Public lands and Hunting. Declining numbers of hunters

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  • Artillarylover

    Active Member
    Nov 5, 2016
    218
    Also remember there is lots of different game to hunt. Small game. Birds. Deer. Ect. The people i do know who hunt are only interested in deer because its the "big game" but i feel they are missing out on the other field sports as well.

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk
     

    54rndball

    take to the hills
    Mar 16, 2013
    1,486
    Catonsville
    I am more of a shooter and collector. But about 18 years ago, I got into hunting just to have another outlet for shooting sports. Now I have two kids, 14 and 12. That really cuts down on the time available to hunt. And then it is hard to find available hunting areas here in central Merriland. I'd like to get into grouse hunting as it seems much more civilized that getting up at 4 am in the middle of winter to hunt deer.
     

    Artillarylover

    Active Member
    Nov 5, 2016
    218
    I am more of a shooter and collector. But about 18 years ago, I got into hunting just to have another outlet for shooting sports. Now I have two kids, 14 and 12. That really cuts down on the time available to hunt. And then it is hard to find available hunting areas here in central Merriland. I'd like to get into grouse hunting as it seems much more civilized that getting up at 4 am in the middle of winter to hunt deer.
    Frederick municipal forest had a tiny amount. Green ridge isnt too far

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,877
    Once I had a Grouse flush near me in GWNR, albeit while hunting deer with Revolver only . Haven't had Grouse, within shotgun range , on any other occasions in the wild . ( Yet) But neither was I specifically seeking them, so inconclusive .
     

    ClutchyMcClutcherson

    Active Member
    Aug 29, 2016
    703
    Odenton, MD
    Another option that I’ve found to be pretty fun are the pay per bird upland hunts. Granted they’re not wild pheasant, chucker, and ducks, but it’s still a lot of fun. Basically they place the birds for you, and then you walk the fields like you ordinarily would die them. I think one place on the eastern shore is called pintail point. They do upland and ducks. There are others that do it too I’m sure.
     

    aht2131

    Active Member
    Aug 5, 2011
    134
    Pittman Rodmen Act (?IIRC), taxes all guns an ammo for acquisition and maintenance of public lands an wildlife management.

    Yes this is a huge problem as I believe well over half the funding for conservation comes via this act as well as the Dingle Johnson Act which is like the same thing but for fishing. Even more than hunters, shooters are the overwhelming source of conservation money. So its a double problem, fewer hunters and the constant eroding of firearms ownership and culture. Hunting and gun ownership will only grow more restrictive in the future. The only real solution is to make all users of outdoor spaces/public lands share in the cost. That means bird watchers, hikers, mountain bikers etc. all that stuff needs to be taxed just like hunting and fishing equipment. Other than this I just don't see anywhere else where the money can come from that is sustainable long term.
     

    BDWMS

    Active Member
    Feb 21, 2013
    403
    Howard County
    I've been hunting since I was 12 and hope to pass it on to my boys (currently 3 and 5). It's going to be tough considering where we live, culture and society, etc.

    But to your point, you're absolutely right. Other user groups are going to have to pony up funds in order to maintain what we have. I recently heard that something on the order of 60-80% of PR funds are coming from recreational shooters. I can't find exact numbers but from a few figures I was able to find, taxes from pistols and revolvers are responsible for about a third of the funds. Ammunition was about the same (and most pure hunters don't spend much on ammo each year).

    It's fair to say recreational shooters are currently the driving force for those funds. There's been failed legislation to reallocate how funds are distributed, with more being spent on new public ranges. That, too, will limit funds for wildlife conservation and hunting-related stuff. The future of hunting doesn't look good.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    I grew up with no hunting experience at all except my uncle an cousins who went but I never went with them. I grew up fishing and crabbing and always had an interest in hunting since it was not readily available to me. Hunting is not an easy thing to get into if you do not know anyone and or don't want to just go to public land and give it a go. It took me a bout 3 years of talking to everyone I knew that was a hunter (only when it came up in conversation) to get into a club where I had access to private land. Before that I was able to go on a few tag along trips to buddies places and hunt.

