RE: Indiana
I live in Illinois, but have several friends who live in East CentralIndiana, and in my opinion, one reason states like IL,IA, and KS produce bigger deer, is becausewe have all these damn outfitters from other statesbuying or leaseing large tracts of land. Yes, we produce bigger deer, BUT how many are taken by local hunters? I can't and would not pay someone $3,000-$5,000 for a 5 day hunt in my own state. Also, while most people here are "trophy hunters", a majority of people who gun hunt don't care for headgear, they care about filling the freezer, and whether we like it or not, as long as they have the required permitts, then that's there right as a hunter. The best way to achieve big deer is tobuy ourown land or hunt private groundand do the management ourselves. But I do agree you gun season is WAY to long. We only have 7 days total, the Fri, Sat, Sun before Thanksgiving, and the Thur,Fri,Sat, Sun after Thanksgiving.