RE: public land
Most of the time the deer will move at the oddest times during the day. I have seen deer in the middle of a field feeding because they know that the hunters hunt the field in the morning and get up to go somewhere else mid morning. Deer are smart and even smarter on public land. They will usually let you walk right past them if they are bedded down and not move. My grandfathers friend was walking through a bean field and actually steped on a doe. That right there would scare the crap out of me.