KY ranked as top Trophy Whitetail state

[BSK]

Re: KY ranked as tope Trophy Whitetail state

I would agree with KY being the top trophy destination in the country, all things considered (length of season, cost, hunter competition, etc.)

 

[BigSatt]

Re: KY ranked as tope Trophy Whitetail state

I sure do enjoy hunting Kentucky every year!

 

[rem270]

Re: KY ranked as tope Trophy Whitetail state

I sure do enjoy hunting Kentucky every year!

Me Too!! This is my 17th year on the same 81 acres, and we were able to purchase it 5yrs ago. I love it.

 

[Vermin93]

Amazing what a one buck limit will do.

Come on TWRA, get 'er done! :whistle:

 

[mike243]

go lease some ky property & then price some here,folks still will let a fellar hunt some,not so much in the Big Buck states,Im proud they have the title & the deer,I care nothing about fame ,just want to have a hunt thats enjoyable,no monsters here, look north lol

 

[Beekeeper]

Amazing what a one buck limit will do.

Come on TWRA, get 'er done! :whistle:

If a one buck limit was all it took upper east Tennessee would be thick with trophy bucks!!!!!LOL.

 

[mike243]

Amazing what a one buck limit will do.

Come on TWRA, get 'er done! :whistle:

If a one buck limit was all it took upper east Tennessee would be thick with trophy bucks!!!!!LOL.

FACT rite here

 

[cecil30-30]

I'd hate to have such a short rifle season and a 1 buck rule.That would suck major to shoot a buck on the opening of bow season and not have a chance at another during gun season.How depressing,and I don't care how big it is.

 

[scn]

Amazing what a one buck limit will do.

Come on TWRA, get 'er done! :whistle:

LOL.

 

[BowGuy84]

KY is great hunting. I won't deny that. IMO the potential for a PY deer is significantly higher than TN. However, I think the ceiling or # of true top end deer (say 160 plus) is way below that of a lot of the rest of the mid west.

Example, I've been hunting Indiana for 2 years. All total I have hunted around 7 days. Ive killed a mid 140 and seen 2 bigger and passed 2 PY deer.

Hunting KY for 6 years I have not seen that many PY deer. Take it as anecdotal but it is my experience.

 

[TENN.BOY]

Why does anyone need to shoot more than 1 buck a yr ? if we want to fill our freezers lay the does down,and hold off for that big mature buck when he comes sneakin threw trying to find a doe to court for a few days.

 

[deerhunter10]

I think it has all to do with there one buck a season and their season in general. great for trophy hunters sucks for non trophy hunters. for me personally I love it I hunted it once and it was pretty amazing the amount of deer/ big deer at that. will hunt it soon again.

 

[cecil30-30]

Why does anyone need to shoot more than 1 buck a yr ? if we want to fill our freezers lay the does down,and hold off for that big mature buck when he comes sneakin threw trying to find a doe to court for a few days.

Why do you need a car that goes faster than 60mph? Why do you need a gun that can hold more than 7 rounds of ammunition??

 

[Beekeeper]

Why does anyone need to shoot more than 1 buck a yr ? if we want to fill our freezers lay the does down,and hold off for that big mature buck when he comes sneakin threw trying to find a doe to court for a few days.

It is not a question of NEED. There are a lot of people, me included , that WANT to be able to kill more bucks. Personally, I think the 3 buck limit is too few, it should be at least 4 and probably 5.

 

[BSK]

I think it has all to do with there one buck a season and their season in general.

If that is the case, then why do TN hunters, year in and year out, kill more mature bucks per square mile than KY hunters?

I'm not saying KY's 1 buck limit is doing any harm, but it obviously isn't helping hunters kill more mature bucks.

 

[BSK]

KY is great hunting. I won't deny that. IMO the potential for a PY deer is significantly higher than TN. However, I think the ceiling or # of true top end deer (say 160 plus) is way below that of a lot of the rest of the mid west.

If that is the case, why is KY now the #1 state in the nation for B&C entries?

