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ORIGINAL: buckeye

If I never hear location, location, location here ever again I will die a happy man....

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I wish people would stop using the location excuse (yes, I said excuse)and do what they need to do to get the job done.

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Seriously, if you are unhappy about your location,either pipe down andplay the hand youwere dealt ordo something about it. Just my opinion;)

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ORIGINAL: Dubbya

It's all about location, location, location... come on, you wouldn't feel the same way if you didn't live in OHIO!:D

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ORIGINAL: buckeye
I do quite a bit of bass fishing / tournaments our biglargemouth here are 3+ pounds with "trophy" size bass 5-6 pounds.... You don't hear me crying about the Big bass down south and out west do ya:D;)

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ORIGINAL: buckeye

I do quite a bit of bass fishing / tournaments our biglargemouth here are 3+ pounds with "trophy" size bass 5-6 pounds.... You don't hear me crying about the Big bass down south and out west do ya:D;)

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Still wouldn't give up PA for the midwest (no offense midwest guys;)).

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ORIGINAL: Matt / PA

blah blah blah says the guy from Ohio...........:D

You ever hunt the midwest for deer!? [:-][:o]
I'd give up the next 20 in PA for 10 in IL

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ORIGINAL: M.Hensler/PA

I suppose I wasn't clear. Give up PA based solely on deer hunting? Sure. I've never hunted the midwest, but I certainly see the deer it produces, and it certainly is the place to be for deer hunting. I was basing my statement on ALL of the things PA offers to me (the rolling mountains, endless trout streams/creeks, tons of camping/hiking opportunities, fairly rural still in most parts, low cost of living, etc).

If I based on particular hobbies I would have multiple houses Matt, LOL and it would look something like this:

PA: Home Base
NorCal/AZ: Offroading
Montana: Trout Fishing/Elk Hunting
Midwest: Deer Hunting
Ontario: Bass Fishing

See where I'm going?;)

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ORIGINAL: NY/Al

I absolutly love my part of new york! But....theres a reason i go out of state to hunt every now and then if you know what i mean...:D

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ORIGINAL: MN/Kyle

Ahhh...I see...Not a very good beaver population in NY[:-]:D

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ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer

An excuse for what? Anyone want to explain?

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ORIGINAL: NY/Al

Why they are tooincompetent to shoot a big buck? lol

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ORIGINAL: NY/Al

Why they are tooincompetent to shoot a big buck? lol

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ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer

So I'm in competent?

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ORIGINAL: NY/Al

No not at all, from what i see you shoot some nice bucks year after year. But on the same token penn. is no illinois if you know what i mean. It seems that people try to set their goals way too high for their area and then complain about location, but in actuality they are really seeing some nice deer for the region. Ya know what i mean? We all know that a 130 class deer from your pennsylvania and my new york is one heck of a nice deer, but they dont compare to the other regions of the country..

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ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer

An excuse for what? Anyone want to explain?

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ORIGINAL: Rob/PA Bowyer

So it's location then?

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ORIGINAL: buckeye

I do quite a bit of bass fishing / tournaments our biglargemouth here are 3+ pounds with "trophy" size bass 5-6 pounds.... You don't hear me crying about the Big bass down south and out west do ya:D;)

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ORIGINAL: buckeye

If I never hear location, location, location here ever again I will die a happy man....

I wish people would stop using the location excuse (yes, I said excuse)and do what they need to do to get the job done.

Seriously, if you are unhappy about your location,either pipe down andplay the hand youwere dealt ordo something about it. Just my opinion;)

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ORIGINAL: buckeye

If I never hear location, location, location here ever again I will die a happy man....

I wish people would stop using the location excuse (yes, I said excuse)and do what they need to do to get the job done.

