If you don’t have time to scout public land, there are also plenty of private land guided hunts available for less than $2,000. Colorado. However, other areas and days offer the opposite scenario – “duck wars,” similar to range wars of the Old West. I have limited out several times off of public land, so it CAN be done. 1. Colorado is regarded as the best place to hunt elks in the US. Published July 21, 2014 ... Make sure you know them in the areas you plan on duck hunting. When the time comes to book a Texas hunt, try Ox Ranch, home to some of the best whitetail deer hunting you can find in the state. “Duck hunters can show up in the morning – they usually have to get in line – and then they’ll check in and we’ll issue them a number for a specific hunting area,” Best said. Often ignored by those looking to plan a whitetail hunt, South Dakota is quietly one of the best states in the nation for public land deer opportunities. More than twelve open chasing units are Governmentally run national untamed life asylums and state … Utah . Duck and Billy Campbell from the 2019-2020 duck season. With public land, the best first step is to consider how far you’re willing to travel to hunt. There are vast hunting grounds of over millions of acres that are open for anyone to hunt. But farther off the beaten path, public land offers better hunting than private land in many cases, because the habitat on public lands is managed for game and not livestock or maximum yield of row crops. This is considered the overall best state because there are high possibilities of getting an elk, this is … With that, obviously, comes great duck hunting. We pulled the best of the best of Federal Premium's Black Cloud with Dr. Combine these factors with the almost 1.6 million acres of public hunting land available, and it seems as if Texas hunters have a good thing going. There are around 2.5 MILLION acres of land open to public hunting in the state of North Dakota. ... 6 Best Deer Hunting Rifles for The Big Woods. Texas duck seekers have a huge number of sections of world-class lands best Public duck hunting in Texas openings accessible at practically no cost. Public land access. 5. To be fair, Arizona probably has average duck hunting, and waterfowlers have some decent public-land options. 7. 11 Elk Hunting States That Should Top Your List 1. More often than not, finding public land to hunt is going to be a little easier than finding private land, unless you’re considering paying for a hunting lease. Top 10 Best State For Elk Hunting in USA. https://www.themeateater.com/.../3-best-diy-waterfowl-states-for-2020 The problem with spring turkey hunting, is there are an awful lot of places to go. Thankfully, the public-land hunter can find timber to wade on some of our WMAs. Truth is, some states offer plenty of public land; some states don't. Public Kansas Duck Hunting – Kansas is one of the few amazing states that offers plenty of public hunting opportunities. It doesn’t matter if the ducks like it or not, we just don’t have much flooded timber hunting in Mississippi. There are a number of options available to duck and goose hunters on public land in Washington. To re-establish Kansas’ long history, Kansas kicked off the WIHA or walk-in hunting access program in 1995. Here are some of the best duck hunting areas in North Dakota. The sport of waterfowl hunting continues to be one of North America’s most popular hunting activities. Best Waterfowl Hunting Lease States. Goose numbers were stable in terms of the percentage harvest, and 52 geese were downed for an average of .3 geese per hunter. Guns. North Dakota. This is possibly the best state to hunt elk on public land, while also giving tough competition to Arizona, and is ascertained with the past record of non-typical elk taken here back in 2008. In fact, the duck numbers are currently higher than the long-term average. North Dakota isn't called the "Duck Factory" for no reason. So to help you consider your best options, we've compiled the 10 best states for meat eaters. Create your “home range,” if you will. The beauty of Idaho is that a DIY hunter can bait bears on public land, ... as well as hunting with hounds. In terms of trophy elk hunting, we have a rival of Arizona right here: Utah. 6.5 Creedmoor vs. .308 Winchester. In anticipation of the coming season we’ve taken a look at some of the best states in the country to hunt whitetails—no applications, bonus points or deep pockets necessary. The money you save may be your own! For 2020, the breeding duck index was 18 percent from last year and the 13th highest on record. The hunting on the public ground can be tough at times, but if do it right it can be lights out. Tips for Duck Hunting on Missouri Public Lands. Not that we'd mess with them, of course. All duck species, with the exception of pintails, which were down slightly, are well above the 72-year average. Some days, public hunting areas provide top quality shooting, with plenty of ducks, a lack of pressure and birds rivaling those of the best private