The over use of trail cam is a issue. The buck shaming has no place. Your license your choice regardless. Any buck with a hand held arm drawn bow is a success. Even a doe. Take what you want forget the horn porn
Fred Bear said it best; We're all on the same team. Stop fighting amongst ourselves. Be kind and stop judging one another. Someone else's love for the outdoors doesn't take away from yours.
Your video reminds me of playing blackjack tournaments in that you're playing against the dealers and the players at the table, most of the time people still think they just have to beat the dealer. Most challenges present opportunities. Public land takes effort, that's still the #1 reason why there will almost always be good spots to hunt in most areas on public land.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Dan! Soooooo many people quitting before they get started based on a story they tell themselves that there are not any big bucks on the land they are hunting. Oh the opportunities missed by talking ourselves out of the experiences of hunting activities. Who cares about cameras and other fancy stuff that proves our poor mindsets. Hunting is more about going out there, learning and becoming flexible. Confidence kills big bucks because the confidence is coming from the experiences of previous hunting activities and appication to the hunt you are in. To me, the hunt is more about the hunt for what's happening in the woods I'm hunting rather than just the kill. Use skills you have earned to kill the age class of bucks that present themselves. I always tell people getting started to kill deer and focus less on the monster. The monsters will present themselves and if you pay attention to what they do, you will change your hunting skillsets and eventually kill bigger bucks.
Last yr was the 1st yr that I didnt get a shot! I was seeing some; usually I was getting 2 deer per yr(thats all I need). Some other expert had a vidio-Are you not seeing any deer? His conclusion was that states give WAY too many doe permits out. Like, Wis gives 3 doe permits when you buy a license! When you kill all the moms....
I wouldn’t know what most bow hunters are doing on Public Land because I don’t see them most of the time and when I do I rarely have any issues. It’s crazy how different the experience is from state to state.
I think you’re a great guy, I love what you do. Personally I’ve been Mobil hunting for 30yrs. You tube has made a major impact in my area of the country. In southern New England onx and RUclips have decimated public land. We don’t have the acreage the a lot of the country has. We are seeing few and few bucks making it pass 3 1/2, I’m 46 and never had to work so hard in my life. I’ve also never seen such a lack of ethics in young hunters as I do today. As for northern New England RUclips has absolutely destroyed it. Lack of morals and ethics is getting record numbers of property posted. Every body thinks they are a deer tracker they go up north shoot the first thing with horns. They don’t care to ask permission they don’t thank land owners they have no consideration for active logging operations. So to answer they question yes in our area of they country RUclips has had a negative effect on hunting. Many of the guys I know have simply given up guys that have killed mature bucks for over 20yrs just giving up. Even myself I find it’s easier to work over time and travel to the Midwest. Fortunately for me I have access to a friends farm. But even there in Ohio I am seeing a impact of crossbows corn piles and Facebook
Thank you for all the effort you put into these videos. I recently scouted some areas but it seems like all of it is relatively easy to access. Good luck this fall.
Wonder if those buck beds along that tree line were there because the water in the main bedding points were high and when water goes down they will eventually go back to the bedding on the transition of the marsh. Just a thought.
Letting other hunters tell me where they are with cams and stands is an upper hand when you can see where it pushes deer. And most people won’t tell you where they are going so I gotta go by the cams and stands. It helps. I don’t feel like I need a trail cam. I used to use them but I was pushing deer away so I quit using them and I have more success. I can still get a head count by scouting and observation stands.
The biting flies are in full force They swarm the trucks heat signature On the plus side, I had my second (of my life) black bear sighting this morning, crossing a logging road around 9am. Looked like a yearling. I thought it was a black wolf at first. 😮
I think I did that last year, I staged hunted a spot, and by the time I got to the closest spot to the bedding the sign was kinda dried up, basically noticed no new sign being made, I made a mistake haha. I think I found him again during spring scouting tho!
I’d love to see Dan pick apart the low rolling hills of the “southern pine belt” that spans through central Louisiana Mississippi Alabama and lower Georgia. I feel like it’s its own type of place. Yes it’s hill country yes there’s some swamps but the pine kinda makes everything different. I don’t feel like we get too much love on RUclips.
I've been hunting some public land parcels in Wisconsin and it can be so challenging where I hunt. It is really difficult with all the squirrel hunters and pheasant hunters, specifically the squirrel hunters who tend to walk long distances.
Dear Dan, Thanks for your insite into public land issues with popularity. I am struggling to find any data that states there are more wt hunters than there was say 20 years ago. According to hunters Ed data there is still approximately 8% of population that hunts. However that is the opposite for elk hunters, the Rockies are full of fully equipped modern hunters. I stopped deer hunting because pressure and permission from land owners was creating a serious bottleneck. Ive been a traditional bow hunter since the early 90’s and in southern Illinois my struggles were; man vs nature, man vs animal, and man vs self. Today it seems as tho one must add a couple more dilemmas to the mix. Man vs pressure and man vs modern technology. Thanks for the deer hunting content. I find that even tho you talk for an hour there are a couple sentences that actually apply to me and are beneficial for me. In this video your comment about Turkey hunting is your spring deer scouting that applies to me. 😂 Thanks for the video. Good hunting mister.
If you have alot of private land to hunt how do your keep your focus on 1 buck. If there's multiple big bucks around. Within a couple miles as the crow flies??
Here in southern Ohio there's a hunter along every pull off on public. Some of us older guys can't walk 5 miles deep to hunt. Hard to kill a deer with 10 other people hunting the same place. I wouldn't dare step in the spring turkey woods on public because of all the hunters cause it's dangerous. Every private place is leased by out of state hunters. Gotta be rich just to have a place to hunt these days. Hunting used to be fun but now it's just frustrating. And I been bow hunting for 37yrs.