    I now have the problem that my club is 2.5 hours away and I have a 2 and 4 year old. My wife and I have been together for 10-11 years including dating and this is not a hobby I had going into the relationship, so it has been a challenge to get away as much as I would like. The thing I do have going for me is the kids are very interested and I take them to local places to walk through the woods and look for deer. When they are older, I can take them with me and the wife will be a lot more on board. I plan to take my 4 year old who will be 5, next season for some early bow hunting. Just evening hunts, so he can walk in in the day light and just work on sitting still and quiet in the blind. Our property is located right near a campground which he also really enjoys so I think he will love it.

    I think entry barriers for lack of a better term is really what is hindering hunting, with hunting, you really need private land to take your kids. For safety and length of travel issues, not saying it cant be done but its more difficult. Hunting isn't like fishing where you can take 6 guys on your boat any day you like from April to December and fish 14 rods in a public spot that is easy to get to. If I wanted to fish, with no boat, no gear, no private land, I could fish every weekend all summer long with relative ease. With Hunting not only do you need your own gear, but you need someone willing to give you a spot. Land anywhere near Baltimore is pretty scarce and if you can find it to lease, its really expensive. So even if you do get a spot, it will be 2.5 hours away which makes for a long day.

    I hunted a state park for a managed hunt recently that was 5 min from my house and it was amazing to not have to drive 2.5 hours and be home in just a few mins. I really would like to find something closer and maybe once the kids are older it will be easier to justify paying for a lease. I may look to take them knocking on doors of farms when they are a older to see if I can workout some type of work for hunting agreement which would be good for the boys as well but anyone in the Baltimore area is probably about fed up with people asking to hunt their land.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    I am more of a shooter and collector. But about 18 years ago, I got into hunting just to have another outlet for shooting sports. Now I have two kids, 14 and 12. That really cuts down on the time available to hunt. And then it is hard to find available hunting areas here in central Merriland. I'd like to get into grouse hunting as it seems much more civilized that getting up at 4 am in the middle of winter to hunt deer.

    I’ll grant you there have been a couple of times I woke up to go hunting, said screw it and went back to sleep. Or slept in and hit the field at 9am and hunter the rest of the day.

    Mine are 10, 8 and 6. I spend about a third of the time hunting that I’d really like to. I started hunting only 4 seasons ago and my wife has finally started to get used to it and I’ve gotten used to the demands of hunting and family schedules. Sometimes that stuff has to come first, but she can usually let me prioritize hunting a few days a year. That means I can normally get the 3 days of early muzzleloader, the last two of early gun and the two of late gun season to go do my hunting thing. I can often fit in a few extra days or partial days in there during bow season or late ML.

    I am hoping this spring to have at least a couple of days to Turkey hunt. I went two days my first year hunting. Then the next year I was busy with an addition on my house (I built the whole thing. Well, my in-laws and wife helped). Then last year I was down with LASIK that got botched and then PRK to fix it from mid March until basically June.

    I did miss a Turkey during the winter Turkey season this last year. Not sure if I’ll do the winter season again or not. I’ve been seeing more and more Turkey in my usual deer haunts each successive years. I feel like their populations keep climbing around here.

    I want to get in to goose hunting, but I don’t have any good spots nor friends who are in to it who can help out with it right now (I have one friend who is an avid goose hunter who I will probably shameless ask for a leg up getting started. But not this year, he’s got baby this year.
    Maybe next year I’ll ask).

    In a year or two once I start my kids out hunting I will probably do a lot more squirrel hunting. I want to get them in to that for a year or two before I let them try deer hunting. Both my boys have pretty bad ADHD. So getting them to sit tight for a few hours is going to be hard. A bit more age will help with that (and general impulsiveness. Which ain’t good around guns. Though they are remarkably good listeners at the range)
     

    Artillarylover

    Active Member
    Nov 5, 2016
    218
    Glad your getting your kids out there. I cant wait till my daughter (1years) is old enough to take out shooting.

