Public Land Bow Hunters Unite!

[RB53]

TL/DR- would you walk privately owned rail road tracks) to get access in hard to reach public spots? I know we all walked them as kids but now knowing better than to trespass and with good sportsmanship in mind how do we feel about it?

Thanks everybody! I had what used to seem like unlimited access to tons of private land zone 28 mostly but now after settling back in at home after years of bouncing around it’s all gone and necessitated going after public. Lol I also got engaged married and bought a house ( that I had to flip around in time to get married at in the back yard and have catering inside) in addition to welcoming our son, in the last 8 months so finding time to scout/hang stands/ and even hunt period was hard [emoji3061][emoji856].


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[Buck154]

Welcome to the site.

 I hunt public and private. Have taken mature bucks off heavily hunted public land. Have to pass young bucks to take mature ones ,,, Public or private.  Hunt the wind and some times use other hunters bad choices to your advantage. Good luck 

[electric10162]

Welcome RB

[Greybeard]

Congrats on your first, and welcome to the site!   I hunt all public because of the room to roam.  A good spot one year could be bad the next, so it's a never ending challenge finding the right spot each year.  That's what I like the most about hunting, always exploring something new.  The enjoyment is in the hunt for me.  Sometimes I get so far back I know I'll have a very hard time getting one out, so I'll often pass on shooting anything back there unless it's something special.   I just hunt from natural blinds with ghil/leaf suits.  Staying mobile, hunting a different spot nearly every hunt, every day, with many blinds in many areas to hunt from . 

[JFC1]

Welcome. I hunt both public and private but the "room to roam" issue and big woods bucks keep on taking me back to public land. I recommend a climbing stand if permitted where you'll hunt. It's a beautiful feeling. 

[20a]

Public land hunting, is more like hiking with a little hunting. The farther back you go, the more fun you will have. 

[Nomad]

9 hours ago, RB53 said:

TL/DR- would you walk privately owned rail road tracks) to get access in hard to reach public spots? I know we all walked them as kids but now knowing better than to trespass and with good sportsmanship in mind how do we feel about it?



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Sounds like a good way to have the police waiting at your car. 

[hunterbob1]

On 3/22/2021 at 3:30 AM, RB53 said:

TL/DR- would you walk privately owned rail road tracks) to get access in hard to reach public spots? I know we all walked them as kids but now knowing better than to trespass and with good sportsmanship in mind how do we feel about it?



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I have thousands of hours hunting off railroad tracks. I grew up in a small Italian town in Nutley, we had tracks but a slow speed freight mainly delivering to Hoffman La Roche. We walked the track for Miles back and forth hunting squirrels with a recurves with field points only  of course, not once ever we're engaged with a leo!.. those were the good old days!..Used hunt carp on the Hudson in beacon New York. Conrail property high speed commuter rails. Was a gate but it was usually open, if it was locked we had a key, we knew a guy. yeah yeah there's a federal law offense being on  tracks trespassing.there's a law for everything in the state you can't spit on the sidewalk. I leased a farm in Andover many moons ago, I don't know if there still there  by the Black bus company. Basically they were abandoned from whatever railroad?. It was a great access into the property amazing how many animals hug those rails, shot many of pheasant and bunnies and deer. Has Johnny Cash said Walk the line.

Hobo Bob🌞

Edited March 23, 2021 by hunterbob1

[RB53]

we knew a yeah yeah there's a federal law offense being on  tracks trespassing.there's a law for everything in the state you can't spit on the sidewalk.

Lol so true but I Did some digging ; you can make a right of entry request which would grant written permission for up to 30 days of access but it never explicitly mentions hunting. That is for a specific RR company.


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[deadonshot2]

I am sure the deeper you go the less chances of running into other hunters like some have said. But it is also the further you have to drag a deer also.  I shot a 10pt last fall in a very over looked spot.   If I was in a treestand I would be able to watch trucks drive down the road. I shot the buck from the ground. And two days after shooting that 10pt I had an even bigger 10pt on camera in the same spot. He ended up getting shot about 1/4 mile away. So if you are willing to hunt where most do not think a big buck would be, you may be surprised at what you may find. Of course you probably are not going to have a ton of deer sightings, but the ones you do have could be the beast of the woods. I will sit a stand with little action if the big buck is at least showing during shooting light and several times a week on my cam. I never sit the stand if it is night pictures or only shows once in a blue moon.. The best way to hone your skills is sitting in the woods though. All the advice you get here is great but nothing replaces actual experiences.

[Billy Z]

8 hours ago, deadonshot2 said:

I am sure the deeper you go the less chances of running into other hunters like some have said. But it is also the further you have to drag a deer also.  I shot a 10pt last fall in a very over looked spot.   If I was in a treestand I would be able to watch trucks drive down the road. I shot the buck from the ground. And two days after shooting that 10pt I had an even bigger 10pt on camera in the same spot. He ended up getting shot about 1/4 mile away. So if you are willing to hunt where most do not think a big buck would be, you may be surprised at what you may find. Of course you probably are not going to have a ton of deer sightings, but the ones you do have could be the beast of the woods. I will sit a stand with little action if the big buck is at least showing during shooting light and several times a week on my cam. I never sit the stand if it is night pictures or only shows once in a blue moon.. The best way to hone your skills is sitting in the woods though. All the advice you get here is great but nothing replaces actual experiences.

what date did you get that 10pt?

[AtcoJG]

On 3/22/2021 at 6:35 PM, deadonshot2 said:

I am sure the deeper you go the less chances of running into other hunters like some have said. But it is also the further you have to drag a deer also.  I shot a 10pt last fall in a very over looked spot.   If I was in a treestand I would be able to watch trucks drive down the road. I shot the buck from the ground. And two days after shooting that 10pt I had an even bigger 10pt on camera in the same spot. He ended up getting shot about 1/4 mile away. So if you are willing to hunt where most do not think a big buck would be, you may be surprised at what you may find. Of course you probably are not going to have a ton of deer sightings, but the ones you do have could be the beast of the woods. I will sit a stand with little action if the big buck is at least showing during shooting light and several times a week on my cam. I never sit the stand if it is night pictures or only shows once in a blue moon.. The best way to hone your skills is sitting in the woods though. All the advice you get here is great but nothing replaces actual experiences.

Agree some of my best spots in Wharton are 100 yds from my truck. Sometimes we pass deer to find deer.

 

[ThatsABingo]

Find spots no one else hunts. Be mobile. Hunt the deer regardless of where there are. Entry is everything. Most people ruin their hunts before they even get to the stand.

[Bone collector 85]

Where u located i do alot of public hunting with great success... i hunt areas where its hard to get to even harder to get deer out but always on deer and gd ones at that.. 

[Fred Flintstone]

Welcome to the Site!!!