Hunting public ground

Public ground here can be weird. I never see many hunters in them except during deer season but then I always have limited luck in them for any type of game. Small game, coon with hounds, coon callin, predators, etc. It doesn't make much difference. I can go to private ground that I know see's other hunters besides me and see a lot of game then go to public ground where I don't see any hunters or vehicle tracks or boot tracks and not see a dang thing or even much for sign.

Maybe they're getting hit hard in the early season when I'm working and/or hunting private ground........

CB
 
I hunt the Ozark's public grounds for nearly all of my hunting. I went yesterday and killed a coyote and had no telling how many tens of thousands of acres completely to myself. I never heard a manmade sound all day other than one airplane high and far away. No tire tracks and no boot prints since the general rifle deer season ended in November. Once in great while I may run across some hog hunters but there is plenty of room to move around and that is actually pretty seldom. A couple of times I have run across some guys chasing coyotes with hounds, but that has been a pretty rare thing also. I have never found another predator caller in my places. The experience is probably different if you hunt public ground near a major population center.
 
not to much pressure on public here not to many people hunt dogs here like out west so usually have it all to myself and where i hunt i have over 20,000 acres to roam ... lol .
 
GC,
I'm going to be down hunting Mark Twain Forest in Feb. Not sure if I'm hunting the FLW area or the area east. Just wondering how much activity I can expect to see.

Ken
 
When I used to hunt around the West Plains area, alot of times it would seem like I had the whole area to myself. That was over 20 years ago,though.
 
Some really great advice on this thread! One thing I will add is, When driving on main roads or hwys, look for those places that do not have dirt road turnoffs. I have had luck driving down the hwy and pulling off onto the shoulder and head out. A lot of people try to find a dirt road and get as far back as they can on it, well, that is what the 100 hunters did before them.
 
theres alot of pressure here on coyotes cause of all the deer hunters an , OMNI ,Geakinetics been alover the woods setting of bombs so they got everything around here screwed up for a while .
 
Smitty,
I really don't know about that area. We have a member here that was stationed at The Fort and began predator hunting around those parts quite a bit. After he got the hang of it I remember he did pretty well. He was transferred to one of the southern states and has remarked that when he retires he'd love to move back here because of the good hunting opportunities. Maybe he'll see this and weigh in with his experiences.

Aaron,
I doubt much has changed...
smile.gif
 
I have recently had good success driving to more remote public land that because of travel time and expense have less pressure. The coyotes in my backyard are pretty educated. There are lots of local callers. It is very much worth the drive to find some "stupid" coyotes!
 
OK ... you guy's are going to think I've lost my mind but here goes ... I have my best luck on public land here in Oklahoma close to the freakin parking spots , that goes for coyotes , bobcats and even turkeys and deer ... yeah I'm being serious ... My hunting buddy and I have shot pigs , turkey and all the above while being able to see the truck.It takes alot to hunt close but if you think about it everyone wants to go where no one has gone before , most animals know this too , alot of animals circle around behind hunters going the extra mile ... The biggest Tom turkey we shot was Roosted 75 yrds from the parking lot !!! The most pigs we have killed were 20 yrds from the truck ... we have seen the biggest bucks from the truck while eating lunch !!! Don't let mind games fool you...Hunt your way to the Backwoods.
 
Wild archer what wma you hunting? if you dont want to give away your secrets I understand. im really just looking for a good place for pigs. I have only seen a handfull and they were when I was turkey hunting.
 
Osage County ... The bad part is they are remfire or shotgun with pellets ... Western Wall unit is a prime spot ... the Wildlife department has put a big dip into the hog population in the last 2 yrs but they are still in there ...the coyotes are all over it , but the closer you get to the Tall Grass prairie Preserve the better ... I live in Skiatook and Bobcat hunt around Skiatook lake and Candy creek area ... candy is rimfire as well...I have had excellent results up around huhla lake in washington county for both bobcat and a lot of coyotes.There are some good spots around keystone lake as well ... Boston pool area for pigs , tons of hogs out there just go easy on the turkeys lol ...Oologah is a great coyote area as well a fair number of cats too.
 
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ok I havent hunted at all in the NE I hunt west NW. I might have to try and make it up that way next year. and dont worry about the birds. I wont be home in time for season this year.
 
Well if you hunt in the west I sure dont have to worry about the birds lol ,,, send us some over here lol ... west of I35 is insane when it comes to turkeys...Kay county is pretty good too , kaw lake , havent called coyotes there but have seen them turkey hunting
 
Okmulgee WMA has a few of my footprints in it as well ...last year in the snow we took a huge coyote on the first stand lol on the first crop feild on the right just past the rangers house ... it is rimfire as well ...If ya see a green tundra camo trim with the predator masters decal in the back window you now know what I drive stop and chat !
 
OK ... just looked at the requirements on the WMA's the only Rimfire one is Western Wall Unit ... so in the morning the 22-250 will accompany me in my first round of calling ... cool !!!!
 
If you see a blue FX4 crew cab with an Elite Archery sticker in the back glass I wont be too far away. I think I may have actually seen ya around and didn't know it
 
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