Private vs. Public in the East

[RobertD]

I will hopefully show you all a couple Public land GA studs this fall. lol

Same here

Quota or NF up north?

I should have the points to draw one of the better quota hunts this fall and hoping to hunt NF for a few days for bear

 

[3855WIN]

I agree with mtnhunter. Having to pay for the land sucks. I don't see a comparison to Western hunting. You're happy to pay NR western hunt prices to hunt whitetail at home? not me. The guys out west pay similar resident license cost, but have millions of acres to hunt for free. I just wish we had more public out east.
I agree with the camp atmosphere, that's why we have a camp next to the NF. I'll take the cluster, that is public land hunting and spend lease money on elk tags.
I'm not against hunting private, I just think the cost is outrageous for most properties and won't change as long as people keep paying it. I looked into one near the NF where I hunt just to have a shoot house to take the kids and it was $1200+. and surrounded by NF. I just invested in ground blinds.
I'll never forget the look on a guy's face, being walked down the border of a lease he's just signed up for that is %95 bedding thicket and here I am up a tree on the national forest side hunting the same deer for free.

I worked shift work for years. It was important to me to have a hunting spot nearby so that I could go often and also take my son after school, work, etc. We had a skinning rack and walk in cooler. This allowed for quick processing so that I could get to work. It was worth it to me. Here’s a few before work and after school private land deer.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Same here

Quota or NF up north?

I should have the points to draw one of the better quota hunts this fall and hoping to hunt NF for a few days for bear

Quota, in the South.

 

[jakenbake]

Untill just a few years ago, PA opening day for rifle was the Monday after Thanksgiving.
All the states around us opened on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
So people would hunt their state opener, then come here for our state opening.
I would see more NY license plates than PA on Moshannon State Forest!!

What's funny for me, living in Maryland - the public spot I hunt during the gun season had more PA plates than MD plates on the opener up until that change. Ever since, no more PA guys. It's actually made it harder having fewer folks in the woods bumping deer all over the place.

 

[CMF]

I worked shift work for years. It was important to me to have a hunting spot nearby so that I could go often and also take my son after school, work, etc. We had a skinning rack and walk in cooler. This allowed for quick processing so that I could get to work. It was worth it to me. Here’s a few before work and after school private land deer.

That's some good ones! Another plus for private is you can let them get some age. I've been a lease close to home before for convenience, but the price is getting ridiculous and the pressure was worse than public I hunt.

 

[WesternRookie]

The problem with public land, is that it's open to the public. Areas with high population density have will have a poor experience on public land, and folks who say how great their public land is, are in low density population areas. That wouldn't make a very good article though....

 

[howl]

The problem with public land, is that it's open to the public. Areas with high population density have will have a poor experience on public land, and folks who say how great their public land is, are in low density population areas. That wouldn't make a very good article though....

Used to be like that pre-chinavirus & smartphone.

 

[Pahoundsman]

I hunt a lot of public ground in central PA for the express purpose of removing myself from hunters. Most guys are too lazy to put the effort it takes to kill a good buck on state ground. I own a working beef farm and can hunt my place and several neighbors,but I have to share the properties. I prefer the solitude of the mountains. The deer numbers are not great,but the last time I hunted a western state the numbers were down. I somehow manage to find a buck every year and last year he was a little over a mile from the parking lot. All I guess I’m trying to say is every hunt is what YOU make it. Good luck this season.

 

[EastTNHunter]

Small pockets of public are what I hunt. Yep, lots of sloppy yahoos use it too. Sometimes I have to lower my standards, and sometimes I have to just leave, but it beats not being able to hunt. I’ve never paid for a lease before, but every year I’m tempted to more and more due to hunting pressure and safety concerns