D&DH: The REAL Top 10 List of Deer Hunting States

[trad4life]

I just watched this video and I think this explains a lot about how to actually rank the best deer states. I thought it was just a great perceptive and the right way to approach and judge a state. It is a little lengthy, but it is defiantly worth it.

http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/media ... ing-states

[Stanley]

Interesting for sure.

[Jphunter]

Pretty good.. If you have access to private land in Texas it can be great but if you are planning to hunt public land it probably won't rank in the top 10.. It would be neat to see one ranked by public land.

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[JoeRE]

Good to see a perspective not based just on inches of antler.

[kurt]

Some of the very reasoning he used to determine it was a top 10 state is the exact reason it is not imo... Pennsylvania with 850,000 hunters ouch. Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York too many Hunters. Lower pressure equals better hunt I don't care about amount of young deer. people don't go to a place like Iowa to shoot a lot of deer just for that one...yeah you know the one. The more of that one it has the better. The more public it has the better for me

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[whitetailassasin]

Good to see a perspective not based just on inches of antler.

I think when we refer, on this site, to top states we are speaking mature bucks and the number of them in a state. After listening to him speak, I agree that because of volume of deer certain states will be considered top, but with the amount of deer killed and average age of deer being killed, to serious mature buck hunters this is misleading. I agree lots of immature deer exist in these states and because of sheer numbers it seems overwhelming. But in Michigan and I'm sure Wisconsin is like this too, a lot of young deer aren't given the chance to reach maturity. Michigan alone allows button bucks to be shot and doe tags and your archery tags can be used on them. Also we hand out 2 buck tags and allow the first to be any size? What deer is protected? I don't agree that hunters should be able to harvest a button buck, a 6-9 month old deer. I hate the excuse I didn't see the nubs. That tells me you can't identify your target and obviously can't tell a immature deer from a mature one. I refer to our first tag as the gimme buck tag. I understand guys don't all hunt for mature animals, and weekend warriors and the orange army and meat hunters. But if that's the case allow the one tag not two and let hunters shoot whatever buck they want but only one. A lot of 1.5 old bucks with potential get shot with restricted tag because they have 4 puts or more on one side. Another solution is to allow the tag to be either sex, meat hunters could harvest a doe, if it's about meat and not a 1.5 old bucks antlers, then it shouldn't be an issue. Insurance companies have stepped in and pushed for more deer to be taken, thus our unprotected bag limits etc. It makes me so upset when I think about how we, Michigan, handles our wildlife bag limits etc. many states our showing restricted bag limits with better quality harvests and overall health population and control. Sorry for the rant, but I'm not just a hunter who doesn't care.

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[Stanley]

I wonder if they should/could figure in deer per tree? Some of the big woods are not what a lot of the "Joe hunters" consider huntable. So some of the best states(according to MR. Schmidt) have ground that isn't hunted by the masses. Hunting Statistics are a lot like a stock prospectus, you can wiggle the figures to befit your agenda.

[whitetailassasin]

I wonder if they should/could figure in deer per tree? Some of the big woods are not what a lot of the "Joe hunters" consider huntable. So some of the best states(according to MR. Schmidt) have ground that isn't hunted by the masses. Hunting Statistics are a lot like a stock prospectus, you can wiggle the figures to befit your agenda.

Yes sir! Well said Stan

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[trad4life]

What I really found interesting is hunter interest and recruitment. This to me relates to what he said about success, not just shooting a mature deer, but any deer. States like Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan have such a strong heritage and bond that we are the leading benefactors for our sport. Shooting a big deer is nice, but what I took away from this is the opportunity and success rate for new hunters. Personally, I am in the age range of 18-25, I would rather get at least one person into hunting than me shooting a big buck each year.

I also found how the Texas record keeping of deer harvested is kind of a crock of crap as was Alabama and South Carolina. lol

[mheichelbech]

Maybe we should have a Hunting Beast Top 10! Wonder what that would be???

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[Philski]

Hunting beast top would be fun. Good idea.

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[mauser06]

Wonder how old the figures are....


PA has been on a hard downward spiral...when I started hunting the news came on early opening day of rifle to give the forecast...I remember "over a million hunters will be in the woods today".

One year my school tried to have school...it was such a fail they didn't have enough teachers and the few kids and teachers that were there consolidated and hung out all day...so I heard haha...

Most every road with huntable woods was lined with vehicles...gunshots echoed up and down the valley all day...

These days....if you aren't a hunter or don't have previous knowledge of it being opening day of rifle season you probably won't realize it...

We don't have the numbers anymore...

We still have it pretty high...but its not what it once was...and mature bucks on public land are very realistic...its getting to the point guys like my dad for instance that hunts maybe a few days of rifle season all year...he is passing up legal 1.5yo bucks because he knows his odds at a good buck are pretty decent..

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[DeerDylan]

Wonder how old the figures are....


PA has been on a hard downward spiral...when I started hunting the news came on early opening day of rifle to give the forecast...I remember "over a million hunters will be in the woods today".

One year my school tried to have school...it was such a fail they didn't have enough teachers and the few kids and teachers that were there consolidated and hung out all day...so I heard haha...

Most every road with huntable woods was lined with vehicles...gunshots echoed up and down the valley all day...

These days....if you aren't a hunter or don't have previous knowledge of it being opening day of rifle season you probably won't realize it...

We don't have the numbers anymore...

We still have it pretty high...but its not what it once was...and mature bucks on public land are very realistic...its getting to the point guys like my dad for instance that hunts maybe a few days of rifle season all year...he is passing up legal 1.5yo bucks because he knows his odds at a good buck are pretty decent..

[ Post made via Android ]

I have noticed a lack of participation in PA too.

[gjs4]

Oh yeah- NY.

Lol

[ Post made via iPad ]

[Philski]

A somewhat confusing perspective imo. What was the criteria for best? He said top 10 then talked about the top 11. Which is it? Never heard my home state of Michigan considered a premier destination. Very few facts to substantiate the title. A few to many opinions for me. I guess you could dig up statistics to make a case for any state. Confusing to me. But thanks for posting. I enjoy stuff like top 10 lists. I would like to have a Hunting Beast top 10 best deer states discussion. I think it would have to include access to land, deer numbers and trophy potential. I'm sure there are other criteria. I'm curious what accomplished deer hunters on this site feel are the best states and what it's based on. Opinions are welcome.

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