Greets,
Seems I agree with the general consensus. It depends on how much you want to put into, and get out of your hunt. If you got $$ and just want to go somewhere you know you'll get a big deer, go get a guided hunt. As for me ( oh just for the record YES if I had the $$ I would probably go on one at least once )I hunt all public land. Most of its owned by the logging companies, so technically its still private land, but it is open to the public. I dont get to do near as much scouting these days as I would like to, and that probably explains my lack of a deer or elk this year. The only trouble I can see in my area is the hunting pressure, there is millions of hunters everywhere!! Its getting so that even if you hike 2 miles in you are likely to come across at least one other hunting party.

Just my uneducated opinion!
Terry