Is public land hunting ruined for ever 

Not only is public land ruined but even private land as well because most people today don't have any hunting morals or ethics. Social media has ruined the outdoors period and yes I realize that I'm on youtube for all the keyboard commandos out there!!!

Rat slayer was like a kid in the candy store when he opened that new bow awesome glad too see him excited to hunt with dad

The deer gotta live somewhere let the doubters doubt and not go hunting while we keep trucking searching for the one you gotta be in it to win it!!

Here in southern Ohio there's a hunter along every pull off on public. Some of us older guys can't walk 5 miles deep to hunt. Hard to kill a deer with 10 other people hunting the same place. I wouldn't dare step in the spring turkey woods on public because of all the hunters cause it's dangerous. Every private place is leased by out of state hunters. Gotta be rich just to have a place to hunt these days. Hunting used to be fun but now it's just frustrating. And I been bow hunting for 37yrs.

The days of survey tape and land marks not map apps on your phone would keep alot of folk out of the woods especially in the dark.

The over use of trail cam is a issue. The buck shaming has no place. Your license your choice regardless. Any buck with a hand held arm drawn bow is a success. Even a doe. Take what you want forget the horn porn

I've been hunting some public land parcels in Wisconsin and it can be so challenging where I hunt. It is really difficult with all the squirrel hunters and pheasant hunters, specifically the squirrel hunters who tend to walk long distances.

You know there's a monster we have a balloon

Thank you for sharing your experiences Dan! Soooooo many people quitting before they get started based on a story they tell themselves that there are not any big bucks on the land they are hunting. Oh the opportunities missed by talking ourselves out of the experiences of hunting activities. Who cares about cameras and other fancy stuff that proves our poor mindsets. Hunting is more about going out there, learning and becoming flexible. Confidence kills big bucks because the confidence is coming from the experiences of previous hunting activities and appication to the hunt you are in. To me, the hunt is more about the hunt for what's happening in the woods I'm hunting rather than just the kill. Use skills you have earned to kill the age class of bucks that present themselves. I always tell people getting started to kill deer and focus less on the monster. The monsters will present themselves and if you pay attention to what they do, you will change your hunting skillsets and eventually kill bigger bucks.

Letting other hunters tell me where they are with cams and stands is an upper hand when you can see where it pushes deer. And most people won’t tell you where they are going so I gotta go by the cams and stands. It helps. I don’t feel like I need a trail cam. I used to use them but I was pushing deer away so I quit using them and I have more success. I can still get a head count by scouting and observation stands.

Loved the graphics explaining the bedding, trails and stand positions!!

The biting flies are in full force They swarm the trucks heat signature On the plus side, I had my second (of my life) black bear sighting this morning, crossing a logging road around 9am. Looked like a yearling. I thought it was a black wolf at first. 😮

Thank you for all the effort you put into these videos. I recently scouted some areas but it seems like all of it is relatively easy to access. Good luck this fall.

Watching your videos gives me buck fever. I just want to go out and scout now.

What I've come to recognize is that deer like to lay in thick spots where the walking trails 👣 r angling away from where they r bedding & then they can actually count the traffic w/o moving. If u can walk past them a way's then take 2 right turns u might be able to get into position like 75-100 yards from them. 🎉😮

Your video reminds me of playing blackjack tournaments in that you're playing against the dealers and the players at the table, most of the time people still think they just have to beat the dealer. Most challenges present opportunities. Public land takes effort, that's still the #1 reason why there will almost always be good spots to hunt in most areas on public land.

As someone whos been hunting for 24 years now, i couldnt disagree more with the idea that public land is ruined. Fucking hell its finally getting good in my area of northern PA

The nice thing about hunting public land where I hunt is you hardly ever see a hunter opening day of rifle season. Back 20 - 30 years ago, on the same land, there would always be an ARMY of orange pumpkins behind nearly every tree. No longer. Nothing to shoot at. So NOW when I go hunting on opening day of deer season with no deer to see ... I take my paint easel, slab of canvass, paint brushes and brown paint ... and I paint the landscape/trees in front of me and THEN add some big bucks. Once the racks get so big and I start getting buck fever ... I paint another buck. What they hey ... maybe someday someone will buy one of my paintings and I'll become wealthy. What would I do with all my profits from the painting/s? Buy better cuts of beef. Getting too old now to bend over and gut a deer out, let alone drag it back to the rig.

