I think its all about hunting pressure. I was at an outdoor expo in Madison, WI last spring where the staff of deer and deer hunting was doing seminars. They said that the hunting pressure in Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas is absolutely NOTHING compared to wisconsin. I would imagine it is the same for PA, MI, and NY. These are states where hunting is part of the culture and as a result WAY more people hunt. I thinks WI has the genetics and habitat to grow them just as big as iowa an illinois, but the bucks here have WAY harder time getting to be 3.5. I am guessing in heavily pressured states the land is mostly cut into smaller parcels of 20, 40, and 80 acres.in the big three I usually hear people talking about hundreds of acres not two digits. That makes all the difference in MO.