If you had 1000 acres of private land to turkey hunt and you hunted it every single day of your turkey season and consistantly killed turkeys would it still be considered easy or would it be kinda the same as hunting 100,000 acres of public land and killing turkeys every day? Just curious what you guys think?
The only thing I would worry about would be not having turkeys to kill in a few years. But on 1000 acres, you might not have to worry.
I don't care where or how large a tract you hunt. If you can consistently call in and kill turkeys, you are working hard and getting the job done. We took 2 turkeys off a 75 acre piece and there are at least 3 more long beards and 10-15 jakes there. Now they travel some, but if I could kill 4 there year after year I would. I just like to hunt different places for that chance at a monster or double, or whatever. Also, I am worried about not having turkeys to kill the next year if I take too many off year after year.
Now this was only my 4th year hunting and I have only ever killed 2 turkeys from that tract. But I am up to 9 total, and my 7 yr old has killed 3, so we are doing well.
Keep hunting, kill turkeys, and help all the new hunters you can. That is all that matters!!
I think that anytime a person hunts private land, no matter how big or how small, you are at a distinct advantage. Just knowing that you are the only person chasing birds on that particular tract, makes your hunt easier. Granted, there is public land out there that never gets hunted, but one never knows who or when you are going to have a hunt ruined by some smuck that walks into your set-up. I will take private land any day of the week, even if the ratio is 100 acres to 1. The success ratio is probably higher than that. Just my two cents woth, and of course, YMMV... Mike
Advantage? We shoo away our share of poachers and like I said we hunt this track Every day of or 47 day season. What is the differerance in hunting public land? Still not convinced why there is a difference?
With the scenario that you laid out here is what I see:
Public land: more land to cover plus public access to hunters equals harder to hunt.
Reason is more area to locate birds and cover but the big factor is the number of hunters you have to compete with.
Private land-less acerage which means turkeys will be easier to locate, no other hunters which means less competition, equals more chances of success. You can deal with the poachers that will creep up :chucknorris:
We have some guys on team that consistantly get the job done on public lands and I consider them guys that I would listen to when they start talking turkey. i
I wouldn't say it would be easier but you could pattern the birds and thus pick the best places to set up on them. I think it would get old huntin' the same place everyday and I have a place just like you're speaking of - 1200 acres with big open pastures with strips of hardwoods in between and about 300 acres of continuos hardwoods. It's my favorite place to hunt but I think 3 times is the most I ever hunted in one season.
If I kill a bird one one farm I rarely go back and hunt it again that same season, but then again I have farms that will go unhunted, at least by me, on any given year. The 2 birds that I struggled to kill this year were on 2 new farms that I had never hunted.
Yes, I'll take private land everyday of the week.
Quote from: Flydown on June 08, 2012, 05:48:20 PM
Advantage? We shoo away our share of poachers and like I said we hunt this track Every day of or 47 day season. What is the differerance in hunting public land? Still not convinced why there is a difference?
If I was a turkey I wouldn't want you and Ronnie hunting me every day. The only thing I would say is if you hunt an area a lot you get to know the land like the back of your hand. You know different trees to use or dips in the ground cover or obstacles and even know where the turkeys are going and such. But you could also get that if you hunted the same piece of public land every day.
TRKYHTR
I don't care for the public vs. private debate. Private land is nice, but I like the amount of territory that comes with NF and feel that can be an advantage over private. I don't usually look at it in an "its easier here than there" or a "my birds are tougher than yours" sense. I got my butt handed to me on public land this year, but I didn't chalk it up to public land is tougher than private. I try to play with the hand thats been dealt and just leave at the turkeys either win or I do instead of a "I could have done better on private".
Advantage: How many food plots do you have? How many areas do you cut to make a place for them to hang out. I understand that poachers are poachers, but they are probably not there every day, in droves. All public land is not equal, I will grant you, but given the choice, I doubt that many would opt for it if they had an abundance of private land to hunt..
1,000 plus acres of private or public land would give me a woody!
Too many factors to call. I will say not all private land hunting is easy and not all public land hunting is hard.
I hunted 19 days this year combined between 5 states of public and private land. Here are the stats.
9 days on private land = 6 dead turkeys
10 days on public land = 7 dead turkeys
With them stats I would say it's pretty much even.
Private land.Although you have the occassional poacher/tresspasser ,you also have knowledgeable hunters such as yourself and your invited guests. You know how and where to set up.
