public land advice?

OK guys this may be a bit longer, so I am sorry.

I lost my spot to hunt on private land, and while I intend on trying public here in MO after rifle season ends, I am thinking about next year mainly. I don’t have access to the huge tracts of land, the 4,000+ acres of land like many people do… it’s out there, it’s just that I have one care and wouldn’t be able to hunt it properly, or as often as I’d like so I figured I’d focus on the 1,000 acre or less tracts of land. (most being 200 - 800 acres)

I am near St. Louis as well, so I expect that to fill up the areas I have interest in relatively quickly. Let me as you though, is this a waste of time? Should I plan on hunting less, and seeing more, or go to where I can hunt fairly often (couple times a week) but have a higher chance of seeing other hunters. I don’t mind getting off the beaten path, etc.
Another reason I am focusing on next year is my treestand, currently I only have a 12 foot ladder stand, I don’t expect that to be a benefit for me. Next year I should be able to get a hang on, and climbing sticks. That being said, the remainder of this year I intend to hunt from the ground (setting up in whatever cover I can find) do you think this is a waste of my time, or can you kill deer from the ground on public land?
Let me know your thoughts on this.

A buddy of mine and I hunted public land in MO this year and both deer he killed were from a ground blind.

The sooner you get started learning the lay of the land, the better your prospects get. Sure, you'll be behind the curve for a while, and the firearms season pressure will have the deer on edge.

Focusing on the smaller areas is a good bet, you'll be able to learn them faster,and scout for sign more quickly.But don't discount the larger areas, if you have time to hike back in and scout off the beaten path, the more remote areas will have seen less pressure.

Take a bit of time and do the research. I don't think any time spent in Gods creation is a waste. Whats that old saying? You can't kill them from your couch!

public land advice?

Where does one begin, so late into the season. If you start now make sure you wear something ORANGE, since you will probably wander into anothers parlor.

The only way is the get-up-n-go way. Pay attention to your suroundings and enjoy the walks, the deer will see u well before you see them. as the saying goes 'take time to stop and smell the roses' altho they are not blooming in the woods now, the concept is the same. go to fast and you will miss something simple.

hope this helps.....

Get out there as soon as possible & get to scout/hunting. Try any of the archery only areas for limited pressure or the CA's that only allow muzzleloaders.

Public ground bucks aren't a pushover. If however you are willing to put in some leg work, its definitely well within the realms of doable, and most likely even probable that you should be successful. Only you can determine how much work teeters the totter in your favor, and what exactly sucessful means to you.

Cant get it done thinking bout it or sitting on the sofa, I hunt every chance I get.

One reason I got into turkey hunting was to scout for next deer season. Wear your boots out and it's not always you have to walk far. I have a spot that is 200 yards off of the main road that I have killed two nice bucks from. Everyone else wants to walk way back so I let them go by and after 20 minutes or so the deer start appearing.

I'm new to public land hunting. Most of the advice I have gotten, and most of the articles I have read, say the vast majority of people don't walk way back into public land. The advice then provided says to walk farther in to get away from most other hunters. Are you saying that is not accurate? I understand nothing is 100% and you can't make a blanket statement. What I'm asking is, are you saying, more often than not, hunt close to roads/parking lots because most people walk in a 1/2 mile or a mile?

In certain cases, where you have several folks walking way back, through open fields and downwind of deer in those fields before dawn, they will flush deer back towards the road. In most cases, a majority of hunters hunt within a few hundred yards of the parking area and push deer back in deeper onto the area.

Scouting public land requires more than scouting deer sign. It also involves figuring out where other hunters are setting up, how they are getting there, and where those hunters will relocate deer they jump.

Finding deer sign, and then looking for obvious hunter sign, like trash, stands left in the woods, trail tape and tacks, are all part of figuring where the deer will be. In most cases, they will be where the majority of hunters are not. On occasion, this will be right by the road. In most instances, it will be deeper on the area where most are too lazy to access, like the far side of a deep stream, or the back side of steep terrain in thick cover where most will not climb and cross to access.

I have two spots where everyone walks way back. I started sitting close and seeing more deer. I also have a few spots that I walk way back. You have to hunt deer and pattern deer hunters.

This one was killed 150 yards from the road

One of the areas I will be hunting is about one square mile. Two guys have hung "hang on" stands already, so now I know what areas to avoid (for mutual benefit) and also factor in how any pressure they put on deer will affect me. I don't hunt with tree stands. Nobody knows exactly where I hunt, because they can't find my blinds - half the time I can't find them right off the bat because they look natural! But the more I keep my ears open, the more I learn. One guy uses white tape to mark his trails so it looks like tape a lumber company might use to ear-mark trees for future cutting. Now I know where he hunts. Patterning deer is only half the story - patterning other hunters can be used to your advantage big time. IMO there are few "negatives" in bow hunting - only "positives" that haven't been investigated enough yet!