 

[BSK]

Why does anyone need to shoot more than 1 buck a yr ?

I just love it when someone else tells me what I SHOULD want or need from my hunting experience.

if we want to fill our freezers lay the does down,and hold off for that big mature buck when he comes sneakin threw trying to find a doe to court for a few days.

If that's what you want, have at it.

In my area, shooting any more does would be disastrous, considering bucks now outnumber does almost 2:1.

 

[Winchester]

KY is a good Trophy state with bigger deer per age class vs Tn and very likely a little better age structure as well! I think its funny how its now OK to constantly compare TN and KY data to prove points, when just a few yrs back when the Telecheck argument was on the table, it was touted to no end how useless KY data was and couldn't be trusted!!! LOL What changed???? Agendas???

 

[TheLBLman]

Why does anyone need to shoot more than 1 buck a yr ?

Why does anyone need to go hunting in the first place? You can buy meat at the store and antlers from deer farms.

Why doesn't a frog have wings?

 

[TENN.BOY]

Im not taking up for KY being top ranked state for trophy hunting , BSK it is not a matter of hunting mature bucks to the majority of hunters its about horn hunting to them,its how many people that kill 3 bucks a year and dont wait on a mature buck to walk by,but it is a free country guys shoot every little buck you want too and go to work on monday and brag about shooting a spike or a 3pnt. around the water cooler because that is your right to do so.Keep on keepin on CHOOT'EM CHOOT'EM

 

[BowGuy84]

KY is great hunting. I won't deny that. IMO the potential for a PY deer is significantly higher than TN. However, I think the ceiling or # of true top end deer (say 160 plus) is way below that of a lot of the rest of the mid west.

If that is the case, why is KY now the #1 state in the nation for B&C entries?

Again, anecdotal, but

1 a lot of short term book deer (160") in KY get entered where they don't in other states. Maybe a higher percentage of 170" deer as well.

2 KY allows centerfires...and in the rut (I attribute some of MO recent uprising to this as well). A lot of bucks are not able to be shot in other states due to distance restraints at bucks most valnerable time.

3 due to a higher percentage of rugged habitat that many midwest states, KY might produce more older age class bucks with 170" antlers, but still not the top end higher scoring bucks as states with more ag and better soils.

 

[mathews338]

go lease some ky property & then price some here,folks still will let a fellar hunt some,not so much in the Big Buck states,Im proud they have the title & the deer,I care nothing about fame ,just want to have a hunt thats enjoyable,no monsters here, look north lol

I have found that it is easier to find free land in KY to hunt. could be just my luck but I have got permission to hunt around 3000 acres all together for free just by knocking on doors. I can not find anything for free in TN.

 

[BSK]

...it was touted to no end how useless KY data was and couldn't be trusted!!! LOL What changed???? Agendas???

Two factors: 1) KY's data collection is better now than it used to be; and 2) previous concerns that the two states' different data collection methods produced incomparable data have been alleviated by comparison tests of the two systems (tests of data collected at processors (KY's main method) versus data collected at check stations (TN's main method) have found the two data collect methods produce comparable data).

 

[BSK]

3 due to a higher percentage of rugged habitat that many midwest states, KY might produce more older age class bucks with 170" antlers, but still not the top end higher scoring bucks as states with more ag and better soils.

It's the age-old question BowGuy84: which is more important; what is in the herd or what is harvested? I have no data what-so-ever on how many 170+ or 200+ bucks there are per square mile in the agricultural Midwest versus KY, and there very well may be more in the Midwest, but more of those caliber bucks get harvested each year in KY. So which is more important, where more exist or where they are most harvestable? I would think trophy hunters would want to hunt where their odds are the highest--where those bucks are most harvestable (although I'm constantly amazed at how often trophy hunters will prefer two birds in the bush over one in the hand).

