I'm going out for the first time ever this year.  I don't have the option of managed/leased or private land.  I'm extremely nervous about pissing someone off.  I have questions:

1.  General tips for hunting public?

2.  I'll take any advice I can take on how to enjoy hunting public land.

Any suggestions or tips so I don't inadvertantly piss someone off would be great.  I am hunting in Wisconsin if that helps anyone.

1. WEAR YOUR VEST UNTIL YOU'RE IN YOUR STAND.
2. Use your light going in or coming out when it's dark.
3. Listen for people whistling, and if you hear someone, go back, don't go around them.
4. Mind your shots, don't shoot over the top of a hill if you're not sure of your backstop.
5. Don't take iffy shots, and "use enough gun" so you don't mess up someone else's afternoon with blood and your trail tracking a wounded deer.
6. If you come up on someone else, be courteous.
7. If someone gets confrontational, leave.  A stand/deer is not worth escalating it into something else when they have just as much right to be there.


My three biggest deer have been on public land, all were start of the rut with zero sign to know they were in there, and I've only met one confrontational idiot in the woods in my 20+ years of hunting.

The only time I ever hunt public land I go in mid-day.  I travel lite, and never use a stand.

Wear plenty of orange, and hunt off times or days.

Lot of idiots out there.  Be safe.

If you have access to a boat it opens up some public land less traveled.

Know the boundaries.

Where we hunt is a bit more remote than some, go in by boat, so it's easy to tell where others are hunting and avoid, but there are relatively few hunters where we are.

haha beat by a minute

Be willing to stay out longer and go deeper/expend more effort to go to hard to reach areas.
ALWAYS wear orange.  Although I hunt private land primarily, sometimes we venture onto
State land.  On those occasions, I carry a portable radio that has a "scan" feature and with the
earpiece in I can pick up alot of conversations relating to other peoples movement.  Try and get
familiar with how OTHERS hunt and use their movement to your advantage.  Many times deer
will evade others coming and going - so I can position myself where the deer run to (This may
take some time but I have shot 1/2 off all the deer I've ever shot due to other people pushing them -
both on drives and while they were on their way in/out of the woods).

Try to formulate friendships and hunting buddies with people you meet.  2 people hunting together
are far more effective than going solo.  I hunt with 4 good friends and we blanket 350 acres and
are good for 2 or 3 deer on opening day morning.  By day 4 we are doing smallish drives and everyone
pretty much tags out.  Since doe tags are now transferrable if we need camp meat our saying is "If it's
brown - it's down".  Those are some fun days.....

Where at in WI? Public land in the southern 2/3rds of the state gets hit hard, especially opening weekend. Northern 1/3rd is less crowded, as there's less deer, and lots more (like a million + acres) public land.

Here's how to "get along with" other hunters on public land... I've hunted deer in WI since 1964 (mostly on public land way up north), and there's sorta an unwritten set of rules in WI. A good thing to remember is most experienced hunters have a favorite stand location that they hunt year after year. Most other nearby hunters know this (they have their own favorite spots also) and they respect each other's "privacy". Public land is public, and everyone has a right to hunt everywhere, but a little common courtesy goes a long way. Respect other hunters "territories" and they'll respect you and yours. Don't be one of those assholes who knows it's someone else's longtime favorite hunting stand, and just because it is public land, you get there at 3am just to beat him there. Nothing will make you more enemies in the woods than that stunt.    

Also remember that if you're scouting before season and find a great looking spot, close to a road, odds are someone else found it too, years ago, and will be there bright and early on opening day... so have plenty of alternate spots picked out. If you see orange trail markers or "bright eyes" tacks in the trees, be assured you'll have company on opening day, and go somewhere else. There's plenty of room, you just have to find that spot where others won't be.

When hunting public land for the first time, it's a good idea to give up your opening day morning hunt just to see where the crowds are... and go where they aren't the rest of the season. If you stumble into a crowded area in the dark before shooting light, you'll just piss off anyone there before you, and likely won't have much luck yourself either. Until you can find that one spot that looks good that nobody else has found before you and hunts there, you'll have to sacfifice some hunting time scouting where other hunters are, not just where the deer are.

