I also try to avoid the biggest easy to get to pieces. Mostly because the majority of people are on the lazy side and will find the easiest hike in spot and go in 100 yards
When I hunted in the Chippewa National Forest for 25 years that is exactly the pattern I observed too. The closer to a road or logging trail I was, the more human activity I encountered. The farther off the beaten path I got, the more deer activity I found. If it was hard to get in there, it was generally better hunting.
Most hunters do in fact fall into the lazy category. The Chip is a massive piece of public land and to this day it still produced the biggest buck I’ve seen in my life. At some point there’s a decent chance I’ll go back there and deer hunt.
Not once in over 25 years did anyone in my 10 person hunting party encounter a wolf there either. I saw old tracks in the snow once and heard howling in the distance. That’s it.
I will say that the deer there did not taste the greatest compared to deer further south along the agriculture belt.
