One of the interesting comparisons between public land and private in the US I recently encountered was on a forum about long range target shooting. One person

One of the interesting comparisons between public land and private in the US I recently encountered was on a forum about long range target shooting. One person posted a fairly blunt statement that Texas was a modern gun owners paradise. People concurred from many perspectives (very few limits on what you can own, etc), but also pointed out there is VERY little public land in Texas where you can go shooting independently. Everywhere you can shoot legitimately is an established range on private land, or a range of a private club, or similar. Or you have to know somebody who owns or controls a large chunk of private ranch land and will let you set up targets. Texas is almost entirely made up of private land. As compared to California, which has famously very restrictive laws, but also has vast areas of public land (both state and federal govt owned) in some very sparsely populated rural areas, where target shooting is officially permitted as long as you meet some basic safety and no-littering standards. In California you can totally drive out into the desert and DIY your own temporary range on what will likely be BLM land. Not possible at all in Texas. Same with public lands in WA, OR, ID in many counties.