10 Worst states for deer hunting…

seems to me they measure success a bit weird
 
So probably the "best" states on their list are the ones where you sit in a blind and take your choice of the 10-15 huge bucks that come strolling out into a cornfield.
That's not hunting; it's shooting.
You call it shooting, I call it awesome. I don't particularly enjoy spending my entire fall in a stand/blind. I'll take MN deer hunting over New England every day of the week.
 
So probably the "best" states on their list are the ones where you sit in a blind and take your choice of the 10-15 huge bucks that come strolling out into a cornfield.
That's not hunting; it's shooting.
Truth. Exact same words have come out of my dad and grandfathers (RIP) mouth. Both avid Maine deer hunters
 
I have a friend who goes out to Kansas every year. He has shot some beautiful deer. Racks you wouldn't believe. But he admits there's no question you're going to shoot one; its basically just picking the one you want hanging on your wall.
He also hunts here in Maine and usually shoots a good deer because he puts in the time. He says he always feels better about the deer he shoots here at home because he knows he's earned it through hard work.

I'd like to shoot a deer in Kansas someday just to experience the deer hunting I always see on the Outdoor Channel.
 
You call it shooting, I call it awesome. I don't particularly enjoy spending my entire fall in a stand/blind. I'll take MN deer hunting over New England every day of the week.
This. I enjoy seeing deer when i'm deer hunting. It doesn't have to be like some fake outdoors channel show done in a fenced area.

But to see a few a day would be nice....and not just seeing a few tails because I have to bust my ass thru the thickest brush either. Having a deer herd of 30 per square instead of the 5 per square would let you see a few deer a day and every jackoff wouldn't be trying to shoot brown is down because they see enough deer to not want to shoot the first one they see.

But there are states that manage herds WAY better than other states. States that have way more deer than New England are 1 buck only, have antler restrictions, limit doe take better, etc.....

I'm fully convinced the insurance companies manage the MA deer herd to minimize as many collisions as possible.

Northern ME, VT and NH.....well......that's just tough country and weather to expect a high herd count. Poor food, real bad weather, little or no acorn trees, and no big farming is the problem there. The deer you see are big cause they have to be, but spread out across gobs of land at like 1-2 deer per square. If you are lucky to see one its a big body.....but because of the poor quality of land.....the antlers usually suck. There are a few exceptions.........but overall they don't have the racks, genetics and access to good minerals that midwestern corn, soybean, milo and white oak acorn fed deer have.
 
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I have a friend who goes out to Kansas every year. He has shot some beautiful deer. Racks you wouldn't believe. But he admits there's no question you're going to shoot one; its basically just picking the one you want hanging on your wall.
He also hunts here in Maine and usually shoots a good deer because he puts in the time. He says he always feels better about the deer he shoots here at home because he knows he's earned it through hard work.

I'd like to shoot a deer in Kansas someday just to experience the deer hunting I always see on the Outdoor Channel.
And a Kansas out of state deer tag cost how much? Probably 400 bucks?.....so at least they have a good herd to reflect that cost. Sounds like he's on a lease or something or good private land if he's picking out the one to shoot. If its a lease, its big money. If its private land with access, its not that normal, you have to know someone usually.........because everything is leased out there for the most part. Every idiot that dreams of big bucks wants access in Kansas, Iowa and Illinois. Those states and the farmers have made it a business of how much they get for leases and out of state tags.

If your friend says its easy, he can always make it harder by hunting archery. Blasting a deer with a rifle in a cornfield is easy. Try getting them into 30 yards with a bow. Or try hunting only public land with gobs of other idiots. Ive never hunted it, but I'm sure Kansas public land isn't all that easy......it would probably be rated really good compared to here though, but still, your there competing with a bunch of other out of staters.

If he's paying big money to hunt Kansas in an outfitter or lease.....then yes I would expect to shoot a big deer and see a lot of big bucks. No one wants to pay 3-5K and see and take home nothing!
 
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This. I enjoy seeing deer when i'm deer hunting. It doesn't have to be like some fake outdoors channel show done in a fenced area.