A safety tip. When going in the woods before dayllight, or coming out after dark, wear a headlamp or clip on caplight, and turn it on and leave it on. Blaze orange means nothing in the dark. LED lights can last for days on a single set of batteries (but I carry a spare set in my pack). The point is not so you can see where you're going, but so anyone else in the vicinity can see you! In my group, we all use LED lights that have both a bright white light (for better vision in the dark when needed) and a red LED that doesn't spook game as much, but lets others see us. They use cheap AAA batteries, and not those 2032 coin type that cost more. We walk in & out with the red turned on.

eta: If you come across another hunter dragging a dead deer, offer to help. You'll make friends that way. I was hunting a new area in the Nicolet Nat'l Forest back in 1993, after I had moved to the area. Came across an old guy dragging a buck by himself, and offered to help him drag it the 1/4 mile to his truck. We got to be good friends, been hunting with him and his family ever since.  His 3 sons are now my best friends. We hunt not only deer together, but also geese, ducks, grouse, turkey, and coyotes.

Shooot!!! I kind of figured as much.  To answer your  question, the southern 2/3rds.  I live in close proximity to the Kettle Moraine State Forest, North/South units.  I anticipate that area gets hit pretty hard by Flatlanders and before I even started going on the forums I had picked out and/or scouted about 5 possible locations already anyway just out of respect for guys that been doing this for 30+ years that have been living in the area for as long.  It's not like Wisconsin has any 'unearthed gems' of land....we been around for awhile.

I've got 2 other questions i'm torn about:

1.  Is taking a stand or blind out on public land really worth the extra travel weight?  My thought process goes something like "the rifles that are out here can easily shoot anything up to 300 yards" so if I put in a stand or blind in a certain area that almost takes a 300 yard diameter circle of land up just for me and that seems kind of selfish.  The last thing I want to do is sit in a circle jerk where there are 5 of us all staring at the same clearing ready to declare war on the first innocent deer that walks into the sunlight, but at the same time i'm not going hunting just to make a different kind of friend...... i'd like to have an end result.

2.  Do you think it would be easier to get a better experience to hold off hunting opening weekend and instead hunt during the week?  

Don't know the Kettle Morraine area, but I'd bet there are guys on the WI hometown forum who know it inside & out. I've always hunted (and lived) up north, now in Vilas County (since 1991). Hunted near Mercer in Iron Cty in the 70s, Pembine in Marinette Cty in the 80s, Vilas & Forest Ctys since 91.  

1st question... that'd depend on terrain & weather. If you can see 100yds while on the ground, and it's not bitterly cold & rain/snow falling, find a comfy stump and have a seat. If you can see further over underbrush by being 15' up in a tree stand, then bring a tree stand. I prefer ladder stands.... easy up, easy down, don't need a straight tree like a climber requires. If it's nasty outside, you'd be amazed at how comfy a pop-up blind can be. You'll hunt longer if comfortable, vs miserable.

2nd question... crowds definately will decrease after opening weekend, but pick up again on Thanksgiving and the 2nd weekend. Monday Tuesday and Wednesday are my favorite days to hunt. Up north, the woods are all but empty. But OTOH, I wouldn't waste opening day neither. Go out after sunrise and just cruise around and see where the crowds are.... more importantly where they aren't.  

I recommend wearing orange and when you think youve walked enough, walk a little further in.

I've hunted public lands (WMA's) for probably some 20 yrs. The only reason I prefer my private lease, is because I can legally use feeders, cameras, and I don't have to haul a climber in and out of the woods. At least that's how it is here in Louisiana. But if a private lease isn't an option for you, I have no problems at all with hunting on public lands! Some of my best hunting memories have been on a WMA. I've also gotten to know several Game Wardens, and Wildlife Biologists on a first name basis, hunting WMA's too! Hint: they can give you some great hunting tips! One WMA here in Louisiana has a really nice shooting range, and they even supply the targets! It's just a short 45 min. drive from my house, too. Nowadays I just prefer my private lease, but that's just me personally.

I have hunted public land in northern MI for about 35 years.All of waht the others have said are true in Michigan also. I have not had any problems for the most part.I hunt from a ladderstand now and have for 15 years.I have had some success on public lands.

Don't set your stand 10!ft off the walkin path, and then get upset at people walking by....

I hunt public lands in Texas. It's a shit show. Go in deep.

In the WI woods, especially on public land, good luck finding a spot to put a tree stand that will give you a shooting radius of 300 yards.  Sure you might find a swamp to overlook, but the woods at your back will probably limit you to less than 100 yards.  

My deer camp is in Polk county.  We border 600 acres of public land and almost all of our deer are taken from that land.  We have taken hundreds over the last 40 years.  

