Hello all,
I'm new to hunting in general ( went a few times as a kid but never super seriously), I've been hunting William Forward WMA for pheasant the last couple weeks with decent luck and having a blast, just being out in the woods by myself has been so relaxing. I picked up a surplus doe tag for zone 10 and I'll be hunting the shotgun and Muzzeloader season with my CVA wolf that I just picked up, I realize that I'm behind the 8 ball as far as scouting and such goes but I figure any time I spend in the woods won't be wasted. My question is this, is it even worth hunting public land in zone 10 after bow season? I've seen what I'm pretty sure was some deer sign while out bird hunting at Forward WMA ( a couple scrapes on the edge of the fields) but for all I know it could have been someone's dog digging. I'm not expecting anyone to divulge their spots of course, I just want to manage my expectations and at least try and get in the right ballpark, but I don't wanna be the bumbling rookie that ends up traipsing through 5 guys stand areas and bumping their deer, even if I don't connect with a deer this year I figure some practice identifying good habitat and sign can't hurt. If it helps I'm fortunate to have a lot of weekdays off due to my work schedule so that's when I'll be hunting the most, I don't have a tree stand so I'll be working from the ground. Thanks guys!
I'm new to hunting in general ( went a few times as a kid but never super seriously), I've been hunting William Forward WMA for pheasant the last couple weeks with decent luck and having a blast, just being out in the woods by myself has been so relaxing. I picked up a surplus doe tag for zone 10 and I'll be hunting the shotgun and Muzzeloader season with my CVA wolf that I just picked up, I realize that I'm behind the 8 ball as far as scouting and such goes but I figure any time I spend in the woods won't be wasted. My question is this, is it even worth hunting public land in zone 10 after bow season? I've seen what I'm pretty sure was some deer sign while out bird hunting at Forward WMA ( a couple scrapes on the edge of the fields) but for all I know it could have been someone's dog digging. I'm not expecting anyone to divulge their spots of course, I just want to manage my expectations and at least try and get in the right ballpark, but I don't wanna be the bumbling rookie that ends up traipsing through 5 guys stand areas and bumping their deer, even if I don't connect with a deer this year I figure some practice identifying good habitat and sign can't hurt. If it helps I'm fortunate to have a lot of weekdays off due to my work schedule so that's when I'll be hunting the most, I don't have a tree stand so I'll be working from the ground. Thanks guys!