I hunt in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois. I've weighed every buck that I've shot since 1991. It seems that the Ill. bucks are bigger than their Wis. neighbors and it is only a 30 - 60 mile difference between locations. The land and food source are practically the same. I've found that the 3 1/2 yo bucks weigh 175 - 205 lbs. The 4 1/2 and older weigh 180 - 220+lbs. My biggest dressed at 220 lbs. at 5 1/2 and my buddy's 5 1/2 was 226 lbs. I only weigh field dressed deer. They are much easier to drag that way!I also gun hunt NW Wis. in very hilly terrain ( Hillsboro area ). The deer there have a different body type again. Like you said, these deer have a shorter body with a big barrel chest, they are made for running the hills. If you want, I have a dozen bucks posted in my trophy gallery, take a look. The 220 lb. one is listed as such.
What I'm interested in is the percentage they lose from field dressing and what percent do they lose from rutting activities. Where I hunt I don't think they lose 25% from rutting like I've read. I think it is closer to 10% because the climate is mild and the food is abundant. What I've seen is when a buck is tending a doe and she feeds, he also feeds. Its not like the bucks have to travel miles to find a hot doe like they might in Canada. What do you think?