Public vs leased hunting land

[Borngeechee]

Does anyone have an idea of what the harvest success rate is on public vs leased/private land? Is one better than the other r is it pretty much a toss up based on location?

[phade]

Thats not info readily known...at least not with any sense of reliability.

 

Hunter skill and other factors also play a role.

 

A lease is a peace of mind to a degree. So is ownership. If you can be at peace on public, then you can be successful there. That's what it really boils down to, in my opinion.

[G-Man]

I know people very successfull on public, and others not so successful on private... a lot has to do with scouting and time afield, plus skill . But you can get one unless you get out and try

[gfdeputy2]

Only hunt on public land in NY & for one week only

we have only had one year out of 6 that we have been skunked

[stoneam2006]

O hunt both every year sence I started as has my oldman....both our biggest bucks came off of public land as has the majority of the deer we see. Private land has a big disadvantage to public and it's the lack of pressure it gets. More pressure causes the deer to move more witch IMO means you should see more. Doesn't mean you will get a shot tho

[adkbuck]

Born, That's a good question.  I don't think I've ever seen any definitive studies or results.  Like some of the others I hunt both.  I would say its more a matter of your persistence, your ability to go in early and stay late and your willingness to be patient and be ready when the opportunity presents itself rather than whether its public or private land.  The other thing is to not get discouraged.  If you keep doing the right things consistently you will be successful. 

[philoshop]

I've been successful on both over the years. In either case you have to know the deer and the terrain, and how they interact, but with public land you also have to know a little about the habits of other hunters using the land. Either how best to avoid them or how to use them to your advantage.

As far as actual studies or numbers comparing the two, I've never seen  anything like that. The public lands with controlled access points often have checkpoints and keep records, though.

[Elmo]

First you need to figure out what is defined as "success"?  One hunters definition of success might not be the same as another hunter's definition of success.  For some hunters it's about the number of deer they kill.  For others they don't have to kill at all.

 

Last year my season was cut short but during bow season I had 5 encounters.  I didn't get a single kill.  I made several predictions as to where the deer will be and when they will be there and I was right on all of them.  I considered that season a success.  Just for arguments sake, I could have shot at all 5.  Maybe miss 1, wound 2 of them, come home with 2 deer.  Would that be considered a success?

 

Private land does give you the comfort of knowing less people will be interfering with the deer's pattern and your hunt and you'll be able to setup up more permanent stands and trail cams so that does give you a big added advantage.  But so does putting a deer in a cage.  That's a 100% success if you count it that way.

 

So that brings us back to my original point.  What is your definition of success?  Success is measure simply by your own goals of how you want to hunt and the limitations you want to set up for yourself and then achieving it.

[Borngeechee]

Only hunt on public land in NY & for one week only

we have only had one year out of 6 that we have been skunked

That's a great record

[Borngeechee]

First you need to figure out what is defined as "success"? One hunters definition of success might not be the same as another hunter's definition of success. For some hunters it's about the number of deer they kill. For others they don't have to kill at all.

Last year my season was cut short but during bow season I had 5 encounters. I didn't get a single kill. I made several predictions as to where the deer will be and when they will be there and I was right on all of them. I considered that season a success. Just for arguments sake, I could have shot at all 5. Maybe miss 1, wound 2 of them, come home with 2 deer. Would that be considered a success?

Private land does give you the comfort of knowing less people will be interfering with the deer's pattern and your hunt and you'll be able to setup up more permanent stands and trail cams so that does give you a big added advantage. But so does putting a deer in a cage. That's a 100% success if you count it that way.

So that brings us back to my original point. What is your definition of success? Success is measure simply by your own goals of how you want to hunt and the limitations you want to set up for yourself and then achieving it.

I think my idea of success will be the same as most. I think most hunters know that harvesting an animal isn't 100% but there intent is to harvest that animal. Not getting one won't be considered a fail because most hunters are outdoorsman and enjoy being out harvest or not but I doubt not harvesting would be considered a success. Maybe if their purpose was just to collect data but that's a different story. Edited August 28, 2014 by Borngeechee

[phade]

I'd say 50% of hunters go through the "life cycle"....get out there, get one, get many, get a big one, get an old one, and get out there again to get others theirs.

 

The rest typically are casual hunters and just get out there and/or want to get one and that's where they remain. A good thing, cause the represents most license sales.

[Elmo]

Yes, but for some people, their overwhelming desire to harvest one overshadows their moral and ethical boundaries.  My point was that if I threw my moral boundaries out the door I would have walked home with a couple of deer last year but at what cost?  I had set limitations on myself and because of that, I didn't get a deer.  Would that mean I am less successful than someone who didn't set such limitations?

 

Only you can define your own goals and limitations and thus your own success.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Elmo

[Elmo]

I would also like to add that I use ethics as simply just one example.  As phade pointed out, some hunters limit themselves in other ways.  Another example is a hunter who only wants to hunt a mature buck with a recurve bow.  Under such limitations, he might not get any harvest anything this year.

[NFA-ADK]

Good question!  As many have pointed out the people who hunt the area and the skill they have make a big difference.  In my experience private land holds more deer than public mainly due to presser but I hunt some high presser public lands.  Opposite up North in the Dacks. 

 

Astute land owners can pattern deer as they generally follow the same trails year after year, much harder on public land especially after you drag out a couple of nice deer others tend to take/ruin your spots.  I would think the vast majority of hunters are on private land so that would probably bring those numbers up. 

 

A good hunter will be able to get deer on both if he has enough time to scout and pattern.  Wish I could do this more!!!  Private land owners don't have to scout as much due to low human activity and the knowledge that if no major trees fall to change the pattern then it will remain consistent. 

