willing and doesn't want to get rich off a deer lease.

I hope you have a big bankroll. The days of $1500 an acre are long gone in northern IN. The owner won't get rich from a lease, just the sale.

 

[ilikeguns]

I've gone around in conversation with claim stakers before, and know it's a losing battle, so I'm not going to keep going here. You can't hunt any one spot every day morning and night, and on most property there is maybe 50-60% that is really huntable, and of that a handful of truly great spots. You can't go in in September and claim one all for yourself, no matter how bad you may want to or what rationale you use. If you want to claim one as your own, go buy the land. The entire argument can be ended if you would answer one question completely honestly after truly open mindedly thinking about it. What part of my incident, your incident,or your entire rant, would have happened if no one was trying to stake out a piece of public ground all for themselves? I would venture to say the majority of people who hunt public use mobile setups. Just because you don't see another ladder in the area, you are fooling yourself if you think you are the only person who knows that's a good spot and hunts it. If I have a particular spot I want to hunt and i pull into my parking area on a 700 acre tract, and there is one car in the lot, there is more than enough ground for the both of us, and chances are we well never see each other, but if I walk back to my spot and the guy happens to be there,I have other spots to go. I can turn around, go to my second choice, climb up and enjoy my day. Take the exact same scenario, but instead I've got a ladder up back there. I park, walk back thinking how nice it is not to have to pack a stand in, get to the base of my ladder and a light starts flashing at me from fifty yards down. Crap. Guess he didn't realize this was MY spot. Now,I can either go ahead and screw that guy and myself in a losing battle to prove an invalid point and go ahead and sit there anyway, or I can stomp back to my truck ticked off and ready to quit because I can't hunt from a stand today. Which scenario makes more sense?Cool down, be rational, understand the meaning of public land and completely forget the notion of trying to make any part of it completely yours, and you will have a much more enjoyable season. Don't worry,I won't post any more in this thread lol.

 

[farmerdan]

I've been curious about how hunting leases work too? Where/How do you go about finding a lease?

Try Hunting lease network. com.

 

[Mark 1911]

I've gone around in conversation with claim stakers before, and know it's a losing battle, so I'm not going to keep going here. You can't hunt any one spot every day morning and night, and on most property there is maybe 50-60% that is really huntable, and of that a handful of truly great spots. You can't go in in September and claim one all for yourself, no matter how bad you may want to or what rationale you use. If you want to claim one as your own, go buy the land. The entire argument can be ended if you would answer one question completely honestly after truly open mindedly thinking about it. What part of my incident, your incident,or your entire rant, would have happened if no one was trying to stake out a piece of public ground all for themselves? I would venture to say the majority of people who hunt public use mobile setups. Just because you don't see another ladder in the area, you are fooling yourself if you think you are the only person who knows that's a good spot and hunts it. If I have a particular spot I want to hunt and i pull into my parking area on a 700 acre tract, and there is one car in the lot, there is more than enough ground for the both of us, and chances are we well never see each other, but if I walk back to my spot and the guy happens to be there,I have other spots to go. I can turn around, go to my second choice, climb up and enjoy my day. Take the exact same scenario, but instead I've got a ladder up back there. I park, walk back thinking how nice it is not to have to pack a stand in, get to the base of my ladder and a light starts flashing at me from fifty yards down. Crap. Guess he didn't realize this was MY spot. Now,I can either go ahead and screw that guy and myself in a losing battle to prove an invalid point and go ahead and sit there anyway, or I can stomp back to my truck ticked off and ready to quit because I can't hunt from a stand today. Which scenario makes more sense?Cool down, be rational, understand the meaning of public land and completely forget the notion of trying to make any part of it completely yours, and you will have a much more enjoyable season. Don't worry,I won't post any more in this thread lol.

It's not that complicated and not worth getting pissed over. See a stand, go somewhere else.

 

[Zoub]

Type in the county, state and " GIS" in Google.
EX: Cass county indiana GIS.