Man..im sorry sir..i kinda wish they would take certain percentages of Wildlife Management Areas and make the bowhunt only..like here we have plenty of WMAz.some are 60,000 plus acres..they could take a few sections around it an make them bow only..
@@StealthTRD In my state of MN dog walkers r taking away over-hunting. Authorities could care less. Not sure if they've thought enough ahead to what they r going to do when sales drop even more than they already have on deer tags which they've made the mistake of thinking about as lottery tickets cuz the large aren't in charge & aren't even hunters/bowhunters in any aspect of the word. 😮
just started teaching myself hunting about 3 years ago in 2021 after the presidential election. It was a way to feed myself because I was so poor, it was also somewhere to be because I was homeless. There is very little places around cincinnati to hunt. When I was hunting last year in eastfork seen deer and big ones, seen many hunters, infact i found deer in a really common walking area just right off the path where the deer tend to walk to avoid the human scent. Id argue if you cant walk that far into the woods, its time to take on a younger hunter who you can teach and pass down the skills youve learned before you arent able to hunt at all!
What I've come to recognize is that deer like to lay in thick spots where the walking trails 👣 r angling away from where they r bedding & then they can actually count the traffic w/o moving. If u can walk past them a way's then take 2 right turns u might be able to get into position like 75-100 yards from them. 🎉😮
Great description on a swamp bedding area! Question tho. In those areas. Do you think they prefer red oak acorns or crops. They also log around me too. What do you think would be the most preferred food source?
Not only is public land ruined but even private land as well because most people today don't have any hunting morals or ethics. Social media has ruined the outdoors period and yes I realize that I'm on youtube for all the keyboard commandos out there!!!
@bch5513 every secret from fly fishing, lures, Flys, hunting spots secrets protected for 100drs of years all sold out, every where you go people and alot of times, like are beloved turkey in my area all depleted from hunting pressure. Yes it's sad too see for all of us know doubt 😢
@@bch5513 yeah, let a fishing spot get out. You will see boat loads of grown men trying to wipe it out like they never caught a fish in their life. Blood lust isn't just for land creatures.
I hunt hill country and in my opinion the bucks are going to be where the does are and does are on acorns. I look for areas where the acorns are hitting you in the head while walking through. I hunt from the ground mostly. Prehanging stands and hanging a bunch of cameras is void sometimes on big public because the deer are nomadic especially the bucks. Changes day to day.
Its always best to scout your way in, but you do need to recognize where the sign is coming from and from how far away. So in this case by pre scouting the land I know that if I see good fresh sign in those 1st spots i still most likely need to get much further up unless I see it coming directly out of bedding cover
I think going into a hunt area anytime does damage... Scouting in spring and never going back till kill time is crucial to getting on to mature bucks on regular basis. Rubber boots keep your feet dry, they dont stop bucks from smelling where you have been.
I love seeing a ladder stand in an area that takes 2 hrs to walk into. This tells me that there are deer here and big bucks if someone is willing to carry a ladder stands miles from the parkinglot
I just hunt for me. I never post photos of my deer. It’s just a personal thing, it’s one the only things that’s just mine. All this buck shaming and wanting to be a some sort of hunting hero ….whatever. I just don’t have time for for it
A couple of the spots you said a guy couldn’t saddle hunt because of the thickness….I was wondering if you meant you could hang a stand there? A saddle platform is much smaller than a stand. If one can’t saddle hunt it-how do you hang a larger stand there? I hunt areas that thick but often bring a stool and hunt off the ground because of the thickness.
The amount of idiots that stomp through the local public the weeks leading up to season does nothing but pack deer onto the property I hunt. Trail cams have made this even worse they "Sneak in" to check and blow everything out for months leading up to the season. I know that come the 30th of Aug I will start getting the old fellas showing up and I am happy to treat them with clover, corn, a secluded pond, and hilly bedding. Every year like clockwork.
More pressure I see, easier public gets where I come from. I raised whitetail deer for the first 14 years of my life with my old man and even though domesticated deer are different than wild deer, I learned many behaviors seeing and feeding those deer daily. I also saw how wild deer interacted with our deer through the high wire fence at different times of the year. Things got wild during the rut. Had a monster buck take on our large 12 point one year and the fence became a fly trap for his head. It was an incredible experience growing up and I’m glad it happened!
I don't understand; I have hunted nothing but public land for the last 25 years; it seems like my hunting is actually getting better! Yes, it does seem like it's getting higher pressure, and I am seeing a lot more cameras, but I'm also seeing more (and better) bucks in the places I end up hunting. Maybe it's me getting better as hunter!? Maybe that's the problem with the complainers; maybe they haven't been growing as hunters, so it seems like public land is "ruined" because they are being forced to actually hunt their areas!?
I agree. My hunting is getting better and I keep seeing how everyone is flooding IOwA, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas…people get something in their head and it spreads. I’m out here hunting and hardly every run into another hunter in the woods during bow. Even gun I don’t have a problem getting away from people. It goes in waves. Whenever I run into new people at the parking lot I just say “yeah they are in here…lots of hunters though, They don’t move good in the day” 😂😂😂
Dan as always love the T-shirt. Hilarious!!! Do guys send these to you or are they your own ideas. Btw I got gps on your truck. I guess big buck hunting there is all done!
