VA has 4 states between it and the southern border of the US... So does South Dakota, Minnesota and Montana... And VA's Northern border is what, forty miles from PA? Come on boys, I'm not talking politics, I'm talking geographic location.
Dubbya.....I agree, geograpically, Va is more mid-atlantic....howver, I live in southeast Va and southwest Va both are much different than Northern Va.....the culture in se va and sw va is still very much southern ground....northern va is a whole nother dynamic...Texas and Ak, and Miss could all be considered midwest actuallyt...
In Whitetail News magazine, there are often pictures of HUGE bucks (in terms of antler size) that were harvested in the south, especially Virginia. Obviously every single picture is a hero shot of some hunter in a foodplot of some whitetail institute product, basically advertising... But hey, it shows that the big bucks are there. So yea, I guess my reasoning for knowing big bucks are down there is based on seeing a lot of pictures of giant deer harvested across the south. Maybe not as prominent as more northern states, but they are their for sure...But like anywhere in the country, it depends on the particular area I guess. Just like there are definitely not Boone and Crockett bucks behind every tree in the midwest.
There's some truth to this I think, been guilty of It myself a time or two when I was younger and maybe even some now. I remember hunting my ass off years ago thinking I was doing everything right and not seeing any quality bucks and sitting there telling my buddy's we don't have any good bucks In the woods I hunt. Every time I thought like that dad would arrow himself a P&Y buck and I'd have to eat my words again. I've had some tough times hunting mature bucks the last 10 years but I know damn well there Is some there. The mature buck numbers aren't there like they use to be but I'm also plain and simple not good enough either, I can admit It. Others need to admit It too, these big guys are tough to hunt plain and simple!! In saying what I said though I could nearly have a "mature buck" every year the last 6 to 7 years If they would meet my minimum (130"). 9 out of 10 3.5's I see don't make that score (most are In that 115" to 125" area). 3.5's I have figured out fairly good, It's the 4.5 and older bucks that kick my ass all to often! You can hunt your ass off as hard as you want too, It won't do you a bit of good If your not doing It right. Been there done that one too many times and I'm sure It will happen again more then I care to admit. That's hunting for ya though!
I'm afraid you misunderstood my what I meant by my statement, simply saying there are obviously big deer in the south, but those just happened to be some ADVERTISING pictures for a seed company, and bigger bucks are probably not widespread across the south, although many are killed every year.... But as always, I'm not gonna get into it with you.. I know how that will turn out, based on the fact that you talk down to people in 99% of your posts...
ya know, we get some BIG bodied deer, but tiny racks down here in NW AL... my dad's got a monster buck for our area on the wall, probably only about a 110" or so, non-typical... but probably one of the biggest bodied deers i've ever seen... took three people to get it out of the wood even using a 4wheeler... but if you want big racks you're wastin your time... does on the other hand, we got those comin out of our ears down here... local DNR officer says they estimate they are running about a 20:1 doe/buck ratio... i plan on baggin some slicks this year
Don't you fellas love how someone comes from hunting mediocre FREE grounds around home, to paying several grand to hunt ground in the midwest that literally leases for $80/acre and is mega managed for the absolute best bucks/hunting possible....and gasp, they see better hunting. I could go from hunting my grounds to a big outfitters primo leases in a rut hunt in ANY state and like what I see better, whether the state be north, south, east, or west.... Landon, I think the south sucks and big bucks are a myth.:D I honestly sometimes think that the ONLY difference is how the seasons are structured and the hunters mindset. The midwest have big deer because they have short gun seasons not in the rut, and the hunters have a mindset of waiting for the bigger bucks. Other states allow high power rifles for most of November peak rut, and the hunters just have a different GOT to kill any buck mindset.
Jeff, I guess I took it the wrong way so i apologize.. But, you have to admit it happens. I can think of several threads just today/tonight, on both BH.com and huntingnet, where things got out of hand because someone didn't agree with you. Anyway, I think every state that has whitetails in it, has big deer running around. Obviously they are much rarer in some states, but I think the south has some sleeper states as far as really big deer go, from what I see. I have no firsthand experience hunting any southern state, I would like to. I have a friend that lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA and I really want to hunt there.
In MN the gun season doesn't encompass the entire rut but most of it. It ussually starts somewhere around the Nov 2-7 timeframe and runs through mid Dec. This is the main reason that MN has fallen well behind other midwestern states (IL, IA, WI, KS, etc) for trophy quality IMO.
we have some good bucks in NC - good bucks being defined as 100-130 class bucks, there are even some 150 bucks roaming - but you will be lucky to see one every few years and depending upon the region may never seen one above 100 - I hunted the east coast for several years - and the best buck take off from an 800 acre farm in 10 years would score 105 - if you want P&Y deer I wouldn't choose NC