Public land .While you do have knowledgeable hunters you are going to have more than your share of novices that dont know a buck snort from a gobble. They hear you calling and they come running one way and your bird just took off the other way.
If given a choice I will hunt 10 acres of private over 100 acres of public everyday.
Hunting 47 days on a familiar private 1000 acres in a good spot should easily produce 8-12 longbeards. I expect similar results on public land in a good spot. The problem with private around here is the size. The biggest piece of private I have is 400 acres, and most pieces being in the 100 to 150 acre range, and some as small as 40 acres. And even though it's private there are still other paying members hunting these tracts. It's don't take many hunters on a 400 acre tract before it gets crowded. I've heard the debate between private and public and hunt both. From my experience success depends more on the hunter than whether it's private or public. And I take the bet you can't kill one here challenge every year from someone.
If you're a killer, you will adapt and overcome.
I'll take advice from the guy who kills 15 private land turkeys a year over the public hunter who kills 2. Why? Because the guy who kills the most has the most intimate knowledge of his quarry, has more regular interaction with turkeys and knows more about executing on opportunities when he encounters them.
A killer is a killer, public or private. A wanna be is a wanna be. The turkeys are all the same, the habitat and pressure just alter their behavior regardless of the public or private status of a piece of ground.
Quote from: VaTuRkStOmPeR on June 08, 2012, 07:55:49 PM
If you're a killer, you will adapt and overcome.
I'll take advice from the guy who kills 15 private land turkeys a year over the public hunter who kills 2. Why? Because the guy who kills the most has the most intimate knowledge of his quarry, has more regular interaction with turkeys and knows more about executing on opportunities when he encounters them.
A killer is a killer, public or private. A wanna be is a wanna be. The turkeys are all the same, the habitat and pressure just alter their behavior regardless of the public or private status of a piece of ground.
Now I really like that explanation right there.
Turkeys don't know whether they live on public or private land. They don't even pay rent. We are blessed here in the CHAMPION state with lots of public land. Come on and get some.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
See if this makes since. . . .
Is a public land turkey harder to kill than a private land turkey? No
Is it harder to kill a public land turkey than a private land turkey? Yes
Think hard.
Quote from: Covehnter on June 08, 2012, 09:30:22 PM
See if this makes since. . . .
Is a public land turkey harder to kill than a private land turkey? No
Is it harder to kill a public land turkey than a private land turkey? Yes
Think hard.
I agree and disagree. If I have sole permission on a piece of private ground then yes I agree. But if I'm in a club with a few true turkey killers and a few more wanna be's that hunt all the time then I believe it can be tougher than public land. A lot of times on public land you have the opportunity to approach a bird from several different areas. A lot of times on private ground you have to deal with property lines and limited access to work a bird as well
Quote from: Covehnter on June 08, 2012, 09:30:22 PM
See if this makes since. . . .
Is a public land turkey harder to kill than a private land turkey? No
Is it harder to kill a public land turkey than a private land turkey? Yes
Think hard.
I've thought as hard as I'm capable, and it makes no sense to me at all. I agree it takes the same amount of truama to kill either one, so I agree the answer to the first question is No. What don't make sense to me is question number two. I'd say the answer to it is also No.
I used to think there was a huge advantage with hunting private land, but after what y'all dealt with this season my mind has changed. Y'all had the gas company, loggers, and the farmer out there just about everyday tromping around your place. It may not be hunting pressure but it definitely affected the turkeys and y'all still killed them consistently.
Add on top of that the weather and the way the breeding season was this year. It wasn't any different than public land. Y'all learned, adapted, and killed.
Having said all that though, I would still come hunt your place over a WMA any day.
Quote from: Gut_Pile on June 08, 2012, 09:42:24 PM
Quote from: Covehnter on June 08, 2012, 09:30:22 PM
See if this makes since. . . .
Is a public land turkey harder to kill than a private land turkey? No
Is it harder to kill a public land turkey than a private land turkey? Yes
Think hard.
