Region B public land hunt

SouthernRob · Nov 9, 2019

Got a few questions for you guys. As I have posted before. I am new to the area and this will be my first time ever hunting.
I will be solo rifle hunting in one of the public land areas in region B for white tail. I have seen the reports on what counties produce the most deer but nothing on which public lands may be better then others.
Anyone have any advice or tips to get me through my first adventure?

SavageShooter · Nov 9, 2019

Good luck to you. You don't know who is on public land and how they hunt. The land is usually high pressure hunted. I've heard to many stories of people almost getting shot. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones who has private land to hunt on. I'm a mountain hunter in region A. Can't speak for region B. If I were you I'd try to join a club with private land. Check out the website www.marylandwhitetail.net mostly flatland eastern shore hunters on there. Be careful and good luck!

AlBeight · Nov 9, 2019

SouthernRob said:
Got a few questions for you guys. As I have posted before. I am new to the area and this will be my first time ever hunting.
I will be solo rifle hunting in one of the public land areas in region B for white tail. I have seen the reports on what counties produce the most deer but nothing on which public lands may be better then others.
Anyone have any advice or tips to get me through my first adventure?

Check your rulebook as there are very few public lands in Region B that you can “rifle hunt” as stated. Most are shotgun only, with a few possible exceptions. Region A would be a better bet for that. While on the DNR website, look for whitetail harvest report, If I wasn’t in bed about to zonk out I’d find it and link it for you, that’ll tell you harvest by public land, so you can tell which ones are the “best” as you put it. Best of luck to you.

Silverlax · Nov 10, 2019

I hunt public land a lot for region B. What areas are you looking to hunt? I was always told horror stories of people being on top of each other on public land but I have yet to see that. I've only run into another hunter twice over the last two years. I hunt bow season but I will still wear an orange hat just in case.

lazarus · Nov 10, 2019

The less pressured ones are going to be those during archery or muzzleloader hunting and during the week rather than weekend. For example Patuxent state park during archery I occasionally will see another hunters truck in one of the parking areas. I think I’ve run in to a hunter twice, once in the parking lot out of a few years of archery hunting deer there or squirrel hunting or winter turkey hunting.

Muzzleloader hunting I’ve run in to other hunters a few times and see a few trucks in the lots on the first day of early season (Thursday). A bit more the second day. A fair number the last day, Saturday. In the late season I don’t think I’ve seen shunted on a week day for muzzleloader.

Firearm season I see a minimum of 2x as many hunters there on a Saturday. No way I’d hunt it in the early season on a Saturday. Weekdays it’s usually just a couple of trucks and maybe I’ll see a hunter.

Late ML as mentioned never seen someone during the week (I think I’ve seen a truck there once). Saturday’s I see a few trucks and a couple of hunters. Never hunted it late gun season. I usually do Eastern Shore then and see a few at the places I hunt. But a dozen hunters on 2000+ acres isn’t too terrible. Have seen over armed gun bunnies at Nanticoke before (I am sure the guy carrying two shotguns in to the woods with his unarmed buddy isn’t about to hand over one of them once they are in the woods. Nothing fishy about that. Or that one of them has an orange hat and that’s it. Only seen it the one time though.

Usually I run in to super nice guys.

Pale Ryder · Nov 10, 2019

+1 on the weekday hunts. Used to hunt Cunningham Falls a lot. Got so crowded on opening day, I quit going, but I was there the following Monday, and a few other days during the week. Just got to be to much of a commute.

Like someone else stated. Check the Guide, because a lot of Region B is shotgun only.

bigmanindc · Nov 10, 2019

SouthernRob said:
Got a few questions for you guys. As I have posted before. I am new to the area and this will be my first time ever hunting.
I will be solo rifle hunting in one of the public land areas in region B for white tail. I have seen the reports on what counties produce the most deer but nothing on which public lands may be better then others.
Anyone have any advice or tips to get me through my first adventure?

Only Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester counties are rifle areas!

rseymorejr · Nov 10, 2019

bigmanindc said:
Only Caroline, Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset and Worcester counties are rifle areas!

How about Cecil, Carroll, Frederick, Washington in Zone B?

Doco Overboard · Nov 10, 2019

I travel around and hunt a lot of different areas in the mid shore. A number of public lands are right by the house. I see very few people hunting them and when I do theirs usually not enough people in the woods to even begin to get the deer to move which is what you want. Late season I see deer and sometimes I don't think they (the deer) even know its hunting season on public land.
Every year I find out some of the biggest bucks come off of public. North Tara and Marshyhope come to mind right away. They can live back in there for 3-5 years before they get creamed.
Hunter density is however very high at those locations but sometimes you need that to score big. Majority of other tracts are not hunted regularly.

bigmanindc · Nov 10, 2019

rseymorejr said:
How about Cecil, Carroll, Frederick, Washington in Zone B?

