I thought Johnson County required you to be on 5 acres of land to do any bowhunting in the county. If not, I'm going to have to pick up bow hunting because my folks have a pair of 8 pointers running through their back yard all the time and I spotted a 12 in my buddy's backyard (about half a mile from the park).

Did you see that SM Park hired an outside firm to teach police officers how to shoot deer? Why are we wasting money on that? People would pay the "cash-strapped" park to go hunt the deer, now the park is paying people to do it? ridiculous.

Subdivisions that have large lots. These are located in all states and the deer have a real chance to mature.

The downside? Dogs, kids, leaf blowers, lawn mowers, hikers and thieves.

But, you can usually hunt for free and you don't have to travel too far.

Whitetails are so adaptable you will find them anywhere including the middle of a city. This is making the heavily populated states more and more desireable to big buck hunters. For that reason I say Ohio, Central Ohio to be exact. If your able to snuggle up to a subdivision during Ohio's 4 month long bowseason, dreams can come true.

I usually pass the biggest deer I'll see all season on my way out of town. More so if I drive past the neighborhood golf course...

Nebraska.

Amen the large subdivision lots. I'm going bowhunting later today on one that backs up to a large undeveloped park that has a big stream flowing through it. Shot a P&Y buck there last year. There's no hunting in the park. The place is loaded with deer but they aren't starving yet like the deer in Shawnee Mission Park the Anti's are crying about. Last years buck was quite fat.

I would sort of imagine any state north of the mason-dixon line would be a good place for big whitetails. I would further narrow it down by saying west of the appalachian mountains and east of the rockies.

My rationale is as follows - there are lots of grain fields in this area so deer can get fat. Add in the fact that it gets cold in these areas and deer have a need to bulk up - unlike in say Alabama, and you've got a recipe for big bucks.

I think northern states may have even better prospects than a state like Kansas because the brutal winters have to have an effect on thinning out the deer population so that the strongest survive (assuming you don't find them first).

JL,

Those pictures of bucks from GA are just photo shopped and the stories are nothing but out right lies. There is nothing in GA but spikes and fork horns and a bunch of does...even in the subdivisions. Ya'll don't waste anytime thinking about finding a big deer down here. I'll just keep culling the herd and when they get a little bigger I'll let you all know...I promise...really... I will...honest...

Hey guys,...How 'bout keeping the post's touting Ohio's big bucks to a minimum until AFTER my trip is over! thanks. It's actually not that good hunting there i heard.

To the guy who said Oklahoma, you're wrong. There isn't a big deer to be found here. No sir-ee.

I hunt on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and there are some nice deer out there. I see 150" deer on a regular basis. But if you look at the Maryland record buck which was killed a few years ago. That buck was killed in my home county (Charles County) and it isn't on the Eastern Shore.

ABSOLUTELY RIGHT . iT IS NOT THE LACK OF BIG DEER BUT THE LACK OF ACCESS TO THOSE HUNTING AREAS THAT HARBOR THEM. I HAVE SEEN MANY HUGE BUCKS IN OHIO OVER THE YEARS BUT IN MOST CASES LAND OWNERS DID NOT PERMIT HUNTING ON THIER LAND, YET THESE ARE THE SAME PEOPLE THAT COMPLAIN ABOUT TOO MANY DEER. GO FIGURE !!

how about maine, we have some heavy mass/ heavy body deer up here, you just have to work VERY hard to find those deer.

Y'all are welcome to try it here. We'd love to have you come. I am pretty sure all the big ones are around Beekeeper's 20. He is probably holding out on us. A good one around here is about the size of a German Shepherd....

Seriously, if GA is representative of what different groups of deer can be, they can range from dog-size to OMG. What blows my mind are the hogs. Is it just me or have they multiplied in number and size?

Michigan is a sleeper... Hardley any shows are filmed here...

Southern Michigan has the genetics, habitat, and weather that can grow big booners... It actually is about the same conditions as Winsconsin, except that with our 2 buck rule, most dont make it past 1 1/2 years of age... In Jackson county, one of the best in the state, numerous 160+ inch deer that are only 3 1/2 are taken each year...

If we had a one buck rule like Winsconsin, or some type of antler restrictions we could be just as good as some of the other states in the mid-west...

I personally would NEVER want a one buck rule because I enjoy being able to hunt from early Octobers bow season all the way till the end of December... BUT I would love an antler restrition...

As for the rest of the state, the northern lower penninsula doesnt produce many large bucks at all..

I hunt in the northern lower, and in the county I hunt in, the record book typical is only 167"... Thats the record... only 8 bucks over 150" have been taken..

AND THIS IS IN AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN HEAVILY HUNTED SINCE BEFORE SOME STATES LIKE ILLINOIS EVEN HAD DEER HUNTING!!!

The northern lower is tradtional deer hunting territory... my great grandfather hunted deer there in the 1930's... and it was crowded then...

And then we have the upper penninsula... this is also a sleeper... There may not be tons of deer since the weather is VERY harsh... There also isnt alot of large bucks because alot of them also get killed before getting old, or the weather and habitat doesnt allow them to devote alot of energy to antler growth..

BUT some HUGE deer are taken every year.. Last year 2 deer were taken that scored 200" plus!!!!

And our DNR came up with a great compromise as to antler restrictions or a one buck rule, but it only applies to the U.P.

In the state as a whole, you can either buy a single bow or single gun license... either allows you to tag a buck with 3 inches of antler or more... OR you can buy a combo licence which is good in either season and allows you one buck with antlers 3 inches or more, and a second buck that must have 4 points on one side..

Now in the U.P. you can either buy only one gun or bow license and get one antlered deer with 3 inches or more, or get the combo.. BUT with the combo you can only shoot one deer with 3 or more points on one side and a 2nd with 4 or more points on one side..

I would like to see this state wide... it would allow people who only hunt a few days each year during rifle season the option of getting any antlered deer, and also allow serious hunters to still have the chance to shoot 2 deer, but also allow more to reach maturity...

Michigan is unique in that we have a huge amount of residents that only hunt maybe a week each year... Its more about going to camp than the hunting to them... mostly they just want the meat, but there is still a stigma attached to shooting does in this state..

Alot of serious hunters end up shooting the first buck they see since they know they have a second tag.. This new rule in the Upper penninsula would prevent this from happening..

ANYWAY, if this law was put in effect state wide I think Michigan would vault up the record books with the likes of Winsconsin and Kansas...

Ross, Pa. surely has fewer deer than it did 15 years ago, but we see and shoot more and better bucks than ever before. Don't give up. The next one you shoot may be bigger than any your dad ever has.

Bucks County PA... How do you think it gets its name?

kansas is the place to be for non- typicals last year a bow guy shot a p&y buck that had club antler on one side nd a perfect conformation 7 points on the other it was officially the coolest rack i have seen. nd while mushroom hunting last year i was grunted out of the woods by a set of velveted antlers that would give a longhorn steer a run for his money