What matters more to you

[Whitetail assain]

When setting up a spot for bow hunting deer on state land.Which is more important to you and why?

The land features the deer use to get from bedding to feeding areas.

Looking for transition areas.

Bedding areas

Feeding areas.
Water crossings

or how other hunters are hunting the area in generally

[Dsotm223]

It seems to me the land features they use are what matters, if you aren't where the deer are you can't very well harvest one.

[SlickTrick2]

All of these come in to play when I hunt public land, but I have had the most success hunting where others are not willing to get to. I find that a lot of the time folks hunting public ground want easy access areas. If you will do a little work and get back away from these areas, you can get on some good animals.

Tony

[UrbanDeerSlayer]

Unfortunately for me, there is only a small state game land area near me, and it is difficult to hunt for abundance of hunters. But I did have the opportunity to hunt some state land in Northern PA this Buck rifle season. I noticed that most hunters congregate at the easy access points, short distances from where they park their vehicles. We hiked in a good 1 1/2 - 2 miles down hill, saw not one additional hunter besides ourselves, but saw about 2 dozen deer (unfortunately all does and only 1 buck). Anyway, I agree it is advantageous to get into those areas other hunters aren't getting into, because that is where the deer are going to be.

[PLEW SC]

I've had better luck hunting bedding areas. Find them in the winter time and wait for them in the morning come fall. Most of the time when I go back to hunt Ohio public land I only have 3 or maybe 4 days to get on a buck. So to me, they are more likely to bed in the same area more often than where they feeed. I'm not sure if I am wording that right so I'll try another........I think its harder to pinpoint a feeding area than a bedding. There are hundreds of pin oaks and white oaks on a block of timber but there are only a couple of safe places a mature deer likes to bed IMO.

As far as what Urban Deer Slayer said, I agree in some situations because I have done the "walk 1hr in the dark,down a river bank, then up its tributary to a saddle and hope the wind is right once you get that far" hunts in Ohio. But I've sometimes had what I thought was a successful hunt until I would be still hunting back to my truck only to find a bruiser bedded down 30yards from my truck. So as I've gotten older/smarter, I realize that these public land bucks will lay in the smallest 1/4 acre lots right next to a road knowing that most hunters never step foot in them. I have seen it atleast 5 or 6 times. Back when I groundhog hunted next to some public land I would see 15-20 deer come out in the beanfields but when I would bowhunt there later in the season I wouldn't have any deer come into the field. Upon climbing down and crossing the field at dark, deer would start blowing from all directions. The next weekend I came to that same field and a buddy and I decided we were gonna check this little island in the middle of a beanfield before we walked to our trees with our climbers . We looked like idiots standing there with bows in hand with no arrows nocked as 20 deer jumped up out of that little island 100 yards from my truck and we always walked within 20 yards each time we went out. We had actually shot plenty of groundhogs coming out of that island but just never thought about the deer bedding there because of all the shooting that takes place there.

I guess the moral to my stories is in public land, sometimes they will be where you would feel like an idiot looking in.

[Anewdefguitaris]

I agree that all come into play. id say make a game plan for each and hunt then accordingly for those few precious days you have.

ie- if its a big weekend during the season, like first weekend n nov around 7-10th, hunt near safe thick areas that other hunters could push the deer to.

air from that, if I had 4-5 days to hunt, id find a good area and hunt from the outsidr edge ofd this good area in. that way, by the last day, your're into that prime area where even if u do get busted-its your last day for a log while. maybe you work your back from afood source to right into their living room hitting key funnels and terrain features each day.

just my thoughts. good luck! OH find a way to see it from above - google earth and a topo map! opened up a new level of hunting for me! you can scout all year long with aerial maps! I make notes on bedding areas, funnels, whats planted etc. keep a log every year with it. sorry starting to ramble...

[weekender]

Originally Posted by Dsotm223

It seems to me the land features they use are what matters, if you aren't where the deer are you can't very well harvest one.

x2

[natrona848]

I agree with the others on saying go deep.