Location: North Central Nebraska
Land Type: Public
Temperature: 38 Degrees And Rising
Wind: 4-8 MPH SW
Pressure: 30.32
Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent

Public-land bowhunting is  special. You do the work, you put in the time and, when success finds you, there is nothing sweeter. 

On the flip side of the coin, nothing, at times, can be more frustrating. I arrived at my chosen Nebraska destination to find an empty parking/camping area. I was thrilled. I carefully wandered around the property, traveling to a pair of pre-marked map locations. The first looked promising —a pinch point between heavy timber and a cut corn field. The trails were pounded with sign and it didn't take me long to place my Summit Buck Steps and rsxHawk hang-on in a large pine.

My second location was shaping up to be equally as sweet. I was following a large rub line littered with scrapes when I saw it. I was pissed! A green Kawasaki motorbike was parked in a patch of trees. On this patch of walk-in property, motorcycles, ATVs and the like are strictly taboo. This guy was cheating. 

I found a spot to hang my second stand, but I was disgusted with the amount of to-and-from tire tracks I found. Later that afternoon, while sitting my cornfield pinch stand, I could hear the man on the bike driving everywhere. I glassed him from a distance and could see a crossbow slung across his back. I ended up glassing a small buck and a few does before the last rays of light were sucked from the western sky. 

I had high hopes for my morning venture. My plan was to return to the same stand and catch deer coming back off the field returning to bed. It's also a great spot to catch a cruising buck. 

I heard the motorbike fire in the predawn stillness. At least he went away from my position. An hour after sunrise, I heard a voice scream, "Stop! State game warden!"

I hope they got him. It's people like that that ruin great spots — people who are too lazy to do things the right way and too self-involved to realize that they're affecting other hunters. 

It's now 10:30 a.m., and side of a doe I spied at a distance of 500 yards, I haven't heard or seen a thing. My plan is to climb down at 11 a.m. and go walk-about. I may have to penetrate deeper into this public sector to find deer that haven't been tampered with. I will keep you posted! 

For questions or comments, drop Bauserman a line at jbauserman@grandviewmedia.com.