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Biggest public land problems

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hardhorns1982

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My biggest complaint about public lane hunting is the road access. I'm not saying there shouldn't be any but I am saying maybe not so much. Season starts and no matter where you go on some ground there is a side by side 4 wheeler or truck parked. Sometimes I wish these bigger tracks of ground would just have a parking area and the rest is on you. Oh yeah that and the poaching.
 
Yep, I hear you. I love the places that require a little work to get into. You can still kill some nice deer closer to roads but that is the exception and not the rule.
 
I don't mind decent access, especially for those not as physically able, or kids. What I see, is little enforcement of the existing rules. Most likely, that's because of limited manpower per management areas.

People driving off roads, riding ATVs where they're not supposed to, dumping trash, etc. Write more tickets, make hard and fast examples, and things might get a little better. Oh, people will cuss and call LE jerks for doing it, but it'll give teeth to the rules. Otherwise, why even have them?

Oh, and judges who throw books at offenders and back up LE would be nice.
 
I think you could avoid a lot of problems by making it illegal to leave anything (stands, blinds) in the woods when you are not in it. Pack it in, pack it out.

It would eliminate "homesteading" - claiming a piece of public ground by leaving a stand there.

It would also lighten pressure, cause some people won't want to carry in their stuff each time.

When I hunt public, that's how I hunt it. I never leave anything behind even for an hour.
 
You leave anything on public unless it's chained down it will disappear. What caused this issue is I hunt public have for years I enjoy the work. In saying that I killed a nice 9 point and I was doing my best to not get seen coming out because someone will snipe your hunting area. The guy didn't even see the deer he just seen my truck and the next year he's chained a lock on up and mows a 4 wheeler trail within 20 yards of it. I had to chuckle some because he put his stand on the worst wind imaginable and about 40 yards from the actual bedding. The deer moved out and I killed the mature buck that was working that area about 400 yards away.
 
Dennis said:
I think you could avoid a lot of problems by making it illegal to leave anything (stands, blinds) in the woods when you are not in it. Pack it in, pack it out.

It would eliminate "homesteading" - claiming a piece of public ground by leaving a stand there.

It would also lighten pressure, cause some people won't want to carry in their stuff each time.

When I hunt public, that's how I hunt it. I never leave anything behind even for an hour.
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I wish this was the rule. I'm surprised at how many stands are on public
 
My biggest complaint is not per say with people on it which can be and has been aggravating at times. It's people blasting how great some areas are and the deer populations and the big bucks. In my earlier days of hunting I was guilty of it and even days on here I was guilty of it. Nowadays I may or may not say if I saw a deer or killed a deer. Only my hunting buds and boys know about what I did and didn't see.
 
Dennis said:
I think you could avoid a lot of problems by making it illegal to leave anything (stands, blinds) in the woods when you are not in it. Pack it in, pack it out.

It would eliminate "homesteading" - claiming a piece of public ground by leaving a stand there.

It would also lighten pressure, cause some people won't want to carry in their stuff each time.

When I hunt public, that's how I hunt it. I never leave anything behind even for an hour.
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Folks leaving stands on public land for extended periods is one of my pet peeves. It's like they're pissing on/marking territory. My buddy and I see it all the time on the public land that we hunt. We've found full sized ladder stands that folks have hauled in on public land and leave there pretty much year round. One year while doing some preseason scouting, we found a full size, portable shooting house that someone had dragged back onto an oak flat about 300 yards off the main road. To get it in there they had to use a side by side, four wheeler or something of the sort which wasn't supposed to be allowed off road in that area. The sad part is when my buddy reported it to the area manager, their response was pretty nonchalant and dismissive from what I was told.
 
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Pimping out public land on social media and the huge technological advancements in readily available research, hands down. This exasperates the moral, over crowding and cut throat-ness of public land hunting. Even private land in many cases, I've lost more than one place to the highest bidder when people found out what I had discovered.

Sure, pimping it out has been happening for a while, even before social media. Eastmans hunting magazine is a prime example, they would release units n their magazines (that you had to pay for) and the following season the crowds would increase but not to the extreme we are experiencing now.

Most of us are guilty of spilling the beans(myself included) on our hot spots and most of us have very few "followers", I.e influence. However, any of us can put too much info out there and with the complexities of media search functions it can and will be found.

I don't even share many details if/when I draw a premium tag. Even if my odds of drawing it are less than 1%, I'm not making it public. Makes zero sense to make something that is already difficult that much more difficult.

As much as I would love to know the details of everyone's hunt, for nothing more than having the complete story, we just cannot do it anymore.

Pre social media; people leaving stands on public land and assuming that was there spot, forever. Inconveniences work both ways as well, if I get you to a ridge top (not knowing you even had a stand there) your not allowed to get mad, nor frustrated with yourself.
 
jetwrnch said:
Get there earlier.
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No point in that when some jackwagon will come cruising by on his atv/utv at random times anyway. I usually try to pull my truck out of the way and park at the end of the "No motorized vehicles allowed" old logging roads so they know someone is hunting down there but they just drive on by and ride up and down them anyway. I understand needing access roads and even retrieving a deer but the atv/utv riders around here ride every where shooting at anything they jump up.
 
My only real gripe with public are the guys with no courtesy. When I see somebody hunting a spot, I keep moving until I can be alone. I don't figure they want to be near me any more than I want to be near them. But sure enough, seems at least once per season somebody has to move in right on me, and almost always they want to chit chat.
 
My 2 cents on public land in my area..

We can discuss numerous topics on what we think is wrong with public land, but none of that matters around here as there is a bigger problem afoot. The biggest 2 issues I see for public land in my part of the state is TWRA it self. The ground pounding war on deer on CWD WMA's are leading to a dramatic decrease in deer and the hunting experience. The pressure on these WMA's are unreal from both local and out of state hunters. Yet prevalence rates for some of these areas are much less than 0.25%. At what point does one say enough is enough?

Tree stands being left in the woods, parking problems and access problems are the least of my concern at this point. Preservation of the resources are my biggest worry.
 
jetwrnch said:
Get there earlier.
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After years of getting there early and having people park beside me coming in late I have changed tactics. Going in a little late and letting the leave at 9 or 10 guys work for me. Deer are smart enough to figure out hunters pretty quick.
 
UpperTully said:
My 2 cents on public land in my area..

We can discuss numerous topics on what we think is wrong with public land, but none of that matters around here as there is a bigger problem afoot. The biggest 2 issues I see for public land in my part of the state is TWRA it self. The ground pounding war on deer on CWD WMA's are leading to a dramatic decrease in deer and the hunting experience. The pressure on these WMA's are unreal from both local and out of state hunters. Yet prevalence rates for some of these areas are much less than 0.25%. At what point does one say enough is enough?

Tree stands being left in the woods, parking problems and access problems are the least of my concern at this point. Preservation of the resources are my biggest worry.
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I take it you're out west Tennessee and I hate to hear it. This CWD is taking its toll.
 

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