you ain't lying!! Man I would give my left baby maker for a pinch or a funnel! we just don't get that kind of thing here in se Va...so thick and vast...
been at it 16 years - I believe only one season I didn't see a 125" buck while bowhunting - many of the early years I would see quite a few. This year - I recall seeing 4 while bowhunting.
i think some of u are missing the point of this thread hes just asking what people see i dont think hes complaing of the property he hunts he read a article and wants to know if its true
I was pretty fond of it too!:p:D I'll take that buck with those encounters for that week of my life over anything it would compare to (inches wise) elsewhere. I dont' even know what mine scores.... 125-130? Wicked cool hunt though that could have happened in NY, ILL, Alaska or Hawaii. As far as the thread goes I see 1-3 bucks of the caliber you're talking about a year. Been hunting over 20 years can't really recall seeing much more than that in a season. Maybe 5 at the most. Can't really recall ever not seeing one either.
This year was a little better than most years, I probably saw 5-6 120+ and 2 that would go 150+. I'm not in IL, IA or KS but if figured NE was close enough.
No need to go that drastic. One year get your butt out here and hunt the rut with me on the property that I save for very late Oct. and Nov.
I can only remember, off hand, the past couple of years. But in 08 I saw four that were over 125"s. I only hunted two and a half days before shooting my buck that year. This year I took one doe and am saving my other tag for a 140 +. I have hunted every weekend and 10 days straight during the rut. I have seen two buck that will go 150, and four that will go over 125. No shot on any of them. This is North MO, only about 14 miles south of the IA state line. I figured this counts. It kind of goes back to a comment made by Duke in one of the last location threads. I live in Des Moines, IA, but I hunt excellent North MO land because the land I have access to in IA is mediocre at best. I hope to change that by finding a new place in IA next season.
Where I hunt is less than 1 mile from the Iowa border. I've seen approximately 3 bucks this year over 125 and I took one on Halloween. I generally see around 3-5 bucks a year on my land that would make P & Y.
I have bow hunted for 30 + years, but not until the last 10 years did I ever see anything even close to 125" or bigger. In the last 10 years I have (guessing) seen around 21 bucks at or over 125". some big big changes have taken place in the last 10 years where I hunt. EDIT: Im not from any state you listed but put put some info anyway
I know my state Isn't listed as one you mentioned Landon but I'll throw In my Info as well. Hunting Isn't a career for me, I don't get paid to do It. Giving you a hard time bud!! Honestly though I've saw In the neighborhood of probably 20 or so bucks In that 120" to 125" range. Many of these I let go, 130" Is my minimum. Add another 10 to 15 other bucks In that 130" to 140" range that I would've loved to shoot but didn't work out. Add 2 more that were In that 160" to 170" range. All In all (give or take a few) about 35 bucks or so that were 125 Inch and up I've saw In 24 years of bow hunting whitetails. Of a 125 Incher, almost every year I could take one. 130" and up, not so good. A good year for me would be seeing 1 to 2 bucks going 130" and over. On average I'll see one buck that will go 120" to 125" a year. Some years I see none that are that big.
Ok, so it looks like the guys from these states do see a lot of P&Y class bucks from the tree..but this could be b/c they are great at hunting these caliber bucks.....I really believe that Va, especially here in the SE Va, we have high numbers (relative) but for the south in general, we have P&Y bucks at a decent number....I think they have way more places to hide b/c of all the cut timber and swamps...I really believe if the terrain was different, we'd kill more bucks of this caliber...and we do...every year we kill these buck with shotguns and hounds, it's the tradition here...but the hounds will penetrate the thickest stuff and get these bucks up..
2 in MN (10yrs of hunting) 5 in IL (3yrs of hunting) i expect to see big deer now that i live here, but i am also a better hunter than i used to be!
I have had some years where I haven't seen any, but I usually get a peek at one each season. In 12 seasons bowhunting (all in Illinois), I would say on average I see 1 or 2 bucks each year that will go over 125". This year has been my best for seeing bucks that would go over 125", with 4 (maybe 5 if tines weren't busted), and 2 shot opportunities. My biggest buck I have ever seen off stand was a 180 class 12 pointer that was running around our place for a few years.
Scott would say that the majority of bowhunters (Joe Shmoe) (Tom, ****, and Harry) in IL see this caliber of bucks, or just those that know how to hunt for those bucks? I know that those who kill 150" or better on a regular basis are a different breed of hunter, but Im talking your avg bowhunter...is he seeing these 125's every year and mutiple ones..?
I think that i am just an average guy that hunts. I see them every year, but ti has a lot to do with the location I hunt. Come out one year and you'll see them too (that offer is still open). Some locations just produce bigger deer and some locations have deer that don't get shot as spikes or fork horns. I do think that it also has a lot to do with the number of hours a guy sits. I know that I hunt one heck of a lot more than the average hunter, since I sit every weekend and a couple nights per week from mid Sept. to Thanksgiving. Odds are that when you sit that often you'll see more deer and bigger deer.
I wouldn't say you are an avg hunter if you are seeing these bucks...especially in heavily hunted Wis...thanks for the offer, I will have to come up there and hunt one Sept....any other time is damn too cold for me!!! LOL! I sit a lot of hrs in the stand. every afternoon and sat...see lots of deer and several small bucks and maybe 1-2 100-115" but not the best of what my woods hold...I don't need to hunt IL or Wis or IA to kill a P&Y buck, I have them here, I just need to learn how to hunt them..
with antler restrictions on the rise and smarter hunters letting deer get a few seasons old. there has never been a better time for 130-150 class deer. I think here in the midwest the is less population centers and deer have more of a chance to get prime age and most of these states are going to antler restrictions in part to bring people to the midwest to hunt. $$$$ for some. if you look there are tons of public ground to hunt here in north mo, all with deer in the 130-200 class, 30 dollar hotel rooms or primitive camping. you dont need to spend 4 grand for a place to hunt for a week. thats a joke
I hear ya, I also hunt in Northern Wi. and there it is a whole different ballgame. I enjoy it because it is such a learning experience. The big woods is so different. Less pressure and no funnels and pinch points to hunt. Especially where there are fewer ridges and valleys. I am not an average hunter, just an average guy that hunts The weather is not bad until after thanksgiving, it actually is fairly nice up til that point.
