But before you belly-ache about tycoons locking up the good hunting, consider that short generations ago the land they manage for wildlife would have been allocated to crops or livestock. Many acres ripe for housing development have been saved by people with pockets deep enough to conserve them in the wild state. Animals roaming private tracts spill over onto public. Bucks that would never live long enough to develop big antlers on public ground grow trophy bone on private land, then jump the fence--elk hunters on the skirts of Yellowstone routinely take bulls that have grown old in the park.

Private tracts managed for big bucks, like this farm in Missouri, benefit surrounding acreage too.

Overall, a booming market in big game hunts and private hunting preserves bodes well for game. If you can't afford to participate, well, most of the time neither can I. But if public land is your lot, don't despair. Here are some tips for better hunting there.

>> Get maps. Without them, you'll be lost before you start. Supplement federal and state maps with commercial maps. Draw your own while scouting and hunting. Mine show game trails, bedding sites, crop rotations and the like--things you won't find on other maps. Some features change year to year; those that don't will emerge as defining characteristics. Look for them in other places to find more game. Laminate all maps to make them weather-proof and to resist tears.

If you're electronically minded and pack a GPS unit, log way-points as you scout or hunt so you can navigate in the dark. On maps and your GPS record, mark all pertinent boundaries. Hunting unit boundaries may not be obvious on the ground. Pasture fences that mark property boundaries can be indistinguishable from the cross-fencing and drift fences used to control livestock on public grazing leases. Remember that land-locked public property is just that; you need permission to cross private tracts to get there.

>> Build on your choices. You're more productive when you know trails, topographic features, animal movements and hunting pressure in an area, so you're smart to visit the same places year after year, exploring new areas as you have time after each hunt. Increasing your options works in your favor when weather, hunting pressure, wildfire or land-use changes affect game movement.

I try to pick big areas to hunt, focusing on core drainages, then investigating new trails and coverts on the periphery. Over several seasons, I extend my effective hunting range. The peripheral areas may become new places to focus as burns and logged areas mature and other places are opened up, or as grazing rotations push game into neighboring quadrants. A drainage that doesn't pan out one year may, due to weather that delays or hastens migration, deliver handsomely the next.

>> Give it a chance. Even the best private acreage will sometimes deny you a shot--perhaps for many days. It's a good idea to commit a week (not necessarily all at once) to an area before condemning it. Allow for the effects of weather and hunting pressure.