".... I have hunted a little of both ,not yet got into the packing in part of the hunt."
In terms of what class/amount of deer you see in the backcountry v. flats. The quote above is what jumped out at me.
If your in the high country, on a quad or using a vehicle - most likely the deer know your there and that is why you are not seeing what you expect.
I say this because, when I use a quad I see less even when I am in BFE because they hear me coming. When I backpack in, I have actually spooked more deer than I see when using my quad, on accident because they didn't know I was comming around the corner and I didn't know they were there either.
For example, last year (muzzy season) I hiked into the back country for a week. I was glassing at some nice bucks across the way. Then, two guys came up the mountain on their quads. I watched the bucks slowly move into a hidding spot before the guys got to the spot where the bucks were.
The bucks were within 60 yards of these guys. The guys stopped, looked around, didn't see any deer and got back on their quads and drove off. After they left, the bucks kept feeding and then slowly moved out.
Just my 2 cents.
Happy hunting everyone.