http://tbwpodcast.com/scouting-video-available-now/
4 hours long 2 dvd set all about scouting public land.

Hey man. I hunt state land only here in MI. It can be very hard but very successful. Without typing a whole lot of info just remember a few things. Find the food- find the thickest nastiest cover and find WATER. Deer can't go a whole day without eating and drinking. Call your local DNR biologist and ask them what deer in your area are feeding on. Seems simple but it's not. You might be surprised what they do eat especially non areas without good food sources. Then get a bunch of books on deer hunting. I reccomend peter fiduccia as an author. He's a great whitetail hunter and you can learn a lot. But unfortunately the best way to learn is to get out there and hunt. Observe how they behave in your area and don't get caught up in all this "trophy" hunting hype as seen on tv. Get out there and hunt and scout and you'll do just fine. Good luck man

I pm'd you a link that should help you greatly with hunting large La hardwood tracts.

Hello from Lafayette!

Many good ideas here.  I hunt a lot of public land in Ohio and Indiana.  Best advice I could give a young person starting out on public land, especially with high hunting pressure,  is much of the hunting public is a bit lazy.  In practical terms for how to approach public land this means 90% of the hunters will be found within a half mile of the closest place to park.

So as you study your maps, or scout on foot, get away from the places where folks can park and hike for 15 minutes before serious scouting.  Does not take long to cover a half mile.

The close in places will show a lot of sign before and early in the season.  My experience suggests deer do pattern hunters and make minor adjustments to their travel to avoid hunters.  So as you go away from the edges around parking places there may not be that much sign.  Within a couple of weeks of the start of the season the deer will move away from the high traffic areas.  So keep the thought in mind lots of hunters in the area could actually drive the deer to the interior areas.  Find a good 'edge' as the Wensels describe somewhere a half mile or in and let the deer come to you.

I am not trying to be flippant but walk along the water until you find deer tracks and follow the tracks. move slow take a folding chair, relax loo, and listen.

Id say if you are gonna hunt when everybody else is, get you a little boat to access places. I have a friend that does this and he kills monsters every year. its too much trouble for me but he will do anything to kill a deer. haha if you hunt during the week when you may not have somebody in every tree around there you can prolly just get a piece off the road and find a feed tree or early in the year persimmons. as mentioned above, find a creek crossing or fence crossing, anything that will confine the deer within range of a trad bow. good luck !!!

Consider yourself at an advantage.  Our deer migrate out of their summer/fall homes so it's useless to scout for a good chunk of the year.  Half the roads are snowed in anyway.  If you can hunt sheds, continue to learn during other seasons (spring turkey, for example), you've got some good things going for you.

This year I spent more time hunting & scouting than the previous years.  I spotted a fair number of deer but honestly felt like I just got lucky each time since they were rarely ever where I thought they might be.  Food, water, shelter and cover are everywhere.  I often find sign but it's so old it's useless.  Our deer don't know how to stay put.  Wherever they are today is not necessarily where they'll be tomorrow.  

I figure scouting is probably like prospecting for business: success in is basically just random with little to no skill.  But random success has a weakness -- time.  Time increases your odds of getting lucky.  So spend as much time in the woods as you can.  You'll eventually get lucky & learn something that may help you later.  

Or find an old guy who will take pity on you.  Mentorship saves a lot of trial and error.

Lots of hiking around learn your area, keep track of sign. If the sign is there, the deer are there. Look for old wood stands in the trees. Historically good spots usually continue to be.