Resources for finding public hunting land

Question

Are there any good resources out there for locating publicly available hunting land?

UPDATE: I should have stated that I'm looking for land in the US. Also, I'm interested in any public land (government owned or otherwise). Preferably, this land would be free to use, but depending on the circumstances I'd be willing to pay a fee. I hope this helps clear up a few things.

Do you want "public" as in government owned, or do you also want private landowners who are publicly looking for someone to come hunt their land? — Russell Steen, Jan 26 '12 at 03:31
Or are you looking for land that you would not have to pay or negotiate to hunt on? — Clare Steen, Jan 26 '12 at 12:00

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 28 '16 at 05:14

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Our family are members of the NRA. If you're interested at all in where to hunt in the US, I would recommend both NRA online articles and their search tool here:

National Rifle Association

The list includes locations and regulations for public hunting lands in just about every state.

edited Jul 28 '16 at 05:14

Ken Graham

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answered Feb 03 '12 at 02:05

Clare Steen

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J Lundberg · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-30T19:47:22.887

The best way I have found, assuming you are in the USA, is to go to that state's DNR website. They will have a map with all public land and what can be harvested from that land. This I found to be the most helpful starting point for finding public land.

From there the most helpful person you can find would be a local DNR agent. They spend their time on the public land and are aware of the signs that a species is in abundance and if it is a good place to hunt.

Most regulars near public land will not be as helpful as you think because you are basically competing against them for the same resources. They might say oh try "blah blah" but they most likely won't tell you specific places. You would have better luck being friendly to a DNR field agent.

UPDATE: If you a specifically looking to pay for the land one of the best places to check is craigslist. When you do this a good question to ask is if you are going to be the only one hunting the land or if they are rent to multiple people on separate weekends. It may cost more the get it exclusively but the game you are hunting will be less pressured and you should then have better luck.

@OlinLathrop Department of Natural Resources. I believe it is called something different in each state, but in MN and WI it's the DNR. — J Lundberg, Apr 27 '18 at 16:27
"called something different in each state". Exactly. It would be OK to describe the nature of the web site to look for, and then mention it is called DNR in a few particular states you happen to know about. You can't go to the DNR website in many states, which is what makes this answer wrong. — Olin Lathrop, Apr 27 '18 at 17:49

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 01 '12 at 03:51

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Most of the National Forests are open to hunting -- but check first -- whereas most of the National Parks are not.

answered Feb 01 '12 at 03:51

Jason S

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score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 26 '12 at 16:48

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Ask Google. "public hunting land statename" will get some good references. Also, most vacant property administered by the Corps of Engineers is open to hunting.

answered Jan 26 '12 at 16:48

xpda

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Apr 11 '18 at 19:24

Probably the best, but not the cheapest solution is to get a GPS with a hunting map overlay. These will show all sorts of things like,

Hunting area boundaries
Public lands
Private land open to hunting (Walk-in areas)
Who owns what private land. This can be useful is you have permission from one landowner, as the map will show what land that landowner owns. It can also be useful when asking for permission.

See some of the different options here.

score 1 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 28 '12 at 21:27

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Your best bet is asking enthusiasts, and you can find those simply by visiting your local guns and ammo store. They generally get all the best insider knowledge as they are (probably) hunters themselves and they talk with their customers.

edited Jan 28 '12 at 21:27

Kevin

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answered Jan 26 '12 at 04:45

Justin Self

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The whole point of the site is to be a source for asking enthusiasts....... – Russell Steen Feb 01 '12 at 22:48

Resources for finding public hunting land

6 Answers6