these are just a couple of questions that i've been wondering about. How many hunters are there approximately in the U.s? where do i find out how much public hunting land is still available? is there more or less land still available than their was 10 years ago? do you think land will be overfilled by hunters sitting shoulder in shoulder when hunting?or are hunters going to be wide spread? finally, am i an idiot for asking stupid questions?

answer in order

thanks

 

How many hunters are there approximately in the U.s
I do not know- I know that Texas and PA are usually the states with the most hunters and they are right near 1 million each year.

where do i find out how much public hunting land is still available?
You can check with the state or look at maps. Most states have some sort of public land that they lease also, here in Michigan it is called HAP (hunters access program), but check with the DNR for the state you are looking at and they will be able to provide more information.

is there more or less land still available than their was 10 years ago?
Again, this is state specific. Here in Michigan I think the number has actually increased slightly, especially if you count the Federal forests, Commerical Forest lands (CFL).

do you think land will be overfilled by hunters sitting shoulder in shoulder when hunting?or are hunters going to be wide spread?

I hunt state lands in PA each year. Most of the hunters are lazy, and since they do not allow wheeled vehicles on there hunting lands if you are willing to work you will find you have quite a bit of open land to hunt. Out west, I have hunted Montana and Utah, and barely saw anyone. But there is lots of land out there- we were hunting a section of which was 1 million acres... Here in southern Michigan on opening day- very crowded- luckily I have private land to hunt here.

No stupid questions....as far as I am concerned.

Marshall

 

basically turning 3 questions in to one is...... Is there alot of land in the U.s?
and you said there is, i believe there is too, in wisconsin many people do not use atvs but if they have it i guess they would use it, but i see no point in using it, i don't want to make the deer aware that i am there, or any animal for that matter.


thanks for the answers

 

I agree- I can not think of anyone that has shot a deer from an ATV. I am sure that there has been some but for me- I like to enter the woods quietly and hunt to my stand site or back to camp from my stand.

Good luck-

Marsh

 

it would be nice to just drive out to the stand, but you never know, you could be scaring a record buck away, they have pretty good hearing, from hundreds of yards away.....

 

I still hunt quite a bit out to my stands and have shot about 20 deer while traveling to and from my stands. Especially with my rifles. I usually, sit for aobut 2 hours then start to pick my way through the woods. Great way to hunt with a partner too.... little two man still hunts have produced many nice bucks for me and my usual hunting buddy in Michigan and PA. Also connected on a nice 5 x 5 on a trip to Utah.... We did however ride the quads to an area where we started hunting..... ended up, at 4 o'clock about 3 miles from the quads..... Was a pain packing that elk out... but well worth it.

Marsh

 

yes, i sit about 4 -6 hours at a stand and i am about 4 miles from my truck. i use code blue scent, i put some on the bottom of my boots, and your guarenteed to get a buck or two. i have not shot a doe yet, i go for the nice trophys, it depends on what kind of tag i get, i usually get just one for buck and one for doe....

 

Last bow season I rode up on a small buck just off the trail about 15 yards. I shut the machine off, hopped off and acted as though I was going to shoot it. I did not knock and arrow, but I drew my bow back and sighted down the string. The deer never even acted like I was there, it just kept eating acorns. I was fully camo'd, but still. I could have shot him no with no problem off the atv, but I opted not to. I think it depends alot on how much the deer here and see atv's.

 

Must be one of those show me state deer LOL... Deer on our hunting lands here in Michigan see a ATV and they are off and running. No looking back at all....

Marshall

 

LOL, I agree this was a strange situation for me. The deer here usually run off when they see or hear an ATV, but not this lil guy, he didn't care one way or the other. You know that would never happen with a trophy size buck, or even a muture doe.