Been a public land ghost chaser since i was a kid. Gotta love it

Always love to see the father son videos.

I’d love to see Dan pick apart the low rolling hills of the “southern pine belt” that spans through central Louisiana Mississippi Alabama and lower Georgia. I feel like it’s its own type of place. Yes it’s hill country yes there’s some swamps but the pine kinda makes everything different. I don’t feel like we get too much love on RU-vid.

I think you’re a great guy, I love what you do. Personally I’ve been Mobil hunting for 30yrs. You tube has made a major impact in my area of the country. In southern New England onx and RU-vid have decimated public land. We don’t have the acreage the a lot of the country has. We are seeing few and few bucks making it pass 3 1/2, I’m 46 and never had to work so hard in my life. I’ve also never seen such a lack of ethics in young hunters as I do today. As for northern New England RU-vid has absolutely destroyed it. Lack of morals and ethics is getting record numbers of property posted. Every body thinks they are a deer tracker they go up north shoot the first thing with horns. They don’t care to ask permission they don’t thank land owners they have no consideration for active logging operations. So to answer they question yes in our area of they country RU-vid has had a negative effect on hunting. Many of the guys I know have simply given up guys that have killed mature bucks for over 20yrs just giving up. Even myself I find it’s easier to work over time and travel to the Midwest. Fortunately for me I have access to a friends farm. But even there in Ohio I am seeing a impact of crossbows corn piles and Facebook

If you have alot of private land to hunt how do your keep your focus on 1 buck. If there's multiple big bucks around. Within a couple miles as the crow flies??

I think I did that last year, I staged hunted a spot, and by the time I got to the closest spot to the bedding the sign was kinda dried up, basically noticed no new sign being made, I made a mistake haha. I think I found him again during spring scouting tho!

Thanks for the scouting trip.

Cannibals ate my uncle too 😂

I believe it’s been harder on turkey hunting more than deer hunting

Dan you should try somewhere around Watersmeet if your in upper Michigan this year.👍 There's some big ones around.

I love seeing a ladder stand in an area that takes 2 hrs to walk into. This tells me that there are deer here and big bucks if someone is willing to carry a ladder stands miles from the parkinglot

Watching now Great way to end the weekend Thanks Dan

Honestly if you are a “horn hunter “ there’s really two categories. it seems like one group learns a level of respect through experience and through good practice, diligence. This respect for the animals comes naturally to those who are patient. And the others are those who poach and don’t appreciate the life of the animals as much and have not grown as individuals into a fruitful hobby hence why they poach because good things don’t come easy. Maybe some want the east road. Not to be wise in my own eyes, just my observation and opinion. Thanks

The Rat-Slayer seems like a kick-ass hunting partner. You can tell that kid is calm and measured.....doesn't get rattled. A solid backup.

Here in MA there are fewer hunters than there was years ago. The state doesn't make it easy here. Development. Increased licensing costs. Aging population of sportsmen. Lots of reasons for the decline. But those still hunting - are far far better at it and most of them are mobile at least some of the time. Lots of fixed setups too, but I would say most hunters use both.

Sounds like you need to go frog gigging at that spot lol

Love to watch these scouts and pick up some insight

Dan is a wealth of knowledge. And he is totally right. The big bucks will be in most isolated places were most hunters want go

Happy Father’s Day Dano hope ya had a good one SWEEEEET bow James!!

Great description on a swamp bedding area! Question tho. In those areas. Do you think they prefer red oak acorns or crops. They also log around me too. What do you think would be the most preferred food source?

Could you make more scouting videos like this? I would really appreciate it.. And by the way I love the new glasses.

Another scouting master class, good stuff.

It's always been a challenge, and that is why we do it!

Yes. RU-vidrs and social media diarrhea has done it in.

If that was Louisiana you’d be hearing a hissing sound from alligators and beavers slapping that tail warning every thing around that you’re trespassing, mosquitos would have a feast too

Worth marking and checking

So is it not good to hunt your way in scout /hunt ur way in ? Or go all in or bust? Tryin to get on the bedding

I hunt hill country and in my opinion the bucks are going to be where the does are and does are on acorns. I look for areas where the acorns are hitting you in the head while walking through. I hunt from the ground mostly. Prehanging stands and hanging a bunch of cameras is void sometimes on big public because the deer are nomadic especially the bucks. Changes day to day.

