I hunted deer last year intensely during rifle season. Two weeks (ish) mid November. I was out as much as I could be. Public land up in the Ozarks.

First ever time I had hunted deer. Saw absolutely nothing.

Bought a bow to give myself even more chances this year. In theory I can hunt with a bow through February.

So far I’ve been out 4 days, again seen no deer. Have found signs of deer, prints, poop, the lot. Just not seen one.

It’s depressing me. Hunting public land is hard as shit.

Local hunting forum is full of guys bragging on how they’ve already tagged out, picks of big bucks etc. they’re all on private land, using feeders.

Any one got any tips for me? I didn’t grow up hunting and really want to like it but damn I’m getting close to calling it

I've never hunted in the Ozarks so I can't provide any details but I can provide some general info that might be of use.

Deer are very habitual in their day to day activities so if you do see one you can expect him/her to come back to the same area unless the deer is spooked out of the area by too much human contact.

Deer like to move uphill from a water source in the morning.  They will typically move uphill to a place that has trees surrounding some kind of feed with water close by.

Deer aren't real easy to spook but you need to move slowly when you think that they are around.  I'm able to walk within a few feet of deer where I live in Montana but I have to move slowly when I do it.  I take a single step as quietly as possible when their head is down or they are looking away from me.  It's amazing that how you can stand behind a skinny sapling and the deer will still not realize that you are a human.

Deer are ruminants, that means that they have multiple stomachs and they have to regurgitate a cud and chew it.  As a result, deer will bed during the day close to food and water.  They will eat for a while, maybe an hour so, and then they will lay down and chew their cud for a couple of hours.  As a result, if you see them eating just wait a while and you'll see them find a spot with cover and lay down and chew their cud.  If you are careful, you should be able to work your way to a spot that would give you a good chance at taking the animal.

I'm not sure what tips I can give. That's just what hunting is. Eventually you figure things out and get better, but it never gets easy. You never get to a point where you can for sure kill an animal within 4 days. If you want a deer specific tip, assuming you are in an area with deer, your scent and wind matter way more than you can imagine. Everything else matters much less than you imagine.

I grew up hunting, I am an experienced big game hunter having hunted a number of states and a number of species. I hunt public land at least 90% of the time. I'm still at the mercy of the animals, other hunters, weather, and everything else. Here's the best example I can give. I am currently bear hunting in central Minnesota, which requires baiting. This is an area that I used to live in, so I'm quite familiar with it. Baiting started mid August, and we didn't see anything for a couple weeks, then it was hot and fast for a little bit. We even had one bear coming daily during daylight to a spot. I got out there to hunt, wind was good, everything was good. Right at primetime BOOM, BOOMBOOM, BOOMBOOM, BOOM!!! A few hundred yards away in some farm field a few guys were lighting up Canadian geese during the early goose season. That bear never showed for 4 days, and while he did come back at night, he never came during daylight again. Mid September when the bow season started, he disappeared for good. That's just the reality of public land hunting, no bait or skill can get around that.

We had sow's with cubs on other baits, but it wasn't until last week a lone boar started hitting a bait. Think about that. Between me and another person we have been baiting multiple sites 2-3 times per week (500 mile round trip for me), for now 7 or 8 weeks straight, and we just now have a legal bear on a bait. He's still only coming at night. If he does get comfortable and shows up in the day, I can only cross my fingers everything goes right to hunt him.


Yes, public land hunting anything is hard as shit. It's not just you. One other bit of general advice. When it comes to public land, patience is almost always the answer. As you learn, you will find the times when it's time to boogie, it is time to boogie, but for you, just stay put. There's more harm than good in walking around aimlessly hoping for greener pastures. If you are in an area with good sign, and the wind is in your favor, just stay put.

I don’t hunt anymore and own land. Like has been mentioned, deer are habitual creatures and they also follow the changing seasons food source. They are pretty smart, they can tell if something or someone has been in their “house”. I’ve noticed out here, they bed down in a spot where they can see you but you can’t see them, even in an empty field. When I’ve startled them when mountain biking, I take note where they were, always a spot that they can see you coming long before you see them. So you might have been hunting them, but they were watching you. Humans are one of the noisiest animals in the woods or fields, remember that. We got big feet crunching grass and leaves. And the human pace is distinctly “human”. So don’t do that at least. Long ago, I used to hunt public land, it sucked. The deer went 100% nocturnal and bedded down on the private land during the day. The best way to hunt public land I’ve found is be at least five miles back off the road or easier trail. You’re going to have to do some bush whacking.