    Where are you located. Lots of public land allows bow in baltimore but again, hunting public lamd requires extream caution as you never know if there is a hiker or another hunter hence why i try to go only on non weekend times when most people arent out there

    The barriers to entry are stiff. A guy at work mentioned to me a few times hes never been hunting and i sometimes wonder if he wants me to invite him with me but i am nervous being out with someone i dont know well with firearms... Yet i hunt public land where a stranger probably is just over the hill. Maybe i am being paranoid And should invite him To hunt.

    I have been thinking of trying to start a Mens outdoor bible study with my church (christ fellowship in foresthill) to do hiking trips and readings and try to find fellow hunters through that group? Well see


    A friend of mines barrier is he and his father always hunted private land they leased. His father has had Ill health and they cant afford the lease and he is always asking where i hunt. But wont step foot on public land to hunt.

    As for the farmers and knocking i know if i owned land i would be very cautious about inviting people to hunt and would only allow someone i knew very well and trusted my families life with. That being said a man knocking on my door would be sent packing. This is a product of my upbringing and situations i have been in so others may be more welcoming.

    Good luck, keep your kids involved in the outdoors. Too many People growing up today only know video games and not reality
    I grew up with no hunting experience at all except my uncle an cousins who went but I never went with them. I grew up fishing and crabbing and always had an interest in hunting since it was not readily available to me. Hunting is not an easy thing to get into if you do not know anyone and or don't want to just go to public land and give it a go. It took me a bout 3 years of talking to everyone I knew that was a hunter (only when it came up in conversation) to get into a club where I had access to private land. Before that I was able to go on a few tag along trips to buddies places and hunt.

    I now have the problem that my club is 2.5 hours away and I have a 2 and 4 year old. My wife and I have been together for 10-11 years including dating and this is not a hobby I had going into the relationship, so it has been a challenge to get away as much as I would like. The thing I do have going for me is the kids are very interested and I take them to local places to walk through the woods and look for deer. When they are older, I can take them with me and the wife will be a lot more on board. I plan to take my 4 year old who will be 5, next season for some early bow hunting. Just evening hunts, so he can walk in in the day light and just work on sitting still and quiet in the blind. Our property is located right near a campground which he also really enjoys so I think he will love it.

    I think entry barriers for lack of a better term is really what is hindering hunting, with hunting, you really need private land to take your kids. For safety and length of travel issues, not saying it cant be done but its more difficult. Hunting isn't like fishing where you can take 6 guys on your boat any day you like from April to December and fish 14 rods in a public spot that is easy to get to. If I wanted to fish, with no boat, no gear, no private land, I could fish every weekend all summer long with relative ease. With Hunting not only do you need your own gear, but you need someone willing to give you a spot. Land anywhere near Baltimore is pretty scarce and if you can find it to lease, its really expensive. So even if you do get a spot, it will be 2.5 hours away which makes for a long day.

    I hunted a state park for a managed hunt recently that was 5 min from my house and it was amazing to not have to drive 2.5 hours and be home in just a few mins. I really would like to find something closer and maybe once the kids are older it will be easier to justify paying for a lease. I may look to take them knocking on doors of farms when they are a older to see if I can workout some type of work for hunting agreement which would be good for the boys as well but anyone in the Baltimore area is probably about fed up with people asking to hunt their land.

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    I grew up with no hunting experience at all except my uncle an cousins who went but I never went with them. I grew up fishing and crabbing and always had an interest in hunting since it was not readily available to me. Hunting is not an easy thing to get into if you do not know anyone and or don't want to just go to public land and give it a go. It took me a bout 3 years of talking to everyone I knew that was a hunter (only when it came up in conversation) to get into a club where I had access to private land. Before that I was able to go on a few tag along trips to buddies places and hunt.

