I just moved away from Montgomery to go off to college up here in North Carolina. Anyone up here have any knowledge/experiences of public land around here? iIm trying to find a place to slip out and set up a stand to hunt in this season. Im in Chapel Hill which is relatively close to the Raleigh/Durham area. If theres anything worth checking out around here i would love some info. Thanks guys,

-Brian

Brian: Good luck this year at NC. I hunt with your uncle James at our club in Midway AL. I'm hunting in NC in October with a local guy near Hobgood NC. Let me check with him and see what I can come up with for you.

I'm originally from NC...Too much to type, so I'm gonna PM my phone number. A lot of people don't realize how many P&Y/B&C bucks are killed within an hour of RDU. You have some good hunting fairly close to you.

I think CeeHawk on here is from up that way...might check with him.

Check out Butner/Falls, and Jordan Game Lands... (Jordan will be closer to you.)

I'm in Fayetteville so I'm about an hour from Raleigh. I've only hunted on Ft Bragg which is open to the public if you ever wanted to drive down. Bragg probably doesn't have the most abundant population but we have several really good bucks killed every year.

I aint lived in Fayetteville since 1993, but we used to go to Uwharrie NF. Ft Bragg as mentioned as well. I dont remember NC having much public land in that area.

Is the bear hunting any good on public land in NC?

Something I would like to know, too

Hahaha small world! Dont worry about doing anything if its going to be a pain, and im also going to be on a pretty tight schedule until we finish the football season. if something does come up just let me know and ill see if it could fit. thanks Bud!

What Coach41 said lots of great hunting very close by! http://www.ncwildlife.org/

With your screen name leaving nothing to hide, a quick google search lead to you being a Freshman Offensive Lineman at UNC. Congrats on living out your dream brother! I don't have any advice on hunting in North Carolina, but I feel like I have a reason to pull for UNC football now. Good luck this upcoming season!

In the mountains on the west side and eastern coast has bears season I believe.

Go to cglease.com, when there, click menu, look for lease land available. They have 7 tracts of land in different amounts. I saw a small 19 acre tract near Raleigh. You might find something that'll meet your needs. Good luck!

I believe one of my good friends and former college teammates coached you in HS. First off congrats on your opportunity to play big time college ball. I'd be happy to give you the skinny on what I know about some of the public lands close to you. I have scouted Jordan game lands and there are deer there. The big caveat is that a lot of the good deer killed there are by folks who have a boat to access areas locked in by private ground. The access points you can get to via the roads do see a lot of pressure so you will have to hoof it to get on unpressured deer. You need to be aware of what county you are in out there as the seasons and limits differ depending on if you are in Wake or Orange County.

I mainly hunted Pisgah and Uwharrie NF and would be happy to let you come hunt with me anytime. I'm about to move to SC but will be hunting Uwharrie during the black powder/gun season. I have a few spots that produce pretty well up there that I don't mind showing ya. I may hunt Pisgah once or twice but those mountains are tough to hunt once the guns start going off. There are bears in Pisgah but typically you will need to be lucky to get on one without dogs. Same goes for the coastal bears. Not impossible to kill one but very difficult without dogs. If you do end up hunting the coastal game lands I'd recommend getting the bear stamp with your license. Deer and bear season overlap there so there is the possibility to whack one if you want to.

Feel free to PM me if you need any other advice. I'll be happy to shoot you my contact info and show you around the places I know sometime.

I hear Uwharrie is pretty good but I've never hunted on it. Where you stationed here?

I was born and raised about an hour NW of Chapel Hill. You are more than welcome to come hunt our farm if you get some free time. I know all too well the diffuculty of beng off at school trying to hunt

Yeah,at Pope from 86-93. Uwharrie was a welcomed change of view to hunt after being in the sandy shucks on Bragg. We'd park not far from Troy and walk in near a RR track. Bout all I can remember.

Just pm'd you

Almost forgot about a spot semi close to where you'll be. I think it's too late to apply for a tag but Buckhorn game land is permit only game land that's about 30 or so minutes away from where you'll be.. Definitely apply for that area next year. I've heard it holds a lot of deer so if you get a tag (lottery style draw hunt) you should have a good shot at bringing home meat.