Mike, I hunt both. Private and public. I prefer the larger public tracts. I like to go back in and feel free to roam before I run into posted signs.

The public lands near cities do get too much pressure, IMO. They push the deer to safe areas that include safety zones. Deer won' t put up with too much.

No one is seeing many deer this season. Most people believe it is the moon, the warm weather and the large amounts of food that aren' t requiring travel.

Rifle season and a trip to the processors always tells the story. The deer can' t escape the pressure then. Till night anyhow.

But the bottom line is that we can' t manage for hunter satisfaction. We would all like to see 20 deer a night. But if it isn' t the habitat, it is farmer crop losses, or forester lack of regeneration, or deer vehicle collisions that tell us that we have to keep herd numbers down.