    I now have the problem that my club is 2.5 hours away and I have a 2 and 4 year old. My wife and I have been together for 10-11 years including dating and this is not a hobby I had going into the relationship, so it has been a challenge to get away as much as I would like. The thing I do have going for me is the kids are very interested and I take them to local places to walk through the woods and look for deer. When they are older, I can take them with me and the wife will be a lot more on board. I plan to take my 4 year old who will be 5, next season for some early bow hunting. Just evening hunts, so he can walk in in the day light and just work on sitting still and quiet in the blind. Our property is located right near a campground which he also really enjoys so I think he will love it.

    I think entry barriers for lack of a better term is really what is hindering hunting, with hunting, you really need private land to take your kids. For safety and length of travel issues, not saying it cant be done but its more difficult. Hunting isn't like fishing where you can take 6 guys on your boat any day you like from April to December and fish 14 rods in a public spot that is easy to get to. If I wanted to fish, with no boat, no gear, no private land, I could fish every weekend all summer long with relative ease. With Hunting not only do you need your own gear, but you need someone willing to give you a spot. Land anywhere near Baltimore is pretty scarce and if you can find it to lease, its really expensive. So even if you do get a spot, it will be 2.5 hours away which makes for a long day.

    I hunted a state park for a managed hunt recently that was 5 min from my house and it was amazing to not have to drive 2.5 hours and be home in just a few mins. I really would like to find something closer and maybe once the kids are older it will be easier to justify paying for a lease. I may look to take them knocking on doors of farms when they are a older to see if I can workout some type of work for hunting agreement which would be good for the boys as well but anyone in the Baltimore area is probably about fed up with people asking to hunt their land.

    I am the same in some ways. I started hunting and owning guns 3 years ago (this is my 4th hunting season). My wife used to be anti-gun and still doesn’t like them. It’s created problems for us. But we are working through them. Just takes some changes on both our parts. My kids are 10, 8 and 6. I hunt all public land except for the rare invite. I hunt stuff close to my house. I live a mile from one of the Potapsco bow hunting areas and only about a 15 minute drive from Patuxent state park where I do most of my hunting. I also hunt Greenridge and Nanticoke. About 90 minutes and 2hrs from my house respectively.

    I’ve taken my oldest out to sit in a blind in Potapsco with me. This winter break I will probably take both boys out separately to do the same again, but I might do Patuxent this time if my wife is okay with that.

    She isn’t super comfortable with them shooting and hunting.

    But for them pulling the trigger, it is going to be squirrel hunting with a .410 and probably either Patuxent or Hugg-Thomas (also close to my house). Deer hunting I don’t know. If I can’t find anyone willing to let my kids hunt private land on junior hunt day I may take them out to Greenridge. Or maybe try Nanticoke. Part of it is that my wife isn’t likely to let me buy a deer hunting gun for them. Which means going somewhere they can use a rifle, as they can at least use my 6.5 grendel AR with the recoil being manageable and I can swap to one of my lowers that has an adjustable stock if the fixed on my 6.5 hunting AR is too long a length of pull for them.

    Anyway, I am “allowed” a few days of dedicated hunting. Either from home (early ML I do Patuxent) or just go overnight (gun season trips). And then since I hunt local public land, a half day or sometimes a whole day if I have free time isn’t too bad.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    Glad your getting your kids out there. I cant wait till my daughter (1years) is old enough to take out shooting.

    Where are you located. Lots of public land allows bow in baltimore but again, hunting public lamd requires extream caution as you never know if there is a hiker or another hunter hence why i try to go only on non weekend times when most people arent out there

    The barriers to entry are stiff. A guy at work mentioned to me a few times hes never been hunting and i sometimes wonder if he wants me to invite him with me but i am nervous being out with someone i dont know well with firearms... Yet i hunt public land where a stranger probably is just over the hill. Maybe i am being paranoid And should invite him To hunt.

    I have been thinking of trying to start a Mens outdoor bible study with my church (christ fellowship in foresthill) to do hiking trips and readings and try to find fellow hunters through that group? Well see


    A friend of mines barrier is he and his father always hunted private land they leased. His father has had Ill health and they cant afford the lease and he is always asking where i hunt. But wont step foot on public land to hunt.