If you roll up on public land and there are people there, talk to them, don't just drive by thinking you are going to get a good spot.  You won't.  What you will do is screw up the way the land needs to be hunted and it can be quite unsafe for you and others around you.

Last year we had quite a few people actually stop and talk to us, unlike most years.  We included them in our drives and told them where to hunt if they wanted to stick around.  We would much rather know where they are and have them know where we are.  

The ones that drove by like they owned the place?  It's just as easy to drive deer away from something as it is to drive them toward something.

In short, don't be a douche and you might meet some pretty good people.

A lot of the F&S wisdom says to hunt close to the parking area because everyone else goes deep.  That depends.



What I can tell you is that most people are lazy.  People will go deep but stick to accessible areas.  I've used waders to cross marshes onto dry areas that I knew held deer.  Also found other peoples' scent wicks out there, so I know I'm not the only one, but it's far less pressured.



Scouting is helpful but most bets are off once the shooting starts on public land.  Deer will go where they can hide.



Do a map study and pick cover choke points.  Basically places where a deer's going to move during pressure to stay somewhat concealed.  Corners between hardwood and scrub where the deer will stay in the taller trees (which are both easier to move through silently and provide full hoof-to-ear cover) are a good start.  Water features that deer will travel along rather than cross will also funnel them.  If you've got steep relief this can also dictate deer movement, but I'm guessing no in SE WI.  So yeah, find the narrow little pieces of woods next to open fields, water, etc., and then pick stand sites as close to the center of the band as possible so you have good vis over deer skirting either edge or just outside the treeline.  Scent control is difficult when you're hiking in a rifle, a pack, and a stand, so prioritize your shooting lanes toward the upwind direction as you may not have full control over this aspect.



In any case, find one that's not middle-of-nowhere, but has some hope of being proximate to where deer will be when they're unpressured, and where they'll want to be when the pressure turns up.  I've had modest success on public land just totally guessing like that with the knowledge that once hunters behind me move in they'll drive the deer, and the deer will stay to covered corridors as they get pushed into the insufferably thick stuff where they hole up 'til the hunters go home.  Get there early and stay late - they'll be bordering on nocturnal.



And remember how to nav.  Even a few hundred acres can become disorienting quickly, and public land has a tendency to change dramatically season to season given that a lot of it's been reclaimed or gets managed differently than private land.  If you shoot a deer on public land more than a half mile or so from your car, it will most likely travel a bit and you'll have to follow the blood a hundred meters or so.  You've got to get it, dress it, get your stand, your pack, your rifle, and then the fun part is dragging over extended distance.  Killing a deer more than a mile from the parking area toward the tail end of legal light, especially if you did something like wade a swamp, can mean getting back to your car well into the pitch black.  Know where you are and where you're going at all times - synch up the state maps with Google Earth and your personal observations, carry redundant navigational aids, and know your escape direction (e.g., I get totally lost, there is no deep water between me and I-294 if I head east for three miles, which could take me up to 6 hours through brush).



Good luck!

All the times I have hunted on public land I day hiked in as deep as a dared. Less pressure on the animals the deeper you go, but if you are a solo hunter like me( which is 90 % of the time) the danger factor goes up the further you are away from roads.

Some solid advice in this thread.

Remember ther are idiots everywhere, even if blaze orange is not a reg still wear it to the general area you are going to hunt
Take a copy of the fish and game regs with you
GPS and map and compass,
Come up with a general plan and a navigation plan and share those plans with someone who is not going out with you. Have them snap a picture of you before you head out on a cell phone so your description will be accurate should you not come back on time
Only kill what you are willing to field dress and hike out with, don't kill that monster what ever because you think you have to
You need to go in light but not so light you endanger yourself if things go sideways remember you have to haul out a animal
Two is one one is none and all that jazz
Bring a knife sharpener
When hiking in, pause often, look, listen, check your surroundings
You are not the top of the food chain remember that

Lots of good info. in here! Only one I have a problem with is in bold!

What if there's an elmer in a stand right on the trail at the entrance to a much larger plot behind him? I refuse to miss a day of hunting in a spot I've probably hunted for years with success all because some dumb ass doesn't give a shit about anyone else!

In those situations, I walk on through. Fuck that asshole! If confrontation occurs, it occurs......

In that case, they've likely already screwed themselves up.  I always have a plan B and a plan C, in case my original spot is taken or screwed up.
We don't hunt in crowded areas really, usually go in by boat, so it's pretty easy to see if someone else is in there ahead of you.  Always cut the motor when dropping someone off so you can listen for whistles and such.