I've only really hunted private land in MI one time, during a youth hunt 20 years ago. I've only hunted public land in the NW13 ever since(not including out of state), I am quite pleased with the quality of public land I have access to. Is private that much better? Speaking strictly in terms of how deer react to pressure/your disturbance/number of deer you see? Obviously habitat improvement/managing land changes things, but is that grass that much greener?
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Good private land is better than some of the best public land this state has to offer.
If you have the wrong private land, it won't be hard to find better public.
Last year in a single sit on great private I probably saw more deer that evening than all my public sits combined up to that hunt and the public land i hunt doesn't suck. And we killed 3 deer that night
I personally enjoy the challenges that public land presents, but will be buying in the next couple years as it will be much easier to get my kids out hunting on private than public.
If you have the wrong private land, it won't be hard to find better public.
Last year in a single sit on great private I probably saw more deer that evening than all my public sits combined up to that hunt and the public land i hunt doesn't suck. And we killed 3 deer that night
I personally enjoy the challenges that public land presents, but will be buying in the next couple years as it will be much easier to get my kids out hunting on private than public.
With over 58 year of hunting experience I've hunted private and public it has a lot to do with where for both....for many years I hunted the western UP public it was great and I harvested many trophy bucks.....also hunted Eastern UP private I locked out any access to over 12 sq. miles great trophy bucks always filled my tags but the wolves changed it all to very very few deer. now and sold it...
Been lucky to have hunting in Macomb County my whole life it has gone from few in the early 70's to great in the mid 80's early 90's filling my tags with large bucks to now small bucks most get shot in the Youth Hunt then whats left during rifle Season and does with single fawns and lots of hunters....
Been lucky to have hunting in Macomb County my whole life it has gone from few in the early 70's to great in the mid 80's early 90's filling my tags with large bucks to now small bucks most get shot in the Youth Hunt then whats left during rifle Season and does with single fawns and lots of hunters....
I would say private if everything is equal, I feel it depends a lot on the land, size, location, is the private land natural or modified for deer visits. If you have two 640A parcels one public, one private side by side very similar for coverage and surrounding properties, trees, food and water the private would have an advantage only because less hunters and you can better control access points and times.
Public is great as long as you have lots of spots to move around based on how hunters, hikers, etc. are in the spots you like.
Lately I've been having to move more based on those reasons and the logging so my wife and I started saving for private land someday just to have a spot we know and can count on having to ourselves.
Lately I've been having to move more based on those reasons and the logging so my wife and I started saving for private land someday just to have a spot we know and can count on having to ourselves.
Depends what you're after. Just deer on the ground. Then private is better. But private is pretty boring. So if you want fun, travel, and adventure. Head to the vast public forest. One of it's bucks is worth ten from private.
Personally, I'm all about the freezer so...
Personally, I'm all about the freezer so...
Depends on what you want to get out of the hunt. A public land hunt offers much more adventure than a private land hunt.
Where I hunt in the NLP it is a contiguous tract 100,000+ acres spreading every direction. Much more varied habitat to hunt from clearcut to old growth to swamp and even some ag. Unless you have incredible wealth or luck private can't compare.
If you want quick meat and trophies a nice sized private with like minded neighbors can't be beat. Bad neighbors can ruin a private piece in a hurry.
Where I hunt in the NLP it is a contiguous tract 100,000+ acres spreading every direction. Much more varied habitat to hunt from clearcut to old growth to swamp and even some ag. Unless you have incredible wealth or luck private can't compare.
If you want quick meat and trophies a nice sized private with like minded neighbors can't be beat. Bad neighbors can ruin a private piece in a hurry.
Everything depends on where in the state. Best land I ever hunted was private in Hillsdale, but it was a manged piece of ground. I have hunted public in the southern counties, nice bucks down there but pressure is horrendous. I currently hunt public in Kalkaska. Low pressure, somewhat, lower deer density but I always seem to be able to find older bucks to hunt.
There's pros and cons to every piece.
There's pros and cons to every piece.
All pretty much what i assumed, the freedom to go anywhere, and playing the "game" of getting on deer is really my favorite part of deer hunting. So this rather confirms my satisfaction with my current access.
I’d take public any day of the week. 90% of the fun for me is scouting and exploring and finding the deer every year. That would be mostly gone with private land. Sure you might have some more success but it’s just not the hunting I enjoy. I don’t have an issue finding spots where other people aren’t, archery or gun season.
Hunting private vs public is barely even the same sport.
Everything about it is different for me. It probably goes without saying, but I think you need to do both. I love having both options.
I am leaving my private unattended this weekend to head up to bow camp an hunt public with the guys. I am EXCITED for some real hunting.
Private is cool, but I feel so limited. I have a ton of deer and I tend to hunt one or two specifically and the same 4-5 spots. It is just a waiting game that can be boring at times. But it is fun with the kids or your girl, late season freezer filling with a friend and a heater. Those kinda options are great.
