In AL. our season starts Oct. 15 and ends Jan.31.
Take ILL. for example, how many days can a person hunt there with a shotgun, muzzle loader and a bow. Not that many days and not much hunting pressure so those bucks get huge and also there not getting pressured.
It is a rare thing to see a 110in buck in AL. until the pre-rut or rut.
When i go to our 455 acr lease in ILL. for 10 days i normally see several 130-140 class bucks walking right out in the OPEN picked corn fields.
We have had this lease 3 yrs and here is a list of the deer we have killed, we try to shoot mature bucks because we have a 5 yr lease.
2009 season
135in with a bow
142in with a bow
156in with a shotgun
2010 season
158in with a bow
128in with a bow
120in with a bow
162in with a gun
178in non-typical with a gun
2011 seaason was very slow
115in with a bow
148in with a gun
132in with a gun
Thats with only 4 hunters hunting for no more than 20 total hunting days.
I have been hunting in AL. for 34 years in the Blackbelt known for big bucks and i am self employed so i will hunt at least 3-4 days a week.
We had 1,800 acrs of prime land with a ton of deer and lots of bucks. 8 points or better unless you bring a kid with you.
I spend at least 100 hours before the season scouting and hanging stands. We lost that lease and 6 of us had 32 loc-ons, 8 ladder stands and 12 shooting houses.
We normally killed 10-15 bucks and 20 does a year and most of the bucks were 8 pointers scoring 100-115in. A guest killed a 10 pointer 5 years aqo that scored 152 and weighed 220lbs live weight.
My biggest buck off that lease we had for 11 years was a 9 pointer that scored 128in.
OK then i go to ILL. Kansas and Ohio for 7 days and see 280lb 140in buck standing out in the MIDDLE of a corn field at 10 am, come on.
I have even hunted in Canada 3 times on a paid hunt and the first time i went my guides 4-wheeler had a gas leak and you could smell it when i stepped out of the truck.
Anyway when we got to my stand he told me to go ahead and load my gun and be ready, i thought he was crazy. While he was baiting my spot there was 3 bucks, 4 does and 2 fawns standing 20 feet from him and when he left it wasn't 15 minutes later i shot a 157in perfect 10 pointer.
Im not trying to start trouble but the deer in these states are so easy to hunt its not even funny. If i lived in one of these states i would have to add on to the house to hang all my big bucks.
Happy New Year Everyone and i love you guys.
Joe Van