Had to look at map again, I didn't realize region B was so large its practilly all of MD

Silverlax · Nov 10, 2019

Doco Overboard said:
I travel around and hunt a lot of different areas in the mid shore. A number of public lands are right by the house. I see very few people hunting them and when I do theirs usually not enough people in the woods to even begin to get the deer to move which is what you want. Late season I see deer and sometimes I don't think they (the deer) even know its hunting season on public land.
Every year I find out some of the biggest bucks come off of public. North Tara and Marshyhope come to mind right away. They can live back in there for 3-5 years before they get creamed.
Hunter density is however very high at those locations but sometimes you need that to score big. Majority of other tracts are not hunted regularly.

I walked down there (at marshyhope) to where the waterfowl hunting area is last year and saw the biggest 10 pt I’ve ever seen across the creek walking along the shoreline. Got my first wood Duck there too.

AlBeight · Nov 12, 2019

rseymorejr said:
How about Cecil, Carroll, Frederick, Washington in Zone B?

Nope, absolutely all public land is shotgun only, except for Hanover Watershed in Carroll (which has proven nearly impossible to book over the last few years). Reservations required via phone-in or walk-in to Gwynnbrook office of DNR, along with the $35 managed hunt permit and free Central Region permit issued thru Gwynnbrook DNR.

LGood48 · Nov 12, 2019

rseymorejr said:
How about Cecil, Carroll, Frederick, Washington in Zone B?

AlBeight said:
Nope, absolutely all public land is shotgun only, except for Hanover Watershed in Carroll (which has proven nearly impossible to book over the last few years). Reservations required via phone-in or walk-in to Gwynnbrook office of DNR, along with the $35 managed hunt permit and free Central Region permit issued thru Gwynnbrook DNR.

According to the map, many of area B is both rifle and shotgun. I have a friend that hunts Elk Neck yearly with a rifle.

rseymorejr · Nov 12, 2019

AlBeight said:
Nope, absolutely all public land is shotgun only, except for Hanover Watershed in Carroll (which has proven nearly impossible to book over the last few years). Reservations required via phone-in or walk-in to Gwynnbrook office of DNR, along with the $35 managed hunt permit and free Central Region permit issued thru Gwynnbrook DNR.

Indian Springs, in Washington County (Zone B) is absolutely a rifle area

AlBeight · Nov 12, 2019

LGoodwin said:
According to the map, many of area B is both rifle and shotgun. I have a friend that hunts Elk Neck yearly with a rifle.

Not rifle counties, rifle on public lands. Not many of them in B.

AlBeight · Nov 12, 2019

rseymorejr said:
Indian Springs, in Washington County (Zone B) is absolutely a rifle area

Correct, good call. I stand corrected, forgot that is still Region B.

Pale Ryder · Nov 12, 2019

Want to really throw a monkey in the wrench. Tuckahoe State Park is split practically down the middle by Tuckahoe Creek. One side is a shotgun county the other is a rifle county. I have always used a shotgun as sometimes I don't make up my mind which side of the creek I want to hunt until I get there.
Maryland is pretty well split too. 23 counties, 11 are rifle, and 12 are shotgun.

Trigger Time · Dec 3, 2019

My brother got this one opening day, from a popular spot in Reg B. The old 30-30 can still get it done.

GutPile · Dec 3, 2019

Heading to Hanover watershed for Friday with the my suppressed 308. Which is in region B and pretty convenient. I have a feeling I'm not going to see much more than the 10 other hunters . Im actually on the fence about it. Its been booked solid every day since the opener so I doubt there is anything alive within a mile of the place. But Its an opportunity. Just call early to Gwynbrook after getting your free permit to get a reservation.

Dantheman · Dec 4, 2019

GutPile said:
Heading to Hanover watershed for Friday with the my suppressed 308. Which is in region B and pretty convenient. I have a feeling I'm not going to see much more than the 10 other hunters . Im actually on the fence about it. Its been booked solid every day since the opener so I doubt there is anything alive within a mile of the place. But Its an opportunity. Just call early to Gwynbrook after getting your free permit to get a reservation.

The place will probably be a deer ghost town by this weekend but you know what's really stupid? All of the Central Region WMA's, aside from Hanover Watershed are shotgun only. Even the ones in Cecil and Carroll counties. That is complete and udder bullsh*t. Rifle hunting rounds are far more likely to disintegrate upon impacting a hard object where shotgun rounds are more likely to ricochet off the the unknown because of their much slower velocity. And your shotgun might shoot 1.5'' groups with one lot of ammo and 6'' groups with the next. Just bullcrap.

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