im just the opposite of the previous post.... the trouble with getting back in there farther than everyone else is thats wat everyone else is tryin to do too! Im sure that tactic works well also but ive found that hunting the very edges of a public land area are just as effective.
as far as scouting goes i think your just gunna have to do it, as stated before, go ahead and take your gun cause i promise way crazier things have happened in the deer woods haha.
you wont have to worry about spooking the deer out of an area because they are always getting spooked out of areas. You walking through on them is just another person they have to avoid that day.