Seriously, if you are unhappy about your location,either pipe down andplay the hand youwere dealt ordo something about it. Just my opinion;)

[/align]

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Seriously, if you are unhappy about your location,either pipe down andplay the hand youwere dealt ordo something about it. Just my opinion;)

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Not to hard to tell the seasons are over in most places ;) Just a matter of time before the scent lok and whisker biscuit threads start popping up [8D]


So we are debating location again huh??..........this has been going on for ages and will never stop I'm sure. After so many years of having this same discussion it is abundantly clear that what rubs everyone the wrong way is the hidden message in the debate..........those in prime locals feel slighted by the notion that their accomplishents are being diluted because of the suggestion that THEY are not the key to "success"...........and those in less friendly locals feel slighted because of the suggestion that THEY are the key to their "lack of success".This will probably never change.


Maybe the problem is the definition of "success" I shot two 3.5 year olds and one4.5 year old this year.........the 4.5 had the smallest rack of them all........+/- 100" and the other from NY is under 115" I'm sure. I shoot two deer that age in Kansas, Iowa, or Illinois and they would be 140"150" at least.........that is common sense based on what people describe as the "average" big deer for their areas. That is genetics and nutrition more then anything else.......so to compare deer based on racks only is about as useful as a rubber crutch. ;) However, no one takes pictures of a deer's teeth or mounts jaw bones so I guess it's natural..........boys will be boys.


Here are some things to consider when wondering how important location is to putting a big rack on the ground.


In 20 years of hunting NY I have never even seen a deer that would make P+Y........3 days into an out of state hunt I had one on the ground.........you mean to tell me that is a coincidence?? Obviously my skills as a hunter were not the obstacle.

For somewhere in the ballpark of $2,500-$3,000 you can see and have legit shots to kill big deer EVERY year with your bow..........these are fair chase hunts. If you are average to above average in your skills you will have more heads then walls to hang them on. As the price goes up so do the rack sizes. $5,000 and 150" minimums are not uncommon out there.

When people pay the above quoted price it isn't to hunt the coast lines...........why?

Does anyone here REALLY think they couldn't kill a big deer on Hunsucker's land?? (Please don't turn this into an insult against Michael because it isn't)

Why does everyone want to know where greg hunts if location doesn't matter??

Why do greg and his friends (and everyone else with a brain) keep their mouth shut when they have a great place to hunt??

If someone called you tomorrow and offered you a lifelong chance to hunt Pike County would you be happy or sad??

Why do people guard their land so tightly if location doesn't matter??

Would POSTED signs even exist if location didn't matter??

Why do guys spend tens of thousands of dollars on hunting land??

Why are out of state licenses more in states with higher concentrations of big bucks??

Why is it that those who say location doesn't matter are always speaking from a location most would kill to be allowed to hunt??........the opposite of course being true as well.



Location matters...........A LOT.............Would greg and troy kill big deer wherever they lived?? Of course they would. Would their walls look different if they lived in Tampa??.........of course they would. Would I have bigger deer on the wall if I lived and hunted in the corn belt??.......of course I would.

You still have to know how to hunt and find these deer.........trying to find one in Florida is not the same as trying to find one in Kansas, I don't know how anyone could argue that point.


In closing.........I mentioned a few names in this post only because everyone knows them and nothing more. I am only gonna say this once.........I have nothing but the HIGHEST amount of respect for these guys as hunters and men and IN NO WAY included them in my write up to diminish what they have accomplished. I view them as fine hunters and excellent examples of the good in this sport.......I could have easily used other names in place of theirs so absolutely nothing personal should be implied.


I just find this discussion very interesting.

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ORIGINAL: txjourneyman

I got forced into finding a better location and I went out and did so. I look forward to the coming season. The deer I'll be hunting in west Texas are generally larger than what I have hunted in east Texas. I'll still hunt close to home on a another new place. The population is pretty good at the place close to home but the deer are pressured quite a bit harder. There are less mature deer than I'll be after in west texas. I figure I'll fill my 3 doe tags in east Texas and go after mature bucks in west Texas. I'll have 2 buck tags. I have never hunted mature whitetails before. I have been a hunter of deer, period. Due to the new location I have a new opportunity.

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