I did 95% of my hunting on WMA's when I lived in Virginia. I usually hunted Phelps, which is small and right near the biggest metro area, so it is very busy. They can all be crowded and busy. But usually only on Saturdays and the first couple of days in the season. For the rest of the season they are not very busy. Of course, most of the folks jump out of their trucks and walk about 200 yards into the woods, set up a stand and "hunt" for 2 hours, then go home. If you walk as little as a 1/2 mile into the woods at the one I hunted at, you would be all alone. Hunt the second to last week of the season and you will think that it is all your own private game reserve. (The last week gets busy too because that is when the doe days are).

It was a rare day when I hunted the WMA when someone didn't pull a decent buck out of it. So they are in there somewhere.

Some WMAs in VA are many miles from any major towns, and so they are often very empty. Of course, for a few dollars more on your license you could also hunt GW Nat. Forest. You will be lucky to see anyone else in there.