I've hunted a fair amount in Texas, and also public lands in California. Saw some wonderful country in California; only managed one mule deer while I was there. A couple different times I was in a "premium X" zone, and was covered up in other hunters.
One year I'd drawn a good zone, scouted it hard, and hiked in a good distance to a meadow with lots of feed and deer sign. I got into it on opening morning, well before dark. I nearly stepped on a another hunter walking in, then got in position. As the sun came up on this premium zone, I was at the edge of the meadow ~300 yards in diameter. There were eight orange spots around the meadow, of guys who had the same idea.
I'm sure I'll do western hunts again, but the private land stuff is a lot less frustrating.
