I can only speak to my experience of 1 trip to IL on a DIY last year. In a week of hunting a farm I had never laid eyes on until I got there, I saw 4 different P&Y bucks for sure, and another couple that were borderline, and a bunch of other nice ones. 1 was a hammer 150"+ ...the biggest buck Ive ever seen. I didn't take a buck that trip, but saw 3-4 bucks a day at least, was waiting for a chance at a book deer. I came darn close. Not outfitted land, not managed land....just regular IL farmland. It was incredible.

In 22yrs of hunting VA & WV...I've seen exactly 1 p&y candidate while on stand. Think it has anything to do with the location?

I may not be the best hunter in the world, but I certainly ain't no rookie either and have taken some mature bucks over the years. Do we have big deer here, sure - just not nearly as many. Heck, I'm beginning to think they are born with 100" racks out there [8D]

Now...as far as Landon's question...I don't think the deerout there are that much different than we have here in VA, except that they probably have much more good food to eat (at least vs. where I hunt) and are probably more predictable in that fashion. I hunt the mountains of VA where a good acorn crop is about at good as they get, otherwise its browse and laurel.