Public lands are an excellent way to open up the great outdoors to everyone and introduce new hunters to the lifestyle. Seeing new hunters enter the woods is a great achievement for conservation. With all the extra traffic in the forest, you should keep in mind some safety precautions and hunting tactics when you encounter other hunters in the field.

Safety Precautions

With the extra presence in the woods, it’s important to be alert and safe. Review your state’s regulations on wearing hunter orange and make sure you wear a piece of blaze orange if necessary and required. This will help alert other hunters to your presence in the woods without spooking the deer. Deer have much fewer cones in their retinas than humans do, which impairs their ability to see certain colors. Hunter orange turns brown or grey. So, someone might think that such a bright color would give you away to deer, but the science shows that they won’t be able to detect it as easily as we do. It’s important to let other hunters know you’re in the area as you walk to your Stump blind. Once in your Stump blind, you’ll be completely concealed to the deer thanks to the camouflage exterior, Stealth Screen and stump shape.

It’s also important never to hunt too close to another hunter. If you are hunting in the same general area, make sure you are side-by-side and not facing each other. You absolutely do not want to be in the other hunter’s range. Even if you’re hunting side-by-side, make sure there is enough distance between you and the other hunter so that you’re not competing for the same deer. When there’s plenty of land to go around there’s no reason to fight over the same spot.

Hunting Tactics

If there’s an increase in traffic, you’ll probably want to avoid any areas that have been heavily pressured. A good strategy is to head deeper in the woods if there’s a large group of hunters at the front. The pressure from the larger group will likely force the deer deeper into the woods to escape, so if you’re one of the only hunters in that area when they make their move, you’ll likely have a successful harvest.

Setting up trail cameras is a good way to monitor an area for deer behavior as well as the traffic of other hunters. Check your state’s regulations to make sure placing trail cameras on public land is legal.

Our Stump blinds, like the Stump Ice, are easy to move from place to place as you try to figure out the spot with the least pressure. The Stump Ice will also allow you to transition from this fall hunting season into the winter ice fishing season with ease.

Conservation is an important part of our ecosystem and anyone who wants to begin harvesting their own wild game for their table should be encouraged to do so. As more and more people become interested in hunting, keep an eye out and make sure you’re following safety precautions in the woods. Try to avoid hunting pressure by choosing another location if one is too crowded. As long as you remain flexible and follow these guidelines, you’ll have a successful hunting season along with all the hunters.

What do’s and don’ts do you follow when hunting on public land? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

 

1 Comment

  1. BC on February 20, 2024 at 11:05 am

    Come opening day for deer and elk, the more popular hunting areas are filled like a Black Friday sale at the mall. I wear a minimum of a hunter orange vest for safety sake. Experience has taught me “Spot & Stock” hunting is the only technic that works best on public land. Be prepared to hike 5-10 miles a day, depending upon the hunting pressure. Truthfully, I enjoy the “cat & mouse” game of hunting.

Leave a Comment