Written by Justin Park|
Last updated
For diehard hunters, the idea of a private property hunt might conjure up a caricature: wealthy businessmen picking off high-fenced trophy animals with servants to process the game.
Conversely, people with access to private land might imagine rows of orange vests shoulder to shoulder on public land.
The reality is obviously more nuanced, and there’s an important place for both public and private land. We outline some pros and cons below to help you find the best experience, whether the hunting grounds have one owner or 340 million.
Benefits of Private Land Hunting
“The biggest benefit of hunting private land is the lack of competition,” says John Stallone, a professional hunting guide and co-founder of HOWL for Wildlife. “If you want that seclusion and privacy you imagine when you dream about hunting season, private land nearly guarantees it.”
Unlike public lands, access is managed to avoid conflicts well known to public land hunters. “We see a wide variety of private land hunting arrangements, but access is almost always exclusive to an individual or group,” says Heath Schubert, founder and CEO of HLRBO.
On private land, an owner has the ability to improve or modify the property. Whereas on public land, changes as simple as improving a trail can take years of planning and approval, private landowners are often free to improve habitat for access or ecosystem health.
“Food plots get a lot of attention, but habitat diversity is really the secret to making a property shine,” says Nathan Hammerberg, an Indiana-based field rep for HLRBO. “That could mean selective timber harvests, planting windbreaks, trimming, or even conducting prescribed burns.”
The Benefits of Hunting Public Land
Unlike private land where your boundaries are clearly defined, public land grants hunters the freedom to explore and change up their hunting grounds. Depending on the limitations of your hunting license, you might have access to millions of acres for a single hunt.
Hunting is unpredictable and animals you scouted in one pattern might suddenly disappear when opening day dawns. Public land hunting gives you more flexibility to change tactics, elevation, region, or ecosystem.
In many states, you can buy a license and walk onto a wide variety of public lands to be hunting the same day. Hunting lease platform HLRBO makes it much easier to find private lands to hunt, but it still requires money and advance planning.
Stallone says it’s important to appreciate the role public lands play in maintaining a strong hunting community.
“The most glaring thing people forget about public land is that it allows the government to procure revenue that yields actual dollars and cents to wildlife management,” explains Stallone, referring to the license fees as well as Pittman-Robertson taxes on firearms, ammunition, and archery equipment that fund state wildlife agencies.
“If public lands went away there’d be fewer people hunting because there’d be no access. That would cripple our system, the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, because income would not be coming in.”
Downsides of Public Land Hunting
There’s one big drawback to public land, and it’s the other hunters. A Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation survey in 2022 found that overcrowding was the top concern for public land hunters. Many people reported that they hunted less than they wanted to because they couldn’t find land or access near their home.
This problem is what drove HLRBO founder Heath Schubert to start working on his land-leasing platform. “My brother, a big duck hunter, lost touch with the friends he knew that owned property and he didn't have anywhere to go other than public land, which was pretty crowded in his area,” Schubert explains.
Which is Better? Public or Private Land
Smart hunters make use of both public and private lands at different times of year and sometimes in the same hunt.
With controversial proposals to sell off public lands, the debate often narrows to soundbite takes. Stallone says both public and private lands have their place in preserving wildlife and hunting opportunities.
“Both are very necessary,” he says. “We want public lands to be free to explore and it’s impossible for everyone to afford to go hunt a private parcel. Likewise, private lands often provide refuge for animals as well as hunters, and they allow individuals to improve habitat more than we do on public lands.”
Author Bio: Justin Park is a Colorado-based writer, editor, and avid hunter with a passion for the outdoors. He contributes to leading publications such as GearJunkie, Popular Mechanics, Powder, and Men's Journal, and serves as Editor of Wild Snow. Park is deeply involved in conservation and recreation advocacy, serving as Chapter Chair of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) in Summit County. He also represents RMEF on a state recreation committee focused on proactively addressing land use conflicts.
