Dirty pool

[Rick Howard]

I have a good one for ya folks.  First I want to say, I believe everyone has every right to hunt public land.  I do not get frustrated with people walking into an area I am hunting.  That happens when hunting on public land and sometimes your the one doing the walking in.  Its just part of hunting public ground.  I do believe in the "first there rule" though.  Your there first... its your spot till ya leave it.   

I am sure folks have heard this before, I do not believe this goof off invented something new, but it was a first for me.  As I pulled into the parking area for the spot I wished to hunt this morning, another fella pulled in right behind me.  He proceeded to tell me he had been hunting this area for 4 straight days and the only birds were in the front section of the property.  I said well that is good if your hunting there because I am heading all the way to the back.  He replied, "oh no I am just giving you a heads up.  I am hunting down the road."  I said thank you and good luck.  He replied the same.  However, I proceeded with my original plan.  I have been hunting this area for several years and have been watching birds where I intended to hunt since the end of April and up to this point.  It is fair to say I know this place prior to, during, and post season pretty well.

After about a 25 minute walk, I got to my spot looking over a travel route and a place I have been seeing them strut.  I sat back had some sips of my favorite caffeinated beverage and waited for the gobble.  Right on Q the old tom told me where he is at.  He was a bit farther away than I had hoped.  As the season progresses the birds seem to roost farther into the private property that borders the public land.  Making it tougher there is a cut CRP field that is the border so getting close the roost is difficult to impossible.  I am getting off track though.  That is not the story.  Back on track, I began lightly tree calling hoping he would hear and answer me.  I am sure you all guessed.  Over the rise comes the fella who was being so helpful just an hour ago and his buddy in toe.  They drove around the property and headed into the area from a different side.  They began yelping at this gobbler.  I sat back to see what might happen.  After no response from the bird the fellas started moving closer.  Finally they saw me.  Then turned and walked back the direction they came from.  So now the bird gobbles again.  I start tree calling again and these jokers start yelping right over the top of me.  I am no expert but I am pretty sure they are blowing the morning for both of us on these highly pressured birds.  I stuck around for a few hours but had to leave early for some work stuff.

LOL I learned a little something today about turkey hunting.  Not so much from the kind of turkey I was after.  I am not knocking public land.  If I did not want to hunt there...  I wouldn't.  But I wanted to share the story for a chuckle.  Maybe it will serve another fella to avoid being duped.  If this type of thing does not pan out for these types of people.  They might just give up.     

[FL-Boss]

We hear these stories every day... and to be honest I would rather NOT hunt turkeys at all if I was limited to just public land. Just opinion, but there is no way I could/would put up with that. Plus to me it has always seemed unsafe not knowing the other hunters.  That's saying a lot because there aren't many things I love more than turkey hunting. 

I know many hunters can only hunt public land.  But I will always come up with a way to make an extra few bucks to get into a private lease.... or to pay a farmer to hunt his land for a few months.   At least there I know who I'm dealing with ... and 90% don't turkey hunt around here. So after the first week ... I have the entire club to myself in most cases.

I know this is different depending on where you live... I'm just speaking for my area. Some states/clubs I'm sure it's worse..

[outdoors]

YUP I UNDERSTAND ALL TO WELL . 

[Greg Massey]

Keep trying its better than not hunting at all...
Be safe...I agree first come is the way it should of been...

[njdevilsb]

I don't hunt public land much at all so I don't really have any similar stories.  The public land we do hunt on rare occasion has a private piece on one side that is separated by a seasonal use road.  We have had people drive down and stop to look at the birds on the private field that we had coming our way.  We also had one guy who wasn't even hunting come down with an electric gobble call and play it to the birds we were working.

Sometimes you just have to sit back and chuckle at the situation and it's expected from time to time on public land.  It seems like you took your experience well.

[howl]

Don't sound that bad, really. Keep after 'em!

[101st501]

I posted in another thread that I have never had a bad experience on public land.  However, I only hunt one specific WMA and it is very small considering the one that is not even 30 minutes down the road.  The other WMA down the road is very large and popular and it is a quota hunt for the first two weeks of season and then open to all hunters.  I only have to deal with a crowd for the first few days of the season and then it is not uncommon for me to be the only hunter on the other place.

[ridgerunner]

It happens some people have no hunting ethics..I've dealt with it many times on Public Lands , it happens.

[Gooserbat]

The first thing I look for on public is a bird that can't be heard from the road.

[jblackburn]

We hear these stories every day... and to be honest I would rather NOT hunt turkeys at all if I was limited to just public land. Just opinion, but there is no way I could/would put up with that. Plus to me it has always seemed unsafe not knowing the other hunters.  That's saying a lot because there aren't many things I love more than turkey hunting. 

I know many hunters can only hunt public land.  But I will always come up with a way to make an extra few bucks to get into a private lease.... or to pay a farmer to hunt his land for a few months.   At least there I know who I'm dealing with ... and 90% don't turkey hunt around here. So after the first week ... I have the entire club to myself in most cases.

I know this is different depending on where you live... I'm just speaking for my area. Some states/clubs I'm sure it's worse..

From my limited experience hunting leases as a guest, they are nearly as bad as public ground.  40 guys paying for 5000 acres of timber company land criss crossed with roads for access?  I'll take walk in public ground and go deeper than the average guy

[RutnNStrutn]

I hunt public land in FLA, because an average Joe like me cannot afford good private land here due to the cost associated with hunting Osceolas. It took me several years, but I learned what WMA's within driving range of my house are worth hunting. I've learned those areas very well over the years, and hike/bike to remote areas of these WMA's. I do quite well and have had some awesome hunts, and killed some nice gobblers. Most of the time I don't run into guys like you wrote about (we call them Wally's ). Occasionally I do, and occasionally they cost me a gobbler. That's the breaks of hunting public. But if you do your homework, and put in the extra effort, you can still have a great hunt. Good luck on the rest of your season!

[Rick Howard]

I am not disagreeing or being defensive.  I do my homework.  I scout all year long.  I am a avid coyote hunter and spend my oct-March coyote hunting them which doubles as scouting.  I spend april scouting turkey exclusively and pretty hard.  Our turkey season starts in May. So I hunt then (which is a form of scouting to me). I scout June-spetember for coyote and turkey.  Public land in my part of NY is sparse.  Also most are small 2500 acre parcels.  Walking to the middle does you almost no good as most folks are willing to make that trek.  I do find some places that are lightly pressured or tougher to access and hunt there if the turkey are there.  This particular WMA is a bird refuge popular with bird watchers so no matter how far you walk there is always a trail or service road. 

I hunt private land also but enjoy a change scenery often so I hunt public land too.  I am fortunate, now, to have a job that allows me to hunt every morning of NY turkey season.  So I pretty much do that.  Hunting the same spots can get old so I mix it up.  Yes... I scout all the spots I hunt.

Like many have said.  This stuff happens and it does not ruin it for me.  In fact it got a little chuckle out of it.  I will be back for that bird.