From what I hear looks like most of the public land around is used for target shooting. I would think this would limit the number of deer that hang around on those parcels. Am I wrong in that assumption? Most of the big deer upon all speak of in private land?
I used to hunt on a military base and the biggest bucks were always killed behind the shooting ranges (when they were closed of course) and inside the impact zone.
Years ago, some of the best hunting, near Newport, WA, was a parcel of property that backed up to the Gun Club...lol. It was less than a mile out of town and held A LOT of large bucks.