Well from the posts I have put on here, you all know how much I love deer hunting. It puts food on my table, it is my escape, it is my relaxation, it is my excitement. It is something I was still able to do while paying support for my kids and helping put both of them thru college. It is my time to make memories, sometimes alone and sometimes when my best friend Perry is up hunting with me. We have many funny memories, some not so funny. All on this on land that I do not own, but have been lucky enough to have been able to hunt on the last 22 years. It came about out of friendship, the owner of the land and I coached our sons coaches pitch team toghether. Each year I always thanked them with a card, a ham and gift certificates for letting us hunt there. I always hunted ethically, fair chase, and observed all hunting regulations. I am thankful for all those years. Tonight I got the call that ended all that. I am crushed, haven't felt like this in a long time. First I want to say I am not upset with the owner of the land, disappointed for sure, it came down to a business decision. He was offered 3000 dollars a season to lease his land, 80 acres. to a company based out of Ohio that will in turn lease the rights to hunt it to other hunters. This is not something new, I just didn't think it would happen to me. I have 8 stands on the farm that I have to get out this coming weekend. The people they are leasing to already have trail cams up and running. I have NO where else to hunt, other than public land which is just not safe as far as I am concerned. I feel empty inside. I know its just hunting, but it is what I enjoy. I have always saved my vacation time each year to hunt, as I couldn't afford to do much else. I feel hollow. I am thankful for my health, my kids and granddaughters health and a great job, but I am kind of numb right now. I was so anxious for October 1st to get here, now it doesn't matter, its another day. I will try and go knock on some doors and see if anyone else around here would be willing to let me hunt, but the chances are slim, most places that people allow hunting on are already taken, and I will not go in and crowd in on someone else. I have said before everything happens for a reason, its going to take awhile to understand this one. I hope the "pay to hunt" hunters who move in on this property this year treat it with the respect I have for the last 22 years. I did kill my biggest buck ever last season on this property and for that I am thankful. I just turned 59 years old last week and sure had no plans of retiring from deer hunting, may not have a choice now. Hopefully God will open another property close to home for me.

Sorry to hear about what happened! Hang in there and I hope you get a new property soon!

Difficult situation. Really unfortunate that the call came do close to deer season.

I been hunting 90% public property for 20 years and I'm still kicking!

Same thing happened to me in the winter of 2005...started hunting public land..haven't missed a beat have killed five nice bucks with one being a 150" Twelve pointer.....just do your homework and public land can be great...Hunt On

Public land can be quite good especially in bow season. The opening weekend of gun season is when the crowd hunts but after that you can find many areas you are the only one hunting. h.h.

happened to me a few times, feels like a kick in the gut every time. The worst was when I showed up to hunt one morning and found the 'leased' signs a few weeks after the landowner gave me permission to hunt it.

I just jumped over to some public ground and had some good hunts there.

Leasing sucks but is here to stay

I will add, still plenty of time to knock on doors or find some good spots on public land.

I find I get about one yes for every 3 no's

My biggest buck came off public land and I have bow hunted public alot the past several years.

Shoot me a PM if you want some ideas of public properties to try.

I feel your pain....after 17years of leasing it is up in the air this season and next..... my friend and farmer's wife passed away last Oct...He passed away this July. Land went to son and daughter.....both Ive known and are very nice people. However, this season the son is allowing 2 of his "friends" on to the place. I have ran(caretaker)of this property for the last 17 yrs under the blessing of his father. The son says he "owes" these guys a few favor's(?). So, not rut hunt on the place this season. He is allowing me the first 5 weeks of archery starting Oct. 1st THEN those guys come in Nov. 4th and will be using MY TRAILS and FOOD PLOTS that I have put in for the last 17yrs....I am not a happy camper, but dont want to tell the son what I really think cause I dont want to loose the place....He dosnt know what he's doing next season, I told him I want to continue the exclusive lease. I'm afraid these guys are trying to elbow in on all the hard work I put into the place......yes, I'm very pissed !!~

Leasing property is rearing it's ugly head in my neck of the woods also. Best of luck & don't give up. Public land is still a great option.

