# Are public land birds more difficult to hunt?



## nickjitsu (Apr 29, 2014)

just wondering what everyone's opinion is? Are public land birds harder to hunt?


----------



## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Not really but it has been a while since I hunted public land very much.

With the ban on lead shot on Federal land I guess I will not be hunting Fed lands any more. With enough of my favorite lead turkey loads I am not buying new shells just to hunt MY land. I do not know if I even have any steel duck loads that are legal size to hunt turkey with. I have plenty of private land to hunt any way.


----------



## Gobblerman (Dec 19, 2004)

I've never hunted public land so I don't know. Personally I think all gobblers can be tough to hunt, with that said sometimes it seems easy, just depends on the gobbler.


----------



## dead short (Sep 15, 2009)

They're all tough after a week....


----------



## Firefighter (Feb 14, 2007)

They're tougher to hunt because:

A - There's less of them every day after opening day because they're getting killed.

B - You have other hunters to compete with and they can ruin a hunt faster than a hot hen.

C - Mushroom seekers, mountain bikers, hikers, dog walkers, and every other person can use the land (rightfully so) and potentially influence a hunt.


----------



## fanrwing (Jul 31, 2010)

Find an area that no one else goes too and you ecan do alright if in your preseason scouting you are seeing birds and a lot of sign others are too. If it's easy to get to expect others to be there also. It took me a few years but I did find a good sized area of state land that gets little pressure and birds are there. 
One thing I found about public land hunting is that most guys are out at first light and leave around 10 or so. Get out there around 11 and hunt the mid day when the hens have headed to their nests. Plan on doing "some" walking to get away from where others had been calling and you can find toms, expect them to come sneaking in silently.


----------



## tdduckman (Jan 17, 2001)

About half of the birds I have taken have been from public land.

The biggest difference for me is that the Big Woods public birds are harder to pattern. 

Farmland private birds many times you can set your watch to where they will be.


TD


----------



## backstrap bill (Oct 10, 2004)

All I hunt is public land.I also pick the early season because I believe them birds get conditioned to hunters and calling(plus I prefer to hunt when it's a bit colder out)I When I first started turkey hunting I used to set up in a field near the woods edge in a pop up blind with my dekes out in front like I seen on TV. Come morning sunrise I could here all the gobblers in the woods gobbling like crazy, and I would call and never had much luck other than an occasional hen or jake come out.
Then I decided to change up to the run and gun method and get into the woods and I started seeing more action and took 2 nice gobblers 2 years in a row. I sit ,call ,and listen, then get up and move if I need too. Scouting. Is key! If you can find where they roost at night it can be very advantageous.
I've driven down the 2 tracks just before dark a saw a flock walking into the woods going to roost and then that's where I would come back to set up in the morning.
Did that last year, walked in and accidentally busted the roost right before sunrise and just sat by a tree and called one right back to me. Be patient , scout as much as you can! Turkey hunting =Lots of fun! Just my .02


----------



## ratherboutside (Mar 19, 2010)

Simple answer is yes at first. The dumb birds disappear quick on public land. If you continue to hunt the same private land, it becomes very similar.


----------



## bear5 (May 17, 2009)

I echo the run and gun method for public lands. Hey off the beaten path and you'll do fine.


----------



## SUPERCHILL CHAD (Jan 25, 2017)

No, they act about the same on public as private. In fact, public seems to be a little more responsive to calls than private land, especially farmland. When I hunt private, sometimes the birds will just take their sweet time browsing the neighbors field, and all I can do is watch across the property line. Terrible feeling. I do run and gun setups on public land and have had great luck. 

Last year someone found my honey hole on state land and put up a popup blind in my best spot. That's the worst part about public land hunting. I'm going to have to do some scouting this year.


----------



## multibeard (Mar 3, 2002)

Years ago we used to run and gun some times 5 counties hunting almost strictly public land. I would have many toms located prior to season some times over 40. All my locating was done with locator calls of many kinds. I never had a turkey call in the truck until my season opened which was all ways what is now the 234 season.