I agree and disagree. If I have sole permission on a piece of private ground then yes I agree. But if I'm in a club with a few true turkey killers and a few more wanna be's that hunt all the time then I believe it can be tougher than public land. A lot of times on public land you have the opportunity to approach a bird from several different areas. A lot of times on private ground you have to deal with property lines and limited access to work a bird as well
With public land it's the unknown. You dont know who else is hunting your birds. You dont know the other hunters schedule, when they take vacation or have any clue when to expect them that you often do with clubs. You also never know if another hunter has killed a bird that you have become familiar with and often the word gets out on a club so you know to move your target. But I do see your point when considering a club with several active turkey hunters, especially if they're killers.
Quote from: guesswho on June 08, 2012, 09:48:46 PM
Quote from: Covehnter on June 08, 2012, 09:30:22 PM
See if this makes since. . . .
Is a public land turkey harder to kill than a private land turkey? No
Is it harder to kill a public land turkey than a private land turkey? Yes
Think hard.
I've thought as hard as I'm capable, and it makes no sense to me at all. I agree it takes the same amount of truama to kill either one, so I agree the answer to the first question is No. What don't make sense to me is question number two. I'd say the answer to it is also No.
Question 1: No, because a turkey is a turkey is a turkey. They dont know if they're on private or public. They will do their spring time thing, some of them have spring time 'things' that get them to the gun barrel more readily than others, I think of it more like an attitude. Its unique for each bird and why it may have been influenced by something, its more just a chance thing IMO.
Question 2: Yes, because it's the non turkey factors you have thrown into the equation when hunting public land that must be dealt with. The interference from other hunters issue being the most obvious. To kill a public land bird you must beat the others, then the bird. The bird itself is no different.
There is nothing easy about hunting a turkey anywhere
Public hunters have the nuisance of dealing with some real idiots , I would say the turkeys even is the most insanely pressured areas are not the problem , its the people -
If your referring to Lease hunting as private property , that too can pose some serious issues like dealing with other lease holders that like to crowd you or feel entitled to act like they own the place even though they don't - plus lets not forget about the money , leases are not cheap
Private land that is owned straight out , is where the action is , who cares if there is numerous or less than numerous turkeys at least you don't have to deal with the hassle of other people , unless they have feeders circling your property - best situation is a large tract like this adjacent to more tracts with little on no hunting pressure - A hunter in this situation should wake up every morning feeling blessed by the good Lord if you are in this situation , because you are one of the very few
Old gobbler you make a good point. Leased land and totaly private land are 2 seperate scenarios. Its one thing to hunt a 1000 acres by yourself and decide how you should hunt it. Its another thing to be part of a lease where 10 other people are hunting that 1000 acres and everyone has different ideas on how you should hunt it.
I am in 2 different leases and both are heavily hunted.
Quote from: Old Gobbler on June 08, 2012, 10:30:48 PM
There is nothing easy about hunting a turkey anywhere
Public hunters have the nuisance of dealing with some real idiots , I would say the turkeys even is the most insanely pressured areas are not the problem , its the people -
If your referring to Lease hunting as private property , that too can pose some serious issues like dealing with other lease holders that like to crowd you or feel entitled to act like they own the place even though they don't - plus lets not forget about the money , leases are not cheap
Private land that is owned straight out , is where the action is , who cares if there is numerous or less than numerous turkeys at least you don't have to deal with the hassle of other people , unless they have feeders circling your property - best situation is a large tract like this adjacent to more tracts with little on no hunting pressure - A hunter in this situation should wake up every morning feeling blessed by the good Lord if you are in this situation , because you are one of the very few
:z-winnersmiley:
I would also add that not all public land is equal either. There is a far cry of difference between the pressure a public land turkey receives in my home state of Louisiana and the pressure they receive in some of the western states. Unless you have hunted both, then you don't have an adequate frame of reference.
But to answer the question, I would take 1,000 acres of private over 100,000 acres of public depending upon what other factors are at play.
If you are fortunate enough to hunt public land 47 days straight, you will kill turkeys there as well. One of the main keys is being able to pattern the birds on a daily basis.
I also want to say what is the difference between pressure from other hunters or coyotes?
What is the difference between land owners and hunters?
What is the difference between another hunter and a trespasser?
Any and all can ruin a hunt on private just as much as public. I hunted all private land this year except one day. Each piece allowed anyone to hunt, didn't really even have to ask, but none of the owners was going to call the law for a trespasser.
Still say turkey hunting is turkey hunting.
Have you ever considered hunting public land on the first morning of the first day of season? I would bet not, if you had 1000 acres of your own to hunt. This subject is about as arbitrary as it gets, but in my humble opinion, anybody that is forced to hunt public land only, would trade places with you in a heartbeat. I would be the first in line..
