How to avoid the crowds when hunting on public lands

Many who enjoy squirrel hunting, like Josh Sutton of Wynne, savor the experience more when it’s in a scenic locale away from hordes of other hunters.
Many who enjoy squirrel hunting, like Josh Sutton of Wynne, savor the experience more when it’s in a scenic locale away from hordes of other hunters.

Back in my younger days, 40 to 50 years ago, a hunter could find plenty of places on private property where landowners would readily grant permission to pursue all sorts of game animals, from rabbits to white-tailed deer. One rarely saw “No Hunting” or “No Trespassing” signs in those earlier times, regardless of where you traveled in Arkansas. And most of us never imagined that would change.

That has changed, however, and a sportsman trying properly to obtain hunting permission on private ground often goes home frustrated.

“I just prefer not to have folks on my land,” one farmer told me recently when I asked if I could hunt squirrels in a woodlot on his rural property. “You can’t trust folks to do what’s right. Too often, they wind up doing something that makes me wish I’d never invited them onto my property. And I have to worry about liability, too. If someone got hurt, even if it wasn’t my fault, I could get sued.”

The fact that so many landowners are unwilling to allow hunting on their property has created a situation where more and more hunters are going to public lands to find hunting opportunities. The problem is — and I hear this time and time again from many hunters — public lands have gotten so crowded that in some cases, it has become more and more difficult to enjoy a peaceful “get-away-from-it-all” hunt, which is the very reason many of us go to the woods in the first place.

Sure, we hope to bag some game on each junket. But if we don’t, enjoying the outdoor experience is enough for most of us. When hoards of hunters are in the woods with us, however, enjoying some quality time can be next to impossible. At least that’s what many folks think.

A few years ago, I hunted mallards in the Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area south of Stuttgart. As a result of its proximity to the “Rice and Duck Capital of the World,” Bayou Meto draws more than its share of visiting hunters. I’ve seen days when it looked like there was a hunter beside every tree. Most of them were poor callers, making horrible squawking sounds that certainly didn’t attract ducks. And a lot of them were “skybusters,” too — people who take shots at ducks that are much too far away for a killing shot.

But even on Bayou Meto, it’s possible to enjoy a quality hunt uninterrupted by the foibles of others. I discovered this while visiting with my son Matt and hunting with fellow outdoor writer Jim Spencer of Calico Rock. Spencer has hunted Bayou Meto since he was a kid, and he took us straight to a grand hunting spot just a short walk away from one of the WMA camping areas. We hunted there throughout the morning without seeing another hunter, and we managed to bag plenty of fat greenheads.

At a nearby restaurant that afternoon, I heard several other hunters complaining about the severe overcrowding on the area.

“We never had a duck within gun range,” one said. “Every time we’d get some birds working, another group of hunters would flare them off.”

Why was our hunting experience good when theirs was so bad? I think it has to do with the type of area Jim chose for us to hunt.

We waded through fairly deep water for about half a mile or so, then traversed the outer edge of a dense thicket to enter a hole obscured from less-mindful eyes. Most hunters bypassed the place we hunted because they perceived it would be too difficult to go through the heart of thicket. Jim knew it wasn’t as difficult as it looked, and knew, too, that lots of mallards would drop into the thicket when that morning’s shooting started.

Another way to avoid the crowds and enjoy a relaxing hunt is to apply for the limited permit hunts now common on many of The Natural State’s public hunting grounds. For example, on one national wildlife refuge where I hunt deer, only 500 permits are given out for an area covering about 75,000 acres. Most of the folks who hunt there concentrate in a few fairly small locales. By walking into the heart of the refuge, my sons and I find prime hunting grounds that are rarely visited by other gunners. During one recent three-day hunt, we saw only one other hunter in the area we frequent.

A boat can also take you to areas that other hunters overlook. I often hunt squirrels in a national forest’s remote areas that I reach by canoe. The squirrels are thick as July blackberries because they’re rarely hunted, and I can enjoy some peace and quiet in the backwoods.

In another smaller national forest, one that sees heavy pressure from squirrel hunters, I use a johnboat to carry me to the back side of a large lake, where few hunters ever go. Here, too, squirrels are usually numerous, and I rarely have to worry about another hunter spooking my game.

To locate out-of-the-way locales for my excursions, I study topographic maps and try to pinpoint spots off the beaten path where game is likely to be. I carry a compass to help me find my way in and out and do as much preseason scouting as possible, to be sure the area I’ve picked exhibits the qualities I want. Doing this homework has always paid off, and it can for you, too.

Instead of complaining about crowded conditions on public lands this season, get off your rear end and away from the roads. Good hunting away from the madding crowds is available for those who seek it.

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