Those deer in that funnel have not been disturbed much imo, with all of those beds, seems unpressured

You had the comment of pink saddle hunting twice and I laughed both times.

A couple of the spots you said a guy couldn’t saddle hunt because of the thickness….I was wondering if you meant you could hang a stand there? A saddle platform is much smaller than a stand. If one can’t saddle hunt it-how do you hang a larger stand there? I hunt areas that thick but often bring a stool and hunt off the ground because of the thickness.

I only have public land to hunt. Most bow hunters that I have met out there are great. Some people are di***. But that is true everywhere you go. I had a person steal my card and take out the batteries in my cell camera last season. Unfortunately, they left the camera body open, and it got ruined by the weather. This is a risk I take. Just because there is a camera and an old tree stand, doesn't mean there will be a hunter there when you show up. Some guys are fair weather hunters. Good luck out there and please always wear a harness when climbing in and out of your tree stand. It will save your life.

I'd be open to eliminating, or at least curtailing the use of game cameras on public lands. Perhaps limited to when deer seasons are closed. Cameras encourage more frequent intrusions to the same locations which doesn't happen the same way with boots on the ground scouting. Casual and less serious hunters who hang cameras would almost certainly intrude less. And there's a lot of them. Then the issue of being surveilled in the middle of the woods by others. Game cameras don't discriminate, and some people might not be okay with their images taken and time stamped. Camera use results in more pressure, intrusion and conflict on public lands. Bottom line.

Ive hunting high pressure state land for 50 years this is the anniversary 😊.50 years wow that's weird to say😅.Ive seen so much change in hunting, mosty ppl being up tight.My view on trail cams?Just an eye sore.

Pure Ledgend. Always gr8t content. The shirt is epic 🤣 I dig it.

More pressure I see, easier public gets where I come from. I raised whitetail deer for the first 14 years of my life with my old man and even though domesticated deer are different than wild deer, I learned many behaviors seeing and feeding those deer daily. I also saw how wild deer interacted with our deer through the high wire fence at different times of the year. Things got wild during the rut. Had a monster buck take on our large 12 point one year and the fence became a fly trap for his head. It was an incredible experience growing up and I’m glad it happened!

Nice shirt! Hey, is that hair connected to the hat? 😅. Keep up the great content.

Agreed Dan quality has went up. Been holding out for giants thanks to cameras. They no way shape or form kills the deer for u. I'm prime example lol. Goodluck this fall

Excellent video

Dan ruined public land hunting. /s

I love the hat clip we’re did you find it

I like your videos because of the huge amount of woodsmanship you possess. I know you do use some cameras, but they ain't everything to you. I get so sick of people only talking about the stuff showing up on their cell cams, knowing they possess no true woodsmanship. I guess I'm more old fashioned.

Love the t-shirt, it should say amphibious cannibals

Half the land west of the Ozarks is public land.

Is that the rat slayer (the fruit of serial killer loins) in the beginning?

So nice to redevelop, if you will, the relationship with your son, as they get more mature. Not that there hasn't always been. But it's different now. Isn't it Dan? Has been for me bro. Hope it has been for you too!

In some ways it's ruined, it keeps changing, still plenty of fun, people still take nice bucks on public land despite the negatives.

Sometimes you have to hunt by stands and game cams people leave illegal treestands out and in Michigan technically game cams are illegal no items left out over 24 hrs but DNR doesnt enforce it? Hunting public land has issues.

Yea so tired of hearing people complain about trail cameras but the same people you never hear them talk about some of the stuff that can really hurt hunting like the stuff happening out west

Rat Slayer getting ready to do work 👍

Dan as always love the T-shirt. Hilarious!!! Do guys send these to you or are they your own ideas. Btw I got gps on your truck. I guess big buck hunting there is all done!

Your shirt is the GOAT. HAHAHA. I love it.

My wife wants to know if that is a honey hole 😊

Should see my wall, haha largest is a 5pt i love e. And display em

Love your shirt.