That will get you started on finding land owners. I didn't go deep but I saw at least three sights with some or all of the indiana county links. I use this kind of tool year round here in WI.

Another thing I do is go out and look at parcels for sale on Zillow or craigslist as an excuse to talk to others in the area. Best lease I found was land owned by a guy trying to rent out a small farm house. $30 per acre, 60 acres in the middle of some prime territory. I was looking at a tract recently that I thought about buying to farm. Kid across the road just bought it and thought I was the surveyor. He put me on to something even better for my purposes.

Also hit local bars. I had a good one recently. Guy thought he recognized me and he seemed familiar to me. We figured it out, we cross paths every year fishing the river. He owns land next to one I was looking at and knew all the owners for about a dozen more including two I like.

 

[Mark 1911]

Type in the county, state and " GIS" in Google.
EX: Cass county indiana GIS.

That will get you started on finding land owners. I didn't go deep but I saw at least three sights with some or all of the indiana county links. I use this kind of tool year round here in WI.

Another thing I do is go out and look at parcels for sale on Zillow or craigslist as an excuse to talk to others in the area. Best lease I found was land owned by a guy trying to rent out a small farm house. $30 per acre, 60 acres in the middle of some prime territory. I was looking at a tract recently that I thought about buying to farm. Kid across the road just bought it and thought I was the surveyor. He put me on to something even better for my purposes.

Also hit local bars. I had a good one recently. Guy thought he recognized me and he seemed familiar to me. We figured it out, we cross paths every year fishing the river. He owns land next to one I was looking at and knew all the owners for about a dozen more including two I like.

Great information! Thank you! Will try this tonight.

 

[Whitsettd8]

Look for state land that's hard to access. If there is a parking lot it's gonna be overrun. Look at state land that buts up to private property and try to gain access through the private property. Knock on doors and check zillow or your local tax maps for property info. Be prepared to hear no a lot but give it a try

 

[The Bubba Effect]

Private land is not any better. I have had over a dozen hunters come in on me when I was on private property and they did not have permission to hunt.

One guy drove his three wheeler to the base of my stand and started climbing it before I whistled at him to let him know I was up there.

I have a hard time being interested in deer hunting east of the Mississippi. Too much orange, too many morons.

 

[MRP2003]

When I go back to PA to deer hunt, I have always hunted public lands. The issue I have is what I refer to as common courtesy. A lot of hunters don't have it or common sense. Using high powered rifles and setting up to hunt from the ground 40 yards away from a guy in a tree stand is just plain stupid but it has happened to me several times by the same guy 3 years in a row. You flash your flashlight as they come in and even yelled out to him one year "Don't you think your a little too close?" Even in IN have had dummies set up within 50 yards during gun season or state park reserve hunts. Drives me crazy.

My feelings is first in has the right. I have walked into a spot where someone else was already there, I quietly apologized and found another spot that would not interfere with their hunt.

Also hate when hunters are walking through, see you in your stand and just keep walking either right up to your stand or through the general area that you are looking at. Those are the times I just keep repeating to myself that it is just deer and not worth creating more of a problem for myself by doing anything rash.

I personally don't trust the general public now a days to leave a stand in on public land. Even locked to a tree, too many jerks that may try to steal it or sabotage it. had a deer cart stashed deep in the woods only to find someone took the pins out that held the wheels on. WTF. Even on private land that I am not the only hunter permitted on the land, have walked in to find hunters in my stand even when it was clearly marked a private property and they knew they were not to be in it.


Hunting, especially deer hunting can be frustrating, especially on public land.

Good luck to everyone going out this weekend!! Please be safe and don't be afraid to wear more blaze orange than the regulations require.

 

[shibumiseeker]

Go deeper into the woods? Doesn't matter anywhere I've hunted. Someone is gonna be there. It will become like parts of Europe. Unless you are wealthy and can afford land you ain't gonna hunt. I have been thinking of an out of state semi guided deer hunt just to get into the woods.
.