 

Locations is everything.  LI public land is vastly different than the private rural area's just as some of our parks are different than a farm with not a single tree on it or a similar parcel with all private woods. 

 

My ideal property would be a large parcel with a  bunch of openings for food plots, plenty of thick cover for bedding with farms in the back of my property and all state land across the street.  Ahh to dream!

 

 

[A Sportsman]

I hunt public land almost always. One thing that frustrates me over and over is when you have a real good location that is loaded with sign that you want to hunt, intelligently. But you soon Discover that some other guy or a few guys are hunting it in a manner that fouls the whole place up. For instance, they are hunting from trees smack in the middle of a staging area with no regard for wind. Scent pouring into a bedding area. Public land deer can get educated real fast. The shame of it is that some of these locations can hunt 3 or 4 guys if done properly. I'd love to have a spot where "what other guys are doing" doesn't affect the deer.

The public land I hunt in the catskills doesn't have many hunters, or deer for that matter. But success is had thru perserverence and years of experience. And there is a great feeling of accomplishment when u get one.

Born, I think you said you are a new hunter. My advice would be not to worry so much about public or private land. Learn your equipment, learn how to read sign, keep the good atitude, and everything will come.

[Borngeechee]

I hunt public land almost always. One thing that frustrates me over and over is when you have a real good location that is loaded with sign that you want to hunt, intelligently. But you soon Discover that some other guy or a few guys are hunting it in a manner that fouls the whole place up. For instance, they are hunting from trees smack in the middle of a staging area with no regard for wind. Scent pouring into a bedding area. Public land deer can get educated real fast. The shame of it is that some of these locations can hunt 3 or 4 guys if done properly. I'd love to have a spot where "what other guys are doing" doesn't affect the deer.

The public land I hunt in the catskills doesn't have many hunters, or deer for that matter. But success is had thru perserverence and years of experience. And there is a great feeling of accomplishment when u get one.

Born, I think you said you are a new hunter. My advice would be not to worry so much about public or private land. Learn your equipment, learn how to read sign, keep the good atitude, and everything will come.

I'm def hunting public this year. I'm going to be hunting Sterling. The lady in the office said I can scout as soon as my permit arrives which should be in a week according to her. What made me ask this question was the fact that I noticed a lot of people looking for leases so it made me wonder. Thanks to Elmo I've been doing a lot of "pre scouting" via Google Earth and a bunch Google Kung fu. I have everything I need equipment wise and probably some I dont. I plan on going in a mile or so depending on what signs I can pick up and hope that pays off as well as a push from other guys with their guns pushing the deer my way.

[Borngeechee]

I hunt public land almost always. One thing that frustrates me over and over is when you have a real good location that is loaded with sign that you want to hunt, intelligently. But you soon Discover that some other guy or a few guys are hunting it in a manner that fouls the whole place up. For instance, they are hunting from trees smack in the middle of a staging area with no regard for wind. Scent pouring into a bedding area. Public land deer can get educated real fast. The shame of it is that some of these locations can hunt 3 or 4 guys if done properly. I'd love to have a spot where "what other guys are doing" doesn't affect the deer.

The public land I hunt in the catskills doesn't have many hunters, or deer for that matter. But success is had thru perserverence and years of experience. And there is a great feeling of accomplishment when u get one.

Born, I think you said you are a new hunter. My advice would be not to worry so much about public or private land. Learn your equipment, learn how to read sign, keep the good atitude, and everything will come.

I'm def hunting public this year. I'm going to be hunting Sterling. The lady in the office said I can scout as soon as my permit arrives which should be in a week according to her. What made me ask this question was the fact that I noticed a lot of people looking for leases so it made me wonder. Thanks to Elmo I've been doing a lot of "pre scouting" via Google Earth and a bunch of Google Kung fu. I have everything I need equipment wise and probably some I dont. I plan on going in a mile or so depending on what signs I can pick up and hope that pays off as well as a push from other guys with their guns pushing the deer my way. Edited August 28, 2014 by Borngeechee

[Five Seasons]

there have been many nice deer in NY and other states that have come out of public land. Like any property it has to be hunted right. If your goals are for a 3.5+ you really have to find some good spots and that means more work than the average joe. The average joe can also push the deer your way.

 

Private land, as phade is about peace of mind knowing you're the only one and some guy isn't going to ruin your hunt and that possibly based on location there's some older less pressured bucks around. Although my cousin took a real nice buck last year who was very old and probably nocturnal because he was bumped dragging another deer out. doesn't happen as much on private land as it does on public i imagine.

[Elmo]

The benefits of having your own private hunting land versus public land is like any other private land versus public land.  Private beach versus public beach.  Private yard versus public park.  You don't have to compete for space.  You know no one else is going to be there.  You can leave your stuff there. 

 

[Vince1]

I'm def hunting public this year. I'm going to be hunting Sterling. The lady in the office said I can scout as soon as my permit arrives which should be in a week according to her. What made me ask this question was the fact that I noticed a lot of people looking for leases so it made me wonder. Thanks to Elmo I've been doing a lot of "pre scouting" via Google Earth and a bunch of Google Kung fu. I have everything I need equipment wise and probably some I dont. I plan on going in a mile or so depending on what signs I can pick up and hope that pays off as well as a push from other guys with their guns pushing the deer my way.

sterling is huuuge. I picked an area and learned what i could but i was new to hunting when i did.

U can hike all over that place if u want. U dont need to wait for a permit... to hike.

[Borngeechee]

sterling is huuuge. I picked an area and learned what i could but i was new to hunting when i did.

U can hike all over that place if u want. U dont need to wait for a permit... to hike.

How was ur sterling experience