ORIGINAL: Matt / PA
A guy will hunt a state such as PA, NC, AL, FL, TN, KY,___(fill in the blank) and they get frustrated. They are hunting average hunting grounds like everyone else. Then said person will take a trip out of state, but here is the kicker...when they come to the promised lands to hunt, they don't hunt normal hunting grounds like the majority of hunters living there do....they go with a big wig outfitter who has access to 30,000 acres in the Golden Triangle of prime time land managed for huge bucks...and huge bucks they see. They go from hunting standard lands to hunting the mother load of all managed farms to hunt, and attribute the difference to state lines. They return to home state, and tell everyone how much people in IL, KS, IA, __, etc have it made, huge bucks behind every tree.
Not for this guy. LOL
I've said it many times, I hunt PUBLIC land in Illinois........by anybody's definition it's pretty standard ground, and it's so much better than any private ground I've hunted in PA in 24 seasons it's almost comical and depressing at the same time.
Then move to an even better piece of ground in Illinois in a better location, not outfitted but simply private like "jmbuckhunter's ground, and that gap gets even crazier.
And John tells me the land one county above him is that much better than HIS that isn't outfitted land either and you start to get an idea of the comparison from my eyes.
If I was turned loose on a $5000 Pike Co. week long hunt I would probably pass the hell out before I killed anything.
LOL.
I'm not saying there aren't bigger deer. I'm not saying they aren't managed better by DNR (from what I hear, IL is a joke but IA is good? I Have no clue though). I was just stating how ALOT of guys have a skewed perception of those states. TV shows, guided hunts, all the hype, isn't representative of the whole state really.
But look at it this way Matt...how many years have you hunted IL? How many mature bucks have you taken? Which state was your biggest buck from? (I don't know these answers, not loaded questions)
I have a friend who regularly hunts KS though, and the stuff he tells blows my mind. Private and Public, never outfitted...knocking on doors and having friends there. He attributes it to less hunters, but more importantly..concentrated habitat (I think anyway) I'd love for him to get on here and give his take on this.