100 Best Public-Land Hunts: Connecticut

Natchaug State Forest
Location: east Connecticut
Size: 13,311 acres
ZIP: 06242

Located at the junction of the Bigelow and Still Rivers, about 90 miles from Pachaug, Natchaug features a similar landscape of hills and marshes. Hardwood stands dominate this forest, with some white pine and hemlock mixed in. From 2004 to 2006, only 80 percent of tags handed out during the lottery A-season were claimed, which would seem to indicate that hunting pressure is relatively light. The later B season is open to all comers. “If people are looking for a place to hunt where they’re going to have a quality experience, both of these state forests are good,” Labonte says, “and both offer a relatively high likelihood of harvesting a bigger deer.”