I don't mean to burst some bubbles.. but it seems that many of us are misinterpreting this map. It came out in 2001.. but it's all-time... as in.. the last 50 years or so. 50 years ago.. Minnesota was the place to be.. Maine too. But that doesn't mean I'd choose either today if I wanted a B&C buck. Just because any county is red or otherwise doesn't mean anything.. I always thought these maps were gay (no offense peakrut).. a more accurate map should be to show what took place the last 10 years or less.. not the last 50. You'd get a much more accurate picture this way.
My county is white as well. That being said, I saw a buck on the way home from work about 4 years ago that made my jaw drop. It was around midnight and as I went down a dip in the road and a large buck was walking across the road in front of me....needless to say he had more mass and tine length than any deer I have ever seen, plus about 40 inches. Sick.
Oh trust me if anyone knows this map is bogus it is me. Minnesota is brown is down there are some monsters every year that are shot but not in the numbers the map shows. It is still fun to pretend there might be 2 booners left for me and Schultzy.
Maine does have some big bucks. I've got a lot of friends that hunt there. The woods are big enough that a lot of these deer never see a person. What you have to take into account though, is that you can hunt an area like this for an entire year and never see a single deer. You will on average see 1-5 deer per square mile in norther NY, and Maine. At my camp in PA as an example you will see 25-35 deer per square mile. It's a completely different ball game up there. I don't know a single person up there with a big buck on the wall taken by bow.
This is still older information but here are numbers from 1980-2001 (B&C Website). I'm not sure why they haven't updated these yet. 1980-2001 During the last two decades, the range and total population of the whitetail has expanded immensely, with managers now working to either stabilize deer populations or reduce them. With increasing numbers of deer came more interest in trophy-class deer. The 3,950 entries (74 percent of the record book total) come from 41 states and 1,254 counties. Incredibly, the years 1990-2001 account for 2,811 or 52 percent of the record book entries during this period. Distribution has shifted to include the mid-western states, where deer herds are growing, aided by excellent habitat. The top 10 states are IL (509), IA (507), WI (395), MN (293), MO (244), KY (242), KS (235), OH (199), TX (159), and IN (138). The map shows the dominance of Midwestern states during the last 20 years, especially the last decade. States and counties that yielded many entries during the previous period have, by and large, continued to produce; but they account for a smaller percentage of entries.
Neat but not worth putting too much into. The most renowned bick buck producing county in PA is WHITE. That's a joke.
I would say <90% of my hunting is done in the 1-2 counties (both on public and private). >10% is in a 6-10 county (on public property).
My camp is in the 6-10 entry range, WOW, I guess I need to put in more time this year. Thanks to Gri22ly I will broaden my horizons, big time, in these vast woods. Take note Magic, Schultzy and Gri22ly, there's plenty of room up here for you in NH, 6 bunks in camp ~ let's load her up!!!... :d
LOL...I'm one of those guys in the southwestern portion of the USA. You are lucky to even see a whitetail here...sort of like hunting zebra in Alaska.
