the land is very safe- it is the people around you i'd worry about

Out in my area, I've hunted right close to the road and only met one other hunter the whole time--and that was on the entrance path. Regardless, I usually hike a few miles back where NOBODY else goes. It's something like 45,000 acres, so there's plenty of room for all of us. :-D

I have hunted public land from Pa. to idaho north to alaska I have 25 mounts on my walls and many more animals to show for it.I do reseach all year till hunting season. confidence gives you patiencegets yousuccess, and success brings confidence. Thats all you need.

i hunt public land and it's great during bow season. come gun it gets crowded. opening day is awesome, there's tons of hunters out and the deer are running wild right at sunrise. i prefer to be on the ground so i can move. hunt funnels or edge that lead to thickets or low land. they seem to head for those first in my experience. remember to wear orange! there are a lot of nuts out there that are trigger happy man. after the first weekend here the deerwere verystressed and went nocturnal. now i hunt thickets, swamps, ravines and such features that arn't hunted and are good cover. problem is i'll have to process the deer right there since dragging it back to the car would be insane. good luck and hope i helped you out.

I've never had much competition at the publics that I've hunted , and one of them was several thousand acres . Yes , some of the more popular publics can be crowded and hazardous , but only if you stay within 1/2 mile of the parking lots . Invest in a Deer Sleigh'r and walk in 1/2 mile and the "Orange Army" will move them right to you if you have the foresight to be in your stand well before they arrive .

Hunting the Nat. Forest here in VA for the first time since moving here I can honestly tell you that most hunters will not go more than 1/2 from their vehicle. The reason for this in my opinion is because the terrain is rather hilly and it just takes a lot of effort to get around. A lot of hunters like to drive the roads in their trucks when it's cold and call that hunting too. The thing to remember is that most people are inherently lazy and will not put much effort into anything that doesn't guarantee a return. Real hunting requires effort and you cannot ever be guaranteed anything.

But what do I know, I've only been hunting for this season so far in VA and have no deer kills to show for it[:@].

How safe is public land/public highway's/public resturants food it's all relative, We are as safe in most case's as we set ourselve's up to be. If you do your homework and use common sense you will probably have a great time and when you learn to use the other hunters to your advantage you will be very successfull. the death rate is extremely low compared to how many hunters there are in the field and if you take into account the number of deaths that are self inflicted the # goes way down. you are at greater risk getting to the woods and coming home than when you are actually hunting.these stories of 17 hunters within 120yds and 7 miles to walk out to hitchhike home are what folklore is made of, I hunted the most populess (sp) state with a terrible reputation for overcrowding for 35 yrs (NEW YORK) and never came close to seeing anything like that fella in missouri described. Seem's like somebody may have gotten discouraged and needed an excuse.

it depends, if you got a bunck of drunks out there no its not safe, if you have a group of people who know what they are doin then yea it should be ok. just find out where everyone hunts and get far away from them as possible to be on the safe side.

unfortunately public land is where i am forced to hunt. deer leases in my area go for $5,000.00 to $8,000.00 a year. poor guy like me can't afford that. most important thing with management area's is to scout well ahead of the season and try to hunt where no one else will (swamps with lotsa skeeters). only draw back is most management area's, atleast around here, practice no qdm. bucks never get a chance to age. there are exceptions but mature bucks are few and far between.

I believe that there are just as many, if not more, hunting accidents on private land as there are on public. The real problem is the number of hunters and the ability to have a quality hunting experience. To me, some degree of solitude is important. As many others have said, the pressure usually diminishes greatly after the first day. Good luck and be safe.