You're not going to figure it out in a year or 4 days.  

Some properties took me years and hundreds of hours boots on ground to figure out.  Then, even after you figure it out, get the perfect wind, sneak in there an hour before daylight, some prick will still walk right through your set and then proceed to walk right through the bedding area lol

Just part of it.  If you don't walk at the very least a half hour away form an access, preferably an hour, you will see lots of people and very little deer.  Generally speaking anyway.  There are the rare cases where people walk  by the deer, but that's the exception not the rule regardless of what the guys on YouTube say.  

It's hard.  It's a grind.  But honestly, the most rewarding buck is the one you take after years of eating tag soup on public.

Most people that hunt public land walk in 100yards from the parking lot  & stop. Don't be lazy walk, for at least 1/2 hour & get in early (30 min before sunrise) & sit. don't get the urge to get up & walk around.  Don't change locations until you have hunted the same spot for a few times. A lot of people leave the woods for lunch, light rain & slight wind. Deer don't wear watches & don't care much about the weather. Stick with it, 4 days without seeing  a deer is nothing. Last year I went weeks without seeing one, Was like you ready to call it quits. Things finally changed & I scored within the last 2 weeks of the season.

Thanks for the pep talk guys.

My sit yesterday afternoon/evening was probably my most productive.
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Finding tracks was exciting and I KNOW there’s deer around there.

There’s a military training ground “next door” to this area which is hunted pretty hard during the later gun season. Im thinking that should push deer over into where I am, which is smaller but also less used by hunters.
It’s walk in only and where I set up is pretty secluded

If you're seeing fresh sign, but not deer it's usually either:

1.  You're blowing them out of the area on access.
2.  The deer are making those tracks at night.


The difficulty of fixing the first one depends on your exact  scenario.  Can you enter the area from a different direction?  Maybe even a different access point?   The second one is pretty easy, figure out where they're bedding.  Public deer will tend to hold closer to bedding longer than private land deer.  So, usually, you have to get really close to their beds to see them during daylight hours.

Access is actually pretty easy to sneak into. There’s an old open cut shale mine that is very quiet to walk along of you stick to the edges. I’ve been hunting my way in too, making sure to not go fast. Best of my knowledge I’ve not bumped any deer.

If you look at this picture, I’m pretty sure they’re bedding in this yellow highlighted area. I have been hunting the ridge when’re the second camera symbol is. I can see down across the shale and all along the tree line.
Attached File

One problem is that the wind blows pretty consistently north to south from my position.

They’re definitely moving along the ridge I’ve been sitting as there’s a bunch of eaten acorns and oak trees there.

Patience grasshopper. You will get one, I am sure of it.

@DCPhoenix



KEY:
Yellow: Assumed current access.
RED: Assumed deer movement based on your stand placement and bedding statements
#2 and Green: Ideal access
#3 and blue: Secondary access

So, mornings they might be in their bedding area before daylight especially if they're feeling pressure.  Which means, no matter what you're not going to see them, don't sit food sources in the morning.  Afternoon, I believe the below is happening.  

I could be all wrong obviously I've never put boots on ground, but I'm assuming you're entrance is something like the yellow line from #1 parking.  If this is true, all the deer in the bedding area know you're there.  They can hear you, definitely smell you with any kind of north wind, and potentially see you on your entrance.  Deer know the common entrance routes on public lands.  They will alter their plans based on whether or not they know humans have entered the area.  I've seen this happen quite a bit.  They have secondary food sources they will go to if they know a human entered the area.  They won't blow out of there or run,

On top of that to get to your stand location they will have to cross your access path, which younger deer will do but mature deer may not.  

I would (depending on exact terrain obviously, but it doesn't look horribly steep) enter from either #2 or #3.  #3 looks like you would have to cross a creek.  No idea if that's a possibility or not.  #2 is the best option IMO assuming your bedding area is correct.  

