How many bucks have you seen 125" and up in you hunting career from the tree with bow in hand? I have seen 1 in the tree in 20 yrs here in Va....it's not b/c they don't exist on my land, I just have not tried for most of those years until recently..but my odds are 50/50. every year of at least seeing one...what are the guys from the "big buck states" seeing? what are your odds every year? there is a reason for this thread...after reading Precision Bowhunting, I looked at their stats on the midwest vs the rest of the country...it was very lop-sided....I guess records in the books don't lie..but I still say lots of people in other states just don't enter them in the books, this also may level it out...
I'd also be interested in seeing how many hunts/yr (on avg) we're talking about here (when you give your numbers).
Jeff I I have missed all but 3 days or so and I saw 2 bucks that might go 110-115" and they were possibly 3.5 yrs old, but not sure..one of them was for sure the other Id say at least 2.5...I don't know how many hrs I spent in stand so far but it's a lot with no sight of a 125' buck. When I read about guys hunting these places, even public land or just a farm, they say they see more mature bucks in just one trip than they have all their lives in their home state... so Im wondering if it's really the fact that lots of hunters don't enter their deer from other states or is it really that lop sided in those states from everywhere else....??? speaking of number of hunts....avg number of 3.5 yr old seen for me, maybe one a yr....but Im looking to change that !!!
to me, THAT is the key ... you have what you have cuz you aint puttin in effort to get what you aint got ... which is fine .... just lets not whine about it. I love where I hunt ... I would love it if all the neighbors got together and decided not to shoot any bucks less that a 15" spread ..... but they wont .....SO BE IT! If I want it different, I will grovel at the farmers knees that at owns the 800 acresbelow for permission Someone said on the LAST location thread that there are big buck spots everywhere ... I owned land that abutted to 800 acres of managed land .. the bucks I saw and the one my brother killed (130" ) attests to that .... so what that a 130 here is like a 180 in the MW ... just have fun
PT, Im not going that direction....what Im trying to figure out is why the eberharts added this in their book...these stats that is...I mean they acted like there was little chance of killing a big mature buck outside of these states b/c the rest of the nation just doesn/t grow em...I think that every state has pockets of big mature bucks....including my own state and my own back yard..they said or the records tell that IL has only 1 bowhunter per 8 miles??? BS on that.. I want to see what the real world hunter in these states say...not outfitter numbers...in NO way am I blaming my lack of success on big mature bucks on location or am I saying that the guys in these states have an advantage over me...more power to em...I still am under the belief that it maybe better chance to see/kill a buck like this in these states, but Im not suree it's easy like some make it out to be....on private or public land....now outfitter land maybe??
I can't give you a specific number, but I'd say in 16 years of hunting MO and IL it would have to be over 80 maybe well over. (80 is only 5 per year) Last year in late season I saw a group of bucks that probably had 3 or 4 125 plus.
18 years bow hunting. 1st eight years I saw zero. Last ten years, hunting 150-200 hours a year I would guess maybe 2 bucks over 125" per year. I will say that when people talk Iowa hunting, whether they know it or not, they are talking about the southern and eastern sides of the state. I have every intention of heading to those areas in near future and trying to find out what Iowa hunting is really all about. I'm sure that many Iowa hunters in those areas will have much more impressive numbers than me. I find it kind of interesting, but before internet forums became popular, I had no idea Iowa was a big buck state. In fact, if you had told be that New York was the land of whoppers, I would have believed you. I would probably of argued with anyone who claimed Iowa was better than Minnesota simply because of all the woods we would see when heading up to the lake in the summer. I guess before these forums popped up, there simply wasn't any reason to worry about which state was hardest or easiest to kill big deer in.
