Pressure is definitely higher this year, but there's also more birds.
A buddy and I started yesterday on some private and found better numbers that last year, and better than we expected. There was also a covey of quail where there hadn't been one for 4-5 years. We moved on to WIHA after that. The first one was a low-probability spot that involved some dead-heading. No luck there, but we saw a couple on the adjoining non-WIHA that had better cover, and the dogs told us there were bords in the area. The next WIHA was much better than expected. We stopped there hoping for a covey of quail. We found 3 coveys, all large and healthy. There were also a few unexpected pheasants.
Per the state's "small game regions", we were in the "south central prairies". And yes, there is not a lot of public in this area.