How to Find Deer Land to Hunt
Check with the Army
Editor’s
Note: Some years ago I almost dropped the telephone
receiver when I heard the words, "The landowner
has sold the land, and our hunting lease has been cancelled."
I'd called the secretary of our hunting club to let
him know that I planned to go to our hunting camp three
weeks before deer season started to check several of
my stand sites and get ready for the opening weekend
of bow season.
I wanted to scout the areas where I'd taken bucks before,
cut shooting lanes and make sure that the deer fed on
the same nut trees they had in the past. I enjoy scouting
for deer because I consider it the true essence of the
sport of hunting. Scouting means learning where the
deer feed and bed and which trails they travel on and
then predicting where a deer may appear. When you hunt,
you actually climb into your tree stand and wait on
the shot. But this year instead of scouting for a place
to put my tree stand, I had to scout for new land to
hunt.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages some of the
best river-bottom hardwood land in this nation. This
government entity owns land, often only small easements
or little blocks measuring 20 to 40 acres, on many major
waterways throughout the nation. Many times the Corps
may allow only specific types of hunting on this land,
like only archery, blackpowder or shotgun hunting. Because
most hunters
overlook these patches of land, you often will find
big bucks holding in these regions. You can take them
if you'll study the land and learn how to hunt it. For
more information contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
at www.usace.army.mil/.
Explore Hunting Military Bases:
You will find many of the military bases around the
country open to public hunting. Different branches of
the armed services have millions of acres in various
states where civilians can hunt.
Tomorrow: Think about Power
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