Landon, Just for this year we filmed 5 that would go over 125. But that was 3 weeks of straight all day hunting in Southern Illinois and we were not happy with that so we are moving this year, not sure where but we know we are on the move to find better. We have some spots and farms we are already working on it never ends. If there is 1 thing that kills me every year is there is always someone saying how bad it is but does nothing about it,I know and am not saying you with this thread but they are out there and talk about location but do nothing. I believe you have 3 types of hunters. 1. Happy with what he has good or bad just likes to hunt and get what he gets. 2.The guy that complains and says so and so has it made because of where he hunts, but still he stays and does nothing.and this is the guy that says he can't afford to travel as he sits there and drinks $800 in beer and smokes $500 in cigs but some will make it happen.. 3.The hunter that see"s what is out there and is not afraid to knock on doors and move around the country and hunt where the big boys are. PS. Every state does have pockets of big bucks some just more than others..
I've only been hunting for 6 yrs and I've seen many bucks over 125", several over 145". But it isn't just the age of the buck. From what I understand genetics and diet make a big difference. In the Midwest we have a ton of agriculture, with woodlots and marshes,CRP interspersed. The soil is chock full of essential minerals, not to mention the minerals in a dairy operation, which in many cases the deer have access to. I've only killed one buck,2 1/2 yo with a 125". I don't think you can grow them that big if you don't have the right environmental and genetic conditions to begin with. High fence operations feed their deer high tech diets and grow real monsters. Just my opinion and what I've learned. Correct me if I'm wrong. '
I agree. Im love where I hunt. I have big mature bucks adn though I may not have as many as IA or IL etc, I have enough that I should be killing them...I don't b/c they are just smarter than me, not b/c they are not here. Im learning though. My reason for the post is I want to see how realistic the Eberharts are in their statistics about the "big buck" states..basically they say the there are more big mature bucks in these states b/c there are less hunters and more restrictions on the hunters, therefore the grow...but Im telling you, here in southeast Va, we kill lots of big bucks every year that do not get entered or scored for that matter...so Im saying that IL, IA, KS all have high numbers of P&Y entries b/c people enter them, other states may not have the participation...this is good data guys...keep it away from the location arguement though..just tell me your experience and then we will discuss the realities and falsehoods of the midwest...
VA just so you know the buck in your avatar is bigger than any of my family has shot in MI. UT and his brother have hunted the same place as me and 15 years longer. Just like I told Jeff in a PM he has 4 bigger than anything they have shot. I consider our area to one of best in SE MI in my DMU. I had chance to hunt in Ohio on 200 acres in centeral part of OH. When i first walk on the the land I saw racks of 70-90 inches that have been shot there. I talk to the neighbors they shot the same amount of deer. Looking at the land I could not figure out why these guys have not shot big deer. The owner had passed away and was a vet. I got to see his mounts and what a difference they were. 140 and up with 180 being the top. What I don't think you realize VA is in MI you are in the top 2% of hunters and even in states like ILL I bet you and Jeff are on the top 30%. Have to remember half the bucks shot in those states are still 1.5 year olds So what's my point? Some have it better and are worse Some have it worse and do better, Some have it better and do better. I still think the best buck kill this year goes to NYB, it's about the hunt
As JM buckhunter says its hard to say. In over 20 years bowhunting in Illinois I would have to say over 70 easily. If you count the number I have seen while not hunting-- It would be alot higher. I will say that in the last 5 years or so the number has dropped each year with this year being the lowest so far
I can't really give an exact number of deer that I've seen 125" or more but I guess I'll give it a guesstimate. I'm only 21 but I've bow hunted for about 9 years. The first couple of years I couldn't really tell you how many I'd seen because I was only 12 or 13, and had no idea how to judge how big a buck was other than by how many points it had. I'd say I developed a better understanding of how big a buck is inch-wise around the age of 15 or 16. In the 5 or 6 year that I've been able to judge, I would say I've seen probably 15 deer that were 125" or more, including two deer that grossed around 200", and a couple in the 160-170" area. I've only seen one buck this year that would go over 125".
I usually see... ...four or five in that range and at least one 150" or bigger. However that is not the number that I get a crack at. Things change each year with the rotation of crops and farming activity, so it is hard to say for sure where they will be. I also hunt farther north where there is less agriculture land and there it is really hard to hunt them because there are fewer funnels and pinch points. Also note that I am in Wisconsin, but still upper Midwest.
