Hunting private land

[Marlin Junky]

I was wondering how many of you hunt private land west of the Mississippi, for example in Eastern Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, etc.? If you've never hunted private land out west before, but want to some day, where would it be, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho...? If you have no plans to ever hunt private land, what is stopping you?

MJ

[ktw]

If you have no plans to ever hunt private land, what is stopping you?

Good hunting on millions of acres of public land?

-ktw

[waksupi]

I hunt both. Any of the states mentioned would be good, I would think. And yes, there is good hunting on millions of acres of public land.

[piwo]

Public lands are wonderful: for residents and those with contacts. If you've got weeks of time to wander around, you will probably be fine with a little research and the right gear. On the other hand, if you have only a week or 10 days, you will spend 2 days travel, another half day getting situated, and the remaining 4-6 days hunting. You don't have too much time learning the area, you must know it, or you are merely walking around waiting for a divine providence to intervene.

If I could, I'd hunt private land, with intel from the owner. But I don't know anyone with private land, so I take my chances when I decide to go.........

[obssd1958]

We (family and friends) hunt both private and public land in Idaho. We used to hunt just the public land, but IDFG instituted an "extra" deer tag several years ago for white tail does only in a small area in central Idaho. It was aimed at reducing the depredation on private properties and used a draw system to limit hunter and harvest numbers. We saw it as an opportunity to put meat in the freezer.
The area is a 5 hour drive from where I live, but we spent a couple of days talking to landowners, asking for permission, when IDFG first introduced this idea. There were several landowners that granted us permission to access their property to help reduce the deer numbers.
That was 6 or 7 years ago, and we all look forward to drawing tags and spending a week together each hunting season. As a matter of fact, my wife took her very first deer there last year. She is really hooked now!!!
All of this is made possible by the landowners. We aren't charged anything, and we are welcomed with open arms. Believe me, we do everything we can to make sure that we treat them and their property with great respect!!

The flip side is that we hunt public property also - for mule deer, antelope, elk, etc... and anyone that hunts with us finds out quickly that we treat that property with respect too! After all, we're just the caretakers for our children's children.

Don

[Ivantherussian03]

Too much public land out west to hunt.

In the past I have hunted private land, mostly friend's places that wanted certain animals or species taken, herds thinned.

[Marlin Junky]

What about the quality of the animals on private land vs. public land?

Personally, I'd rather eat 'em than hang them on the wall.

MJ

[MT Gianni]

Private land is more likely to be grain fed or finished if you will. Herds on private lands managed for trophy's will have better scoring racks if that is your thing. You are just as likely to find a landowner with the "get these grasseaters off there" attitude. Big timber bucks are not usually on private, just inacessable land outside of the rut. I see no clear winner.

[waksupi]

Better eating, if they can get on the wheat fields. For trophy size animals, both area hold gold mines. I've seen monsters on both public and private. Most don't have a concept of the expanse of western public lands. Many deer, elk, moose, sheep, etc., live and die, without ever seeing a man. They grow large, if you have the strength to go to where they are.

[sundog]

Ric, yea, but the real problem is how to get them out when you harvest. I've been to a few rather remote places, and taking an animal was ill advised because there was no really good way to get it out. Nice being there, and nice seeing the Creators majesty. It does not justify taking a trophy rack and leaving the rest.

Some of the best venison I've ever eaten was harvested right here on Okahoma farm fields -- wheat, milo, soy beans, row crops, pecans, acorns....

[waksupi]

Corky, you sure hit it on the head. Yep, I can go out any season, and find a B&C class bull. But am I going to shoot it? Not on your life! I know what is required after the trigger is pulled. If you don't have livestock available, you just plain don't shoot the ones in the pucker brush.

[flhroy]

Sundog Said

"Nice being there, and nice seeing the Creators majesty. It does not justify taking a trophy rack and leaving the rest."

Get caught doing that is a good way of losing hunting privileges for a very long time. plus a good chunck of change. If you can't get it out of the woods better not shoot. Not too many excuses will get you off the hook for that one.

[carpetman]

Texas was a republic before joining the Union and thus Texas maintained all the undeeded land and sold it. Thus,there is very little public land here. Cost of a lease is out of sight. I am very lucky in that my son in law inherited his grandmothers land and I have a place to hunt, couldn't afford it otherwise.

[piwo]

Missouri is 92% private, 8% public. Well, at least a few years ago that was the number. The state has been using my tax dolloars to buy up private lands and turn it into public. That doesn't mean hunting or shooting lands, just lands state owned. So now if I want to fulfill my dream of owning some acreage, I must bid against the state which is using my own money against me. I'm getting used to that here though, our former late governer used state funds fighting concealed carry initiatives for years.

Two ways of looking at everything I suppose, but this rubs me the wrong way.

[Ivantherussian03]

I come from a poor group of folks. I grew up hunting. My grandfather only shot the bare minimum to sight in a rifle. He would be appalled at how much I shoot. He took a week or two off work, because he enjoyed hunting, but it always hurt a little financially coming back empty handed. So I guess both he and I are meat hunters. He would never pass on a animal because the rack was not big enough.

[hivoltfl]

I hunt Public land here in Florida, allways hunted Private in Oklahoma, I prefer private.

Rick

[Marlin Junky]

It's been very interesting reading all your posts and I appreciated the input. Can we focus the discussion to the lower 48 (I'm not sure whether some of you are referring to Canada and AK) and elk hunting? Personally, I'd rather eat elk than deer, but maybe I've never really had good venison.

MJ