So you think it's tough eh?

[whitetailassasin]

I've been reading a lot of threads and posts, seems everyone has an opinion on this. What state do you consider the hardest to kill a 3.5+ year old buck in? Since this is the public land forum, lets keep it to unmanaged state public land. No private. It's been on my mind a lot with the topics of great hunters, deer over 125", pressure, etc. Score doesn't always mean mature in my neck of the woods.

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[BassBoysLLP]

PA followed closely by NY.

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[Edcyclopedia]

The distribution of older antlered bucks at biological check stations was
43% @ 1.5 years old,
28% at 2.5 years old,
16% at 3.5 years,
9% at 4.5 years and
4% at 5.5+ years old.


This info was taken from a 2012 report
NH is 9,350 sq miles
60k hunters
Deer heard = 85K
Buck harvest was ±6,650
Total deer harvest was ±11,500

[Bucky]

Nevada, California, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii

In states that have whitetails... I'm guessing a 125"ers are rare in Florida

[Bigdaddy-yoyo]

Michigan for sure .........a lot of hunters

[lostinstateforest]

Pa is tough but if adequate time is available, ie more than weekends, it can be done in the sw

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[JoeRE]

The distribution of older antlered bucks at biological check stations was
43% @ 1.5 years old,
28% at 2.5 years old,
16% at 3.5 years,
9% at 4.5 years and
4% at 5.5+ years old.


This info was taken from a 2012 report
NH is 9,350 sq miles
60k hunters
Deer heard = 85K
Buck harvest was ±6,650
Total deer harvest was ±11,500

Thats interesting Ed. Iowa doesn't collect that data but I am pretty confident it would be very similar to that on [glow=red]unmanaged land[/glow]: 1 out of 6 a 3.5 year old, 1 out of 10 a 4.5 year old, 1 out of 20 a 5.5 year old or older. Sure antler size might be a little different but age structure, no.

I have heard deer hunting in texas on [glow=red]public land[/glow] is terrible, but have no first hand experience. I agree, Florida must be up there too. All you Michigan and PA hunters at least have bucks with the potential to get to 125!

[whitetailassasin]

I understand the statistics guys, but that doesn't always count for state land. Some places get pounded harder than others. I know the eastern states have serious pressure, but other factors like bow season and gun skew places. For example I've heard Ohio bow can be good hunting but gun season is a zoo. I've seen Michigan bow be good, but as soon as gun season starts its a circus also. I've read a lot about the PA guys here and how difficult it is to find a mature deer. IMO Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Kentucky are out of the conversation. Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and eastern states get hounded.

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[lungpuncher1]

East Tn. Tons of pressure, rough public land, most are stuck on the "if its brown it's down" theory. Plus gun season goes from November 9- January 14. Also we have a 3 buck limit and most shoot 3 spikes and brag about it. Makes me sick.

[JoeRE]

I think all midwestern states are out of the picture since we are talking antler size. If you look hard enough in a big/nasty enough chunk of public to thin the hunters I think you can find big bucks in any state in the midwest.

If most bucks don't have the potential to reach 125 AND there is extreme pressure, like in some places in the south, those would be the hardest to find a P&Y buck.

[wmahunter]

greenswamp in central florida

[Jake/PA]

I won't say which state is the toughest just because there are a lot of pressured areas. You would have to hunt a lot of public land in different states to get a feel of how difficult each are.

Hunting the private land in my area is tough and public will be even tougher after coming across a lot of stands this spring.

[gjs4]

Our area of NY has 40% of the hunters and 15-20% of the land mass for the whole state. BUT there is some public opportunity if oyu think outside of the box and leave your limits at home....nothing is in your favor in NY to kill a mature deer though

[PK_]

Florida turns deer hunters into anglers.

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[whitetailassasin]

Florida turns deer hunters into anglers.

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That's hilarious, but I'm sure quite true.

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