When y’all think y’all got it bad hunting public land… Come down here and hunt these Florida public land swamps and you will appreciate them northern public land hunts… I hunt public land in central Florida and these swamps are no joke… I have been successful and with that said most all you will get is 50- 80” deer… I have had some 120-130” deer on camera but never see them in season… I hunt in the deepest thickest swamps where nobody goes… It’s literally 90+ degrees during bow season and the skeeters are brutal… I love it… Just remember us Florida boys when y’all want to give up.
People don't want to admit that we have fewer hunters than ever in the woods and now the hunters are more educated and actually know what they are doing. I'm happy when people assume public land blows. less competition. People are covering more area with confidence. People who leave their treestand out there are the ones who only gun hunt. half the stands left in the woods will never be sat again.
I mean the deer don't know it's public land so hunters assuming all u can get in public is drinks and does is just insane..I only hunt public and have had alot of success with pope and young sized and up sized buck consistently..just have to b willing to work a bit harder than the other hunters..
Sometimes you have to hunt by stands and game cams people leave illegal treestands out and in Michigan technically game cams are illegal no items left out over 24 hrs but DNR doesnt enforce it? Hunting public land has issues.
State land rules are- except for legally marked hunting stands no items can be left out over 24 hours. So that makes game cams left out illegal. Michigan needs to enforce the rules they have and eliminate game cams.
Here in MA there are fewer hunters than there was years ago. The state doesn't make it easy here. Development. Increased licensing costs. Aging population of sportsmen. Lots of reasons for the decline. But those still hunting - are far far better at it and most of them are mobile at least some of the time. Lots of fixed setups too, but I would say most hunters use both.
Agreed Dan quality has went up. Been holding out for giants thanks to cameras. They no way shape or form kills the deer for u. I'm prime example lol. Goodluck this fall
If that was Louisiana you’d be hearing a hissing sound from alligators and beavers slapping that tail warning every thing around that you’re trespassing, mosquitos would have a feast too
Honestly if you are a “horn hunter “ there’s really two categories. it seems like one group learns a level of respect through experience and through good practice, diligence. This respect for the animals comes naturally to those who are patient. And the others are those who poach and don’t appreciate the life of the animals as much and have not grown as individuals into a fruitful hobby hence why they poach because good things don’t come easy. Maybe some want the east road. Not to be wise in my own eyes, just my observation and opinion. Thanks
The nice thing about hunting public land where I hunt is you hardly ever see a hunter opening day of rifle season. Back 20 - 30 years ago, on the same land, there would always be an ARMY of orange pumpkins behind nearly every tree. No longer. Nothing to shoot at. So NOW when I go hunting on opening day of deer season with no deer to see ... I take my paint easel, slab of canvass, paint brushes and brown paint ... and I paint the landscape/trees in front of me and THEN add some big bucks. Once the racks get so big and I start getting buck fever ... I paint another buck. What they hey ... maybe someday someone will buy one of my paintings and I'll become wealthy. What would I do with all my profits from the painting/s? Buy better cuts of beef. Getting too old now to bend over and gut a deer out, let alone drag it back to the rig.
I feed my family venison.I take mostly does with whatever the season allows. So I'm not to pressed about the teck. What worries me, the lack of pressure I see on public " except rifle/shotgun seaon".
Yes and no... It has some features that are better than the other app, and some that still have some glitches, but they are constantly improving. With code BEAST you save 30% and your country wide cost is a fraction of what the other app charges... I would personally recommend trying it and running both teporarily then drop the one you dont want...
Yea so tired of hearing people complain about trail cameras but the same people you never hear them talk about some of the stuff that can really hurt hunting like the stuff happening out west
I'd be open to eliminating, or at least curtailing the use of game cameras on public lands. Perhaps limited to when deer seasons are closed. Cameras encourage more frequent intrusions to the same locations which doesn't happen the same way with boots on the ground scouting. Casual and less serious hunters who hang cameras would almost certainly intrude less. And there's a lot of them. Then the issue of being surveilled in the middle of the woods by others. Game cameras don't discriminate, and some people might not be okay with their images taken and time stamped. Camera use results in more pressure, intrusion and conflict on public lands. Bottom line.
As someone whos been hunting for 24 years now, i couldnt disagree more with the idea that public land is ruined. Fucking hell its finally getting good in my area of northern PA
Ive hunting high pressure state land for 50 years this is the anniversary 😊.50 years wow that's weird to say😅.Ive seen so much change in hunting, mosty ppl being up tight.My view on trail cams?Just an eye sore.
@@thehuntingbeast Dan I shot in a 3D archery tournament this past weekend here in Iowa. Had reverse duct tape around my ankles and knees and they were COVERED in ticks by days end. I even sprayed down all my clothes before hand as well. They are so bad down this way.
I was once know as the one and only Big Buck Boar and long beard slayer and was only able to hunt a few weekends a year living out of state in Florida but I moved to my killing grounds the gig is up it’s all over but the crying
How about the fact that most forest companies and counties that own forest land only think about money. How much money can I make from the trees for my agency. They do not care about creating the best wildlife habitat. Every year in Northern Minnesota we have had less and less deer. Wolves mostly get blamed. But think they are only part of the issue. The foresters are managing for money not wildlife habitat. A beautiful mixed diverse species forest is quickly converted to a red pine plantation that was treated with herbicides to kill all other species from growing so they can plant the red pine. Now they plant the trees so thick that when they grow the branches touch each other so deer and other species can't even move through the plantations. There is no food in there because they have been killing anything from growing there with herbicides then planting pines so close together to stop any competition that might provide food for deer. Fly over NE Itasca County in Minnesota in a small plane and see for yourself how much of the land is clearcut and converted to aspen or in sandy dryer areas it is all red or spruce plantations. This aggressive cutting has changed the landscape to fewers forests that actually benefit deer for food and cover in close proximity. In Addition they allow ATV's to go anywhere in the forests and deer turn nocturnal from the constant ATV joy riders.