We have been there. Lost a great property we hunted for years and to this day still not sure how it was rigged that we lost it. Another door will open you probably just haven't noticed because you had your "spot" to go!

Good luck to you and this season! I sure do hope you can get in the woods!

Our Indiana DNR is even getting in on the leasing business now.

Public land can be very good if you do your homework. Check out the current issue of field and stream, there is an article about a guy named Dan Infalt from wisconsin. He has a wall full of nice bucks, nearly all killed on hard hunted public land.

Hang in there. I have killed several nice bucks on public ground. The biggest part of my hunting is public as I really don't have anywhere else to go.

I have been granted permission to hunt private property on a few occasions to find that apparently anyone that asked got granted permission. And they all seemed to show up at the same time!

I have actually left those areas to hunt public ground due to "less hunters!"

Don't give up and you'll be back in the game!

It happens to all of us sooner or later. I am like Antiwheez I hunt 90% private ground. I can hunt anywhere I want during bow season and then 1st weekend of gun is crazy but after that public land is not too bad. Thing is you have as much right on public land as everyone else. Just do some homework and hunt out of the way places.
Good luck... Don't give up so easy.

I feel your pain. It sucks. I understand it's here to stay but I still despise it.

I've been hunting public land for several years now and it's not that bad. I can get permission to hunt private, but when I get out there I will run into tons of other hunters who aren't happy to see me there. It ain't worth the hassle. I'll hunt public. I RARELY see a hunter on public land.

Very tough as a hunter to lose land or have trespassers you can't get rid of hunting land you are supposed to have to yourself. I have had both problems and struggled to find private land to hunt. what I have found has never been very good, but nice non the less. That being said I have had a lot of luck hunting public land and this year managed to find 18 acres of good hunting land that I now own and am moving on to. Never thought I would get enough land to hunt on and 18 acres is no ranch, but it is surround by 1200 acres of timber lands and is packed with deer. You never know what will happen and how good you might have it the next day. Keep doing what you love while you can just in a different way.

I feel ur pain. It's happened to me several times. One to a lease one to a divorce sell and boot me the only hunter. Others you find let you in cause they "have no deer" kill a few then get boot cause family now wants to hunt after seeing all your setups. But on good side I found one 12 acre patch I killed my first pope on. Also got a 160 incher off public ground. Like the rest said lil work but worth it. New journeys can be fun and just got a text from friend same thing happened literally hour ago. The world record sure didn't help "2nd place" nothing against. Glad it happened here but locals suffer a bit. I know it sucks but once you find some new territory it will enlighten you and stoke your fire back. Like I mentioned and few others don't overlook those small lots they hold some dandys and a lot of food for table. Not to drag on but my wife hates it when I say I've seen a big buck. All bout freezer for her which I do. Good luck

DNR survey says.......... 25% of landowners have NEVER been asked for permission to hunt. That would tell me you need a few days of knocking doors and then you are back in the game.

Here is what IDNR has found from surveys...........

We as hunters are unwilling to drive more than 30 miles one way to deer hunt.think about it, you may need to drive farther for that great hunting spot!

I own my hunting ground and it is 95 miles from my home........ worth every gallon of gas and the time to drive.

Great deer hunting is equal to the effort we the hunter put forth.

My buddy BZeb (on here) kills a nice buck each year on public property, he lost his private land in 2005. He hunts Splinter Ridge F&W area each year, he scouts and hunts where most people are unwilling to trek. again effort and dedication = success. Killing a 160+ buck on public land is not luck.... you have to be dedicated to research and persistance on public land.

As far as being "life threatening", another deer hunting myth.......lol. Again research is the key, I have another friend who hunts a "state forest". he has found a 300 acre parcel that only has an easment access. It took buying maps and some "road miles". He has hunted it for years, the surrounding landowners have only asked him to not advertise the location.

You just have to be willing to work for public land as you would private....

Lots of good advice here. Public land can be awesome, it takes hard work, dedication, and scouting. Many just aren't willing to do this.

