Pvt. v. Public: Advantages v. Disadvantages? Is it "elitist?"

[Caseyd]

I hunt private land for deer. My family has a wheat ranch near Walla Walla....Ive grown up hunting like that so its the only way i know.

Elk...public land!

Waterfowl....80% public 20% private.


Im with the most of you....dont like crowds 

[high country]

I hunt public land and only public land, for deer and elk. I have killed one bear on private land and I reget it still PITA. I feel more like an eliteist for hunting on public land that othres either don't know about or won't work to get to.

I have friends that have killer buck running around their ranches, and I am a hardcore long range shooter, but to hunt farm land would cause ME to hang it up. (not judging a sole, my defect). I get a high from being in the high country.

slob hunters piss me off. follow the rules on public land and we can all enjoy it. and equally, if you hunt within earshot of a road, don't get all pissy if a doorknob on a quad rides by and asks if you have seen anything.

[Swiftkid]

i hunt mostly private land but i've been watching a buck on public land that seems not to be getting pushed around much at all...hopefully i wont be fighting off the crowds on saturday morning, but will see...if that doesn't work out it'll be off to private land where i know i won't be fighting off anyone

[jjhunter]

Public vs. Private?  Depends where you are!  I am hunting private in MT and plan on killing a great buck.  I am hunting public in CO and plan on taking an even larger buck......I think there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  I grew up with access to more private ground than I can hunt and have shot several 25"-29" bucks, but never a true monster.  So, the "easy" private ground hunting kept me away from areas where an encounter with a monster could be had.  I think this is a disadvantage - this is why I still have a bow tag - Anyone want to trade a private land pheasant hunt for some Swakane Info?  

[PolarBear]

100% pubic land!  I get more satisfaction of of taking a P&Y buck or bull on heavily hunted public land as opposed to some semi tame or lightly pressured critter on private land.  Just a personal rule with me.

[jackelope]

i hunt deer on private...until this year. i do it because i have access to a few thousand acres of wheat/range land in the foothills of the blues with lots of deer that puts lots of venison in the freezer.
the 2 elk hunts i have been on now have been public, all the waterfowl has been on public land and most of the upland hunting has been on public. i am hunting public land this year for deer in the blues and on the wetside because i can, and because i think i have better opportunities for better bucks there.

[hogsniper]

For big game I hunt timber co. and also dnr land. For waterfowl I primarily hunt private ground. It is soo much better because you dont have to put up with anybody's Chit....It is nice not having to get there at 2 in the mornin to lock ur blind like some do on public ground....

[robb92]

In Maryland I only hunt for deer on private land, its not fenced in and the deer cross off the national lands that you can not even walk through the land I can hunt on. The public land has to many *censored*es who shoot at anything that moves, had my turkey decoys shot up when some *censored* shot over my head at them. In Virginia I hunt both for deer, but for bear publilc land.

[piledup]

I like hunting public land. I like to get out of the crowds like everyone else but like everyone, the farther I go, there are those who try to get away from the crowds too. So I don't care much for the crowds as long as we all get along. Plus, you know you are lucky and I mean LUCKY when you get a big buck when there is a crowd. 

[Houndhunter]

i hunt mostly national forest and sometimes some timber companys land, but i do go onto private land 1 a year for deer and thats always a good time. hunting private land is really the only time we actually get to set up a really big and nice camp, and i like that

[firefighter4607]

I hunt 98% private land. My family has owned this land for years, and it will continue to be owned by family members. I have been going out every opening morning since I was about 6 years old. We all just enjoy going out and hunting. If we dont kill anything thats fine, it is like a reunion.  This doesn't make me feel "elitist" just because we have land. My family has been farming this land for 3 decades. The other 2% is when I get draw for a tag in Grayback.

As far as elk go I hunt on public land, Forest Service, DNR, and some private. I have only got one elk in the 10 years I have been hunting elk. You can see the pic on my profile. I was very very lucky.

Upland Birds is of course all private, once again my family's land.

[finnman]

What Sage said

[Guy]

I feel very fortunate to be able to hunt private land. A friend of mine has a large chunk of land, and lets me and a few of his friends hunt it year after year. Very nice. Not much other pressure on those deer, and we seldom see another hunter. It's good.

I also hunt public land - and it's just fine - but there's often someone else working the same drainage etc... That said, there's some excellent hunting on public land!

Good Luck to all you Hunters this year! Guy

[huntnphool]

Do you hunt private or public land?
Why? What are the advantages?  Disadvantages?
Do you feel like an "elitist" for hunting private land?

There are huge advantages for hunting private land. I hunt a 30,000 acre ranch in some of the best deer area in Montana and its nice knowing I don't have to worry about the animals being pushed too much. Last year I spotted a nice buck on the first evening we were there, but knowing we would be there all week I passed on him. After hunting the week and helping my brother and friend get good bucks earlier I still hadn't tagged out hoping to find that monster. Well it didnt happen so I went back to the draw I had seen the big buck the first day. Having vitually no pressure he was still there with his does, we put a stalk on him and the rest is in the "post Montana" thread. No way would this have happened on public land. Do I feel like an elitest? not at all, I feel fortunate to be able to do it.