Best state to kill a BIG whitetail - GO!

[tracker12]

Well Ill be on my first Iowa deer hunt this November so I hope you guys are right

 

[Cody_W]

This is my first post to RokSlide! - I have read several forums on this site and have a good friend that refers to it all the time. With that said, I have hunted several states chasing all sorts of game - but as time goes on, I feel like the best state to kill a big whitetail can change from year to year due to over-hunting, disease, etc. Now, what is your opinion on the BEST state to kill a BIG whitetail and why? Thanks!!!

South Texas. Great genetics deer with chocolate horns. No public land though. Will have to get on a lease or pay a trophy fee. Go check out Los Cazadores on Instagram. Webb and Frio counties are the best. 180”+ is pretty average with 190-200” being somewhat often.

Here are a few from last year we had. Native deer on a low fence ranch in Webb county. 3 are over 195” here, the rest are between 170-185.

 

[pk_]

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.

Northern Minnesota has piqued my interest for years. It’s just so far I don’t think I’ll ever make it up there. Nobody talks about it, but it seems like there are some vast swamps and public land up there, not sure what the deer numbers are like but I know there has to be some Real monsters roaming around up there...

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Northern Minnesota has piqued my interest for years. It’s just so far I don’t think I’ll ever make it up there. Nobody talks about it, but it seems like there are some vast swamps and public land up there, not sure what the deer numbers are like but I know there has to be some Real monsters roaming around up there...

Yeah the dedicated swamp bucks don’t tend to get as big as the bucks that live in the wood lots surrounding the hundreds of thousands of acres farm land up there.

There are tons of swamps, lakes, streams around those farms as well. Lots of timber cover, plenty of water, and lots of grain/bean crops make them just monster bodied deer.

The bucks tend to hit the soybean and conola fields really hard in the evenings while the does and fawns are prone to the alfalfa/grass fields. During the rut we catch bucks chasing does out into the big alfalfa fields which makes for good stand hunting.

I prefer to follow known deer travel highways at a slow pace along the edges of wood lots near the bean fields. This is how and where I’ve seen the absolute monster bucks up there.

 

[Mahiman]

Midwest and Texas!!!

 

[A.Hutch]

Yup you fellers just keep lookin fer them monsters where ya have been.....Ain't no deer here worth lookin at


Hutch

 

[archer85]

My vote is your home state! You may get lucky on an out of state hunt and kill a booner but to do it consistently takes time to scout and learn your hunting area. Unless you are paying a guide to hunt for you and you are simply the shooter stick to home and figure them out!

This right here gets my vote! Sure there are better states out there, but the odds on connecting with a big deer on a quick out of state hunt have to be close to finding a mature specimen in your own backyard. That being said, a mature whitetail in South Carolina isn't going to compare to Iowa. Take what you have and make the best of it!

I was lucky the past 4 seasons to follow two really good bucks here in PA and was able to put my tag on the larger of the two this past fall. My best guess is he was 6.5 and had survived one really bad year of EHD and probably countless encounters with other hunters. With what used to be the state with the highest hunter numbers (not sure where we rank now) it just goes to show that a big deer can live pretty much anywhere.

 

[Dudeman]

There are big bucks in ohio. A lot of the public hunting land is in the east hilly areas.

 

[Wapiti16]

Being a pretty serious whitetail guy, I've hunted alot of different places and have killed some big deer. Alot of the Midwest states are great, but Iowa, specifically southern Iowa, is the best in my opinion. Iowa's nonresident regulations/draw odds as well as extremely short shotgun season and late muzzleloader season allow many more bucks to reach their prime. Iowa's age class is unmatched, and they have the soil quality and ag practices to push them into Booner territory. I've hunted Iowa a few times during the rut and it was unbelievable, but it will take about 4 years to draw a tag in the southern part of the state.

I have a farm in northern Missouri near the Iowa line, and while we can grow some big deer and I have killed some big deer, there are just not as many as there are 10 miles away in Iowa because Missouri has a full rifle season and nonresidents can purchase two buck tags over the counter. Just goes to show what regulations do for your herd.

