Advantages to private land ?

[RBI]

As relatively inexperienced hunters ( rifle ), my Son and I have only hunted Crown land ( West of Sundre ) the last three years . And not really complaining , but it seems to be quite obvious that private land hunt is the preferred way to hunt .

So my thread is based on that . Looking for as much education as I can get .

So please bare with me , as I'm likely to be all over the place with my questions . At this time , a meat animal , Whitetail , or Mule , is our goal, with , of course all the experience that comes with the harvest , and after.

( I have to add in here , that , YES , I KNOW , that having a mentor is without a doubt , the best way to learn to hunt , so please don't tell me that's what I should do , as my point to this thread is to learn what hunting "ON " , private land , is all about . )

Private land is better because ....
- I assume less hunters/pressure ?
- deer may not be a skidish , as used to more people , noises around ?
- more feed ?
- land owner may have information on what animals he sees around
- you get to meet new people , that you maybe know for a long time

But here's the primary point to my questions ...

What are the land conditions like that make this preferred ? , What are the differences between Crown land and Private .
I'm assuming that Private land is mostly AG or pasture land , and that the abundance for food is a big contributing factor

The terrain or type of land, that is common for deer hunting would be ... ?
- ie ... some AG land and some bush ?
- grazing land ?
- wide open AG land ?
- wide open AG land with lots of hay bails ?
- lots of open hills and valleys , creeks etc ( I know water is obviously important )
- ???

What kind of land conditions would one most commonly expect to look for/find ?

What style/method is most commonly used ? I guessing that sitting tight in one spot ( blind or stand etc ) is best in where I'm picturing waiting for the deer to travel to/from bedding/feeding , watching the treeline from across a field .

What is common distance for shot ?

How much land is minimum amount to expect to do a proper hunt/harvest on ... is a 1/4 enough . if you can only get permission on one place in area and one a few miles over there etc .

If one land owner gives you permission , are others around him likely too as well , ...at least for retrieval , if your animal dies on his property .

I've read on here a number of times , that one should figure out where you want to hunt , ie a particular WMU , or close to where you live or whatever ,and just start knocking on doors .

My question to that , is how do you know , from the road , for example , if you can't see very far/much , whether there is the right kind of conditions you are looking for ?

This , method , I assume , is more about hunting " Where " you want vs the "Best place " ( best odds of success ) to hunt .

Or is it common to basically look at a map , and figure that " this might be a good area " ( best place ) ,as is a good distance from big population areas . And then try to figure out your best area from that .

Do you use Hunter's Harvest stats ?

In fine tuning that method , how do pick where to start .

Ok . at this point , I'm assuming that some of the answers are ...

- Landowner maps
-Google Earth
- ???

How many places do you try for permission , -joined land , or separated , again , what is minimum amount in one piece ? How many is enough/too many ?

Of , the owners to give permission , is it common for them , to give , to a set maximum vs no limit , as lots never show up ?

If you get permission on a number of pieces of land , perhaps miles apart , and you don't use some of them , are you likely to upset that owner , and likely not get permission again . I assume , that a respectful phone call is always a good thing .

Once you have taken an animal , especially if it was in early season , do you contact all your land owners , and tell them your done ?

While hunting , how far are you willing to drive to and from a bed each day ?

Would/do you expect a pre season scout on private land ?

If it's the first time on that land , is that a given ? At least to see the lay of the land .

These are questions that I can think of , but I'm sure there are lots more that I'm missing , so ...ANYTHING you can tell me is appreciated .

Please and thanks for your answers , and your time for this lengthy thread .

RBI ...Bob and Ethan

[HunterDave]

Many times around here landowners in this area appreciate hunters hunting their land as they like to manage the deer herds. Believe it or not, sometimes they have too many deer in their fields and they want them thinned out. Landowners like this will not only give you permission but they'll tell you where they are, how many are there and where and when they hit the fields. I never have a problem filling my sup does tags if I chose to do so and taking out a doe or two provides the landowner with a service.

