Finding a Place to Hunt

Posted on September 12, 2012

One important element of hunting is having, or finding, a place to hunt. The good news is that your hunt for a place to hunt has become much easier. There are websites, game department publications, and maps, such as those from DeLorme and MyTopo (www.mytopo.com/877-587-9004), that you can purchase and use to discover places to hang a treestand or possibly toss out the decoys to hunt ducks and geese.

Texas, for example, reports it has more than 1 million acres of land where the public can hunt. Details are at: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/public/

Some western states, such as Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, Idaho and South Dakota, all have Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service lands where hunters can hunt for numerous species. Through cooperative agreements, states often manage most hunting activities on those USFS and BLM lands.  Those western states, and others, also lease private property and open the land to public hunting. These tracts can be located as “walk-in, block management, or hunter management” areas. Visit your state game department’s website for the most up-to-date details and locations.

Another often overlooked place to find hunting opportunities is U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lands. The USACE reports it has more than 9 million annual hunter visits on its many tracts: www.usace.army.mil/Media/FactSheets/FactSheetArticleView/tabid/219/Article/173/environmental-stewardship-program-statistics.aspx.

And don’t forget hunter-supported national wildlife refuges as a place to hunt. With more than 97-million acres, NWRs can be found from coast-to-coast and in nearly every state, and many are open to public hunting. Details are at: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/hunting/.  In fact, hunting is a priority activity on National Wildlife Refuges thanks to the actions of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance.

Many states in the East have Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and Game Lands that can be publicly owned or leased lands that are designated as open to hunting. Access can sometimes require the purchase of an additional license.

Millions of acres, small lakes and meandering waterways await you this fall. Let your hunt begin.

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