My main hunting properties are in southern Missisisppi along the Mississippi River, and while not as well-known as a big buck factory as midwest states, we regularly produce big bucks, well above average for the south. In our area, 140s are common, 150/160s are around every year, and there have been several 200"+ bucks harvested within a couple square miles from our area in the last 10 years. These bucks are MUCH more difficult to hunt than any deer I've hunted in the Midwest though.

 

[Lowdeuce]

The passing of bill HF 716 is going to put a hurt on the Iowa deer population by removing the straight wall requirement when using rifles during shot gun season.

 

[kcbuckeye22]

I’m so surprised people keep saying Ohio. I grew up there and from 2000-2009 it was prime hunting. I typically go every year and bounce around if things are slow. 2015-2018 was terrible. Between myself and my family we have up 15 cameras on private and some public and the quality has considerably dropped. I didn’t go last year and I’m not planning on it this year. If your wanting a 120” buck you could sit in a rut funnel and get a chance. I could have better odds in other states closer to home. However, the wildcard is there’s a higher ceiling on the caliper of bucks in Ohio.

I live in Southern Missouri and I’ve ran many cams for years and I’ve only had one buck that tips 170. In Ohio during 2000-2009 we usually had a couple over 180 every year. The last three years we had one that might go 170. However, the average age has decreased and the total bucks by half in Ohio.

My top pick is Iowa. To many folks I know that are mediocre hunters and woodsman have knocked down some 150-180s.

I think Oklahoma, the Dakotas, and Nebraska holds some good deer.

 

[jppedersen48]

Agree with the comments about the best hunting is your home state. Every year I spend time in both Wisconsin and Iowa. Both are great states; but I tell my buddies from out west every year they are wasting their time waiting 5 years for an Iowa archery tag when I can get them on as big of bucks in Wisconsin every year and for a tag that is 20% of the cost of Iowa. Frankly, I think Iowa is overrated from a nonresident perspective. If you're a resident it's a different ballgame. Same for Wisconsin, if you don't know the best public spots or have access to private it's probably a very frustrating state.

Ohio and Kansas are two other states high on my list but that is just based on some connections I have in those states and the pictures that get sent to me every November.

A few people mentioned it but the Dakotas are very underrated in my opinion. My uncle is a pretty dang good taxidermist and almost every year the biggest buck in his shop is from North Dakota.

 

[Bubblehide]

By far, Az,even better Mexico.

 

[TBurroughs]

Maine is a sleeper state for mature deer. May not score like a Midwest deer, but if you are a tracker, it’s not difficult to find a mature buck track to follow if you’re willing to get out in the remote areas.

 

[Skee7533]

WV has four counties in the southern part of the state that have been bow hunting only for many years. If you can get access to hunting land (mostly private) there are some impressive bucks.

 

[skeen]

By the numbers Wisconsin would be the top

That's right, but whenever a discussion like this comes up, no one ever mentions Wisconsin.

 

[skeen]

Public Land? If so, these are my top 3 in no particular order. Oklahoma is probably one of my favorite places, big deer, low pressure, and relatively inexpensive OOS tag.

1. Kansas
2. Ohio
3. Oklahoma

Oklahoma is my favorite state to hunt too. I know, I know, everybody wants to hunt Kansas, but some of the biggest bucks I've seen were in Oklahoma.

 

[skeen]

Maine is a sleeper state for mature deer. May not score like a Midwest deer, but if you are a tracker, it’s not difficult to find a mature buck track to follow if you’re willing to get out in the remote areas.

When I was a kid I loved reading about Larry Benoit tracking big bucks in the Maine snow.

https://www.amazon.com/Big-Bucks-Benoit-Way-Whitetail/dp/1634509927

 

[NorthCountryAB]

I know this is asking about states, but if you guys have never experienced a SK or AB rut hunt in Canada its pretty impressive.
These are big deer.

 

[Pk_in_Dallas]

I would concur that North Alberta has to be one of the best places to go in North America to hunt whitetails in the middle of the rut with a rifle. I’ve lived in Missouri, Kansas, Texas, and Iowa. Northern Alberta hands down is the best in my opinion.


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