Georgia

[BSK]

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

And you wouldn't believe just how true that is.

 

[Doskil]

Also Georgia used Texas deer to restock their state and Texas deer are known for nice antlers.

 

[Shed Hunter]

Also Georgia used Texas deer to restock their state and Texas deer are known for nice antlers.

I bet you could put a Texas deer in TN and it would have the same potential antler growth as any other TN deer. The bucks you see on Texas tv shows are usually just very well fed.

 

[Quailman]

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

And you wouldn't believe just how true that is.

Probably easier to kill A buck, but not so easy to kill a mature buck. ;)

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

The farm we hunt is 3600 acre and to expand on BSK's statement about cover, here is that farm's layout on very typical of that area.

1000 acres ag. Mixed corn, bean, cotton

1500 acres staggered aged long leaf pines (amazing how all wildlife loves long leaf pines)

1000 aces thickets, woodlots, ect

100 acres pasture, hog lot (to fatten up wild hogs they catch for slaughter) and their homes, ect.

Habitat is distributed nicely.

So, deer have plenty to eat and plenty of cover and a bunch of them are shot on man drives, according to the family.

They let all bucks reach 4.5+ on the farm.

 

[BSK]

Also Georgia used Texas deer to restock their state and Texas deer are known for nice antlers.

Like TN, GA restocked with deer from everywhere. Areas do not have good or bad antlers because of where deer were restocked from. Most of those genetics long ago got washed out by breeding with local, better adapted deer.

 

[BSK]

Also Georgia used Texas deer to restock their state and Texas deer are known for nice antlers.

I bet you could put a Texas deer in TN and it would have the same potential antler growth as any other TN deer.

Actually, the TX deer would have less antler expression (growth) than the local TN deer. The local deer are highly adapted to the local environment, while the TX deer is not.

These types of experiments have been done, and the "imported" bucks--no matter where they came from and how large of antlers they grew in their home environment--under-perform the local deer.

In essence, take a large-antlered Iowa buck, put him in TN, and the following year he will grow smaller antlers than same-age local bucks.

 

[BSK]

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

And you wouldn't believe just how true that is.

Probably easier to kill A buck, but not so easy to kill a mature buck. ;)

Not easy to kill mature bucks in the Midwest, but a heck of a lot easier than in much of the Southeast.

 

[Quailman]

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

And you wouldn't believe just how true that is.

Probably easier to kill A buck, but not so easy to kill a mature buck. ;)

Not easy to kill mature bucks in the Midwest, but a heck of a lot easier than in much of the Southeast.

Probably so, but the biggest difference I see in TN versus the midwest is the amount of daylight buck activity, especially during the rut. I know in the past that you've mentioned you see very little mid-day activity on your property, but that is just not the case in Illinois. I just continued to be amazed at how much mature deer move during daylight hours.

I guess that is one of the main reasons why I hunt up there. It's the continual mature buck sightings from the beginning of the season to the end. And just to be clear, we are not hunting "easy" farms that are comprised of small woodlots and large crop fields. My farm is part of a 3,000+ acre block of extremely thick cover.

 

[BSK]

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

And you wouldn't believe just how true that is.

Probably easier to kill A buck, but not so easy to kill a mature buck. ;)

Not easy to kill mature bucks in the Midwest, but a heck of a lot easier than in much of the Southeast.

Probably so, but the biggest difference I see in TN versus the midwest is the amount of daylight buck activity, especially during the rut. I know in the past that you've mentioned you see very little mid-day activity on your property, but that is just not the case in Illinois. I just continued to be amazed at how much mature deer move during daylight hours.

And that's exactly my point. For whatever reason, I can get many, many pictures of mature bucks moving in daylight in the Midwest. That is not the case in the Southeast. I firmly believe this a region difference in deer behavior.

 

[Football Hunter]

Wouldn't Illinois be a good example of deer hunting regulations being what they are in large part because of a lack of woods?

Yup. Midwestern states have such limited firearms hunting and low buck bag limits because they have to to prevent buck overharvest. Most Southeastern States can get away with much longer firearms seasons and more liberal bag limits because of more limited visibility (due to more woods AND more changes in terrain).

Which is the politically correct way of saying it's relatively easier to kill a particular buck in Illinois than Tennessee. :D

I think many people have the wrong idea about Illinois.The places I have hunted there have all been ridge a nd holler type areas,pretty much the same as here.Im sure there are areas where there are fields and hedge row type hunting,just no where I have been.