What method do you want to use ? Kansas early muzzleloader or oklahoma with a bow right before rifle season opens or during rifle season y
would be my picks. These guys have some excellent trophy quality and have ranches in both states. http://www.chainranch.com/deer/oklahoma.html
Guided all those states can produce. DIY doubtful anyone will throw that bone out. Iowa would be my first choice since they limit tag numbers that's if you have a place to go. Kansas has some good walk in areas. I see you have overlooked Missouri probably the best value for cost and public lands are very well managed. Illinois has a proven track record for growing that caliber buck and easier tag to than Iowa. Nebraska has more hunters than your other choices but that's all I know about it
My biggest, a 160, came from Nebraska
I am not against guided would prefer semi guided, don't mind DIY either
Problem is no way I can scout all of these places myself, and no not wanting GPS coordinates or anything like that either, just getting ideas and opinions
Fyi , I have four friends hunting in Oklahoma north of Alva right now and they are reporting almost no deer. Blue tongue and drought have knocked the deer out. In the area. They have hunted these ranches for several years in a row now so they have an idea of what they should have been seeing. Haven't see but a handful of deer between them and nothing worth shooting. This is right along the Kansas and Oklahoma border.
Bow. SD. Off most guys radar. Tons of accessible public land. Low pressure during bow season. OTC tags. Very diverse state, can hunt prairie, crop land to big woods. Not only whitetail, but mulies can be had on the same tag.
I spent the second week of Nov in Iowa this season. I'm still traumatized. I don't think the age structure that I witnessed there could be duplicated anywhere in the US. I leased and guided in the best Illinois counties for a decade and I have never seen anything like it. Our last two days, 13-14th, were especially epic. No BS, I saw 16 big mature bucks within 70yds. I was hunting unmanaged private land. No crops or food plots. I saw two legit 180's while doing a quick scouting trip on public land down the road from where we were hunting. Whitetail Mecca.
I live in Ohio and can tell you if you put in the work diy can be done. Avoid the middle of state. Jefferson county, coshocton wma and Wayne national forest are good if you hit the rut just right. I like November tenth as my target date for starting. It is hard hunting but doable diy
When I lived in WI I would see a lot of great deer come out of Iowa. If you are willing to pay to be on managed land most Midwestern states can easily produce a 150" deer.