Best state to kill a BIG whitetail - GO!

[Huntnnw]

Id take NE WA over N ID. Way more regulated hunting in WA resulting in more mature bucks. Even the die hard ID whitetails guys I know come to WA

 

[coues craze]

Eastern Colorado

 

[mmcdonough]

Id take NE WA over N ID. Way more regulated hunting in WA resulting in more mature bucks. Even the die hard ID whitetails guys I know come to WA

I had not heard that before but that's cool to know. I sometimes question how many actually hunt over there because I see so many white plates in the Panhandle come fall. It's a lot easier to get tags in Idaho than WA though from what little research I've done.

 

[NebraskaHunt]

I'm probably going to regret this, but Missouri has over the counter licenses, liberal season limits, and lots of public opportunities. Focus more on area's north of I-70.

 

[Huntnnw]

I had not heard that before but that's cool to know. I sometimes question how many actually hunt over there because I see so many white plates in the Panhandle come fall. It's a lot easier to get tags in Idaho than WA though from what little research I've done.

most guys hunting ID from WA is to add to their hunting season and they are not predominantly chasing whitetails. We have a fraction of a whitetail season in WA compared to ID almost 4 months of straight pressure.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Bid bodied or big antlered? The bucks we kill in Northern Minnesota (45 min drive from the border) are some of the biggest bodied deer in the country. Some incredible racks as well.

As far as big antlers I’d say Iowa is my top choice.

 

[Swampcruiser]

Not Michigan!

 

[Swampcruiser]

Probably Ohio

 

[hartigjosh]

Lived and hunted in Iowa and Ohio
Iowa better quality of bucks but as a nonresident Ohio offers the best option annually
Iowa it takes anywhere from 3-5 years to get a tag
And for nonres' there are no shortcuts unless you are a celeb
I went to Univ of Iowa and family owned land and buddies have farms...no way for me to get a tag but play pref pts and wait

 

[Swampcruiser]

I guess I was thinking OTC public land.

 

[Swampcruiser]

If I knew I would draw it would be Iowa or Kansas

 

[fatlander]

OhioBooners


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shortmag11]

Iowa. Habitat, quantity and quality. And the least amount of pressure out of most of the Midwest states.

 

[Forestryguy]

Southern Illinois or Iowa. Personally I want lots of public ground, since I cant afford leases or to purchase land, very rough that takes work to get to and hides older deer. I moved to WI 1.5 years ago. This will be the first year I can hunt, and the hunting sucks here. If I can afford it I will be putting in for Iowa and IL. I have lived and hunted in both areas and wish I was back at either one.

 

[Browtineswetlines87]

Im from upstate New York. We have some old big bucks in the ADK. if you put in the time to scout and hunt hard you can bag your self a dandy.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Amish fella in Jamesport Missouri will let ya one out of the kennel for 10k

 

[Meridian90]

It's not a state you are looking for, it's an area. Anything in the driftless area is going to be prime whitetail country. In numbers, body size and antler mass.

Farther north into northern MN/ND/ME and Canada will produce the largest deer if able to reach maturity. Deer numbers in those areas are going to be low per square mile, so the likelihood you will run into a large, mature buck is going to go way down.

 

[kroppr77]

WI, yes I am a little biased but we have the most B&C entires by a couple hundred for the next closest state in the last 10 years. It is double than that of some famous states like Kansas, Ohio, and Missouri. Like all whitetail though it depends on ow much time and money you have. Leases are not cheap at all, and then working on the property isn't cheap either, but that cost is there for a reason. Just in central WI in the last two years, in about a 20 mile radius of my house I personally know of 5 bucks that were over 180, from just friends of friends, not even counting newspaper or social media bucks. Two years ago a mathews member shot a buch that scored 206 I believe within miles of my house. This is just the areas by Green Lake, Waushara, and Marquette counties. Not even counting buffalo county which is probably the most famous whitetail county in the world; then others like La Crosse, Trempealeau, and Grant.
Public land isn't impossible for some big deer, but that is going to be some tough hunting like marsh with flooding timber, and then getting to oak islands.
Another plus in Wisco is the cheap cost for a tag, which you get every year, one buck for bow and another for gun. Then the doe tags are pretty much unlimited in purchases ( which I hate, but it is what it is). Saving a couple hundred dollars just on the tag could help you in securing more acreage for a lease, or getting a better outfitter/lodge for your hunt who does all the plots, trail cams, scouting, and shootable bucks for you.

 

[Mtcarter34]

Kentucky

 

[RiverBluffRunner]

NW Illinois...Big bucks make big tracks!