I'm afraid to tell ya salukipv1 Hunting on public ground has changed since Stan Potts killed his monster on public ground. Evolution of tv hunting is to blame. Everybody wants to come to Illinois. They are killing better bucks than they re used too but the bucks are usually 2 1/2 yr olds. When you kill 'em at 2 1/2 the potential of a monster 150" or higher goes down.
Here' s a real life example. I hunt a 1200 acre piece of public ground. Before non res invasion, it was nothing to pass on 140" deer. Now I see lots of 2 1/2 yr olds 120" or less because 1 1/2 yr old are protected there. But first week of Nov., I see half of them in trucks with Michigan license plates. I'm glad someones happy with them but the real travesty is the crazy amount of hunting pressure they put on the herd just to shoot a 2 1/2 yr old. Any buck with age moves on neighboring private ground with less pressure. I'm sure its the same everywhere from the stories I here from other in state hunters. But the real lesson in all of this is don't depend on public ground to regularly produce trophies.