Not in Michigan. Public land in Michigan is dead, the deer are not dumb, they know and don’t move till dark. I hate Michigan public. No one on RUclips can get it done either lol
So nice to redevelop, if you will, the relationship with your son, as they get more mature. Not that there hasn't always been. But it's different now. Isn't it Dan? Has been for me bro. Hope it has been for you too!
I like your videos because of the huge amount of woodsmanship you possess. I know you do use some cameras, but they ain't everything to you. I get so sick of people only talking about the stuff showing up on their cell cams, knowing they possess no true woodsmanship. I guess I'm more old fashioned.
You can... But its a lot harder and you will spook the bucks much more often. When you limit yours self to certsin size or even a certsin buck, you may only get one or two chances in a season, so I do everything I can to maximize my opertunoty in case that day is the day... I want thd odds as much in my favor as possible
Watching the end of this had me think, on your thinking about the oaks probably also works with no bow pressure ..you think that some spots are good during bow only ,early season / rut and the bucks leave just before gun season hits and never experience the pressure there when gun pressure and bucks are moving in the out when there’s no bow pressure in those specific spots
I think pressure has a little to do with it, but I also think pressure or not the big ones are probably not walking into those oaks in daylight and to be a consistent killer you gotta hunt them in the areas close to bedding where they will move in daylight.
@@thehuntingbeast yeah the closest oak to the bed! .. now I think about it, no oaks, no sign, no target bucks that season. I was remember your video on you scouting your gun spots for bow and the bucks leaving before you got in for gun season.
If I believed the pressure ruined public Hunting, I'd also at least partially blame you Dan!!😂 You're one of the teachers of better hunting tactics, but most guys aren't willing to strip to their tighty whities in the October Wisconsin Woods and wade a 40 degree creek.
Yes it is ruined at least where I used to like to go. Crossbows and saddles have made it such a rat race in Michigan I don’t think I’ll be going on public next year.
All the people complaining in the comments, I think you may have missed the message of the video. Persevere, take the chance the other guy won't. Be a beast
I only have public land to hunt. Most bow hunters that I have met out there are great. Some people are di***. But that is true everywhere you go. I had a person steal my card and take out the batteries in my cell camera last season. Unfortunately, they left the camera body open, and it got ruined by the weather. This is a risk I take. Just because there is a camera and an old tree stand, doesn't mean there will be a hunter there when you show up. Some guys are fair weather hunters. Good luck out there and please always wear a harness when climbing in and out of your tree stand. It will save your life.
😂 I agree. Most guys are just bait pile hunters or trail cam viewers. That trail camera only looks in one direction 🤣🤣Some of us can just look at the trees and know where to be.
Rat slayer was like a kid in the candy store when he opened that new bow awesome glad too see him excited to hunt with dad
Got a little jealous myself and excited for him! Cant wait to see it in action!
The days of survey tape and land marks not map apps on your phone would keep alot of folk out of the woods especially in the dark.
You are correct. Subtract those things, cameras and baiting and the woods would be very uncrowded.
Loved the graphics explaining the bedding, trails and stand positions!!
Back at it after a couple years of not being able to get out and the first source I turned to is you. Just finished this one. Thanks for the lessons.
The over use of trail cam is a issue. The buck shaming has no place. Your license your choice regardless. Any buck with a hand held arm drawn bow is a success. Even a doe. Take what you want forget the horn porn
I know it's a hated comment but I don't know anyone who eats the horns
Horn Porn 😂
@@elizabeth_williams It isn't about meat anymore. It's about who gets the biggest Rack. Bragging rights. Sad
Fred Bear said it best; We're all on the same team. Stop fighting amongst ourselves.
Be kind and stop judging one another. Someone else's love for the outdoors doesn't take away from yours.
Agreed!!
Your video reminds me of playing blackjack tournaments in that you're playing against the dealers and the players at the table, most of the time people still think they just have to beat the dealer. Most challenges present opportunities. Public land takes effort, that's still the #1 reason why there will almost always be good spots to hunt in most areas on public land.
Thank you for sharing your experiences Dan! Soooooo many people quitting before they get started based on a story they tell themselves that there are not any big bucks on the land they are hunting. Oh the opportunities missed by talking ourselves out of the experiences of hunting activities. Who cares about cameras and other fancy stuff that proves our poor mindsets. Hunting is more about going out there, learning and becoming flexible. Confidence kills big bucks because the confidence is coming from the experiences of previous hunting activities and appication to the hunt you are in. To me, the hunt is more about the hunt for what's happening in the woods I'm hunting rather than just the kill. Use skills you have earned to kill the age class of bucks that present themselves. I always tell people getting started to kill deer and focus less on the monster. The monsters will present themselves and if you pay attention to what they do, you will change your hunting skillsets and eventually kill bigger bucks.
The deer gotta live somewhere let the doubters doubt and not go hunting while we keep trucking searching for the one you gotta be in it to win it!!
Hell yeah brother
Last yr was the 1st yr that I didnt get a shot! I was seeing some; usually I was getting 2 deer per yr(thats all I need). Some other expert had a vidio-Are you not seeing any deer? His conclusion was that states give WAY too many doe permits out. Like, Wis gives 3 doe permits when you buy a license! When you kill all the moms....
I wouldn’t know what most bow hunters are doing on Public Land because I don’t see them most of the time and when I do I rarely have any issues. It’s crazy how different the experience is from state to state.
