this may make some people mad because the original thread was closed but i had to put my two sents... Isnt this iowa Land Of The Giants? Giants is plural if u see that. There are plenty of monster deer in this state. They wouldnt call us this or everyone wouldnt want to hunt here if "we didnt have so many of them". I look at this way whitetails are "wild animals". They have a mind of their own and do and go wherever they want. we just do our best to put ourselves in front of them...but they are wild animals that are owned by no one...the land can be owned the animal cant. there are plenty of big deer. yes i put in alot of effort to hunting big deer and sometimes somebody else gets lucky for whatever reason legal or not and get them but thats part of hunting a "wild " animal. hunting if full of ups and downs you either win or you lose but you always learn to respect the wild whitetail deer. People shouldnt fight over antlers...and yes i do love scouting and putting myself in front of big mature bucks....but in the end you cant eat antlers. People please remember why are we out there? its to enjoy nature. to spend time in the tree and see things that nobody else gets the chance to see...were out there to have fun and make memories that will last a life time! and when we work hard and get a little lucky we can put a good one down and rellesh the prize of hard work paid off. So antlers are cool and look good on the wall and can tell a great story but dont let them ruin the sportsman inside all of us.:way: