Deer hunting public land pointers

I am looking to start hunting again. Public land is my only option so what should I look for when scouting hunting swamp areas? My problem is I have had in the past is people would walk in on me and felt like the day was wasted. I live in Kimberly looking for places close that I could get info on to try out?

I do a lot of deer hunting on public property. I set up ladder stands and tripods on crearcut paper mill land. We actually rely on other hunters to walk around and make noise getting the deer moving around. Get there before they do and pack a lunch. Most of the deer I've shot were running because of other loud hunters. Use them to your advantage. And plenty of range time cause you need to out shoot them too...

summers off I would have to disagree somewhat. We used to go hunt the big public swamps every opening day of pheasant hunting. One of the 3 of us would always get a deer. In large area's some people to move the deer isn't always bad.

"Avoid squirrel hunters. If you pull up and see some hondas or toyotas, go to the next spot. Sorry if people are offended but its true." Ignorance is bliss.

I actually prefer the opposite of the death March into the middle of the public property. I killed my first buck on public property and I was 40yds from the parking lot. Not a monster, but a decent 9pt. 2 years ago I patterned 2 really nice bucks on public land. They were coming out from public and crossing a paved road to a private ag field. Since they were crossing the road before dark I knew they weren't bedding to far into cover. I set us up 50 yds off the paved road and had both bucks at 10yds just before shooting time....but they came in behind us...no shot. Moral of the story is, often the area nearest the parking lot and roads is the least hunted part of public land...at least for bow season.

Now is a great time to do some scouting on marsh areas. They are frozen enough to walk on, but the snow isn't too deep yet by Kimberly. Look for good habitat, but don't freak out if there aren't a lot of fresh tracks. Deer are now working over their winter food sources, which may not be where they are in the fall.

Figure out where the deer bed and get between that and the other hunters. You have to account for the deer and other people. You may think its unethical to cut people off, but once someone cuts you off you'll feel differently about it lol. Listen to what others say at the parking lot with a grain of salt. They may say they have not shot a deer in 5 years to throw you off, or they may just be bad at what they do. I've had guys tell me that already at places where I shot deer every year. Find out yourself if there are deer there. Avoid squirrel hunters. If you pull up and see some hondas or toyotas, go to the next spot. Sorry if people are offended but its true. My best memory of public land hunting so far has got to be when a guy came in and was going to climb a tree 10 yards from me. I whistled at him and he moved out to 30 yards away. I was between him and where the deer came from so I didn't care much, but you'll run into guys once in a while who think that is an acceptable distance. I basically had the last climbable tree on a thick edge. Only saw 1 that day and it was a doe fawn. It walked by me at 10 yards and started in that guy's direction. I watched him draw his bow and he was moving all around like he was trying to get a shot at it in some stupid way. He never did let one fly, but I think he really wanted to. Quite the clueless guy, you'll find them on public land. It was quite comical to watch though. My guess is his pin covered up the whole deer since it was about 50 lbs.

I would say hike in farther than you would think anyone else would go and then find the thickest stuff you can find. That should put you in a starting place. Winter, with the snow is a great time to see tracks/beds. However, no matter how far you walk back you will eventually run into others. There are good deer out on public just be persistent and one will eventually come by. Good luck out there!

There is a DVD out there for scouting and hunting marshes called Hunting Marsh Bucks. It's mostly geared towards how to set up on larger bucks in public marshes. A lot of good information and has definitely helped me get onto deer more frequently on the public around where I hunt.

If you find any public land that people dont walk into your spot at some point I thinkyou might tresspasing . Lol I hunt public to it dont matter were I go how far back I go someone follows me in at some point