Public Land Whitetails

[rmyoung1]

So if you wanted to harvest a whitetail buck on publicly-accessible land as part of your goal to complete the North American deer slam on public property, where would you go? I haven't hunted whitetails much and never killed one on public ground. Northern Idaho seems intriguing but I've never hunted Idaho before. Ideas anyone?

 

[Redwood]

NW corner of mt has some toads.

 

[1_pointer]

For me it would depend on where you are coming from and what type of deer you want. If just a whitetail to check a box on a list, I'd look at the SE US. Lots and lots of deer and mostly not physically demanding country to access. Plus, there's the opportunity to take multiple deer or even multiple bucks in many of those states. Central to northern ID is one I want to try again. The only time I went was in Oct and when/if I go back I'll be going in Nov to get in on some rutting action.

Good thing about whitetails, there's few locales in the lower 48 where one can't drive a day or less and be into whitetails.

 

[Walkitoff]

The San Antonio zoo is public ground isn't it?

 

[rmyoung1]

The San Antonio zoo is public ground isn't it?

Private. Just like the rest of Texas.

 

[MToutdoorsman]

MT does have good whitetail numbers on public and block management land. Most out here want the Mulies and tend to leave the whitetails alone until the later part of the season.

 

[ShootsManyBullets]

Montana or Northern ID

 

[MToutdoorsman]

Forgot to say do some research. Parts of MT was hit with EHD really bad, but park, gallatin, and madison are all good still.

 

[JohnCushman]

Pennsylvania has a lot of public land and NR tags are cheap as hell. I believe Kentucky has good public access as well. Missouri tags aren't that bad and there's a good amount of public land. I think you'll find whitetails easier and more prevalent heading east.

 

[ScottP]

Like was said earlier, depends on the experience you want.

Epic: Boundary waters canoe area wilderness.

Classic: National and state forested areas of Northern WI, MI, and MN. TONS of public lands, over the counter tags, different seasons. WI and MN both have muzzy seasons in December, so you could track and stalk in the 'big woods', as there is usually snow. deer densities are lower than in the farm country, but access is not an issue.

If you want more info on WI or MN, feel free to PM me. I have friends that take deer off public land every year.

 

[Big Fin]

Here's a Montana public land whitetail hunt. Too bad much of this country burned in 2012, but I suspect it will be really good in a few years.

http://www.carbontv.com/videos/IzcWk1ZTrPoR9JArOXQyvmjiVjQo7U2G

Oak is the deer slayer, no doubt.

 

[RUT JUNKEY]

Like was said earlier, depends on the experience you want.

Epic: Boundary waters canoe area wilderness.

Classic: National and state forested areas of Northern WI, MI, and MN. TONS of public lands, over the counter tags, different seasons. WI and MN both have muzzy seasons in December, so you could track and stalk in the 'big woods', as there is usually snow. deer densities are lower than in the farm country, but access is not an issue.

If you want more info on WI or MN, feel free to PM me. I have friends that take deer off public land every year.

this would be a great hunt for sure! I see deer up there every year, but, the terrain would be tough to hunt. . .and the wolves have probably taken a toll on the deer numbers as well!

 

[dcopas78]

There are some good areas in Ohio, and I know that some of the public land holds some big deer. Especially when there are good mast crops like acorns, since most of the public forest are all wooded. There just aren't millions of acres of public like out there. The largest section of state forest near me is 63,000 acre Shawnee State forest. There have been some real good bucks taken out of there. It is about like out there, the perimeter gets hunted but I would bet the middle of the forest doesn't get much pressure. As a matter of fact, I plan on backpacking in next season to test gear before I bring it out there for an elk hunt. No four-wheeler traffic is allowed on forest land either. The Non Resident license is $125 and the deer tag is the same as resident at $24.

 

[rmyoung1]

Here's a Montana public land whitetail hunt. Too bad much of this country burned in 2012, but I suspect it will be really good in a few years.

http://www.carbontv.com/videos/IzcWk1ZTrPoR9JArOXQyvmjiVjQo7U2G

Oak is the deer slayer, no doubt.

Big Fin, were your deer on this episode taken on USFS, BLM, or Block Mgmt?

That's a great episode by the way. Great bucks!

 

[rmyoung1]

Epic: Boundary waters canoe area wilderness.

Now there's an idea that never would have crossed my mind. Where would a guy begin researching and planning a trip like that?

 

[JLS]

Here's a Montana public land whitetail hunt. Too bad much of this country burned in 2012, but I suspect it will be really good in a few years.

http://www.carbontv.com/videos/IzcWk1ZTrPoR9JArOXQyvmjiVjQo7U2G

Oak is the deer slayer, no doubt.

I think I could drive to the exact spot you parked. There are some very good whitetails around there

 

[JLS]

Are you looking trophy, or just a fun hunt? I certainly wouldn't overlook Northern Idaho. NE Washington is also a good spot, but I think the tags here are pretty spendy for the short season.

 

[Walkitoff]

Like was said earlier, depends on the experience you want.

Epic: Boundary waters canoe area wilderness.

Now there's an idea! 2015, canoe and bow into wilderness area for multi day hunt. I'm in.

 

[JohnCushman]

Now there's an idea! 2015, canoe and bow into wilderness area for multi day hunt. I'm in.

Bring the banjos and you'll have Deliverance

 

[rmyoung1]

Are you looking trophy, or just a fun hunt?

Basically, my goal is to sample the diverse hunting opportunities that exist for deer on public lands in this country of ours. I'm not looking to put deer in the record books, but rather enjoy the diverse opportunities that exist for each of the five deer species. That's my goal before I'm too old to do it anymore.