Transcendstime

Just curious. I am moving to Auburn for college in dec.

I am an avid hunter mainly hogs (down in FL). However, I go to MI (where I am from) to hunt whitetail.

Anyways, My question. Are there any members here that know of public, logging, or hunt/lease land in the surrounding auburn area?

I only bow and crossbow hunt. I do NOT use rifles.

I know the alabama season on bow goes till jan 31st so I would like to find something by mid dec so I can get some cams out and start scouting before I get there.

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Thanks

MARSHALL

Baybuzzard

MARSHALL,
Theres several places fairly close to Auburn you can hunt. Barbour Wildlife Management Area has been a quality deer management area for about 6 years or so now, some big bucks come off it. For bowhunting only, Eufaula National Wildlife Refuge is good. Might need a boat to access a lot of that though. I believe you can even hunt the Tuskegee National Forest with is right near Auburn. Go to this link. Should be able to find anything you need to know, including maps of hunting areas.
http://www.outdooralabama.com/hunting/

Mojotex

I hunt about 60 miles SE of Auburn. Alabama has precious little public land in the form of "Wildlife Management Areas". You can get the information from the state game and fish. The closest one of any account is Barbour County. The state rotates opening these WMA's to help keep the hunting pressure down some.

I know nothing about the national forests, but I think Tuskegee NF is opened for some dates, for some game hunting. I hunted squirrels there back in the mid 1970's with great success because there were no hunters so to speak of hunting small game. There is also Talladega NF and Eufaula NWR. Again, check with the ranger or the fed's for the details.

Rut here is a whole different ball game down here than in Michigan. If the deer in the area you are hunting are primarily Alabama native stock, then the rut will be mid to late January 2009. However, some areas were stocked in the 1930's with deer from up your way. The rut of that bunch is late November to mid December (usually). In the Russell Co. area, there is a mixed herd so to speak ... which can be a good thing. Can also be confusing !!!

Where I hunt for example, is near Eufaula ... on about 3100 acres. We have a distinct double rut. One peaks in early December-ish and the other in mid January-ish (or later).

If you are going to be at Auburn for a few years, and plan to hunt a bunch, you should look into joining a HC. This has become sadly enough about the only way, short of owning property, to have a good hunting experience.

Transcendstime

Can u recomend any goodHC's inthe Auburn AL area?

RugerM77.270

I have hunted Barbour County Several times. I haven't killed any deer up there but Ihave seen a lot and helped drag a few out with friends. Its a great place to hunt the trick is go early, go deep, stay late, and let the other hunters scare the deer to you. Its a ways from Auburn though probably an hour and a half which is why I didn't suggest it earlier.

Transcendstime

Thanks for all the info. I found a nice HC in waverly, al which is nice and close and its desently priced so I think I will be hunting there (I get my own area of almost 150 acres.)

singleshot1

I attended Auburn in the late 80's and we hunted in Waverly. It was close and loaded with deer. Stay on the east side of Highway 280 if you can. They have been doing tons of building on the West side and there are a bunch of new neighborhoods that have popped up.

Rebel Hog

Send him a PM Goose 11 he's in a Club and where looking for members....

SouthernStrut56

I'm a junior at Auburn right now and bow hunt a pretty good bit on national forest land in tuskegee, never gun hunt there, way too risky. I ownland about an hour north of here that I hunt most of the time, but for weekday hunts I head to the NF. I know a handful of guys that have killed very very nice bucks out there. Waverly has good hunting as well, good luck to you. What will you be studying here at Auburn?

Transcendstime

I will be studying Veterinary Medicine.

I will be living out in the waverly area so the club should suit me well. I may even lease or purchase some last for 09/10 season. Guess we will see when I get there.

As for bucks etc I'm really not even that picky..I won't take a small buck by any means butI will sure as hell fill my freezer with does. So if I see me a shootable doe or two this season ill be happy... A nice buck is just a welcome bonus. =)