Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Strictly Public

Well leases and clubs are becoming to expensive. The one club I was in in Chilton county sold the other lease I was in the owner raised the price and it’s just not worth it. I’m going to be strictly hunting public land this year.

I’m excited I think it’s going to be fun. I may travel around the state and hunt different areas. I’ll also be going to Illinois the last week of October.

I’m extremely excited to deer hunt this year it’s a fun hobby to do before turkey season.

Have killed a lot of deer on public land.

It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. You’ll run into some peckerheads, just goes with it. If it wasn’t for running deer dogs, public be all I’d hunt. Be glad to help if I can, feel free to send a pm.

Piece of advice my buddy Bowtarist taught me about public land. It’s better to hang and know than hang and hope. Spend the extra time scouting. Don’t get caught up on them “pretty” spots.

Get a good app on your phone like OnX or hunt stand. Down load the WMA on it and learn how to use it. Be surprised at the deer you’ll see.

I used to hunt public from a boat a lot. Had a reasonable amount of success. It is very doable but requires you to be a better woodsman. You will work as hard as you did on a lease. The difference is you will work scouting not planting and dumping corn.

Good luck! Finding overlooked places requires boots on the ground. Simply going to the farthest point from access won't work anymore.

I have hunted Barbour and have had good luck before. You may not see a monster, but you have a really good chance of seeing deer.

Delete this immediately before someone comments something stupid like "here is a map of xxx WMA where I hunt"

You can basically find big bucks on ANY public land in this state. It is as simple as these two rules:

1.Go where others wont go
2.Hunt them where they are, not where you want them to be

If you follow them two rules you will eventually shoot good bucks on literally any property

Night watchman is all over it. Only thing I’ll add. It’s a lot easier to focus on a couple of segments of public ground than trying to bounce around all over the place. If you have a week straight to hunt each WMA or piece of public then you can get on good deer. If you mostly have weekends to hunt narrowing down your area to focus on to just one or two pieces of public will help cut the learning curve.

If you live near Bham, you can hunt 3 different ruts within a 2 hour drive. Most all Alabama wma has over 20 days per season of rifle hunts. All offer free primitive camping for the most part as well. Just throwing that out there. 😁

I always had my favorite spots. But, on the Rifle Hunts, I'd have a Plan A, B, & C. Bowhunting, I'd usually have the place to myself.

This is 100% truth. If you are not a bowhunter, I would seriously consider starting.

Also figure out, where the deer get pushed to on crowded rifle hunts. They may not otherwise be there. But normally will retreat to the same thickest mess They can find. Be there early. Worked for me many times.

I'm thinking about hitting a few gun hunts on Lowndes this year

I’ll be there. Lowndes and Autauga will be my main 2 places I hunt. I may venture to Oakmulgee and the TNF during the December gun hunts to get a few December rut hunts in. I had success on Lowndes 2 seasons back and shot a decent 3 year old 8 point with my bow.

The first few yrs that I started to bow hunt I saw other hunters . Made some changes to how and where I hunt and haven’t had that problem since. Several yrs and deer later , it still works.

Here's a 'lil tid-bit, while everyone says "go deep" you're actually passing up some great hunting near roads and entrances. I killed my best two michigan withing 150yds of each. I've also killed good deer behind houses and junk plies in the country

The good news for you is that Alabama has increased the amount and quality of Public land available to hunt on in recent years.

Ive got a question some of you might know off the top of your heads that will keep me from looking it up, I have a valid AL Lifetime license but now live out of state. Am I eligible to put in for an SOA hunt?

Yes though need a wma license.