By Scott Bestul

Uwharrie National Forest
Location: central North Carolina
Size: 50,189 acres
ZIP: 28001

North Carolina's largest deer tend to come from the central Piedmont region, but 200-pounders are rare, according to Harrold. "We have biologists who work a whole career in North Carolina and see only two or three," he says. "It's quite a news story when it happens." Hunting pressure on piedmont public lands is generally high. The Uwharrie has long been a traditional deer-hunting destination, at one time recording the highest harvest in the state, but hunting pressure has slacked a bit as the action spread into surrounding farmlands. White oak, red oak and hickory hardwoods provide the biggest fall food source for deer, and planted food plots and adjacent crop fields-many recently converted from tobacco to corn and other grains-supplement the deer diet. The Uwharries are old mountains, and while hillier than the rest of the piedmont, their slopes are much more modest than the Appalachians to the west. [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Di-Lane Wildlife Management Area
Location: east-central Georgia
Size: 8,100 acres
ZIP: 30830

Last year Di-Lane whitetail hunters posted the highest overall success rate and the best success rate on mature bucks in the state. That's saying a lot considering that well over 50 percent of Georgia's statewide buck harvest is 2 1/2-year-olds or better. This is classic quail country in the state's upper coastal plain; about 70 percent of the area is forested in hardwoods and pines, with the balance in old fields gone to seed. A dense understory of palmetto, gallberry, wax myrtle and grasses supply abundant cover and forage for deer. Access is unlimited during archery season; firearms hunters who miss the September application deadline for the quality buck drawing can look forward to a check-in hunt that welcomes all comers November 8-10. A season-long antler restriction applies: bucks need at least four points on one side.

Redlands Wildlife Management Area
Location: east-central Georgia
Size: 37,500 acres
ZIP: 30642

Georgia has one of the nation's longest firearms deer seasons (74 days in the northern half of the state and 88 days in the southern half), but its wildlife management areas usually limit gun hunts to no more than a couple of weeks.... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Tamarack Ranch State Wildlife Area
Location: northeast Colorado
Size: 10,696 acres
ZIP: 80751

"There's room to roam, and some very nice deer get taken here every year," Baskfield says of Tamarack Ranch, which lies in the wide cottonwood river bottoms bordering the South Platte River, about 60 miles from the Nebraska border. The terrain here is flatter than at Simmons, and it's easy for hunters to see lots of bucks chasing does before the rut. Food plots are maintained on the area, and surrounding private lands are heavily farmed with the aid of irrigation. The abundance of water in what is essentially a desert is a huge deer magnet. To gain an edge, pack hip waders and cross the Platte before setting up to hunt. "Put the river between you and the rest of the hunters," Baskfield advises, "and let them drive the deer to you."

Big Game Access Program
Location: southeast Colorado
Size: 87,000 acres

This year for the first time, Colorado will give big-game hunters walk-in access to private land for public hunting. Based on the state's popular walk-in program for small game hunters, the pilot Big Game Access Program will lease 87,000 acres of public land in southeast Colorado, much of... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Thistlethwaite Wildlife Management Area
Location: south central Louisiana
Size: 11,100 acres
ZIP: 70589

Two years ago Thistlethwaite became the only Louisiana WMA to enforce antler restrictions, and the bid to limit the harvest of yearlings could make this an up-and-coming area for mature bucks, Durham says. Seventeen miles of shell roads and 11 miles of woods trails ease access to every corner of this flat bottomland area. Several oak species dominate the forest, with pecan and hickory supplementing the mast crop. Browse species are plentiful, too, and selective timber harvests have cleared the way for honeysuckle, dogwood, greenbrier, blackberry and numerous other ice-cream plants. Thistlethwaite raised up a pair of 130-class bucks last season that ranked as the No. 5 and No. 10 public land bucks in the state for 2006.

Sherburne Wildlife Management Area
Location: south Louisiana
Size: 44,000 acres
ZIP: 70570

The biggest buck taken on Louisiana public land in 2006, a 250-pounder with 22-inch main beams, hailed from Sherburne. This flat lat bottomland in the flood plain of the Atchafalaya River includes tracts owned by the Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service but managed by the state. Sherburne sustains a rich mix of hardwood species (most notably... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Blue Water Creek Wildlife Management Area
Location: northwest Florida
Size: 21,048 acres
ZIP: 32568

A high percentage of bucks taken at Blue Water are 3 1/2 years old or better, according to Cory Morea, a regional public lands biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. This private timber land is opened to public hunting on a first-come, first-served permit system, and Morea says permits usually are available until December. Pine plantation is the dominant habitat type, with some hardwood areas along the many creek bottoms that crisscross the tract. The soil here in northwest Florida (just south and east of Alabama) is the best in the state, and it shows. "Blue Water has plenty of opportunities and a high hunter success rate," Morea notes, "plus a number of deer that came out of here in recent years have been pretty nice bucks." You'll need a deer with a Boone and Crockett score of 100 typical or 125 non-typical to make the Florida Buck Registry, and Blue Water is capable of producing them.

Blackwater Wildlife Management Area
Location: northwest Florida
Size: 191,148 acres
ZIP: 32531

"Blackwater is old Florida," says Morea, "picture good quail habitat." Indeed, this big WMA (which is located within... [ Read Full Post ]

By Scott Bestul

Tranquility Wildlife Area
Location: southwest Ohio
Size: 4,254 acres
ZIP: 45660

Tranquility produced a 165-class buck during the December muzzleloader season last year. "Obviously, the big boys are finding plenty of places to hide during the November gun hunt," Beatty says. Also located in Adams County, this Division of Wildlife-managed area devotes 10 percent of its acreage to food plots. About half of Tranquility is mature hardwoods dominated by oak and hickory, with brush and grasslands completing the mix. This is Beatty's home base, and he says 140- to 150-class bucks are "definitely not out of the question" on Tranquility's steep ridges and deep ravines.

Shawnee State Forest
Location: southwest Ohio
Size: 63,747 acres
ZIP: 45660

They call Shawnee "The Little Smokies of Ohio," an apt name for the largest state forest in Ohio-and one of the most rugged. Located in Adams and Scioto counties, Shawnee's mature hardwood stands were thinned out by a massive ice storm in 2003. "That has produced a lot of 3- and 4-year-old successional growth that makes great shelter for mature bucks," Beatty says. An active timber management program means there are logging roads hunters can use to hike around this massive spread. One of Shawnee's best features is... [ Read Full Post ]