Just want to hunt a little without paying thousands!

[Sticky Stokes]

Good advice for hunting public land, one caveat....if you walk 2-3 miles in to hunt and you do wind up killing a deer, that deer has to come out with you on your 2-3 mile trip back to the truck...lol, yes speaking from experience.

 

[YukonGlocker]

Good advice for hunting public land, one caveat....if you walk 2-3 miles in to hunt and you do wind up killing a deer, that deer has to come out with you on your 2-3 mile trip back to the truck...lol, yes speaking from experience.

Just adds to the fun!

 

[makeithappen]

Thunderbird can be very tough. I struck out last year. It's bow only, so that helps some, but you better be ready to hike a mile from a parking area to see deer in daylight.

 

[n423]

I used to hunt on public land years ago, just lost interest and a lot of hunters ...

 

[Jeff405]

I've seen on Texasbowhunter.com they have a section for reviews of "Day Leases", that could help you with pricing your place.
If I remember correctly, Lake Eufaula has a rifle season, I thought about going there last year since my spot was not getting any action.
We went out to Packsaddle a couple years ago and it was nice, only saw one other hunter during the two hunts we went on. However weather conditions were bad and we didnt see anything close enough. So that was a long drive for nothing.

 

[Foghorn]

I only hunt public land, best advice is to hike till you don't see trash everywhere. Then go another few hundred yards . Never Hunt near the green fields, they turn into pumkin patches openung morning of deer season. I've taken a lot of game this way on public land this way...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[CorpsVet]

Look into Sandy Sanders WMA in far SW Okla. It's a couple of hours west of OKC, but it's very big and not that heavily hunted. Wouldn't make sense to drive that far for squirrel or rabbit, but could be what you are looking for for deer.

 

[dennishoddy]

. Never Hunt near the green fields, they turn into pumkin patches openung morning of deer season.

Good advice. The only time I've hunted public food plots is during the first week of archery season. Doesn't take much pressure to move them off there.

 

[348]

I'm in the same boat as OP. I hunted with my dad when I was younger but haven't been in a very long time. Pops isn't in any condition to go hunting anymore so paying a lease is waste of money, that I don't really have, just for me to go out a few times a year. I don't even really have the time to commit to deer hunting. Taking some small game is good enough for me.

 

[slas]

get further away from OKC
put a lot of time in scouting various public lands
get geared up for longer hikes so that you can reach areas that most people won't
most people won't walk more than 20-30 minutes to get to a hunting area...so find some areas that are closer to an hour from any parking place, and you'll most likely be totally alone
get off the human trails and figure out what paths the animals are using to travel on

Thanks for the info. That sounds like a good plan...as long as I leave the kid at home. I realize you get out of it what you put in.