Some members on here rant and rave that deer just do not grow large where they live. Are BB breeding? Are these 3/4/5 pt 1.5 yr old doing all the breeding? Is there such a thing as a 3.5-5.5 yr old buck in this area? I have hunted white tail in a hand full of states and the standards are the same in all of them. Now other than Wisconsin I have never hunted east of the Mississippi. Myabe things are different out there. IDK enlighten me.

It has to do with genetics, and nutrition.

In some cases, you may actually want a younger buck breeding, provided that he has better genetics.

The genetics/genes are here In Minnesota. We've got world class bucks just like the big 3 do, just not near as many anymore. The timing of the rut kills our buck population, right during gun season.

i think that A LOT of people dont think there are big bucks in there area because they dont spend enough time in the woods or they shoot a 1.5 or 2.5 yr old buck at first chance

Exactly. I do believe there are "big" bucks everywhere, but really...what is "big"? I believe its allrelative to where you are. Big in IL might be 170", where as big somewhere else might be 120" ....etc. Don't get me wrong....I agree thathuge deer can and do live just about everywhere, its just that the avg sizes of your typical "big" deer differ greatly both in body size, and rack size depending on where you are. Statistics prove that.

I know there are big bucks inHouston county, MN; better join me

When I was with jmbuckhunter (John) this past weekend, I was speaking with his friend, Bob. We were talking about what a deer "needs".

Bob told me this...

A "trophy" whitetail needs 5 things...

1-Age
2-Genetics
3-Age
4-Nutrition
5-Age




It makes perfect sense to me!

The biggest thing you guys are missing is numbers. Yes we have older bucks in PA, just number the number of them that Midwest states have therefore you have to hunt harder and smarter to even see one. Look at the statistics that were on here before. 1 in 3000 bucks make record books in PA, 1 in 300 in IL....that speaks volumes.

As stated earlier, genetics and nutrition, in my opinion, are the two most important elements in growing big bucks with nutrition probably being more important. If you look at where most large bucks are taken, they are usually taken in or close to agricultural ground. But, all the nutrition and genetics in the world aren't going to matter if you don't let them grow up.

Amen to that Rob. Exactly.

Hey do a survey on your IL trip....let us know how many 120"+ bucks you see while you are out there. I'm guessing its 10 to 1 vs. what you see back home. Of course I have no idea how many you've seen in PA this year to date, or how much you have gotten to hunt.