Turkeys are turkey no matter where they call home. They do not know whether they are on public or private land


----------



## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

multibeard said:


> Turkeys are turkey no matter where they call home. They do not know whether they are on public or private land


Alot of truth. It's people pressure. I think our public sees less pressure up here than private. Now you go to South Florida this weekend, it's war. Turkeys are stupid, but their smart enough to live their lives in an area and react to a huge influx of human intrusion.

Ray eye does a great job in his book the Turkey hunters Bible of illustrating this.


----------



## slwayne (Aug 27, 2009)

All of my hunting is on public land and I always hunt the last season. I get my bird every year (knock on wood). I have killed birds on the first day and once it took until 2:00 on the afternoon of the last day to it done and I have killed them on days between the first and last. Part of the reason I like hunting the last season is that it gives me three weeks. I usually set up near a historical roosting spot in the morning and will sit for as long as I can take it depending upon the comfort of my spot and the weather. I'll start running and gunning by 9:30 or so. I say "historical" roosting spot because my job doesn't allow much time for scouting so finding an active, current roosting spot is tough. I have hunted these areas enough over the years to know that the turkeys have roosted in certain areas at times in the past and I am basically picking one of these "historically" good spots to start the day. For sure, it is a hit or miss system. Has worked great in some seasons and not so great in others. I'd say my take has been pretty evenly split over the years in terms of number of turkeys on morning sits vs. running and gunning later in the day.

I haven't found competition from other hunters to be much of an issue in the areas that I hunt. As a previous poster stated, I run into more issues with hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, etc. For my morning sits I try to get as far off the beaten path as I possibly can so I tend to run into other users more when I am running and gunning. As the previous poster said, it's public land so it belongs to everyone; it's all good.


----------



## Harol (Sep 11, 2015)

I grouse hunt in Michigan, live and turkey hunt in ohio. We don't have nearly as much public land here in ohio and it's way harder to kill a turkey on public land in ohio. The vocal birds get shot or educated pretty quick.
I don't even hunt the first week because if a bird does gobble at me, somebody usually shows up crow calling or owl hooting.


----------



## ezcaller (Feb 21, 2009)

Hey Nick how are you! Was able to hunt all four sub spieces on public.I do think they are tougher. Many of the members comment on pressure and that is the big factor .I agree with Dedgoose Florida is one of the toughest- hunters ,water, foliage all add to difficulty. I have also hunted Rios and Merriam and the birds were still on winter grounds.Not a bird to be found public.Bottom line for me a guy going onto public land is going to put more hours in killing a bird than on private. I enjoy the possibility of making multiple moves on gobblers on large public tracts.As to going to the same spot every year and killing birds that do the same thing .


----------



## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

ezcaller said:


> Hey Nick how are you! Was able to hunt all four sub spieces on public.I do think they are tougher. Many of the members comment on pressure and that is the big factor .I agree with Dedgoose Florida is one of the toughest- hunters ,water, foliage all add to difficulty. I have also hunted Rios and Merriam and the birds were still on winter grounds.Not a bird to be found public.Bottom line for me a guy going onto public land is going to put more hours in killing a bird than on private. I enjoy the possibility of making multiple moves on gobblers on large public tracts.As to going to the same spot every year and killing birds that do the same thing .


That's another point you alluded to. Terrain, public in alot of states is vast, can be rugged and sometimes non ideal habitat this lower density.

It takes a longer to find them vs driving by farmer Joe's cornfield. When I am hunting these large properties I have to break them down on google maps into smaller sections and hunt these smaller parcels like I would in Michigan or else it can be overwhelming. Spending countless hours breaking down terrain on the computer can really help give you a starting point.


----------



## BVW (Jul 25, 2002)

In the areas I have hunted I haven't seen a major difference between public and private. Both take a little patterning and scouting to be consistently successful. Obviously if 5 people are all hunting the same 100 aces it will be a challenge. Key is to hopefully find some spots where there are plenty of birds and not many hunters.. Hunting during the week helps quite a bit also. 
Good Luck!


----------