I would say Iowa, Wisconsin & Mississippi are still really great, it all depends on how many public acres per hunter in that state. Texas has a small percentage of public hunting land, but a huge number of hunters. Another thing is hunters from other states are picking up on the great states and taking 2 weeks of vacation and hunting those better states for a trophy deer or turkey.

I was once know as the one and only Big Buck Boar and long beard slayer and was only able to hunt a few weekends a year living out of state in Florida but I moved to my killing grounds the gig is up it’s all over but the crying

Not in Michigan. Public land in Michigan is dead, the deer are not dumb, they know and don’t move till dark. I hate Michigan public. No one on RU-vid can get it done either lol

How about the fact that most forest companies and counties that own forest land only think about money. How much money can I make from the trees for my agency. They do not care about creating the best wildlife habitat. Every year in Northern Minnesota we have had less and less deer. Wolves mostly get blamed. But think they are only part of the issue. The foresters are managing for money not wildlife habitat. A beautiful mixed diverse species forest is quickly converted to a red pine plantation that was treated with herbicides to kill all other species from growing so they can plant the red pine. Now they plant the trees so thick that when they grow the branches touch each other so deer and other species can't even move through the plantations. There is no food in there because they have been killing anything from growing there with herbicides then planting pines so close together to stop any competition that might provide food for deer. Fly over NE Itasca County in Minnesota in a small plane and see for yourself how much of the land is clearcut and converted to aspen or in sandy dryer areas it is all red or spruce plantations. This aggressive cutting has changed the landscape to fewers forests that actually benefit deer for food and cover in close proximity. In Addition they allow ATV's to go anywhere in the forests and deer turn nocturnal from the constant ATV joy riders.

Watching the end of this had me think, on your thinking about the oaks probably also works with no bow pressure ..you think that some spots are good during bow only ,early season / rut and the bucks leave just before gun season hits and never experience the pressure there when gun pressure and bucks are moving in the out when there’s no bow pressure in those specific spots

If its brown its down!

If I believed the pressure ruined public Hunting, I'd also at least partially blame you Dan!!😂 You're one of the teachers of better hunting tactics, but most guys aren't willing to strip to their tighty whities in the October Wisconsin Woods and wade a 40 degree creek.

😂 I agree. Most guys are just bait pile hunters or trail cam viewers. That trail camera only looks in one direction 🤣🤣Some of us can just look at the trees and know where to be.

Awesome shirt! The longer you read it the funnier it gets

Geez it almost looks like a human trail😮

I heard you say you use Spartan Forge? Is it worth the switch from the other popular mapping app?

I hunt 80acres of private surrounded by hunters/cameras/public in N Mich .Ive shot a couple nice bucks I know went around another hunters set up

Can u kill big bucks on the ground in those setup ?just sitting in a chair without ground blind .

I think the masses forgot what hunting is. Trail cameras, even tree stands, are coming with WIFI. Lazy....that's what has become.

I just hunt for me. I never post photos of my deer. It’s just a personal thing, it’s one the only things that’s just mine. All this buck shaming and wanting to be a some sort of hunting hero ….whatever. I just don’t have time for for it

How are the Ticks in that area?

I feed my family venison.I take mostly does with whatever the season allows. So I'm not to pressed about the teck. What worries me, the lack of pressure I see on public " except rifle/shotgun seaon".

Nice bow

Come to Michigan Dan. You’ll quit hunting.

Whoever said, I blame Obama! Priceless, absolutely freaking priceless! And I agree, totally😂 Oh my God, I totally needed that! Thank you!

not near me everyone would rather hunt a corn pile in there yard where i live

The shirt 😂

Dan I love you video's they are both educational and entertaining, even though I don't hunt out of a saddle it doesn't look good for you when you are shaming them even in a funny way. We are a dying breed and ALL hunters need to stick together even if you don't agree with the way they hunt.

All the people complaining in the comments, I think you may have missed the message of the video. Persevere, take the chance the other guy won't. Be a beast

Sorry to here about you're uncle dan 😂

Are you worried about showing the map ?

Also, I believe it's good to argue or disagree. U da man, and I love ya, but I'm going to disagree once in a while. Kinda like I disagree with Johnny on his "Scent Lock" 😂 Or Sturgis sometimes, but u are my favorite guy lol