Some things I noticed about the various states I was in and passed through in my travels and on my way back home to PA from my extended stay and hunt with Greg (and JMBuckhunter) in Illinois.

First Greg's home state of Missouri:
Not sure about the northern 1/2 of the state, I hear there's some good hunting up there but the SE portion of MO seems about as fertile for deer hunting as a toxic waste dump. (reminds me of South Central, PA LOL)
Bright side? Turkeys out the wazoo. [:-]If you live in MO and don't turkey hunt what am I missing?

The Crown Jewel of the trip ILLINOIS:
You guys who live and hunt there and only there have no idea how good you have it. Greg and I hunt PUBLIC land in an out of the way "not known for big bucks" section of the state WITH pressure ,and it's STILL better than any PRIVATE land I've ever seen in PA.

Inch our way up north a bit (1hr) to hunt with JMBuckhunter and the action literally tripled VS our area, and according to John go a county above HIM and it's that much better than HIS place.
GOOD LORD.[:-]
I saw and heard more bucks in a couple weeks on pretty average ground in Illinois than I can guarantee you I will see in the next 10-15 seasons (or more) here in PA combined and that is 100% no exaggeration.

The drive home itself took 2 yrs off my life[]........I was a nervous wreck yesterday AM travelling up I-57 & then across I-64.
It was like a game of "Frogger".
I couldn't count the number of bright red ,road covering splatters, deer chunks and live ones waiting to run to their deaths on the shoulders.
I had to honestly stop.........and I mean come to a complete STOP on I-64 twice to let nice bucks chase does across and back on the eastbound lanes.
I sat next to a tractor trailer driver who seemed unimpressed.[:@]

Everywhere I expected to see deer there were not only deer, there were bucks chasing does or just out for a bright sunshiny stroll. Little, easy to wrap your mind around flat woodlots, and bucks in most of them. SIGH.

I won't get into a "location" diatribe but.......oh nevermind.

They aren't behind every tree, but it's damn close.

Indiana:
Maybe a real "sleeper" state for big bucks as you guys led the trip home with 3 bucks on the shoulder of the highway with their entire heads cut off by travellers. ONE was even CAPED. [:-]
Nice looking farm country but it did have a definite different feel to it VS Illinois. The western end of the state was pretty close though.
The number of "red splatters" and victims really tapered off to basically non-existant a short distance into the state. Coincidence?

Kentucky:
Where do you put all the deer with that many horses?
One interesting thing of note........does the state government allow hunters to park their vehicles along the interstate to hunt or are you guys just that hardcore? I saw ZERO hunter vehicles in IL and IN but must have passed 7-8 of them in KY tucked behind guardrails etc.

ZERO deer sighted.

West Virginia:
This flippin place might as well be part of Canada. [&o]Aside from the extra hr it cost me going from a sunny day to blizzard conditions on the drive it was hard to ignore the 52 million deer picking along the grassy shoulders, walking along the treelines, bedded in the snow EVERYWHERE. (and this was mid afternoon)
They also seemed a touch more sophisticated as they didn't seem to actually use the roadway to play in.
I could randomy spin in a circle every other day throwing rocks and kill 3 deer every year in this state.
They looked small but if you can't kill a deer in WV by all means take up lawn darts as a hobby.

Maryland (Western)
You can keep it. Looks too steep and rugged and your weather wasn't much better than WV.

Pennsylvania:
Oh home sweet home. Oh how I missed being able to zip down a wooded stretch of highway without fear of hitting a deer even in the peak of the rut. Did my nerves a shot of good.

BUt once again for the 3rd straight year I came home to my 3d buck target in pieces on his nose in the mud, obviously the victim of a vicious attack by a spunky 1.5yr old 5pt living the dream safely inside town limits and staying out of sight.

Mostly in ditches or layed out in the median along I-71.

LOL...Im fairly certain it is illegal, but I agree...guys do it all the time. Passed 3 on the way to my spot just last weekend.

Matt funny thing,,, i was just thinking two or three days ago, i wonder if Matts 3d target is gonna ge whiplash again this year well..........!!!!!
Matt you are absolutly right about I-64 its a deer/vehicle magnet, i have seen more road kills on this interstate than anywhere else. Funny, and it must be an Indiana thing. If there is a dead buck via vehicle in Indiana,,,yes, it will be minus head gear Im guilty, i have wacked a few racks in my day to. glad you had a great trip and congrats on your buck. glad you made it home safe
I work on the Indiana side of the Wabash river across from Illinois. So i work with a bunch of Illinois deer hunters. Lets just say there big buck sucess is two fold over us Indiana guys RIGHTacross the river every year (management ) But they try and tell me Illinois is no different than Indiana [>:]Jokingly i tell them thatthey just say that because they want us to think they are better hunters

Rob told me he saw 8-9 bucks that would go over 140" in 9 days in IL. He's seen 3 in 27 yrs in PA.

He said he saw 40 bucks in 9 days in IL. He saw FIVE, all season, in PA.

How many trees are there out there?

Wow! I'd like to hunt a place like that!

In my Ill spot I saw 12 bucks in 20 days and only 1 that went over 140" (so I shot it!).

Awesome post, Matt ....quite interesting!! NY is an awful lot like PA ....oh to be in the mid-west.......

Thjere are NO big bucks in Illinois. Matt, you were delusional and mixed up when you were driving.

SE MO's a sleeper, I've witnessed it.
Also there's no turkeys in Missouri, what are you talkin about

Cant argue with that![8D]

Nice observations Matt, seem pretty much spot on as far as im concerned!