Same for me here in central Kentucky. When I bow hunt I hardly see many people until its time for the rut to start.
@@devob100 same.
Which state do you hunt out off? I hunt in Ontario 🇨🇦
@@MrSurfanglerPennsylvania mostly.
I think you’re a great guy, I love what you do. Personally I’ve been Mobil hunting for 30yrs. You tube has made a major impact in my area of the country. In southern New England onx and RUclips have decimated public land. We don’t have the acreage the a lot of the country has. We are seeing few and few bucks making it pass 3 1/2, I’m 46 and never had to work so hard in my life. I’ve also never seen such a lack of ethics in young hunters as I do today. As for northern New England RUclips has absolutely destroyed it. Lack of morals and ethics is getting record numbers of property posted. Every body thinks they are a deer tracker they go up north shoot the first thing with horns. They don’t care to ask permission they don’t thank land owners they have no consideration for active logging operations. So to answer they question yes in our area of they country RUclips has had a negative effect on hunting. Many of the guys I know have simply given up guys that have killed mature bucks for over 20yrs just giving up. Even myself I find it’s easier to work over time and travel to the Midwest. Fortunately for me I have access to a friends farm. But even there in Ohio I am seeing a impact of crossbows corn piles and Facebook
Since Covid hit it’s been wild here in CT
Thank you for all the effort you put into these videos. I recently scouted some areas but it seems like all of it is relatively easy to access. Good luck this fall.
Wonder if those buck beds along that tree line were there because the water in the main bedding points were high and when water goes down they will eventually go back to the bedding on the transition of the marsh. Just a thought.
Letting other hunters tell me where they are with cams and stands is an upper hand when you can see where it pushes deer. And most people won’t tell you where they are going so I gotta go by the cams and stands. It helps.
I don’t feel like I need a trail cam. I used to use them but I was pushing deer away so I quit using them and I have more success. I can still get a head count by scouting and observation stands.
The strong will survive.
I agree - pressure tightens things up.
The biting flies are in full force
They swarm the trucks heat signature
On the plus side, I had my second (of my life) black bear sighting this morning, crossing a logging road around 9am. Looked like a yearling. I thought it was a black wolf at first. 😮
I think I did that last year, I staged hunted a spot, and by the time I got to the closest spot to the bedding the sign was kinda dried up, basically noticed no new sign being made, I made a mistake haha. I think I found him again during spring scouting tho!
I’d love to see Dan pick apart the low rolling hills of the “southern pine belt” that spans through central Louisiana Mississippi Alabama and lower Georgia. I feel like it’s its own type of place. Yes it’s hill country yes there’s some swamps but the pine kinda makes everything different. I don’t feel like we get too much love on RUclips.
I've been hunting some public land parcels in Wisconsin and it can be so challenging where I hunt. It is really difficult with all the squirrel hunters and pheasant hunters, specifically the squirrel hunters who tend to walk long distances.
Dan you should try somewhere around Watersmeet if your in upper Michigan this year.👍 There's some big ones around.
I’m here for the thumbnails haha! Love ya Dan!
Watching your videos gives me buck fever. I just want to go out and scout now.
Then get out and scout lol
Always love to see the father son videos.
Watching now Great way to end the weekend Thanks Dan
Dear Dan,
Thanks for your insite into public land issues with popularity. I am struggling to find any data that states there are more wt hunters than there was say 20 years ago. According to hunters Ed data there is still approximately 8% of population that hunts. However that is the opposite for elk hunters, the Rockies are full of fully equipped modern hunters. I stopped deer hunting because pressure and permission from land owners was creating a serious bottleneck. Ive been a traditional bow hunter since the early 90’s and in southern Illinois my struggles were; man vs nature, man vs animal, and man vs self. Today it seems as tho one must add a couple more dilemmas to the mix. Man vs pressure and man vs modern technology. Thanks for the deer hunting content. I find that even tho you talk for an hour there are a couple sentences that actually apply to me and are beneficial for me. In this video your comment about Turkey hunting is your spring deer scouting that applies to me. 😂
Thanks for the video. Good hunting mister.
If you have alot of private land to hunt how do your keep your focus on 1 buck. If there's multiple big bucks around. Within a couple miles as the crow flies??
Here in southern Ohio there's a hunter along every pull off on public. Some of us older guys can't walk 5 miles deep to hunt. Hard to kill a deer with 10 other people hunting the same place. I wouldn't dare step in the spring turkey woods on public because of all the hunters cause it's dangerous. Every private place is leased by out of state hunters. Gotta be rich just to have a place to hunt these days. Hunting used to be fun but now it's just frustrating. And I been bow hunting for 37yrs.
Man..im sorry sir..i kinda wish they would take certain percentages of Wildlife Management Areas and make the bowhunt only..like here we have plenty of WMAz.some are 60,000 plus acres..they could take a few sections around it an make them bow only..
@@StealthTRD
In my state of MN dog walkers r taking away over-hunting. Authorities could care less. Not sure if they've thought enough ahead to what they r going to do when sales drop even more than they already have on deer tags which they've made the mistake of thinking about as lottery tickets cuz the large aren't in charge & aren't even hunters/bowhunters in any aspect of the word. 😮
@josephtreadlightly5686 If you're hunting where people are walking their dogs you might be doing it wrong...
Go away@@sniffum35
just started teaching myself hunting about 3 years ago in 2021 after the presidential election. It was a way to feed myself because I was so poor, it was also somewhere to be because I was homeless. There is very little places around cincinnati to hunt. When I was hunting last year in eastfork seen deer and big ones, seen many hunters, infact i found deer in a really common walking area just right off the path where the deer tend to walk to avoid the human scent. Id argue if you cant walk that far into the woods, its time to take on a younger hunter who you can teach and pass down the skills youve learned before you arent able to hunt at all!
