Hey everyone! I'm new to hunting and I've been having some fun with squirrel shooting lately. I was looking forward to get on public land (Amelia/powhatan WMAs) and was curious as to your thoughts on safety and likelihood of bagging a deer on public land?

Deer hunting on public land scares the crap out of me. I have dove hunted, crow hunted and predator hunted on WMA's but deer hunting is out of the question. Too many idiots who get excited over movement and start blasting. I'll stick to private land for deer hunting. People kill deer every year on WMA's, it's all in knowing the land where the deer travel.

+1
Lots of folks who have never hunted nor been shown how to safely/properly hunt frequent all the WMA's during deer season. Most days during deer season If you look up in the trees driving by the WMA' you will spot lots of orange. The conservation police don't enforce the rules about dog walkers/walker since covid so lots of people who aren't hunting are in the woods. It is a recipe for disaster. Keep an eye out for drunken, non English speakers wandering around the woods as well. They love to party at the wildlife preserves.

I used to get tons of squirrels on the Thompson WMA back in about 2003 and 2004. Saw lots of other small game running around and also saw lots of deer tracks, but no actual deer. The parking areas were usually empty (or close to empty), but that all changed at deer season. The parking area was PACKED! And I saw hunters every hundred yards or so near the walking paths. I was paranoid of catching a stray round the entire time I was there. I can only imagine things have gotten more crowded in the last 15 years.