wherever I can get permission or a public land permit (all public around me is permit only),,,,,,SC is all private now,,,,,,,other out of state is all public for the most part
When I lived in GA it was all private. Last 6 years in SC, it has worked into 100% public unless I get a rare invite to go with somebody else. I actually like the public land that I hunt better than any private land I've ever hunted.
I have a great private spot for the spring season I love going to... but there's some good public land nearby where I've had a ton of fall success. I'd say overall 90% private, 10% public in spring turkey hunting season, 70% public, 30% private in fall turkey hunting season.
devastator wrote:100%private in 2 states and i think all it takes is to stop and ask
that's exactly right. most of the big time deer hunters don't give 2 sh1ts about turkeys and are happy to be rid of them. I think they eat too much of their corn. lol
I'm surprised at the high percentage of public land hunters on this thread. Maybe that's because rich turkey hunters don't mess around online and the members of this forum are mostly semi-poor boys like me, so we don't have all that much private land opportunity. Whatever the reasons, it's mostly public land for me, probably on the order of 90% or so. Arkansas has an abundance of it and I live smack in the middle of 160,000 acres of turkey-rich public land, so that's part of the reason. My wife (WriterJill on here) and I also travel a LOT every spring, and it's just easier to hunt public than trying to find good private land in a place we've never been before. I also agree with something somebody else said earlier on this thread, about being able to roam a lot on big chunks of public land. If there's anything more aggravating than having a hot turkey hung up somewhere the other side of a posted sign, I don't know what it is.
All that being said, I rarely turn down an invitation to hunt private land.
Great replys all!! I am scouting on Sunday in a public area and my goal is 2 trails at the 2 mile mark from the nearest parking area. I have 4 different maps of the very same area and mountain bikers use the best maps if you can get them. Should be a rewarding few hours and will keep me in shape for that 40 ft container that I have to unload by myself on Monday LOL. I am 57- so Monday will be tough........
guesswho wrote:I'm about 50/50. But the private lands I hunt are small leases that get hammered as bad or worse than the public land.
Same here and you're lucky if one in five of the other guys have any ethics at all any more. Turkey hunting has turned into a cutthroat sport around here, and anything seems to go.
Double Naught Spy! RCD's Owner----------------Badonka Deke Prostaff MoHo's Prostaff-------------Lighter Than HTL Shooter The Storm Whistle Prostaff Official Member Of The Unofficial Firedup Turkey Calls Prostaff
Private. And they don't roost on my property so it's even more of a challenge. I credit that to making me a great turkey hunter - the fact that I had to force myself into learning how to convince the birds to come to me as I couldn't roost them.
Sounds good to me!!!