I typically watch to see where the deer are and ask for permission to hunt them from the landowner. Not everyone wants you hunting their land so a simple thank you and being on your way is best. If you do get permission it is advisable to ask if anyone else is hunting the area so you aren't shooting at each other. Typically if someone already has permission to hunt a quarter section I won't bother hunting there as well. Good luck!

[Shawnw]

Depends on the hunt myself I'm a walker and this will be my first year hunting private land for mule deer out easy And I found land where I can walk for hours and not get bored. I would find small land boring to hunt and to easy to harvest deer in. If your after whitetail I prefer crown land as there is at least some challenge involved

[Supergrit]

I think try to get as much permission as possible find out what each permission will let you do or not do. Some don't like trees stands camera ect. It's like anything else you will try many bad places for one good. When you find that one good place and you made good relationship with the farmer you are set.

[slough shark]

Main advantages are fewer hunters, a more controlled environment and usually a more defined primary food source so often easier to pattern. I've often seen farmland mature bucks (whitetail anyways) can be even more nocturnal simply because they know when they're being hunted and they know if and where they're in danger, they can also be more crafty because they've seen many different hunting styles and have had to escape without the luxury of vast amounts of bush to hide.

[albertabighorn]

Less hunters!

[Sooner]

My only beef when i hunted farm land, you do the work, get permission drive 2 hours and get there pre sun up. Only to see owners neighbor, uncle, friend or friend of a friend parked there already and they tell you to pizz off as they got permission.

How you going to battle or argue that when you know there will be a bunch of guys now on a limited piece of land. I prefer the crown land, I can get way away from the next guy and don't have to ask if it's ok. Don't get me wrong, i would love to have access to some farm land too.

Met a farmer through work last harvest, he has a lot of land and allows hunters. Found this out when we were chatting and he heard me say I am still trying to get my teenager on his first buck. So if this potential for access pans out, I may be back in the rat race at the field gate lol.

[IBEX]

Some poeple go for private land because they think they will see fewer hunters and a ton of deer, standing still next to the farmers cattle, which is somewhat true. In reality, all one needs to do is take a drive out to any farm land in november and you will be surprised at what you see.

For example, I was out by vegerville for late season white tail this past season. I recall seeing trucks driving all over the place, driving around as if they were on crownland. I doubt they had permission on every single piece of land, but they were still hunting, some even stopped, got there rifles out, right from the range road, but the deer was already running at the speed of light. I was lucky to have permission on a piece of land owned by a really nice gentleman. I got permission early, did my part scouting and the land owner decided to not let anyone else on until I had a crack first. Hunted for 2 days and ended up baging a nice 4x5 whitey, thanked the land owner and went on to take out a few coyotes to help him out.
However, I still chose to do majority of my hunting on crownland because I don't get enough time to scout and get permission on private and crownland might get crowded sometimes but I have always been able to find a corner where I could hunt without seeing another person for days.
You gotta get out and make decisions based on your own experience. I have found most land owners to be really humble, friendly people and I have had great success on both crown and private.

[35 whelen]

I own a 1/4 in prime elk and deer ,moose country ,crown land on 2 sides and farm land north and west ,most of our hunting still takes place on crown land, as we are seeing more and more hunters without permission on the farm land close by that I have permission on ,same old **** walk in 2 miles before sunrise ,truck drives around field at first light .but you cant beat having your own piece of land close to hunting area ,

[alpineguy]