I can't wait until Michigan gets its **** together and we can bait on private like every other state. I want a feeder by the pond so we can watch the deer from the house, but for now the garden works. Lol
Everything about it is different for me. It probably goes without saying, but I think you need to do both. I love having both options.
I am leaving my private unattended this weekend to head up to bow camp an hunt public with the guys. I am EXCITED for some real hunting.
Private is cool, but I feel so limited. I have a ton of deer and I tend to hunt one or two specifically and the same 4-5 spots. It is just a waiting game that can be boring at times. But it is fun with the kids or your girl, late season freezer filling with a friend and a heater. Those kinda options are great.
I can't wait until Michigan gets its **** together and we can bait on private like every other state. I want a feeder by the pond so we can watch the deer from the house, but for now the garden works. Lol
I hunt public in kalkaska co as well. And I also hunt private in Clinton Co. When I'm up north I feel like I'm hunting, I can hunt a new spot everyday of the week if I wanted. I have spots that I never see another hunter or I can sit in a spot and know someone will push out a deer when leaving or going to there spot. When I hunt private I don't call it hunting as much as I'm deer watching. Yes I see a ton of deer and some nice size ones but I would give it up in a second to be up north. I will say I live just down the road from a state park in Clinton Co and I will not step foot on it the first week of gun season more people then deer.....
The APR's have done great things for the size of the deer up north. I know its unpopular but it worked.
The APR's have done great things for the size of the deer up north. I know its unpopular but it worked.
Last year of the 10 hunting related incidents reported statewide, 4 were not self inflicted. Of the 4, 2 people were hit by shot, one during a bird hunt and another during a turkey hunt. One guy was hit in the leg during a deer drive by someone in his own party and another, who was in a tree stand, was hit in the leg from someone target shooting (wtf?). I don't consider the self inflicted injuries to be a safety issue, except to themselves I guess, although one guy was shot by his dog. Next time he won't forget the treats. Anyway, it doesn't sound all that dangerous to me.
Given the years of no kills vs kills , private suits me better. Today I like the convenience. park near where I'll sit. Sit where I bother deer the least. And being able to manipulate it. Cutting a shooting lane makes a big difference for example.
In fairness any year a legal deer is in range should be considered good. Public or private. Until we define what makes it better is going to depend ... More on experience and scouting and time and money and , competition. Even disease by area at times.
My top bucks were killed on multiple private lands.
More years of no kills on public lands than on private before private became more exclusive.
(Hopkins South of G.R. to above the bridge public. Not like just a few public areas. Or the crap public around where I live now.)
In fairness any year a legal deer is in range should be considered good. Public or private. Until we define what makes it better is going to depend ... More on experience and scouting and time and money and , competition. Even disease by area at times.
My top bucks were killed on multiple private lands.
More years of no kills on public lands than on private before private became more exclusive.
(Hopkins South of G.R. to above the bridge public. Not like just a few public areas. Or the crap public around where I live now.)
I just wish public land influencers like the hunting public and the beast would just keep their mouths shut.
Influencers in general f’ing suck. Car scene is the worst for them, “i did a cam swap in 1 hour with no prior experience”. Hunting isn’t quite as bad but still see a ton of “I shot a GIANT on public land without scouting.” It’s just complete bs
my biggest GD gripe is guys walking out at prime time, or walking in after 4pm on public. Pack up and sit at the base of your tree until closing time, or dont walk in period if my truck is in the one parking space for that chunk.
Some people can only hunt when they can hunt. I get out of work at 4:00 and if I can hunt I’m going to do it. I always try and avoid parked cars in that scenario. Some guys gotta get their kids to/from after school activities/practices and can only hunt 2-5. That’s part of public land hunting. Not everyone can be on your schedule or vice versa. If I only hunted when the schedule lined up perfect I wouldn’t do much hunting.
It depends, of course.
I choose to hunt Michigan private over IL public, and pay the out of state fees and lease costs to do it.
I choose to hunt Michigan private over IL public, and pay the out of state fees and lease costs to do it.
I grew up hunting public because its all I had access to and believe it made me a better hunter. Have access to good private now and it is definitely easier and better hunting BUT I like having a change of scenery and hunting different areas and private limits that. Also, oddly enough my two biggest bucks have come off of public land. I also feel a greater sense of accomplishment being able to scout and kill a big buck on public land and I have literally thousands of acres to roam on.
I am an almost exclusive public land duck hunter, 30+ days afield each year, and I will likely never hunt public for deer again. Tried it once back in college, everyone else I encountered that day was a complete idiot. Putting your life in someone else's hands IMO.
I can't understand why people think hunting public is dangerous. You drive all over and definitely are risking your life everyday.
Driving desensitized people.
If you actually hunted public you would likely be desensitized as well.
Driving desensitized people.
If you actually hunted public you would likely be desensitized as well.
I wish I had targeted public more when I was walking more. Lots of deer on public land all three of my brothers do very well.
Like the saying 10 acres of the right acres are better than a hundred of the wrong
Like the saying 10 acres of the right acres are better than a hundred of the wrong
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