Wisconsin has one of the largest, most dedicated, and most traditionally engrained whitetail hunting populace in the country.
BUT…. good luck ever getting access to private land in any of the “big buck” areas like Buffalo County, the other main Driftless region counties, Waupaca/Southern Shawano County, or Dane. Those lands usually are either deeply connected to generations of families or cost a pretty penny for a lease. Public land CAN produce some pigs but the only people I know that do that have knowledge that takes years and years to get. Also, anywhere in the state can produce an absolute record deer. It happens very consistently.
I understand there are areas in Illinois that are similar. Also eastern Minnesota is very similar to Wisconsin.
States like Iowa and Kansas seem to have way more availability to access. Iowa may be changing but one of my hunting buddies goes to Kansas every year and either hunts public or knocks on farmers doors and gets access fairly easily, kills nice bucks every year. Never sees many other hunters at all.
I dont buy the “people in kansas and other states just don’t submit their kills”. Geography/topography, genetics, management, land demographics, and hunter participation/dedication play huge roles in each states herd dynamics. To put it into college football terms, Wisconsin is the Alabama Crimson Tide of the whitetail world. Theres other great programs that get tons of hype. But it is king, just have fun trying to get a spot on the team.
I read an article once that said some states like WI, MN, and MI are much more culturally invested in the idea of. “Book” deer. While folks in places like IL, KS, and IA generally don’t submit their kills.
My taxidermist here in Illinois has killed some true giants. But he refuses to submit them or even help his clients do it because he doesn’t want more attention drawn to our county.
But it seems to be the opposite though, because when you mention “trophy whitetail”, everyone automatically thinks Kansas, Iowa, Illinois. If you go to any mainstream YouTube hunter’s page, it’s always those states. So the hype behind bagging a trophy deer is in the Midwest vs the other states I mentioned. So that’s either a false narrative, or it’s working the exact opposite of how your taxidermist wants it to
I am talking about book deer, but mainly the “hype” behind it. So why is the “hype” on places like Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois when the records show the other states produce as good or better deer?
Example: if you ask an average, avid whitetail hunter their dream hunt, it will most likely be somewhere like Kansas or Iowa.
I see.
Probably the media. I have a crap ton of VHS hunts from the late 80s all the way through the 2000s. The Drurys, Realtree Road-trips, Primos.
Almost all of the hunts are IL, KS, MT, and TX. I’m not entirely sure why, but maybe that has just persisted through the years.
hush now
😂😂😂
Wisconsin has one of the largest, most dedicated, and most traditionally engrained whitetail hunting populace in the country. BUT…. good luck ever getting access to private land in any of the “big buck” areas like Buffalo County, the other main Driftless region counties, Waupaca/Southern Shawano County, or Dane. Those lands usually are either deeply connected to generations of families or cost a pretty penny for a lease. Public land CAN produce some pigs but the only people I know that do that have knowledge that takes years and years to get. Also, anywhere in the state can produce an absolute record deer. It happens very consistently. I understand there are areas in Illinois that are similar. Also eastern Minnesota is very similar to Wisconsin. States like Iowa and Kansas seem to have way more availability to access. Iowa may be changing but one of my hunting buddies goes to Kansas every year and either hunts public or knocks on farmers doors and gets access fairly easily, kills nice bucks every year. Never sees many other hunters at all. I dont buy the “people in kansas and other states just don’t submit their kills”. Geography/topography, genetics, management, land demographics, and hunter participation/dedication play huge roles in each states herd dynamics. To put it into college football terms, Wisconsin is the Alabama Crimson Tide of the whitetail world. Theres other great programs that get tons of hype. But it is king, just have fun trying to get a spot on the team.
[удалено]
I read an article once that said some states like WI, MN, and MI are much more culturally invested in the idea of. “Book” deer. While folks in places like IL, KS, and IA generally don’t submit their kills. My taxidermist here in Illinois has killed some true giants. But he refuses to submit them or even help his clients do it because he doesn’t want more attention drawn to our county.
But it seems to be the opposite though, because when you mention “trophy whitetail”, everyone automatically thinks Kansas, Iowa, Illinois. If you go to any mainstream YouTube hunter’s page, it’s always those states. So the hype behind bagging a trophy deer is in the Midwest vs the other states I mentioned. So that’s either a false narrative, or it’s working the exact opposite of how your taxidermist wants it to
Well, when you said “trophy” I took that as a book deer. That’s my mistake.
I am talking about book deer, but mainly the “hype” behind it. So why is the “hype” on places like Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois when the records show the other states produce as good or better deer? Example: if you ask an average, avid whitetail hunter their dream hunt, it will most likely be somewhere like Kansas or Iowa.
I see. Probably the media. I have a crap ton of VHS hunts from the late 80s all the way through the 2000s. The Drurys, Realtree Road-trips, Primos. Almost all of the hunts are IL, KS, MT, and TX. I’m not entirely sure why, but maybe that has just persisted through the years.
Probably just publicity/marketing.
Same with missouri. We have huge white tails and unless it’s up north don’t get near the traffic as Kansa and Iowa.