Those that do put in the work won't advertise their public hunting spots online. =)

Very true Jbwhttail but I know the only thing that completely sucks about that 95 mile trip. Is packing up and drivin home! Special places once you get them. Hope everyone has a safe season!

Just want to back up my last statement. As I'm not trying to contradict the thread. That's the feeling we get when leaving our 150 mile one way trip to public land as we have treated it like our own even tho people come and go. Never have felt unsafe. Tho opening weekend of gun can get a bit hectic and to be honest I take that weekend off and go crappie fishing. You can find the right piece of public ground may take a few attempts but turn that into your getaway and it will be like your ol spot when you have to leave for home it sucks. So good luck and be safe

Yeah we run across people on our favorite spot of public in HNF, but it feels like ours too. Been going to the same camp since 99 or 2000 I guess. Different kind of hunting than what a lot of people are used to.

I have had no luck in securing private land to hunt on since my original post. I am about 30 minutes from some public land on Salamonie, by the junction of 124 and I think it is 300. I know there is one hunter check in box there. Anyone hunting this area that might like a hunting partner? I have never walked any of this area and no nothing about it, now is not the time to go stomping around with season being open now. I guess I should have spent time there instead of trying to find some private land. thanks for listening. Goody

Do you have any kind of idea how much public land Wisconsin has as well as land that is in Forest Reserve program that by law is open to the public.
I know I grouse hunt every year in Wisconsin. Tons of land

Wear your orange and watch out for trucks parked near where you want to scout. Other than that get out there and find a spot. Most public land is not heavily hunted during archery and most of us won't get worked up if a guy comes by with no idea we are there. It is public land and that happens. Now go stomping around like and idiot during the rut in carharts making a bunch of noise hoping to jump one for a crap shoot...that is a different story and I am sure that is not something you would do based on your post.

Great news! Thanks to a old friend from my high school days,I have a place to hunt on private land again! I haven't seen this friend in person probably since we graduated together back in 1973. We didn't really hang out back in our high school days, we were in a big school, over 700 in our graduating class, but we had reconnected thru Facebook and found out we both have a mutual love of hunting. He saw my post about losing the spot I had been hunting the last 20 some years and tonight I went up to his home and he is going to introduce me to some landowners that he currently hunts on, that will allow me, Perry when he is able to come up and Brandy to hunt. I won't name this friend on here, but I could tell from the smile on his face he was getting as much joy out of helping me as I was getting from once again having a place to hunt. I had just about ran out of options, bow season is well under way and as the colder weather is coming it was really starting to hit home that I had no where to hunt. I am going up this Sunday to meet the landowners and do some scouting. This farm is up in prime deer country, less than 30 minutes from my home and has over 200 acres, more than twice as big as the farm I just lost the rights to hunt on and he has other farms in the same area that I can hunt also. I had not seen this friend in going on 40 years and he steps up and makes this offer to me out of sheer kindness. There are good people left in this world and believe me when the opportunity arises to help someone else in need, I will most definitely pay it forward. I gotta believe the good Lord had a hand in this happening and I am sure I don't deserve it, but thanks also go out to the man up above. I feel like a kid at Christmas getting ready to go out and scout this new place. Been a long time since I have had the need/opportunity to do this. It will take me some time to scout it out, find their patterns, but it will be exciting and no matter if I take a deer this season or not, just having the chance to be back in the woods again has this old man smiling again, been a while. Heading to bed now, sense of relief, excitement, and gratitude. I think I will sleep well tonight. Thanks again to an old friend!

an awesome end to your story...sounds like you are a deserving hunter..good luck on the new property.
I am going through something very similar this year, lost two farms I have hunted for 15 years and it feels just like you described it to me as well.
Hope that something happens for me soon, been talking to everyone I know...I have hunted the best years in this state for sure...leasing, houses in fields, etc have made it a crap shoot for finding and retaining private ground.. Congrats to you and to your old friend for lending a helping hand !

Congrats! Plus you have a new hunting partner!

great for you! Glad it turned out so well for you.