Quote from: Flydown on June 08, 2012, 05:24:01 PM
If you had 1000 acres of private land to turkey hunt and you hunted it every single day of your turkey season and consistantly killed turkeys would it still be considered easy or would it be kinda the same as hunting 100,000 acres of public land and killing turkeys every day? Just curious what you guys think?
I don't know, but I'd probably take that 1000 acres of private land (especially if I had exclusive access to it) over 100,000 acres of public land any day. The ultimate goal for me is to get close to turkeys, and the fewer obstacles that get in the way, the better. Would it be considered "easier"? Probably...but I wouldn't give two sh#ts what everybody else thought. ;)
Quote from: Covehnter on June 08, 2012, 10:30:04 PM
Question 2: Yes, because it's the non turkey factors you have thrown into the equation when hunting public land that must be dealt with. The interference from other hunters issue being the most obvious. To kill a public land bird you must beat the others, then the bird. The bird itself is no different.
You mean like the land owner on his tractor for a week straight, or the neighbors dog's running wild, neighbors kid's riding fourwheelers all over the property, or other lease holders hunting the same bird your hunting ect. For every obstacle you have to deal with on public land you have one to deal with on private leased. Unless you have exclusive use of the private property.
Some Public land hunts are like a private lease. Some of your special op hunts in Florida are on primo land, loaded with birds and with very limited access. Some of those places receive less hunting pressure than a lot of private lands. Maybe I'm getting private and leased private land mixed up.
I hunt both so I know what it's like on both sides of the fence and understand the challenges each has to offer . I kill about 60% of the birds I kill on private/leased and 40% on public access land. Again in my opinion success depends more on the hunter than what kind of property they hunt.
That's an easy one.
1000 private acres where I consistently killed turkeys, or 100,000 public acres where I consistently killed turkeys.
All things considered, my success rate would be the same. So why pay for private land access for 1000 acres when you can roam 100,000 public acres for next to nothing? Now if the success rate was different, then I'd opt for the place with the better success, regardless of it was the private land or public.
If you kill one every day it is easy no matter where you hunt. Sometimes it is, nothing wrong w/that. Time to go more primitive and make it more challenging in my opinion.
"If you kill one every day it is easy no matter where you hunt."
I agree completely with that assessment. If you can kill a bird every day where ever you hunt, you are in for a reality check if and when you hunt places that are truly a challenge. Hunting ability alone does not allow anyone to kill a bird every day anywhere, either public or private, unless there are lots of turkeys and those turkeys are the morons of the turkey world
Not only that, but if you have 1000 acres where you can kill 47 birds, or even a third of that, every year and not experience a real impact in the hunting quality, you are hunting in a turkey factory. Anybody that has had only that kind of situation has not had the pleasure of hunting turkeys in "real world" conditions.
Thank you guys for all the great responces and I agree that having a lease of land has its advantages,no doubt! We do a lot of work all year long preparing our place for hunting. We also spend a lot of time all year long walking our WMA'S and National Forest lands around here. What we have learned about our public lands is you have to be willing to walk that extra mile that most around here will not do and we have been very succesfull on public land as well as our lease. Turkey hunting is what you put into it and prepare for. We do our homework all year, every year and are rewarded for the blood and sweat we put into the passion we both share in turkey hunting. We get our butts kicked by turkeys a lot, but we also do our share of kicking theirs on public or private land. Again,thank you for the great responces guys! I hope you all have a great summer! :icon_thumright:
Quote from: AngryBird on June 08, 2012, 06:53:24 PM
1,000 plus acres of private or public land would give me a woody!
:agreed: the new "green pill"
Quote from: TRKYHTR on June 08, 2012, 06:02:29 PM
if you hunt an area a lot you get to know the land like the back of your hand. You know different trees to use or dips in the ground cover or obstacles and even know where the turkeys are going and such. But you could also get that if you hunted the same piece of public land every day.
TRKYHTR
Joe, this is by far, in my opinion,
THE most important key to success in killing turkeys consistently day after day, year after year.
Go often, very often, the more you go the more you learn, the more you learn the more you're gonna kill......I guarantee it.
And for those who get tired of hunting the same tract over and over, well, all of those days of going and learning "turkey", apply to a days hunt elsewhere as well, beit public or private.
HC