Hang in there. I have killed several nice bucks on public ground. The biggest part of my hunting is public as I really don't have anywhere else to go.

I have been granted permission to hunt private property on a few occasions to find that apparently anyone that asked got granted permission. And they all seemed to show up at the same time!

I have actually left those areas to hunt public ground due to "less hunters!"

Don't give up and you'll be back in the game!