Thanks guys, and you know what? I do think I will give that State Land a fair shake. From my reading, typically, I understood in the times of yesteryear that successful adirondack deer hunts used drives. You know, from all my watching of the outdoor channel, none of those shows will ever waste time doing an episode in the adirondacks... they'd never spot anything. I watch those shows and they're in Kansas or North Texas and talkin' 50 someodd deer per square mile. I was like "whhaaa?" I feel that if I can successfully hunt the state land in the adirondacks, then everywhere else is easy.
And no, I have no problem hiking into the woods a good 10 miles. I'm glad some of you guys pointed out that most hunters go in shallow, thereby presenting the opportunity to recieve what they might scare away. I am very much into using google earth and DEC's SLIM, as they're my primary tools for initial scouting. I'm just worried about the crazy gun hunting, but by all accounts, very rarely do hunters bump into each other deep in the state woods that deep. Although I must say, I think a handheld GPS is probably a must if I plan to do that.
Thanks guys!