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Lot's of 150's?

KSQ2

KSQ2

PMA Member
I've read a lot of posts on this site about 150 class and larger bucks. If you guys hunt in an area with a lot of these then you are truly blessed. In 15 years of hunting "honey-hole" SE Kansas I've shot one deer that went 154" gross. The next largest drops all the way to 131". I'm extremely happy just to see a 150 deer! (I haven't in the last two years.) Now there are some places in Kansas where this is more commonplace (just watch a couple of Realtree videos and you'll know exactly where I'm referring to), but they just don't grow on tree branches. Sometimes I chuckle to myself when I hear about someone spending all kinds of cash to come to Kansas and kill a monster. There's a few out there, but even with the big money outfitter the chances are slim. Like I said to begin with though, if you happen to live in a mecca like Ashland, Kansas, or a couple places in your Iowa, and the outfitters haven't ruined your hunting life, count your blessings.
 
Every day!
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Couldn't be more grateful than to be able to live and hunt in an area that ranks among the top two big buck and deer populated counties in The #1 Deer state....IOWA
 
One of the reasons I chose Iowa after the military instead of home state of WV. Wifes home state of Western NY was next on the list, but the catfishing here edged NY out. I've still only ever seen one, that was a biggun. Fellow hunter seen him and guessed him around a booner. He was chasing a doe and ran past my stand tree at 15 yds and never stopped...I still dream of that morning 2 yrs ago.
 
Im not in Iowa but this last few years I have been seeing some 150 class deer. Its a blessing I tell ya!! Before it was basket 8s and 10s.

Early this week I had to go to arkansas for work and while somewhere in SE Iowa I seen my first B&C whitetail. It was a typical that would have gone low to mid 180s. Its true that when they say "you will know if its a booner" He was about 50 yards off of the gravel road we were on and it was about 6:45 PM. You guys in Iowa are lucky to have at least half a chance to harvest something like that.
 
Just go to Iowa's deer classic once. WOW!

_Incredible
bOoner
_Whitetails
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Here in Minnesota, 80% plus of our bucks taken during firearms are 1 1/2s. Some changes are being looked at by our DNR. 150 class and higher bucks exist here, but they are a different animal to hunt. Some of the biggest bucks I capture on trail cam photos I never see while hunting. Keep the faith and keep learning.
 
I am not going to say that there aren't any 150+ bucks in Iowa, but I sure don't see them every year. All of these hunting shows show a pretty skewed version of what it is like to hunt in pretty much any state they go to. If I had someone with 3000 acres locked up and it was their job to watch the deer and know where they were going to be for me, I would probably have a Booner or two on my wall too. As for Minnesota, I have seen some monsters up there, but like a previous post said if they could get the guys to quit dumping the little ones, you would see alot more of them up there.
 
120's are relatively common, I usually see a half dozen 130's a year, and 2 or 3 140's from the stand. I have bow hunted for 18 years and hunted hard the last 5, usually 100+ hours on stand. In that time the number of 150+ bucks I have seen is exactly 1.

I'm not in the best area, but even if I were I don't think I'd be tripping over them. Those overblown hunting shows are very misleading. The majority of the bucks I see killed each year are still 1 1/2 year olds, but that is slowly changing.
As someone once said, "Even where there are a lot of big bucks, there are not very many of them".
 
Tonight I went out do some glassing near where I have some stands hung. I saw 16 bucks. I know that may seem ridiculous and I too could not believe it. However of those 16 only 2 were over 150 I think. One was a 160 class 5x5 and the other was, well much larger.
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Anyways, I think that regardless what hunitng shows may lead you to believe and regardless where you live a 150 clas sbuck is preety darn nice. Some years I see pile of bucks over 150 but 3 years ago I hunted hard and only saw 3 or 4 that were bigger than that. I'm sure they were there but they weren't letting me see them. I guess the reason why we have a good # of 150 bucks is the lack of pressure, there wer only 24,000 whitetails harvested in our entire province last year. If we saw the pressure many states do i'm sure there would be less 150" bucks running around.
 
