Sleeper State For Whitetails?
 

Which state do you think is a so-called sleeper state when it comes down to trophy bucks, and a fair amount of deer in general?

NY has a good amount of deer by albany where i hunt i get unlimited doe tags just about AND we kill corker bcks every year i mean maybe not 180inch deer but 140-150 range we see and even shoot a couple all thetime

I would say Ohio then Kentucky, and Indiana

wyoming, montana,indiana, oklahoma

I agree with my state of Indiana. Steuben Co really has some nice deer. I hunt mostly DeKalb once and a while Steuben.

Kentucky has my vote. With thier one buck limit in place now for several, several years, good doe harvest, that state will surprise you.

I'll go with Nebraska. It's a midwestern state state that never gets talked about like Iowa, Kansas & Missouri. The liscense are affordable for out of state hunters.

Kentucky and Oklahoma

I would say Kentucky

Good topic. My pick is a little biased since I live here but its Nebraska. I love how we are never on the tv shows etc getting the word out. We have a honey hole pretty much all to ourselves. It really surprises me that we are ignored so easily. I'm not sure how anyone can say a place like Indiana is a sleeper state when its very well known for nice deer in magazines and on tv.

I am from KY and I wouldn't exactly call it a sleeper state. Maybe 5 years ago but it got added to the "big 5" two or three years ago. 10 or so years ago when they started the tobacco buy outs here people started growing beans and corn instead. I think this is why the deer are just getting bigger and bigger. I just wish we would do what Ohio does for their gun season and make it after Rut instead of right in the middle of it. It give those weekend warriors with their rifles too many opportunities to harvest the deer that bow hunters work all year for.

btw my vote would be Nebraska or Michigan... not sure if michigan should be a sleeper either but they has some winter time BRUTES

Kentucky....

PA has monster bucks right out side the suburbs where the farms start, not so much in the mountains. The deer population sucks in the mountains thanks to the game commision. I went spotlighting the last 2 nights and saw over 60 bucks. biggest one was around 160" with a about 7-10 of them around 115-130". A lot of people get nice bucks out of PA

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/9...-for-big-bucks


shhhhhh dont tell anyone!!!

I see some very nice whitetails in eastern Colorado. Most people go for the Mulies, elk and antelope but there are some monster whitetails also.

I agree Eastern Colorado is a true sleeper for BIG whitetails. I think South Dakota is a great whitetail state as well. Excellent deer numbers and a great chance at a 130" or better buck.

The problem with states such as South Dakota, they make it really difficult for a non resident to get a tag. If you bow hunt there is usually plenty of opportunity for a non resident to hunt. From what I can find, to hunt in Nebraska as a non resident, is quiet expensive. I guess if I'm going to pay that kinda money, in these day and times, I am gonna want something in my hand that will reach out a little further than my stick and string. Having said this, you are correct that Nebraska hasn't gotten a lot of attention, and there good deer roaming those plains and bottoms. My mother in law is from Pilger, Nebraska.

Ky, in, oh, ws

Indiana & Kentucky

kentucky for sure... we are slowing producing more and more b&c bucks

There are no deer in Nebraska.......nothing to see here.......move along.....

how are any of those except In. a sleeper state? In. isn't really a sleeper state either. West of the Rockies would be the only option for "sleeper state" only because there isn't that many "White Tails". East of the Rockies doesn't have a sleeper state for W.D.

I am with you NebBuckHunter there are no deer here in Oklahoma either. I think they all went to Kansas.

Ohio?...I wouldn't call that a sleeper. Always here about big bucks coming out of there. I would agree with the posts about Nebraska. It is a big agriculture state that you don't here that much about but, it seems some really nice bucks and healthy herds are found there.

Iowa, sssshhhh.

True definition of a sleeper is one that isn't on many people's radar. 24 posts and I don't think anyone has mentioned Minnesota.

Idaho....agreed...Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, Wisconsin...none are "sleeper" states.

btw who cares? it's hard enough shooting a big boy in a "trophy" state let alone in a sleeper.

ALABAMA has a TON of DEER!!! So I would say it is a sleeper state and we have huge deer come out of here every year.

Where is MO? Low price out of state tags, good conservation ground, tons of private ground. North Mo has huge deer numbers, mix of woods plus crops.

Well I hope this doesn't sound bias. Arkansas has been practicing QDMA for about 15 years now. All of the bucks i have seen this year are good solid deer. One inparticular I know will go over 200". I believe Arkansas has the potential to produce a truely record class deer this year!!

I don't know how these numbers compare to other states, but last year we had I believe 4 200" deer (and over 65 scored above 160") were reported killed in Mississippi. I also read somewhere that our deer population is estimated to be around 1.75 million, which our density of deer is second in the nation under Texas. We've had a really good program under MS Department of Wildlife for years.

Pennsylvania has been producing more and more trophy bucks each year but it can never be a sleeper state. We already have 1,000,000 resident hunters :D

As far as sleeper states, I don't think you can argue that Rhode Island is one. With the amount of deer that is in this state plus the size that has been produced, Rhode Island is a nice place to hunt.

Big racks, NW Iowa, SE Minn, SW wis. Big bodied deer , N. MInn, U.P and northwest wis.

Unlimited???? I do believe the most NYState will lottery to a single hunter is 2 doe tags. You're also allowed 2(doe) tag transfers.
It kinda ticks me off when non-residents get "all these tags" and resident hunters(myself included) sometime get zero.
Back on topic, I'm gonna say Michigan.

Connecticut has my vote for sleeper state. Not a HUGE population but for sure a decent amount of bucks over 130"

i mean we don't have very many deer considering the size of us and we're not a state but ontario is definitely a sleeper lol

No mention of Maryland, hell even Delaware for the size of the state compared to there B&C and P&Y numbers is unreal. Even Virginia is producing some giants but when you look at the size of the state and the amount of monsters they produce I choose my home state of Maryland.

The problem is always what part of the square mile you picked to hunt.