    As for the farmers and knocking i know if i owned land i would be very cautious about inviting people to hunt and would only allow someone i knew very well and trusted my families life with. That being said a man knocking on my door would be sent packing. This is a product of my upbringing and situations i have been in so others may be more welcoming.

    Good luck, keep your kids involved in the outdoors. Too many People growing up today only know video games and not reality

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk


    I think you are right with the man knocking on your door would be sent packing, but if I had my boys with me, it may be a different story. I actually read this in Steve Rinella's book to take you kids with you as a strategy that someone is more likely to be receptive which you basically reinforced. I doubt I will ever get the nerve to do this but if I were to, my plan would be to offer some labor for the privilege with my goal for the kids to learn some work ethic which may play to the landowners beliefs. Not that I plan to mislead or dupe the land owner, but it is a way for them to be more receptive to the idea. My kids will have to be a bit older to do this and hopefully they keep their interest in hunting. Until then I will just plan to network with people I come in contact with to try to get into a closer club or a land owner letting me hunt for free.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    I am the same in some ways. I started hunting and owning guns 3 years ago (this is my 4th hunting season). My wife used to be anti-gun and still doesn’t like them. It’s created problems for us. But we are working through them. Just takes some changes on both our parts. My kids are 10, 8 and 6. I hunt all public land except for the rare invite. I hunt stuff close to my house. I live a mile from one of the Potapsco bow hunting areas and only about a 15 minute drive from Patuxent state park where I do most of my hunting. I also hunt Greenridge and Nanticoke. About 90 minutes and 2hrs from my house respectively.

    I’ve taken my oldest out to sit in a blind in Potapsco with me. This winter break I will probably take both boys out separately to do the same again, but I might do Patuxent this time if my wife is okay with that.

    She isn’t super comfortable with them shooting and hunting.

    But for them pulling the trigger, it is going to be squirrel hunting with a .410 and probably either Patuxent or Hugg-Thomas (also close to my house). Deer hunting I don’t know. If I can’t find anyone willing to let my kids hunt private land on junior hunt day I may take them out to Greenridge. Or maybe try Nanticoke. Part of it is that my wife isn’t likely to let me buy a deer hunting gun for them. Which means going somewhere they can use a rifle, as they can at least use my 6.5 grendel AR with the recoil being manageable and I can swap to one of my lowers that has an adjustable stock if the fixed on my 6.5 hunting AR is too long a length of pull for them.

    Anyway, I am “allowed” a few days of dedicated hunting. Either from home (early ML I do Patuxent) or just go overnight (gun season trips). And then since I hunt local public land, a half day or sometimes a whole day if I have free time isn’t too bad.

    At 10 and probably 8. I think I will be able to take my kids with me on over night hunting trips (Camping). So the 2.5 Hours will be a lot more reasonable. The kids are also much more self sufficient at that age, but then you have sports and such that take up a lot of time.

    As far as the public land, I think could take manage to take my 4yo to Loch Raven to scout the area this summer to get a lay of the land. The problem is that I would only want to go during the week so there are not as many people there and that would require me taking him out of school. Also I would have to only hunt the evening because I would not feel comfortable taking him in while its dark. We would also have to ground hunt which I would be less comfortable with on public land. With all those deterrents, I think I would rather just take him on the 2.5 hour drive and hunt my blind on private that I would be much more comfortable with. I may still end up taking him scouting on Sunday's or the off season at Loch Raven just for my own purposes, I would hunt there by myself once I became more familiar with the area.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    At 10 and probably 8. I think I will be able to take my kids with me on over night hunting trips (Camping). So the 2.5 Hours will be a lot more reasonable. The kids are also much more self sufficient at that age, but then you have sports and such that take up a lot of time.

    As far as the public land, I think could take manage to take my 4yo to Loch Raven to scout the area this summer to get a lay of the land. The problem is that I would only want to go during the week so there are not as many people there and that would require me taking him out of school. Also I would have to only hunt the evening because I would not feel comfortable taking him in while its dark. We would also have to ground hunt which I would be less comfortable with on public land. With all those deterrents, I think I would rather just take him on the 2.5 hour drive and hunt my blind on private that I would be much more comfortable with. I may still end up taking him scouting on Sunday's or the off season at Loch Raven just for my own purposes, I would hunt there by myself once I became more familiar with the area.

