Something I just found out down here in MD. The DNR justopened 400 acres of public land this year to bowhunting only. The only other times this land has been hunted is during managed hunts a couple of weeks each year. Now it us open to bowhunting by special permit (free), daily reservation for only 6 bowhunters each day, Mon-Fri after 1pm until the conclusion of bow season. It is also in a county that allows unlimited does.

There is another 800+ acre piece, that gets no bowhunting according to the DNR guys I talked too, that I hunted during firearms last year and have scouted quite a bit. I also found another 400 acre piece of public land that, by reading the sign in sheets, gets no bowhunters. The bonus there is a huge set of sheds that we found.

I can't speak for other states but public land here, around where I live,doesn't seem to see a whole lot of bowhunting action. During muzzleloader the action heats up and during firearms you can hear guns all day for the first couple of days LOL. Then all of the deer clear out of the main, easy access areas and, if you don't hike much or have private land, pickings are kind of slim.