Big bucks survive on public land by learning where other hunters don't go and spending the majority of there daylight hours there . Sometimes thats the middle of the most remote area, and sometimes its over looked stuff right along the side of the road between two parking lots.
I think on public land if you look for good deer sign, or terrain, you are going to find that other hunters are noticing that too... I learn the land intimately during winter and spring and find the little hidden hideouts where the bucks do not get disturbed.