What I've come to recognize is that deer like to lay in thick spots where the walking trails 👣 r angling away from where they r bedding & then they can actually count the traffic w/o moving. If u can walk past them a way's then take 2 right turns u might be able to get into position like 75-100 yards from them. 🎉😮
Great description on a swamp bedding area!
Question tho. In those areas. Do you think they prefer red oak acorns or crops. They also log around me too. What do you think would be the most preferred food source?
I would put red oak over crops most of the time.
Dan is there a good way to contact you to get your input on a spot of public?
Not only is public land ruined but even private land as well because most people today don't have any hunting morals or ethics. Social media has ruined the outdoors period and yes I realize that I'm on youtube for all the keyboard commandos out there!!!
Social media has ruined WAaaay more than hunting unfortunately
I agree
@@bch5513marriages too
@bch5513 every secret from fly fishing, lures, Flys, hunting spots secrets protected for 100drs of years all sold out, every where you go people and alot of times, like are beloved turkey in my area all depleted from hunting pressure. Yes it's sad too see for all of us know doubt 😢
@@bch5513 yeah, let a fishing spot get out. You will see boat loads of grown men trying to wipe it out like they never caught a fish in their life. Blood lust isn't just for land creatures.
You know there's a monster we have a balloon
I hunt hill country and in my opinion the bucks are going to be where the does are and does are on acorns. I look for areas where the acorns are hitting you in the head while walking through. I hunt from the ground mostly. Prehanging stands and hanging a bunch of cameras is void sometimes on big public because the deer are nomadic especially the bucks. Changes day to day.
So is it not good to hunt your way in scout /hunt ur way in ? Or go all in or bust? Tryin to get on the bedding
Its always best to scout your way in, but you do need to recognize where the sign is coming from and from how far away. So in this case by pre scouting the land I know that if I see good fresh sign in those 1st spots i still most likely need to get much further up unless I see it coming directly out of bedding cover
@@thehuntingbeast makes sense dan, if it was prime mid season and you hadn’t been in there then I guess u go for it first time
Is it ok to go in once a week and scout WITH RUBBER BOOTS ON?
Do you use trail cams closer to the season to get more intel?
I think going into a hunt area anytime does damage... Scouting in spring and never going back till kill time is crucial to getting on to mature bucks on regular basis. Rubber boots keep your feet dry, they dont stop bucks from smelling where you have been.
Thanks for the scouting trip.
I love seeing a ladder stand in an area that takes 2 hrs to walk into. This tells me that there are deer here and big bucks if someone is willing to carry a ladder stands miles from the parkinglot
Semper Fi crunchy
@@ryanb5768 do or die. And its crusty but ill let it slide this time lol
I believe it’s been harder on turkey hunting more than deer hunting
Good point they are indefensible on the struting ground
Love to watch these scouts and pick up some insight
I just hunt for me. I never post photos of my deer. It’s just a personal thing, it’s one the only things that’s just mine. All this buck shaming and wanting to be a some sort of hunting hero ….whatever. I just don’t have time for for it
A couple of the spots you said a guy couldn’t saddle hunt because of the thickness….I was wondering if you meant you could hang a stand there? A saddle platform is much smaller than a stand. If one can’t saddle hunt it-how do you hang a larger stand there? I hunt areas that thick but often bring a stool and hunt off the ground because of the thickness.
Can you hunt from a saddle forward facing in a sitting position? My friends who saddle hunt cant
The amount of idiots that stomp through the local public the weeks leading up to season does nothing but pack deer onto the property I hunt. Trail cams have made this even worse they "Sneak in" to check and blow everything out for months leading up to the season. I know that come the 30th of Aug I will start getting the old fellas showing up and I am happy to treat them with clover, corn, a secluded pond, and hilly bedding. Every year like clockwork.
Been a public land ghost chaser since i was a kid. Gotta love it
Dan is a wealth of knowledge. And he is totally right. The big bucks will be in most isolated places were most hunters want go
Florida has dozens of great WMA lands - but most are quota permit only - best thing that’s happened to hunting IMO.
Cannibals ate my uncle too 😂
I absolutely love his shirts.😂
Nightbed? Two days ago I came with 12ft of a 9-point buck bedded in a bean field in broad daylight. Shade is overrated.
Nice shirt! Hey, is that hair connected to the hat? 😅. Keep up the great content.
The Rat-Slayer seems like a kick-ass hunting partner. You can tell that kid is calm and measured.....doesn't get rattled. A solid backup.
Could you make more scouting videos like this? I would really appreciate it.. And by the way I love the new glasses.
Pure Ledgend. Always gr8t content. The shirt is epic 🤣 I dig it.
Another scouting master class, good stuff.
More pressure I see, easier public gets where I come from. I raised whitetail deer for the first 14 years of my life with my old man and even though domesticated deer are different than wild deer, I learned many behaviors seeing and feeding those deer daily. I also saw how wild deer interacted with our deer through the high wire fence at different times of the year. Things got wild during the rut. Had a monster buck take on our large 12 point one year and the fence became a fly trap for his head. It was an incredible experience growing up and I’m glad it happened!
I don't understand; I have hunted nothing but public land for the last 25 years; it seems like my hunting is actually getting better! Yes, it does seem like it's getting higher pressure, and I am seeing a lot more cameras, but I'm also seeing more (and better) bucks in the places I end up hunting. Maybe it's me getting better as hunter!? Maybe that's the problem with the complainers; maybe they haven't been growing as hunters, so it seems like public land is "ruined" because they are being forced to actually hunt their areas!?