Here's my 2 cents

Wildlife adapts to its surroundings so if you're hunting treed, mixed trees and open land, open land, hilly or flat land, the game will be aware of what measures they need to take to keep themselves safe. There is no overall blueprint.
Escape routes, feeding and bedding areas are determined in the field and for the specific location you choose to hunt. Spending time on a plot of land is the best teacher and again, it's area specific.
I prefer Crown lands because I am unrestricted by property lines and "no go zones" but having said that there is a huge need for others to hunt private lands for management purposes.
If you are hunting private lands be prepared to suffer some major disappointments in regards to encountering unauthorized hunters and people driving or making unnecessary noise......it's unfortunate but inevitable.
If you are inexperienced, find a game trail or feeding area and sit or set up a stand. I never was one for just sitting and waiting but it can be very effective.
Be wind wise as well. You can't always walk into the wind but being aware of how your scent is drifting is extremely important.
I prefer a spot and stalk situation but it is not always viable if the terrain is not accommodating.
Hunting area size also varies a lot. Bush terrain can require smaller areas where as open country often requires a larger land base. Water supply and food plot and safe bedding sites also play a big part in how much land you may require.
Are you just a morning and evening hunter or do you like spending all day in the field? There are so many factors involved.
How far away from home you are willing to travel is also personal and with no definitive answer. I live in the middle of some prime private hunting but choose to drive 4 hours to an area I like to hunt.

The single most important piece of advice would be to spend as much time in the field as possible. Find an area that suits your style and get permission. Then scout it as much as possible throughout the year. After a few years you will start to pattern animal movements and then success rates increase. You will also determine how much of the area you will need to secure access to to hunt the style you choose.

Good Luck and enjoy your time in the field!!!

[AlphaRaptor35]

A lot of good info has already been stated here, but I think the most important thing to remember is to hunt where the animals your hunting are. Animals don't subscribe to borders, fences, or road ways. They don't care if they are on private or public land, but rather where their resources are (e.g., food, water, mates, shelter, etc.) and how much danger or disturbance they incur.

For instance, I typically hunt a lot of public land in a WMU with lots of private farm land and very little public land. I typically hunt a lot of public land, but not because I'm lazy and can't get permission. Rather I do it because all of the critters I'm pursuing are most present in those areas.

As an example, this past season I was hell bent on getting an elk with my bow. After scouting and finding a herd regularly in one field feeding, I got permission from the land owner to scout and hunt his property. After scouting the land, I discovered that the animals only reason to be there was for the crop as food. I found no evidence of them bedding or staying in the area for any length of time beyond feeding. Now knowing this I expanded my range to the land owners neighbors. Again, I got permission, with help from the first land owner this time, and did the same things. Again same result, however this land did have a good travel corridor on it which I eventually followed to what I fund out was a piece of public land. Lone and behold, the public land had all the elk sign I was looking for. I ended up hunting both the public and private land to being the season, but after not seeing any elk on the private land I shifted all my efforts to the public land and it paid off. I saw a ton of elk on a very regular basis and I did eventually get a nice large cow to fill my freezer.

Now, all this being said, if the land in question is frequently disturbed by other hunters or individuals, animals will typically not stick around. This should be supported by the amount of fresh sign you see in the area. Returning to my story, following my elk success I decided to try for deer on the same land since I had seen quite a few deer while elk hunting. However, after a few initial hunts I noticed the game travel in the area had started to drop off. One morning after doing an early morning sit I decided to walk to a common bedding area to see if I could see what was up. Lone and behold I discovered boot tracks in the snow all over the area. I did eventually find out that there was another group of guys deer hunting the area for the last few weeks, but accessing the land from the improper access point (across private land without permission). This completely changed the dynamic of the animals in the area as they were being disturbed from a different angle which largely altered their routine. Needless to say I didn't hunt that piece of public land again as I stopped seeing animals and fresh sign on it.

I guess my take home message is hunt where the animals are, and if that is private land then so be it, and if its public land than hunt that. But remember as the animals adapt to changing conditions, so should you and your plans. If other hunter move in you may need to adapt your strategy given what they do and how the animals react.

[last minute]

I don't think there's much of an advantage even if you have private land or hunting on it someone always seems to come along as stated in a few other posts .I like Crown Land myself I think there's more of a challenge that's just me though .
to each their own good luck.

[JDK71]

I hunt crow and my land having luck on all but when crow gets to busy I go to my land but it is all about right place at right time