personally I think most folks if they were honest are guilty of having countless things the WANT more than they need, from money to the size of the house they have to all sorts of toys(guns, car's and so on)
Nothing wrong with trying to get what you want in life,
and lets face it hunting is a BUSINESS these days and NOT about a MUST do to get by on food it provides for 99% of us!
NO one needs to travel to other states or countries to hunt, that's all a luxury if were honest!
and how you want that luxury to play out is a individual's right, when there paying for it!!
BUT I will dis agree, a 170 is not a real possibility,
as these days there are more of them walking about than any other time in history
I have [personally seen several over the yrs on hunts I have been ion(DIY hunts too)
and have friends that have hunted with me on same hunts that have tagged them!, a few several yrs in a row too, or have gotten several in there yrs of hunting!
a 160 or a 170 are NOT that far apart in the big picture, about any place one can make it to a 160, they can make it to a 170
the name of the game is picking your hunting spots better, there HAD to be a LOT of decent management in the WHOLE area your hunting and NOT just one piece of land your on! thru an outfitter, unless they own, Thousands of acres!(which many do, or have control over any how)
you can hunt a life time in a place that there are NO older classed deer due to hunting pressure, or you can hunt where the odds are higher, again due to management, it can be in the same county, and even be a few miles apart these two things/types of lands!
I managed a few properties over the decades, and seen this first hand, could be 150-17's on lands, and go not too far away and a hunter behind every tree killing every deer they see!(exaggerating here some what, but you get the idea)
and its then becomes finding a good place/area
but you still need management, meaning controlling how many deer get killed each yr, and what one's
HOW many hunters a outfitter takes in matters, on turn over of next yrs bucks
the only way your going to guarantee a KILL< on a 160 will be a pay to shoot place, as weather and other factors always can happen
BUT on a prime well managed property, set up,
a 160+170 +deer is NOT a fantasy, they happen every yr on most well set up places!
its your job to find the place that appeals to you and then do your part
NOT all hunters hunt as smart or effectively as others,
so its NOT just about the PLACE your one either
your hunting, and the animals your hunting that are wild are trying to avoid you, and most have better skill sets than you at avoiding you!, as to you them
so, keep in mind, when you find a place, its NOT Over , you still have to beat the animals senses!
something again, some do a better job of than others
and then HUNTERS SKILLS alone
not all hunters can sit still./quiet for any amount of time!
seen this first hand way too often and that prevents them from getting deer ! all the prime land in the world doesn't help this!