I am a life member and retired from the Air Force in Dec 09.  Looking for hunting land and/or someone to bowhunt deer with in the Alma-Mt Pleasant MI area.  Moved to the area a year ago and looking for places to hunt and people to hunt with.  I don't need to shoot bucks to be happy does eat just as good.  Just want to put some venison in the freezer for the family plus I enjoy getting out and spending time in the woods.

Duane H. Bruce Jr.
LM NAHC, Member VFW

Welcome Duane and thank you for serving our Country! I was in the Air Force from 1989 - 1993.

I don't live or hunt in that part of the State, good luck with your search.

nice seeing a new face on here now and again.....and welcome to the bb duane

sorry i don't hunt in that area or know of any one either

hey duane thanks for ur service and i live in the lenawee county hillsdale area i belive to be pretty close to you so if you want mesaage me and ill see what i can do

Hockeydna,

I was in 1989-2009 what was were job?  Where were you stationed?

Wheeler,

Thanks for the welcome.  Used the bb a little bit while I was living/stationed in Montana but just started using it again after moving back to MI.

whack n stack,

thanks for the reply i will send you a message.

I was stationed at KI Sawyer in the U.P. where I was an E & E specialist in the 46 AREFS.

Welcome to the BB. I live in St. Louis area but mostly just hunt state ground my self there is a lot of state ground around Mt. Pleasant and about 10 t0 15 miles east of there.

Howard

Howard,

I hunt public ground 99% of the time.  Moved to Alma a little over a year ago and had 0 luck last year hunting public ground in the SE corner of the county and also just inside Montcalm Co.  I did not see one deer from stand (in MI) all last year.  One of the reasons I decided to post here was because I met a couple of great guys when I was stationed in Montana on the BB and we got together for an elk hunt (on public land), so I figured maybe I could meet up with someone to hunt with again.  I prefer to hunt with somebody when I go out for safety and extra help tracking/dragging.  If you are interested maybe we could get together and do some scouting together and some hunting this fall.

Duane

hockeydna,

K.I. closed down before I could get stationed up there.  You still living in the UP? I was just up there a few weeks ago around Marquette.

No longer live there however I met my wife there and her family lives in Marquette. In fact I was just there this past weekend.

I've also hunted in the SE corner too some but it was only good during archery because during rifle season you just about need body armor. We are going up to Evart this year but can't invite because it is going to be my 2 sons and my granddaughter and my son is a little worried about her privacy now and he is the one putting it together.

If you go east of Mt. Pleasant on 20 to Coleman road then North about a mile to Olson road then east 2 miles you will come right in to a big chunck of state land that is known as Lily Lake forest even tho there is no lake there anymore. Have not hunted in there in a while but if it is a wet year you won't be able to get more than the 2 miles on Olson road unless you have a 4 wheeled drive.

Howard

Howard,

Thanks for the info I will check the area out.  Went driving around some of the public land I hunted last year and saw quite a few deer and about 10 bucks.  Hopefully they will hang around for a while.

Duane

why mr bill, i feel as though you have forgotten that i live just a few mear mile from mt. pleasant and hunt this area exclusively! gee.....a guy's gone building a house for a couple month's, and you just ferget all about him! haha

welcome to the bb msufan. GO BLUE!!!!!! haha just had to throw that in. i do a lot of hunting in this area 95% on public. lotta state land, if ya know where to look. it's not advertised by the locals in the area as it's been getting over-run the last few years.

cgshp49 Are you north, south, east, or west of Mt. Pleasant ? I'm north of Mt. Pleasant in Clare Co. and a few couple of miles north of downtown Harrison out by the air port.

i'm just off magruder rd. s of m-20. about 8-10 miles east of mt. p

9'er i just think ya say ya live there....ya never show up when i'm around.....and pappy can even swear that i'm a round......hehehehehehehheheee

49'er,

The public land I hunted last year was over run also.  Foot paths that look like cattle trails from every parking area and not one deer to be found.  Not quite what I am used to on public land, but it has been a few years since I hunted in MI. I guess I got spoiled on the public land in IL and MT.

you can find a couple pockets here and there. most people head over to the "boulevard." that place is overrun, but i try to find the liitle pieces that are only 80-200 acres. most of em aren't marked out as public. you have to have "local" knowledge. even the "bully" can pay off if you get there during bow season as there isn't too much pressure in there cuz they don't open it to vehicle traffic till the first week of nov. and most people are too lazy to walk a mile to get to a stand. ok, i am too! haha but i'll go a half mile. rifle hunting in there is scary to say the least. the wife had a guy plinkin off shots in her direction with an sks. wow did i come uncorcked as some of the guys on here can attest to. i can show you a few places around here. not my honey holes of course. hehe

msufan, he was uncorked alright, we had ta uncork some of the good old stuff ta settle him down.......lol

49er,

Only looking to bow hunt around here.  Don't gun hunt much if at all anymore in MI because of all the crazy idiots.  Been shot at on private land behind my parents house so I know how you and your wife felt.  I would really appreciate it if you could show me a few areas but would not want to intrude on your honey holes I know how hard a good honey hole is to find.  Also don't mind hiking in a bit I have a game cart to drag em out on haha.

Go Green! Go to the DNR Website, and lookup Commercial Forest Lands (CFL) and Hunter Access Program (HAP) Land maps... I've found quite a few nice chunks that not a lot of people know about on there... Good luck this season, and with the land search!

jb,

Thanks for the info been looking at a few things on the DNR site for public land but have not checked out CFL land maps yet. Go Green! although not looking to good so far tonight.

whack n stack,
sent you a private message on here a few days ago let me know if you got it.

No problem!  State land any where in the lower half of the mitt can get a little crowded...and fuel costs dont help either, but its helped me get a good line on some land that holds deer, adjacent to state, high pressure, and private lands.      I got sick of hearing "no", and getting "anti" garbage yelled at me....

over the yrs. i missed a few nice bucks on local state land. my biggest -- even thou it was a doe -- in weight, came out of fort custer. dressed out at 205lbs.

I am thinking it is going to be a bit quieter for all the seasons this year again because of the gass prices, and the level of enenjoyed people who are not recieving unemjoyment compensation.  I have a feeling the farther north one lives the quieter it will be. I know last year we did not have near the hunters for either of the seasons up my way that we usually have.

Good luck and be safe out there this season gang!!

being new here i'm a lil late on posting but you might also want to buy a plot book of your area

Shot a nice 8 point on public land near my house on 26 Oct.  My best buck kill so far, bow or gun.  Has anyone else had any luck? This warm weather is really shutting down the deer movement.

nice going msufan and congrats on the big buck

Congrats msufan!

Hey everyone, thought I would get this thread a little new life.  still looking for someone that would like to hunt with me on public land around the Alma area.  Also take a look at one of the bucks have have got a pic of on public land.  anyone else have a pic they would like to share?

Here is one more public land buck pic.

Thanks for sharing the pics.

You're risking your camera having it on public land.

Hockeydna,

I know, but have a cable lock on it and move it every few days and put in in "off the beaten path" places.  Plus I only hunt on public land and just had to know what was there and if they were moving by the trees I plan to hunt. Just hope people aren't working through the woods with a bolt cutter

i might have to go north a bit to be able to hunt deer this year. we are finding died deer all over the place around here in the southwest corner to the southcenteral. do to this edh thing