    I mean, another thing is not taking your kids at that age. By all means do if you can and you both have the inclination. None of my kids at that age would have had the patients to sit quietly for even an hour nor probably hike half a mile or so in and out.

    I am looking at trying to take them nearby and figure it is more an experience for them. I am not really looking to get anything in my outings with them so I have no pressure. If I do great, but it is more about spending an hour or two with Dad sitting in the woods. In a year or two with my oldest I’ll take it more seriously for him.

    I wouldn’t hunt public land areas where I was uncomfortable with safety for my kids. Other than one day where Patuxent was littered with hunters, I’ve never seen a public land situation that made me uncomfortable. Which is why I avoid Patuxent during gun season and especially weekends in gun season. At this age I am also not going to pull my kids out of school for hunting. Once they are in high school if they want to continue hunting and they enjoy it I will twist my wife’s arm in to letting me pull them out for a day to do a trip every year or whatever.

    But everyone’s situation is different. My wife works from home, and only part time so child care generally isn’t an issue at all, especially with my kids being a bit older. I also have some good, not overly trafficked public land areas less than half an hour drive from me.
     

    hi3cho

    Ultimate Member
    Nov 16, 2012
    1,306
    Edgemere
    I mean, another thing is not taking your kids at that age. By all means do if you can and you both have the inclination. None of my kids at that age would have had the patients to sit quietly for even an hour nor probably hike half a mile or so in and out.

    I am looking at trying to take them nearby and figure it is more an experience for them. I am not really looking to get anything in my outings with them so I have no pressure. If I do great, but it is more about spending an hour or two with Dad sitting in the woods. In a year or two with my oldest I’ll take it more seriously for him.

    I wouldn’t hunt public land areas where I was uncomfortable with safety for my kids. Other than one day where Patuxent was littered with hunters, I’ve never seen a public land situation that made me uncomfortable. Which is why I avoid Patuxent during gun season and especially weekends in gun season. At this age I am also not going to pull my kids out of school for hunting. Once they are in high school if they want to continue hunting and they enjoy it I will twist my wife’s arm in to letting me pull them out for a day to do a trip every year or whatever.

    But everyone’s situation is different. My wife works from home, and only part time so child care generally isn’t an issue at all, especially with my kids being a bit older. I also have some good, not overly trafficked public land areas less than half an hour drive from me.


    My 4 y/o has shown a pretty big interest, so if he wants to give it a shot, I will try it out. I think he would be able to sit relatively still for a few hours. It may require some phone with headphones time but a start. I don't have any expectations with how well he will do or if we will see anything. If the hunting completely flops and he is miserable, I can still make it an enjoyable camping trip. This won't be until next year, most likely the end of September so the weather wont be bad and there wont be a ton of people in the woods at the property.
     

    MDHunter

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 12, 2007
    1,207
    Free America
    Every autumn I thank my lucky stars that I was born in the 60s, and not today…

    I was born in Alaska; my Mom was full Eskimo and my Dad was a Maine woodsman, so a love for the outdoors was in my blood. Every August before school started the whole family (parents and 4 children) would take our camper trailer and spend 2 weeks in remote Alaska hunting, fishing, and berry picking.

    Every year beginning at age 4 though 18, I got to take off a week to hunt moose and caribou (and later whitetailed deer after we moved to MD) with my father, and sometimes one of his friends would tag along. Those were great times, hunting remote Alaska back when only about 250,000 people lived in the entire state.

    I have 10 nieces and nephews; the ones in Alaska hunt and fish some, the ones in the lower 48 do not. One of my nephews out here is thinking about getting a bow and learning to shoot and then hunt, so I am taking over some extra hunting gear I have tomorrow to give to him to help him get started.