I bought my land for way less than most people spend on a new truck. In my life I've never grossed more than $30k a year and many years a lot less. I don't smoke or drink or drive new vehicles or have the latest and greatest electronic gadget or toy or live in a huge house.

Yet somehow I managed to amass enough land that not only can I and my family can hunt, but so can friends of mine. In addition, my land has paid for itself in real money several times over from the timber and other forest products I have produced from it. If I'd stuck the same money in the bank I'd be way, way behind.

While being wealthy helps, one does not need to have lots of money to own enough land to hunt. One just has to want it enough to be frugal with the money they do have.

 

[Zoub]

To add to Shibum's post not all of your land needs to be adjoining. One parcel can help pay for the next and so on. You don't have to score 240 acres with a cabin. If you do, you are just paying for someone else's labor. Shibum said amass, I bet he did it piece by piece.

it's a different thread, but land can be self sustaining and a lot more.

 

[shibumiseeker]

To add to Shibum's post not all of your land needs to be adjoining. One parcel can help pay for the next and so on. You don't have to score 240 acres with a cabin. If you do, you are just paying for someone else's labor. Shibum said amass, I bet he did it piece by piece.

it's a different thread, but land can be self sustaining and a lot more.

20 acres in Kentucky in a 5 and 15 acre parcel and 150 acres here in Indiana: numerous parcels but all contiguous. Over the years I have kept my eyes open as adjacent pieces came available. I'm 46 and started buying land when I was 19, with all of my spare money in the early days going to pay it off as quickly as I could. My last timber sale was to finance the latest acquisition in Kentucky. Sure would have been nice to have some of those shiny toys my friends have had over the years, most of which they no longer have. But when I wake up in the morning and step outside my modest cabin I built myself, to no neighbors within a half a mile, not having those toys seems to not mean as much.

 

[Zoub]

Amen. Our old trucks don't look that old in the country. Somebody always has an older one too that runs just fine and has less rust.

 

[gewehr3]

I used to deer hunt Francis Slocum. Over the years, I've had people steal my locked deer stand, waltz in smoking after 9:00 am (when I've been there before dawn), several times people would drive deer with dogs, and a friend of mine have had people shoot at him to intimidate him from the area. I even had a guy dump his ash tray around my deer stand. I also gave up firearm season deer hunting on public land.

But I have also had perfect strangers help me track deer, and haul it back to my truck. So I imagine it's like any other group of people. 10% are douchebags, 10% are good guys, and the rest fall somewhere in between.

I had far less problems bowhunting in the middle of the week, and again during muzzleloading season.

 

[Mark 1911]

I used to deer hunt Francis Slocum. Over the years, I've had people steal my locked deer stand, waltz in smoking after 9:00 am (when I've been there before dawn), several times people would drive deer with dogs, and a friend of mine have had people shoot at him to intimidate him from the area. I even had a guy dump his ash tray around my deer stand. I also gave up firearm season deer hunting on public land.

But I have also had perfect strangers help me track deer, and haul it back to my truck. So I imagine it's like any other group of people. 10% are douchebags, 10% are good guys, and the rest fall somewhere in between.

I had far less problems bowhunting in the middle of the week, and again during muzzleloading season.

I too have had guys help me drag deer out and I have done the same. I understand that there are always going to be some unintentional crossing of paths of hunters engaged in various activities in the field. Sometimes those other activities actually work in favor of deer hunters when the deer get pushed to you. The thing that really is frustrating is guys who have no problem with walking in late when they know there are other hunters there, and guys who have no problem putting a stand up so close to another stand that they would literally be competing for a shot at the same deer. I try not to let it get to me but sometimes its hard not to.

 

[singlesix]

It's not that complicated and not worth getting pissed over. See a stand, go somewhere else.

It's even simpler, I hunted public lands for 6 years, see someone in a stand go somewhere else, if the stand is empty than first come first serve.