It always seems that this time of year a few of the magazines, if not all, are predicting where the next record-book buck will come from. I did the same last year, and I feel no shame in admitting that. This year though, instead of looking into my crystal ball and trying to predict where the next record will come from, I’m going to predict which states are going to produce the biggest bucks. Yes, the biggest ones, the ones that may not top the P&Y or B&C lists, but will certainly score high and make us all envious.
So, here are my top five states that I wish I had a tag for this fall, and if anyone wants to invite me along for a hunt, I’ll be happy to join you! I constrained all of my options to the lower 48 and excluded Canada; of course, we all know Canada will produce monsters, which is why so many hunters head there each fall.
First would be Ohio, this is a great state with good genetics. You’re getting the northern big-bodied deer along with the Midwest antler wow factor. Ohio has been producing some great bucks and with the great weather they received this spring and over the winter, it should be another banner year.
Going a bit north, I’d try my luck in the Badger State. Wisconsin hunters have been showing up more in the hunting magazines the past few years, and I don’t doubt that this fall will have even more of them. The state has enough of a mixture of big woods with crops to give the boys of fall everything they need to grow the bone we all are after.
Moving a bit further west I’ll take a license in Minnesota; again you’re going to get the bigger-bodied deer and they had the right weather to grow the feed the big boys need. They did have a bit of a harsh weather this past winter and spring, but nothing that should have killed off the older deer herd. There should be a good crop of three- to four-year bucks sporting some nice racks this year.
The next plane ticket I would buy is to Nebraska, a state with all of that agriculture and flatness is meant to grow big racks. They had a great harvest of antlerless deer last year, and that will only help the amount of nutrition available for bucks. That also means that less juvenile young bucks were taken. Though some of those antlerless deer could have been button bucks, that won’t affect this year’s harvest. Watch, though, in three or four years for the impact, if any will occur.
The final place I’d head if I was looking or a great buck to mount and show off to my buddies would have to be Colorado’s eastern plain. Again, this is a state that knows how to mix cover with food. Whitetails are also slowly taking over more and more ground and most times you won’t need preference points to draw a whitetail license. What could be better? If you have the points and obtain the either species tag, you could shoot a giant mule deer and really blow your friends away.
That’s my top five; I’m sure there will be some of you who disagree, and if you do, show me some proof. I also believe a few northeast states will surprise some people. If a few jaw droppers don’t come out of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, I’ll be truly shocked. Pennsylvania’s antler restrictions are starting to pay. New Jersey and Maryland have enough housing developments mixed in and around farms and private land to give deer the age and nutrition they need to grow the big racks. So maybe I’ll stay near my house this year and hunt closer to home, but remember, I’m open to invites!
-Brett