    Sometimes I imagine myself growing up today, likely with a cellphone in my hand, and I cringe…
     

    cms1528

    Active Member
    Feb 26, 2013
    802
    Public land used to be so crowded you would have a hard time finding a place you felt safe in the sixties and seventies and even up into part of the eighties. Now a days you can hunt anywhere you chose on public land, it is all but empty

    Paul

    This really surprises me. I've always assumed public land would be too crowded to hunt safely and without interruptions. I guess I should start to reevaluate this.
     

    Artillarylover

    Active Member
    Nov 5, 2016
    218
    This really surprises me. I've always assumed public land would be too crowded to hunt safely and without interruptions. I guess I should start to reevaluate this.
    Opening day (deer) in alot of places can be crowded. Every other time you see almost no one.

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    Opening day (deer) in alot of places can be crowded. Every other time you see almost no one.

    Sent from my LG-SP200 using Tapatalk

    Yup. I’ve heard Greenridge described as crowded before. Last year there was one huntress where I was going to poke around, but she left about an hour after dawn (she had work). Didn’t see anyone else in the spots I scouted. Sure, plenty of people driving the roads or parked along them, but literally no one else back in the woods. I saw no one this year over the probably 500 acres I covered/scouted.

    Patuxent in ML I usually bump in to someone, but it isn’t crowded normally. Saturday is the busiest and I’ll see 5-7 cars and trucks parked at Brown’s Church which is one of the busier spots. Call it 10 guys. Spread over 500-600 acres. So yeah, I’ll run in to guys then sometimes, but it isn’t crawling with them.

    In the Thursday of early ML some seasons there have been 2-3 trucks there. I think the busiest I’ve seen it opening day of early ML has been 5 cars/trucks.

    Guns season in the week it might be 3-5, Saturday’s can be 6-8. Never been there opening day of gun season.

    Potapsco where it is bow hunting only the tract I hunt I’ve never seen more than 3 hunters signed in for ~330 acres. Usually it is 1 or none.

    Just depends on where and when. Patuxent late bow season when I go and hunt turkey or squirrel I almost never see anyone parked and I’ve never run in to a soul in the park. Early bow season I’ll usually see a truck or two parked there on a Saturday. Generally nothing during the week.

    There certainly are some parks that are busy, but again a lot of it is gun season and Saturdays/opening day.

    You will have to recognize it is public land and you will run in to other hunters sometimes. In 4 seasons I’ve run in to one single flaming A-hole who setup in a tree stand 10yds from a main trail maybe 200yds from the parking lot and flipped shit when I walked down the trail at 2pm on a Saturday or early gun season.

    Other than that, he nice and recognize sometimes you might see a hunter and if they are setup, you probably want to stop, double back and go around wide on a different trail or something. If they are walking towards you, well, just ships passing in the night. Quietly say “hi, having any better luck than I am?”

    I’ve met plenty of nice folks when out hunting. Mostly I’ve seen nothing but trees, squirrels, Turkey and every once in awhile a deer.

    The only dangerous encounter I had was a Nanticoke also 4 seasons ago. Had 3 guys doing a drive (not allowed on public land IIRC). I missed one of the two does they kicked up. About 3 minutes later they come walking through line abreast about 10yds apart with shotguns and bandoliers of shells. One of them had an orange hat on, the others had not a shred of orange. The one with the orange hat spoke a little bit of English. Their uncle was supposed to be the shooter and they were driving for him, but they weren’t sure where he was.

    I’d be real surprised if any of them had licenses.

    That was a dangerous as hell situation. Never seen anything like that before or since and I’ve hunted there several times as well as almost exclusively on public land for 4 seasons now.
     

    Doco Overboard

    Ultimate Member
    It was probably some of the Greeks. They own a lot of property down that way. Next time you see some of those Amish boys, get up with them to find out where they're going in and get on the other side. They know how to get them moving and kill a lot of deer.

    New good spot is on the other side of the road from Lecompte. Walk out back of the V shaped field and get up next to the marsh. I remember it's real short phrag and some needle grass last time I seen it. Some of it you should be able to walk without going overboard.
     

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