I have shotgun hunted public land (most years) since I was 15 (that's 18 years now). The last few years I've had pretty good success. I've seen a lot of deer and most of them come within 15 yards. I'm about 400 yards from a parking lot where there will be upwards of 12-15 trucks on opening of gun hunting. my secret is (not really a secret) is to go to funnels that pressured deer would go to and beat everyone else to those spots! beaver dam crossings are awesome! narrow patches of woods where you can sit in the middle and shoot to both sides are great. anywhere astream, river, or pond narrows down and the deercross is ideal!

also, make sure to sit through the early afternoon period where people are done eating lunch and start pushing. I probably have shot as many deer early afternoon (1-3pm) as I have in the early morning. I've definitely shot more in the afternoon than in the evening towards sunset.