This whole question is very similar to the comparisons in mature bucks between KY and TN. Given hunter harvest numbers versus population, I can't imagine how the buck age structure isn't better in KY than TN. If the population and harvest numbers are right, KY simply has to have a better buck age structure. Yet TN hunters--due to our longer firearms seasons--consistently kill more mature bucks than KY hunters. So which is more important, having more or consistently killing more year after year?

 

[BSK]

I have found that it is easier to find free land in KY to hunt. could be just my luck but I have got permission to hunt around 3000 acres all together for free just by knocking on doors. I can not find anything for free in TN.

That's interesting matthews338.

 

[BSK]

Im not taking up for KY being top ranked state for trophy hunting , BSK it is not a matter of hunting mature bucks to the majority of hunters its about horn hunting to them,its how many people that kill 3 bucks a year and dont wait on a mature buck to walk by,but it is a free country guys shoot every little buck you want too and go to work on monday and brag about shooting a spike or a 3pnt. around the water cooler because that is your right to do so.Keep on keepin on CHOOT'EM CHOOT'EM

I have to laugh every time I read a post like the one above. Why is it that some hunters believe that everyone who does not hunt strictly for mature bucks is shooting every buck they see?

Unfortunately, it is arrogant attitudes like the one displayed above that do great harm to conscientious trophy hunters and those who manage and hunt wisely but are not mature-only buck hunters.

 

[BowGuy84]

3 due to a higher percentage of rugged habitat that many midwest states, KY might produce more older age class bucks with 170" antlers, but still not the top end higher scoring bucks as states with more ag and better soils.

It's the age-old question BowGuy84: which is more important; what is in the herd or what is harvested? I have no data what-so-ever on how many 170+ or 200+ bucks there are per square mile in the agricultural Midwest versus KY, and there very well may be more in the Midwest, but more of those caliber bucks get harvested each year in KY. So which is more important, where more exist or where they are most harvestable? I would think trophy hunters would want to hunt where their odds are the highest--where those bucks are most harvestable (although I'm constantly amazed at how often trophy hunters will prefer two birds in the bush over one in the hand).

This whole question is very similar to the comparisons in mature bucks between KY and TN. Given hunter harvest numbers versus population, I can't imagine how the buck age structure isn't better in KY than TN. If the population and harvest numbers are right, KY simply has to have a better buck age structure. Yet TN hunters--due to our longer firearms seasons--consistently kill more mature bucks than KY hunters. So which is more important, having more or consistently killing more year after year?

I hear you BSK...but your "easier to kill" is based on reported data. I argue that many other states don't report a lot of the low end book bucks. Heck, several of the top counties in KY don't either...at least not the locals bc they have seen what it brings.

Also, the easier is dependent on 2 primary factors...1) are you willing and wanting to gun hunt (how most of the big deer are killed...or over bait but we won't broach that subject) and 2)where are you willing to hunt. The primo ground in KY is still tougher to hunt than a lot of land in the midwest (more topography and less deer density). It is also really hard to get access to.

I'll be the first to admit I love going to IN to hunt and walking that flat ground and seeing 30 deer a day and usually a shooter or 2. It's not like that in the majority of KY.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

I have found that it is easier to find free land in KY to hunt. could be just my luck but I have got permission to hunt around 3000 acres all together for free just by knocking on doors. I can not find anything for free in TN.

That's interesting matthews338.

I have found the same thing with Ohio. It's much easier to find private land that they'll let you hunt for free. I think leasing has been so common in TN that it has become the norm.

 

[Andy S.]

It's interesting to read what the KY locals think about this article (not surprising). You can read more here: http://www.kentuckyhunting.net/forums/s ... buck-state

 

[Andy S.]

It appears KDFWR is admitting they do indeed manage for trophy whitetails and will not miss the chance to toot their own horn about it.

"Years ago, hunters were allowed to take two bucks per year," Marraccini said. "That changed when the department decided to manage for a trophy system."

The Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will likely tout its No. 1 ranking, Marraccini said.

"I imagine we'll mention it some," he said.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/05/23/2651 ... rylink=cpy