[bama99]

I've never hunted these public areas and imagine they get pretty heavy pressure. It seems 99% of the people I talk to hunt in tree stands. I like hunting from the ground however. The first buck I ever took was from about 10 yards in a makeshift ground blind leaning up against a tree. Wasn't even wearing camo though I do now. This will be my first year bowhunting and I want to do it from the ground.

My questions is: How likely am I to irritate hunters who may be perched in their stands if I change location? From the ground sometimes it's wise to move around if the wind changes or just to a better location if there is no action. I know some are adamant about staying put, but I've had luck doing otherwise and think that's an advantage of staying on the ground so you can quickly and quietly change locations.

I've just never hunted these areas and don't want to step on other hunters toes. I've heard some of the natives can be pretty territorial. You guys have any advice on that? I'm willing to walk a mile or more in to get away from the crowd if necessary.

 

[whitetailwarrior]

have hunted black water a few times not enough to answer but have had kids with me only 6 ft off ground and had a buck come within 20 yrds and some does this being during gun season , ya find the rt spot and wont have others around to mess up when ya move around, and yes locally have had the this is my spot get out kinda peeps . in south fl, when i hunt there ya got to get use to them down there walkin under ya all day long especially those around tampa area they dont like treestands lol, would walk under me and ask why i was up in a tree ,,, hunting duh lol

 

[chaddd]

I heard Elgin is perfect for ground blind hunting and full of deer!

 

[fisheye48]

Stay in your spot until you are ready to leave.... how would you like it if somebody came wandering by you?

 

[Outside9]

As long as you don't look up after daylight and their is a guy in a tree stand above you who cares. I hunt in tree stands (on private land) but I love ground blind hunting also. Ask any turkey hunter if they think being hidden on the ground makes the deer notice you. I have had deer almost step on my when turkey hunting.

Not to mention some folks just can't hunt from a tree for whatever reason.

I've never hunted these public areas and imagine they get pretty heavy pressure. It seems 99% of the people I talk to hunt in tree stands. I like hunting from the ground however. The first buck I ever took was from about 10 yards in a makeshift ground blind leaning up against a tree. Wasn't even wearing camo though I do now. This will be my first year bowhunting and I want to do it from the ground.

My questions is: How likely am I to irritate hunters who may be perched in their stands if I change location? From the ground sometimes it's wise to move around if the wind changes or just to a better location if there is no action. I know some are adamant about staying put, but I've had luck doing otherwise and think that's an advantage of staying on the ground so you can quickly and quietly change locations.

I've just never hunted these areas and don't want to step on other hunters toes. I've heard some of the natives can be pretty territorial. You guys have any advice on that? I'm willing to walk a mile or more in to get away from the crowd if necessary.

 

[floorguy]

If you hunt in any public area you are in someone's way lol

 

[Outside9]

If you hunt in any public area you are in someone's way lol

Again, I'm fortunate enough to have a private spot to hunt, but I see a lot of nice deer come off Eglin each year. I knows guys who put in their time and walk long distances but they see lots of deer.

I think one of the biggest problems with Eglin hunting is the amount of does they see. If they would let the guys kill off some of the does and leave the small bucks alone things would be much better on there.

 

[jcoss15]

There are plenty of places on BW to still hunt or set up a ground blind...I do it a lot and rarely run into other hunters. Roads closed to vehicles are good places to start.

 

[chaddd]

Elgin has better bucks tho!

 

[bama99]

There are plenty of places on BW to still hunt or set up a ground blind...I do it a lot and rarely run into other hunters. Roads closed to vehicles are good places to start.

That's along the lines I was thinking seeing how much acreage there is. How is the hunter density during archery season versus gun season? I don't think I could be payed enough to go out there on the first day of gun season.

 

[Outside9]

I have been wanting to get with some of my friends who hunt Eglin and find some hogs hunting locations. I don't mind walking and long sits, but I heard hogs are hard to pattern.

 

[jcoss15]

That's along the lines I was thinking seeing how much acreage there is. How is the hunter density during archery season versus gun season? I don't think I could be payed enough to go out there on the first day of gun season.

There are more people during gun season, but you can still find spots where you can still hunt certain sections of land without seeing other hunters...If it's where you can hunt during the mid week times you can really have some spots to yourself.

 

[Try'n Hard]

I would be a little worried in a ground blind on public land. Sounds like a good way to get shot!

 

[Eglinhunter]

My son and I hunt Eglin and use both stands and blinds. If you do some scouting it is easy to find areas that treestands will not work so you could move around and not mess up any treestand hunters. I have hunters a few times a year walk into the area I am hunting
never let it bother me unless they do it again in the same spot. We had a man see us drag a 6 point out and he asked if we got it from a stand he saw and my son said yes. The next weekend we parked and walked in off another road. My son calls just before daylight and says I hear someone using a climber. When it got daylight the man started useing every call ever made. My son calls at 7:00 and says he can't take anymore. So I get down and walk over to my sons stand . We find the man from last week about 60 yards away. He clams he always hunted that tree even with all the green pine limbs all over the ground. We wished him luck and left. We never saw him or his truck after that. On public land you will walk in on someone and have someone walk in on you. just be respectful when it happens and most times everyone understands its part of hunting public land. Goodg luck in the groundblind if its raining we will be on the ground with you.

 

[tinboat814]

During archery I have rarely ran into many hunters on Eglin. Although 90% of the time I'm in a stand. This mostly comes to common sense though. If you see someones vehical parked close by then I would avoid walking through. Same goes for blinds if I see someones blind I'm not going to set up on top of it or close by. There's plenty of woods and deer on eglin. Hunting on the ground is a lot of fun and there is no reason not hunt on the ground here. Just use some common sense and youre less likely to step on anyones toes.

 

[baldona523]

I'm probably going to go with the opposite, and say it is not a great idea and especially during first light and dusk. There are some units and areas it is possible, but that is only because the hunting sucks. In the better areas, there are going to be a lot of guys hunting and you won't be able to walk more than a mile or so without walking in on someone during prime time. I know a lot of guys that take off their orange once in the tree, so it is not always easy to know where people are.

It would not make me made but I won't be happy if someone is walking around while I am stand hunting prime time. Most guys stand hunt for a reason, and that is because it is the most effective way to kill whitetails. The better areas around here are super thick and going to be really hard to stalk hunt.

Given that, I will say if you walk the roads and glass in certain areas it could be effective for hogs. I have seen hogs a long way off before and you could sneak within 250 yards for a gun shot in some areas without an issue. But again, I am not sure it is a great method on Eglin/Blackwater. The areas you can see more than 200 yards are few and far between, and the chance of finding them with animals and no hunters are almost nil IMO and experience.