Who Has Biggest Whitetails, IL or WI?

Mar 27

This IL buck scored 243 5/8 and had 28 points and it wasn't the largest displayed at the IL Deer & Turkey Expo. Will any Wisconsin bucks top it? Neither Chicago politicians nor Illinois cornfields have ever excited this lover of wild lands and wildlife, but I'll grudgingly admit the Land of Lincoln is one of the finest producers of heavily racked whitetails in the world. Maybe the finest. What Kodiak Island is to brown bears and Colorado is to mule deer, Illinois is to whitetails. All those corn and soybean fields mix with political hot air blowing out of the Windy City to grow huge deer. At last weekend's Field & Stream Deer & Turkey Expo in Peoria I saw more jaw-dropping big buck mounts (taken during the 2011 season) than most states kick out in twenty years. Antlers scoring 160 net B&C points hardly garnered a glance because they were dwarfed by so many 170s, which were in turn minimized by what appeared to be an excessive number in the 180s. But I barely had time to admire those before my head was turned by several spectacular specimens scoring in the 200s. A couple of non-typicals taped over 240 inches. Every one of those deer was taken by hunters handicapped by bows and arrows, slug shotguns, muzzleloaders or handguns limited to firing straight-walled cartridges only. None of this best western long range sniping for these woodsmen. They hunt their deer up close and personal. And effectively. Because I was working my Firearms Answer Man booth, I had but little time to sneak back and grab a few pictures, let alone visit with hunters who'd taken the big deer. I did hear about a teenage boy who had bagged the widest racked buck of the show. It's antlers spread more than 27 inches and scored 184 7/8. It was his first deer! I'd say the poor kid is ruined for life, but, if he keeps hunting in Illinois, he'll probably get a bigger one someday. Hungry hunters enamored of outsized antlers regularly debate the relative merits of Illinois over other top whitetail states like Ohio, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. This weekend, March 30-April 1, we'll attend the Wisconsin Deer & Turkey Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison where the Badger State's biggest bucks of the year will be on display. Can they top these Illinois bucks? Head to Madison and see for yourself. And stop at the Firearms Answer Man to play Stump the Chump. If I can't answer your question about scopes, rifles, bullets, ballistics and handloading, I'll give you a Swarovski (while supplies last.) # # #

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