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.
Matt do you think this is influenced by the # of big racked bucks on the surrounding private land? Do people hunting the public land in Il. pass on younger- smaller racked bucks because of the potential for something bigger? Do people hunting public land in PA. shoot the first buck they see because of the lack of potential?