"2001-2006 Indiana ranks 6th in B&C/P&Y entries per square mile, pretty darn good. I haven't seen an updated figure, but I can't imagine it getting any worse."
VERY deceptive stat. During those years Indiana was not even close to the top 2 states, Iowa and Kansas, in that statistic. It barely topped Michigan which is pitiful and dead last in the midwest. The midwest has everything a buck needs to grow a big rack, so you really need to compare it among other MIDWEST states.
In my 10 years of hunting Indiana public land and premium private land in NW Indiana, I harvested a total of zero P&Y bucks. This year I took my 5th P&Y buck in Illinois, in only 6 years, all off public land. I even passed on a 2nd one this year, gambling for one of the booners in the area we saw.
In what statistic, book bucks per square mile?
Here is the top ten during that time period.
- Illinois
- Kentucky
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Missouri
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Minnesota
Here are the top ten typical P&Y states.
1. Wisconsin
2. Illinois
3. Iowa
4. Minnesota
5. Ohio
6. Kansas
7. Michigan
8. Missouri
9. Indiana
10. Texas
Top ten non typical
1 Illinois
2 Wisconsin
3 Iowa
4 Kansas
5 Minnesota
6 Ohio
7 Missouri
8 Indiana
9 Nebraska
10 Kentucky
Now this is Indiana with a total deer hunter count that is a fraction of what some of these other states have.
How can this not be a good thing?
Could it be better, sure give Indiana 250,000 more hunters a year and book buck entries are sure to increase.
BTW in the same time period you were skunked, I killed 3 P&Y bucks.