A lot of people would tell you that the public lands are overhunted, but I do not think that is true. It all depends where you go on the land and which chunk of land you decide to hunt. Hunting some of the larger pieces of public land like Wayne National Forest, Shawnee Forest (I hunt mainly the southern half of the state)can be fantastic so long as you are willing to find the areas that no one else is willing or able to get to. There are a lot of big deer on Ohio's public lands, and if you decide to give them a try I wish you luck.