clubs. Colorado is one of the few states in America that gives this access to the public. You could hunt out here for 5-10 days without ever crossing the same path twice, that’s how much public land is open to hunters in the region. Public hunting for waterfowl is not as bad as what some make it out to be here in Ohio. Of course, we're only talking wild game meat here, no … The northwest region holds nearly 12,000 acres of public land and 341,000 acres of Walk-In Hunting Access private lands open to public hunting. Good headquarter towns include Goodland, Colby, Phillipsburg, Hays, Concordia and Salina. How to Find Public Land to Hunt. 2 | Arizona. In less than 10 years the program became one of … You should find a bird or two on all that! Idaho After Bird Hunting Go For Mule Deer On California Public Land; They returned with 519 ducks, an average of 3.1 per hunter. 4. The Show-Me State is best known for great deer and turkey hunting, but it shines for ducks, too. So you have 2 good reasons to go for Elk hunting in Oregon. From wetlands in the north and middle zones to abundant and large agricultural rice fields, south east Missouri duck and goose hunting offers a variety of locations and large acres of land to hunt ducks. Across the Country, many states offer a wide range of waterfowl hunting opportunities that are available for the public to enjoy. Missouri is one of the best destinations for duck hunting in the US. Mississippi In this episode we will have the best hunt of the year on public land in Arkansas with some of my best friends! Best noted that Hurst, like other coastal WMAs and public hunting areas, is open to duck hunting for multiple months and that hunters often arrive just to hunt for the day. “Successful hunting on public land is possible for any hunter who is willing to put in the necessary time and effort,” he explained. Another C grade here. The Youth-Mentor hunts in late September provide great duck hunting opportunities for kids under the age of 16. This presents the usual major challenge for turkey, duck and deer hunters alike: where the heck can we hunt? “I have hunted on public land for 33 years. Aside from that, some of the best as far as seeing good numbers of deer are the ones where later in the season there are big fields with lots of guys rabbit and quail hunting. For more information, visit fw.ky.gov. When hunting waterfowl, a blind is essential to stay hidden from the sharp, well-trained eyes of ducks and geese. Located smack dab in the middle of the Central Flyway, a virtual waterfowl superhighway from Canada to the Gulf Coast, North Dakota's vast wetlands lends itself to perfect duck nesting habitat. Limited public land hunting owned by your state, even if available, is often busy — especially on weekends. And with a wealth of public hunting spots, the odds for top duck busting are good in many areas, especially along the eastern part of the state where the Mississippi River flows. 3. 100 Best Public-Land Hunts: Wisconsin. Competition … 3. North Dakota has a lot of birds. Best public deer-hunting areas Jonathan Olivier Deer Hunting , Sidebars Begin your deer season in the western part of the state in mid-September with plans to hit these WMAs. This just goes to show you the absolutely life-altering effect the state you call home can have on the quality of your hunting. After hunting public ground for 27 years, the best areas are the ones you actually go out and find out for yourself. Here are 10 great public land hunting destinations … Missouri No rundown of the best turkey hunting states could ever be complete without mentioning Missouri. Guns. The fees can be a bit high, but nowhere near the prices you’ll be paying in Kansas and there're over a million acres of public land to hunt on in the Bluegrass State. For starters, it has millions of acres of public land that it owns, along with millions more that are enrolled for public hunting by private landowners. The Missouri River bottoms also can be full of migrating ducks. Other great spots to go bird hunting in South Dakota include Eureka and Redfield. Some of the best hunter harvest statistics during the past 5 years have come from the Panhandle of Idaho in units such as DAU 1A, 1B and 1C. Technology – there are lots of new gadgets out every year, so break out your wallet and invest in some of them. Colorado. Although permanent blinds and pit-blinds typically offer the best cover and concealment, they are usually not an option when hunting public land. Kentucky is associated with the frontier days in a big way, and it’s one of the best deer hunting areas in the US. Nearly every state, or most worth traveling to, will sell you an over-the-counter tag as a nonresident. Green tree reservoirs (GTRs) are what duck hunters know as flooded hardwood timber. States in the West lead the country in the amount of public land available, with states including Wyoming, Utah and Idaho making more than 50% of the state available to the public to hunt. The north-central region adds 75,500 public acres and 294,000 WIHA.