Story by Matthew Hagen, GUNNER Senior Accountant
I love the challenge of hunting public lands with Hank, my Golden Retriever. To me, the satisfaction is so much higher than hunting in a private field because you have less control over the environment.
When you’re hunting public lands, you hit the field knowing you might not get the spot you want to go to. It’s that way every morning. Sometimes you get out there and there’s a group of people in the spot you were aiming for– one of my favorite hunts was one where this happened. I started talking to them, and we decided to hunt together and it was a great experience. It’s cool to meet new people that way.
I trained Hank myself, primarily on public lands. The state of Tennessee does a great job managing properties for field trials and public training grounds. I don’t have the resources or network available to me to go on any given day to a private property with 800 yards of open ground, so public lands have been a vital part of my training journey and relationship with Hank.
When I’m looking for new public land to hunt on, the first thing I do is go to the state’s game agency website. Understanding the regulations in your state is extremely important– if you’re standing in the wrong spot, you’ll walk out with a big ticket. OnX Hunt also has some great spots and can help you determine the boundaries between public and private land.
Matthew's Public Land Bucket List:
- Reelfoot Lake in Tiptonville, Tennessee
- Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Ullin, Illinois
- Swan River National Wildlife Refuge in Lake County, Montana
- Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Northern Utah
The limited-edition Public Lands collection launches September 27, 2024, and a portion of each sale will be directly donated back to conserving our public lands.