I agree. My hunting is getting better and I keep seeing how everyone is flooding IOwA, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas…people get something in their head and it spreads. I’m out here hunting and hardly every run into another hunter in the woods during bow. Even gun I don’t have a problem getting away from people. It goes in waves. Whenever I run into new people at the parking lot I just say “yeah they are in here…lots of hunters though, They don’t move good in the day” 😂😂😂
Dan as always love the T-shirt. Hilarious!!! Do guys send these to you or are they your own ideas. Btw I got gps on your truck. I guess big buck hunting there is all done!
Some people send the shirts, some U find and buy.
When y’all think y’all got it bad hunting public land… Come down here and hunt these Florida public land swamps and you will appreciate them northern public land hunts… I hunt public land in central Florida and these swamps are no joke… I have been successful and with that said most all you will get is 50- 80” deer… I have had some 120-130” deer on camera but never see them in season… I hunt in the deepest thickest swamps where nobody goes… It’s literally 90+ degrees during bow season and the skeeters are brutal… I love it… Just remember us Florida boys when y’all want to give up.
People don't want to admit that we have fewer hunters than ever in the woods and now the hunters are more educated and actually know what they are doing. I'm happy when people assume public land blows. less competition. People are covering more area with confidence. People who leave their treestand out there are the ones who only gun hunt. half the stands left in the woods will never be sat again.
I mean the deer don't know it's public land so hunters assuming all u can get in public is drinks and does is just insane..I only hunt public and have had alot of success with pope and young sized and up sized buck consistently..just have to b willing to work a bit harder than the other hunters..
Lol...dinks and does..
Sounds like you need to go frog gigging at that spot lol
Sometimes you have to hunt by stands and game cams people leave illegal treestands out and in Michigan technically game cams are illegal no items left out over 24 hrs but DNR doesnt enforce it? Hunting public land has issues.
State land rules are- except for legally marked hunting stands no items can be left out over 24 hours. So that makes game cams left out illegal. Michigan needs to enforce the rules they have and eliminate game cams.
That's a difference of opinion. 16:38
Here in MA there are fewer hunters than there was years ago. The state doesn't make it easy here. Development. Increased licensing costs. Aging population of sportsmen. Lots of reasons for the decline. But those still hunting - are far far better at it and most of them are mobile at least some of the time. Lots of fixed setups too, but I would say most hunters use both.
Agreed Dan quality has went up. Been holding out for giants thanks to cameras. They no way shape or form kills the deer for u. I'm prime example lol. Goodluck this fall
Those deer in that funnel have not been disturbed much imo, with all of those beds, seems unpressured
people here in ILL cant hardly hunt from all the out of state people hunting its getting bad here
Us Wisconsin hunters say the same about the fibs.
If that was Louisiana you’d be hearing a hissing sound from alligators and beavers slapping that tail warning every thing around that you’re trespassing, mosquitos would have a feast too
Honestly if you are a “horn hunter “ there’s really two categories. it seems like one group learns a level of respect through experience and through good practice, diligence. This respect for the animals comes naturally to those who are patient. And the others are those who poach and don’t appreciate the life of the animals as much and have not grown as individuals into a fruitful hobby hence why they poach because good things don’t come easy. Maybe some want the east road. Not to be wise in my own eyes, just my observation and opinion. Thanks
i think whats been lost is just being a sportsman
The nice thing about hunting public land where I hunt is you hardly ever see a hunter opening day of rifle season. Back 20 - 30 years ago, on the same land, there would always be an ARMY of orange pumpkins behind nearly every tree. No longer. Nothing to shoot at. So NOW when I go hunting on opening day of deer season with no deer to see ... I take my paint easel, slab of canvass, paint brushes and brown paint ... and I paint the landscape/trees in front of me and THEN add some big bucks. Once the racks get so big and I start getting buck fever ... I paint another buck.
What they hey ... maybe someday someone will buy one of my paintings and I'll become wealthy. What would I do with all my profits from the painting/s? Buy better cuts of beef. Getting too old now to bend over and gut a deer out, let alone drag it back to the rig.
I feed my family venison.I take mostly does with whatever the season allows. So I'm not to pressed about the teck. What worries me, the lack of pressure I see on public " except rifle/shotgun seaon".
I heard you say you use Spartan Forge? Is it worth the switch from the other popular mapping app?
Yes and no... It has some features that are better than the other app, and some that still have some glitches, but they are constantly improving. With code BEAST you save 30% and your country wide cost is a fraction of what the other app charges... I would personally recommend trying it and running both teporarily then drop the one you dont want...
@thehuntingbeast awesome thank you!
Yea so tired of hearing people complain about trail cameras but the same people you never hear them talk about some of the stuff that can really hurt hunting like the stuff happening out west
Why bait when you can hunt the trails going to food plots
Worth marking and checking
Is that the rat slayer (the fruit of serial killer loins) in the beginning?
Yes sir... The Rat is back!
I'd be open to eliminating, or at least curtailing the use of game cameras on public lands. Perhaps limited to when deer seasons are closed. Cameras encourage more frequent intrusions to the same locations which doesn't happen the same way with boots on the ground scouting. Casual and less serious hunters who hang cameras would almost certainly intrude less. And there's a lot of them. Then the issue of being surveilled in the middle of the woods by others. Game cameras don't discriminate, and some people might not be okay with their images taken and time stamped. Camera use results in more pressure, intrusion and conflict on public lands. Bottom line.