Mornings, get close to bedding and hope to catch them making their way back to bed.  Afternoons, if they're getting to their food sources before end of shooting light, you can hunt the food source.  However, if they're pressured, they may not  leave their bedding area until very close to dark, which means they won't get to food until well after dark.  So you may need to get a lot closer to bedding.  Which may or may not be possible in your scenario.

Man, thank you for taking the time to do that! Yeah I’ve been walking in along pretty much that yellow line. Part of me was thinking that because those trails are used by hikers (really not heavy use) the deer might be used to smelling people from that way. But the flip side of that is obviously they know someone’s out there.

That creek that runs along the southern border is pretty large in spots but not impassable. Also handy is the I40 runs close, so that gives me SOME noise cover.

One tip I’ve been given is to hunt saddles and ridges. Your green line follows a ridge that is covered in game trails, and eventually comes out where I’ve been sat. I’m probably up 150ft or so from the shale area.

I’m going to push through the green line area this evening and see what it’s like.

The wildlife area that I’m hunting doesn’t really see a lot of hunting pressure. It’s bow only and firearms only for a short period at the end of this month. Nextdoor in the larger national guard base, sees way more pressure. This pushes a lot of animals into the area I’m hunting to get away from the orange army that invades a few miles away.

Again, thank you!

You bet!  I wish you luck, I think it's just a matter of time before you connect.  If the sign is there, they're obviously there.  You just have to put the puzzle together.

You may even find a better spot to set up.  If you find a spot with really good fresh sign, don't be afraid to set up on it.  

I hunt about 150-175 miles north of you.

You definatly need to come in on that 2nd route. You are flooding that area with your scent as you make your approach.

Honestly if you are leaving your vehicle after 4am you are late. Get in there early and let the deer settle down if they hear you coming in.

Next silence everything. Electrical tape on the sling swivels. Cut off or tape down all straps and such. Put your pianos in your day pack with everything else you can and then jump up and down with it and silence anything that makes noise. Get rid of noisy synthec outer layers and they make noise.


Even if this year is productive spent time in the Siri g trying to find private ground to hunt on.

I've never been there, and do not know what it looks like on the ground. Still my gut reaction to that map and your picture is that is not an area conducive to daytime deer movement. That picture looks pretty open. It is very common for deer to come out in area like that or farm fields right at first and last light, but mostly during night. Often you aren't going to find deer wandering wide open areas like that in daylight if there is better cover available, and it appears there is on that map.

To me that map makes it look like some state park or typical hiking area. Deer can get fairly tolerant of people, but my experience is that areas like that will rarely be as good as a non-hiking area.

It's currently the October lull...and as they say, it's called huntin', not killin' for a reason.  Just enjoy being in the woods and appreciate the blessing that that is in and of itself - it's almost, no, it IS, meditative/meditation...healing for me.
Sometimes the same patch of woods can get boring, and that's normal.  Change it up a bit when that happens.

I'd implore you to hang in there, and really dedicate some time to figuring out when the rut is happening in your, well, your neck of the woods, and then really dedicate some time to hunting it.  Try an all day sit maybe.  Something is bound to happen.
 
Make sure your scent control, camo, movement, noise and all that is in check.  Sometimes I've felt I could kill deer while I was wearing a pink bunny outfit smelling like a French hoe...other times I just am completely miffed as to how I got busted, but all that stuff does make a difference to some degree, depending on context and circumstances (wind, temp, location, etc).

I started out hunting as a kid on the ground and wearing cotton thermals and sweatshirts and blue jeans and no camo, freezing my butt off and physically shaking, to gradually getting better and better gear.  I killed deer from the ground, but once I got in a tree and started hunting from a treestand and started figuring out strategic stand placement, it was like the cheat code was activated.  I started putting points on the board then.

Read about moon phases and cycles of the rut and so on - you'll read 1,000 different articles from 100 different hunters and biologists that all disagree but you'll pick up nuggets of information and wisdom and things will start clicking for you and you'll figure out tips and tricks that work for you.  

If you weren't raised rural or raised hunting, try and take a good tracking class - mantracking, search and rescue, wildlife - whatever - just take a tracking class.  With a little practice, it will be like learning a new language and all of a sudden being able to read the oldest newspaper in print that you've never been able to read before, even though you've seen it around but haven't been able to read it.

