This may sound a little weird, but thinking my choices are game cameras or look for a club. I am finishing off my second season and got my first Doe at the beginning of the season. I'm on my nearest WMA just about every weekend there is a gun hunt. However the opportunity to take a buck eludes me and I am a bit frustrated. The bucks I have seen others shoot are not impressive to me
.I feel like the time I am sitting out in the woods all day is not worth it just to see a lone doe at best. So I figure moving forward I got two options

1. Invest in using cameras to narrow things down an area and time I know a buck is around on public land.
2. Look for a club.

I'd like to hear some feedback. I enjoy the public land experience and for the most part I have had little issues with other hunters or spots being taken.

P.S. Don't tell the guy mad about his picture being taken on public land I am considering this.

I guess it depends on how much you wanna spend. Buying 4-5 cameras is much cheaper than a quality hunting club.

Your cameras are going to get stolen on public.

You’ll get poached and trespassed if you lease.

Welcome to Alabama, it’s the f’n wild wild west when it comes to hunting around here.

If you can’t afford to buy 7500 acres and have the time to continuously monitor it you might as well just keep hunting public.

All options you’ll be frustrated but public is the cheapest

What are your goals? If your goal is to simply see deer each time you hunt…. Then yes I would join a club.
What caliber buck are you hoping to kill? You said the bucks you haven’t seen others shoot aren’t impressive.

IMO, cameras aren’t going to be the answer to killing deer out there. You have to be scouting and learning multiple different areas.

I’m in a lease or “club” with a group of guys only because I’ve been hunting with them for the past 15 years and we are friends. There is no drama or BS in the “club”. If it were just me I would lease a small Tracy of land and hunt public land. I’ve heard to many horror stories about big clubs.

Sounds like you need to spend more time scouting. Hunting public I always spend more time scouting than sitting up a tree.

This^^^
I'd study some maps and hunt some swamps if there are some and look for ridges running into them or high spots. Most people avoid water.

Nothing is better than hitting the ground and walking to learn what you are and are not looking for throughout the season. Cameras are fine for learning what passes a given spot and when. You could have deer walk everywhere but in front of it, or nowhere near, if it isn’t on a travel route or food source. Joining a club won’t magically make you see more deer if you don’t know how to scout. A club may be less pressured and that can help.

I used to hunt public land a lot. Back before cameras were popular. I wouldn’t buy an expensive one if I were you. I would assume it would get stolen. Not every knows to not touch other people’s stuff. Also even if you did join a club I would think you would need/want cameras there too. So if it’s in the budget why not do both. Join a club and buy a couple cameras. One for public and others for club. That way you can hunt either one and have somewhere to go when it’s not a gun weekend.

If your club budget is the same as several cameras, say 5 or so, I’d say you’re going to enjoy your experience on public much more than you would said club.

Yes. A “budget” club in Shelby county will be the most frustrating experience you’ve ever had lol

U can't hunt cameras....I grew up without them, now they're cool to see what's going on but I never hunt based on them, they'll screw u up 90% of the time if u try

I’m not a public land hunter, but I would say if you aren’t seeing other people or people aren’t wanting “your spot” then you probably aren’t in the right spots. I also agree with 3FFarms, Wal-Mart sells Tasco’s for around $30 each, so depending on your budget it sounds like public may be better. IMO a hunting club is one of those things where cheaper is not always better for sure.

Get you a 22,,,,, some map of the place , scout and squirrel hunt the hell out of it after season.

You need to find spots and pin them so they easy to find next season.

Be ready for long drags

Try to find places people don't want to hunt . Trails coming off and on of the place

Try to get in before the other hunters get in they may drive one to you walking in

Yeah don't wanna get wet and muddy when it's cold

If you are in south bama you will start seeing more buck soon. Rut is about to kick in.

As stated above. Go deeper in the woods early. Key is to have boots on the ground and be where they are. That said I’ve killed deer close enough to see my truck. At least with public you don’t pay for drama. I’ve talked with guys at the gates been polite and worked together for safety and hunting experience.

I appreciate the feedback. My scouting this year has been pretty good. I have about 4 or 5 spots on my WMA that I am intimately familiar with. I got rubs, scrapes, turds and beds. All the stuff you want
. I have a good idea of the trails and can predict their routes. I guess I still get into FOMO thinking. When I get bored, I can't help but think that buck must be just over the ridge or around that bend in the creek. I feel like if I had an idea or when the buck moves through, it would be heartening.

I am not looking to set the state record, but if I was to shoot a buck I'd feel bad shooting anything less than six points. I've seen some bucks shot that technically had 3 legal points but the rack wasn't even spreading out. I ain't judging, but my appreciation for balance just won't allow it. I'd shoot a doe for meat first, tbh. No shortage of them where I am.

Sounds like I need to be patient and just keep doing what I am doing. I hunt primarily for meat and exercisw. I have improved enough I could take a doe just about every other hunt. That was not the case last year.

Sounss like I am getting a great bang for my buck as is and might give a cameras a shot next year for the heck of it.

"an idea or when the buck moves through, it would be heartening." You can do that with scouting. My top three techniques for killing public bucks are: finding his bedroom and killing him when he steps out in the evening, finding his bedroom and slipping in there to kill him mid-day, sitting funnels related to bedding during rut.

There are a lot of little things that go into doing that, but mostly it's scouting. You can know where and when a buck is most of the time by scouting. I like scouting more than hunting. Figuring them out is the fun part.

Cameras are useful for narrowing down which bucks you know are old enough to suit you. You don't have to spend time sitting to lay eyes on a buck you weren't going to shoot. If you don't need it to be more than a pretty young buck then fooling with cameras is as likely to hurt as help. The danger of setting up the camera is the same or more than going in to sit.

If you join the club you can still hunt the public land.