As someone whos been hunting for 24 years now, i couldnt disagree more with the idea that public land is ruined. Fucking hell its finally getting good in my area of northern PA
Ive hunting high pressure state land for 50 years this is the anniversary 😊.50 years wow that's weird to say😅.Ive seen so much change in hunting, mosty ppl being up tight.My view on trail cams?Just an eye sore.
I hunt 80acres of private surrounded by hunters/cameras/public in N Mich .Ive shot a couple nice bucks I know went around another hunters set up
How are the Ticks in that area?
Really bad... Sprayed down but still picked dozens of them off me.
Ticks are insane this year
@@thehuntingbeast Dan I shot in a 3D archery tournament this past weekend here in Iowa. Had reverse duct tape around my ankles and knees and they were COVERED in ticks by days end. I even sprayed down all my clothes before hand as well. They are so bad down this way.
Ticks are ruining hunting!
I love the hat clip we’re did you find it
store-dhgh3.mybigcommerce.com/
You had the comment of pink saddle hunting twice and I laughed both times.
I was once know as the one and only Big Buck Boar and long beard slayer and was only able to hunt a few weekends a year living out of state in Florida but I moved to my killing grounds the gig is up it’s all over but the crying
Yes. RUclipsrs and social media diarrhea has done it in.
In some ways it's ruined, it keeps changing, still plenty of fun, people still take nice bucks on public land despite the negatives.
How about the fact that most forest companies and counties that own forest land only think about money. How much money can I make from the trees for my agency. They do not care about creating the best wildlife habitat. Every year in Northern Minnesota we have had less and less deer. Wolves mostly get blamed. But think they are only part of the issue. The foresters are managing for money not wildlife habitat. A beautiful mixed diverse species forest is quickly converted to a red pine plantation that was treated with herbicides to kill all other species from growing so they can plant the red pine. Now they plant the trees so thick that when they grow the branches touch each other so deer and other species can't even move through the plantations. There is no food in there because they have been killing anything from growing there with herbicides then planting pines so close together to stop any competition that might provide food for deer. Fly over NE Itasca County in Minnesota in a small plane and see for yourself how much of the land is clearcut and converted to aspen or in sandy dryer areas it is all red or spruce plantations. This aggressive cutting has changed the landscape to fewers forests that actually benefit deer for food and cover in close proximity. In Addition they allow ATV's to go anywhere in the forests and deer turn nocturnal from the constant ATV joy riders.
Not in Michigan. Public land in Michigan is dead, the deer are not dumb, they know and don’t move till dark. I hate Michigan public. No one on RUclips can get it done either lol
Love your shirt.
Yes. Especially in TX
So nice to redevelop, if you will, the relationship with your son, as they get more mature. Not that there hasn't always been. But it's different now. Isn't it Dan? Has been for me bro. Hope it has been for you too!
I think the masses forgot what hunting is. Trail cameras, even tree stands, are coming with WIFI. Lazy....that's what has become.
I like your videos because of the huge amount of woodsmanship you possess. I know you do use some cameras, but they ain't everything to you. I get so sick of people only talking about the stuff showing up on their cell cams, knowing they possess no true woodsmanship. I guess I'm more old fashioned.
Can u kill big bucks on the ground in those setup ?just sitting in a chair without ground blind .
You can... But its a lot harder and you will spook the bucks much more often. When you limit yours self to certsin size or even a certsin buck, you may only get one or two chances in a season, so I do everything I can to maximize my opertunoty in case that day is the day... I want thd odds as much in my favor as possible
Watching the end of this had me think, on your thinking about the oaks probably also works with no bow pressure ..you think that some spots are good during bow only ,early season / rut and the bucks leave just before gun season hits and never experience the pressure there when gun pressure and bucks are moving in the out when there’s no bow pressure in those specific spots
I think pressure has a little to do with it, but I also think pressure or not the big ones are probably not walking into those oaks in daylight and to be a consistent killer you gotta hunt them in the areas close to bedding where they will move in daylight.
@@thehuntingbeast yeah the closest oak to the bed! .. now I think about it, no oaks, no sign, no target bucks that season. I was remember your video on you scouting your gun spots for bow and the bucks leaving before you got in for gun season.
Rat Slayer getting ready to do work 👍
If I believed the pressure ruined public Hunting, I'd also at least partially blame you Dan!!😂 You're one of the teachers of better hunting tactics, but most guys aren't willing to strip to their tighty whities in the October Wisconsin Woods and wade a 40 degree creek.
Yes it is ruined at least where I used to like to go. Crossbows and saddles have made it such a rat race in Michigan I don’t think I’ll be going on public next year.
It's always been a challenge, and that is why we do it!
Where's your hotspot in the kettle moraine?
@Neverfoundthekey wouldn't you like to know 😂 Lazy
All the people complaining in the comments, I think you may have missed the message of the video. Persevere, take the chance the other guy won't. Be a beast
I only have public land to hunt. Most bow hunters that I have met out there are great. Some people are di***. But that is true everywhere you go. I had a person steal my card and take out the batteries in my cell camera last season. Unfortunately, they left the camera body open, and it got ruined by the weather. This is a risk I take. Just because there is a camera and an old tree stand, doesn't mean there will be a hunter there when you show up. Some guys are fair weather hunters. Good luck out there and please always wear a harness when climbing in and out of your tree stand. It will save your life.
Love the t-shirt, it should say amphibious cannibals
Your shirt is the GOAT. HAHAHA. I love it.
😂 I agree. Most guys are just bait pile hunters or trail cam viewers. That trail camera only looks in one direction 🤣🤣Some of us can just look at the trees and know where to be.