Tips for Hunting State Land

Like me, you might be one of the unlucky hunters that does not have permission to hunt a decent piece of private land. Therefore, you either have to give up hunting, or resort to hunting public land. If I had my preference, I certainly would hunt private land, but that's not an option for me. Hunting state (or more generally, public) land is definitely more difficult than private land. In addition to the challenges of Mother Nature, you have to battle the other hunters crowding the woods. However, it's not an impossible task.

Below is a list of tips I've learned from successful and unsuccessful state land hunting:

1. Have a plan B: If I have to hunt state land, I like to have two pieces of property in mind before I set out. Connecticut is a small state, so there will be two pieces of hunting-eligible state land within a reasonable driving distance from where you want to hunt. First I scope out my primary location. If there are too many cars, I immediately leave and go to my secondary location. If the secondary location has a lot of cars, the only alternative is to deal with it. However, giving yourself two options will improve your changes to avoid other people.
2. Avoid Saturday: For obvious reasons, Saturday is the busiest day in the state forests. You will greatly improve your odds of having the woods to yourself if you take a day off and go during the week.
3. Go deep: The conventional wisdom is that most hunters set up within 1/4 mile of the parking lot. If you really want to avoid the crowds, you need to be willing to walk farther into the woods.
4. Go high: Many hunters will avoid areas that require hiking up hills. You can avoid the crowds by picking a spot with a steep climb.
5. Do some people scouting: Even though the state publishes all the hunting-eligible areas, there are still small state-owned areas that are unknown to a lot of people. Do some scouting during the season to find a less crowded area.

Finally, no matter what you do, you may not be able to get away from other hunters. In that case, the only option is to make the best of it. Most likely the animals are there. Maybe you'll be the lucky one.