Why I'm Deer Hunting Public Land This Year

Here are the three reasons you should consider giving public land a chance this year.

Most people will choose to hunt on private land over public land if they have the choice, but public grounds often offer more opportunities than people realize.

While private land certainly has its advantages, it isn't always the better option.

This year, I've decided to hunt exclusively on public land for the following three reasons.

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Hunting Pressure

Unfortunately, public land has a stigma of having high hunting pressure, which keep it from producing a mature buck. That might be true for a lot of scenarios and regions. However, at the end of the day, public land could be one of the best-kept secrets for deer hunting. If you're in an area that doesn't see a lot of hunters, you could be in a for a good season.

Most of the properties I hunt get a lot of pressure from fellow hunters. Without wanting to pay for a different hunting lease or locating new ground, I've decided to try some public-land hunting and learn what the hunting pressure is really like in these areas, it can't be much more pressure than what I deal with now.

Learning New Ground

There's something special about walking new ground and looking at aerial photos and using Google Earth to digitally explore new ground. But it's even more exciting to put some boots on the ground and learn the new hunting areas. It's also worth attempting to learn deer sign in new hunting locations and hanging trail cameras on pinch points or food sources.

After hunting the same pieces of private land pieces for years, it's easy to get a little lazy and bored with scouting. Public land offers something new.

Becoming a Better Deer Hunter

There's enough public land to hunt so many different kinds of terrain, using countless different methods.

At the end of the day, whenever you're out of your comfort zone, it allows for new growth. Public-land deer hunting won't be easy, but it'll be refreshing and exciting. I'm already looking forward to it.

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