It's the hunting that's fun - and while many won't admit it, the killing is a thrill too - but getting out there is what it's all about.  Don't worry about the killing though - just enjoy being out there.  It will happen and it's the law of averages- the more time you spend doing it, the more you are likely to be successful.  I've hunted almost 40 years - since I could barely walk and talk - and I still learn new stuff all the time and still have seasons where I'm not in the woods much or I get totally skunked, but I keep coming back.  

Best of luck to you and I hope you keep going back in the woods.  Hunting is one of those things that really defines me as a person and I feel myself come alive when I get out there.  I can't imagine what my life would be without it and it makes me a better person for a lot of different reasons.  I hope you get the same benefits I've reaped from it and then some.  Enjoy the journey and development.  Happy hunting.

OP, Look up Jeff Sturgis on YouTube.  He's a wealth of knowledge on everything Whitetail related.  I've had him out to my property, great guy!  A lot of his videos pertain more to habitat improvements, but he also teaches about public land strategies as well. How to select an area to investigate via topo maps, pre and post season scouting for the following year, ingress, egress, etc.  

I don't know about your area, but my property is surrounded on all sides with deer hunters.  To say there's a lot of hunting pressure around me is an understatement.  The things I learned from Jeff changed the way I hunt and the success I enjoy is proof that it works.  You can't go wrong here.

Learn what you can from his videos or books in regards to whitetail behavior and how to approach hunting them and you WILL see more deer, I promise.

I'll mention a story that Jeff Sturgis told me when we first met (I'm not affiliated with him or his business in any way.  Just trying to help."

He and his brothers had access to some farm land in Michigan's thumb region when he was younger.  There were open fields on all sides of a wooded ridge.  Jeff said one day when the wind was right he had his brothers sneak in to the downwind side of that ridge and wait.  Once they were in place he started walking across the harvested field on the upwind side of the ridge.  He stated that he hadn't made it very far across that open field before he started hearing his brothers start shooting.  

Deer bed with their back to the wind and their eyes and ears focused downwind whenever they can.  I shutter to think about how many mature deer i've spooked over the years that I never saw or heard get outta Dodge.

Pretty close to what I was going to post next.  Good advice.  I'll add that your egress is just as important as your ingress in regards to letting deer know you're there.  

Once you find good sign, preferably between a known bedding area and a food or water source, try to setup in a spot that would make deer passing behind, or downwind of you very unlikely.  

Some may think some of the precautions I learned or go thru for "killing a deer" are a little unnecessary, and to a point, they're right.  Difference is is that I'm not just looking to shoot any deer.  I'm only interested in 3.5 year old or older bucks.  In my area you don't get more than one chance to educate a mature deer before he's A) nocturnal or B) on another property.  I have to believe that this applies to public land as well to some degree.

Great point on finding a new spot.  Some of my best hunts have been when I abandoned the spot I presumably 'burned out' and set up hastily in a new one with sign.  I'm talking climbing stand or sticks and a hangon stand, no lane trimming, nothing.  Hunt to that spot, find a suitable tree downwind of sign, and voila!  Deer.

Quit thinking like a human. Think like a deer. What do I like? Where do I like it?

Then pull out maps. Look at the maps like you were a deer. What are prevailing winds. Where are roads and access points? Where is the food? Where are the does?

Start connecting the dots. Good food, limited access to humans, lots of does, favorable winds, good cover.

That will put you on the X.

Damn, I was going to say almost exactly the same thing.  Stop thinking like a human.  Deer are different.  They are generally cautious.  They stay in or around cover so they can slip in and out easily.  Scout.  Scout.  Scout.  Find where they bed down.  Find where they get water.  Get in between the bed area and the water/food.  They'll follow natural cover between the two.  Is there a pinch point anywhere that they have to feed through to maintain cover?  If you see wide open shooting lanes, so do they.  Scout and be patient.

I was on public land today hunting pronghorn. It's state trust land so you have to walk this parcel. After 3.5 miles of walking, I got within 250yd of a doe. As I was waiting for it to turn, a diesel truck roared across the field and scared it away.
The driver saw me and drove up to me, I waved at him thinking he was a fishcop and wanted to look at my tag.

Nope, it was a dude with his girlfriend. I told him that it was a walk-in area only. He said he could drive where he wanted. He drove off.
I was annoyed.