Must be the area you hunt. Since 2000 I have seen at least 8-10 bucks that would score over 160, three of which probably would score over 170, and one twelve point that would score over 180. Of those deer I have the 180 on video and one of the 160+ and 170+ on video. I was fortunate to harvest one of the 170 + and miss!!! two others. Don't ask me about the 150+ numbers. Where you say!! Ha! If your only seeing one deer in the 150 class in 18 years of hunting it is definetly the area you are hunting.
trper
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Granted, Iowa has some super bucks. Most areas that have the right habitat in Iowa will hold a 150 inch deer if you see him or not.

On this site, as well as all the videos produced of Iowa hunts, you have to keep one thing in mind. These are not average hunters and these are not average bucks.

A few of my friends and I could show you about 1500 trail camera photos from this past Summer up until now. How many 150+ bucks do we have on film and how many do we have on film that are under 150?

The only point that I'm trying to make here is that videos produced in Iowa can really be misleading.

Many out of state hunters believe that drawing a tag in Iowa is the hardest part of putting a 150 inch deer on their wall.

To put things into better perspective...

What percentage of all Iowa hunters bowhunt?

What percentage of all Iowa bowhunters frequent this web site?

Have you ever stood in a pole building in Iowa with 100 deer hanging during Iowa shotgun season?

Maybe my "trophy" standards are not as high as some people on this site. Personally after 26 years of bowhunting, a 150 inch buck will get my arrow in flight everytime...
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On this site, as well as all the videos produced of Iowa hunts, you have to keep one thing in mind. These are not average hunters and these are not average bucks.


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This is true, a skewed perception is what we get from media.

It also comes down to the properties and whats going on around them. Many of the folks using this site are in excellent situations as far as hunting ground goes. Limited access, QDM, etc.

I consider myself extremely fortunate when I see a 150" deer while bowhunting. The properties I hunt are far from managed.

Iowa sure has nice deer, but there is also a large illusion of one behind every tree IMO.
 
This site may even skew the perception, but remember this site has some of the most dedicated hunters that Iowa has!!

Pupster
 
I would agree with that perception. The area that I refer to that I get to hunt and have video of some great deer is controlled by family with limited access and little pressure. Area's outside of that you would be more limited to the size and quality of deer due to the pressure.
trper
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I have hunted in IA, IL, and MO the last 23 years and to be 100 percent honest, I have seen my better deer in IL.

Ghost hit the nail on the head with the comment he made about IA. I am running 5 trailcams this summer and have nailed 2 over 4 different farms that may score 150 but closer to the 140 range. 150 class bucks are just not as common as the Outdoor channel, men's channel, and OLN networks lead one to believe.
 
Last year I went with the"if you don't let the 150 walk you will never get a chance at a booner" theory...don't know if I can do that again this year.
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ya know...this isn't about what state has the better bucks or who is putting a skew on the # of 150 inch deer....obviously everyones opinion is different for one reason and one reason only...we all hunt different land, different regions, and different habitat. Its not the state that makes the deer, its the habitat that the deer live in, you can find great deer habitat in many parts of Iowa, Illinoise, Wisconsin, Kansas,etc. It all boils down to the specific place that you are hunting. I happen to hunt one of Iowa's hot spots and to be honest with you, my buddy and I see a lot of 150inch deer, in fact a lot of deer that are bigger...this isn't because we are in Iowa, its because we are hunting an area that takes all of the factors of growing big deer and puts them together. Limited access, QDM, lots and lots of ground, great food sources, etc. You can hunt for 20 years and put in as much time as you want in a specific location, but if the habitat is right, your not going to see big deer, simple as that. It is all about SPECIFIC LOCATION..not the state that you are in.
 
My problem is mainly the area I hunt. When I say I have only seen 1 over 150, I mean from the stand. That was 2 years ago and involved a very painful miss!!
I suppose I have seen, videoed, or got on a trail cam maybe a dozen 150+ in the last 5 years (all but 2 at night, btw). Unfortunately most were not in my immediate hunting area. This is the price you pay for hunting close to home where the pressure is intense. I've been pretty happy killing 140 class deer, 6 of them in 5 years, because I know in this area thats pretty much the high water mark. Bigger ones exist but they are very rare and hunted relentlessly.

One thing I notice is that if you really look at alot of those bucks killed on TV, very very few of them are 150+. Most are 130 class deer. Especially those TX bucks, they look gigantic until the guy walks up to them and suddenly they are not so impressive. A 130 rack looks huge on a 140 pound deer.
 
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