But to see a few a day would be nice....and not just seeing a few tails because I have to bust my ass thru the thickest brush either. Having a deer herd of 30 per square instead of the 5 per square would let you see a few deer a day and every jackoff wouldn't be trying to shoot brown is down because they see enough deer to not want to shoot the first one they see.

But there are states that manage herds WAY better than other states. States that have way more deer than New England are 1 buck only, have antler restrictions, limit doe take better, etc.....

I'm fully convinced the insurance companies manage the MA deer herd to minimize as many collisions as possible.

Northern ME, VT and NH.....well......that's just tough country and weather to expect a high herd count. Poor food, real bad weather, little or no acorn trees, and no big farming is the problem there. The deer you see are big cause they have to be, but spread out across gobs of land at like 1-2 deer per square.

One day years ago when I actually cared about deer hunting and put in tons of work scouting and sitting I was walking out of the woods dejected because, again, I didn't see a damn thing. I was talking to God about it and I remember saying "I'd just like to see a deer so I know they exist and this isn't some giant joke". The next day, about 150 yards away a tree fell. No wind, no storm, just decided to fall - and when I looked over at the noise of it crashing through the smaller trees - a deer went bouncing away. Prayer answered.

No time spent outdoors with the Lord or with family (both my son and daughter hunt with me) is wasted, but to me, deer hunting comes the closest. Heck - at this point I use deer hunting to scout for late season small game, LOL.
 
You call it shooting, I call it awesome. I don't particularly enjoy spending my entire fall in a stand/blind. I'll take MN deer hunting over New England every day of the week.
I'm with you. I've found a good spot in Southern nh private land that is posted but have permission on. That property is loaded with deer and we've been successful by just sitting against a tree.....I've had my balls busted about it.....but don't care. Big deer numbers in this area.....no bruiser bucks but we fill the freezer. I'll take it as I don't have a ton of time to scout and only have 3 or 4 days a year to hunt deer. I have this thing called a job....and it takes priority over anything else. Funny how they guys that break my balls are all retired and can hunt 6 or 7 days a week and scout for a month before the season opens.
 
I'm with you. I've found a good spot in Southern nh private land that is posted but have permission on. That property is loaded with deer and we've been successful by just sitting against a tree.....I've had my balls busted about it.....but don't care. Big deer numbers in this area.....no bruiser bucks but we fill the freezer. I'll take it as I don't have a ton of time to scout and only have 3 or 4 days a year to hunt deer. I have this thing called a job....and it takes priority over anything else. Funny how they guys that break my balls are all retired and can hunt 6 or 7 days a week and scout for a month before the season opens.
Well said. Its not till you hunt other states and realize, that if your just there to fill the freezer, its nice to be able to do it without busting your ass and wasting all your vacation time to see one deer and kill it.

There are plenty of states that filling the freezer takes a day or two. When i hunted CT it was like that, private land, fill the freezer Sept 15. Hunt big bucks from there on out, or don't hunt, but at least the tag I paid for filled the freezer and I didn't have to spend a week doing it busting my ass.

Yeah....you can feel better about busting your ass, but I say work smarter not harder if your just getting meat.

Big buck hunting.....totally different story......most of my big bucks never came easy. I scouted and hunted them. Even in CT, they were noctournal. My biggest buck down there it took me 50 hunts and 3 years to kill. He was on the camera every year starting in Sept-Dec......just was night walker until one day I got lucky right before dark and called him in. It was at that point I realized I probably spent about 2-3k trying to kill that deer. Bait, time, gas, wear and tear on truck, etc....and that was just a 140 inch racked buck....not some 160 or 170" Kansas brute.

So you can bust these guys balls for going to Kansas and spending dough for big bucks.......but a lot of times, at least in my world, big bucks have never come easy, or cheap. And they are going to the source and getting it done. A lot of people have more money than time. I'm one of them now as well.
 
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One day years ago when I actually cared about deer hunting and put in tons of work scouting and sitting I was walking out of the woods dejected because, again, I didn't see a damn thing. I was talking to God about it and I remember saying "I'd just like to see a deer so I know they exist and this isn't some giant joke". The next day, about 150 yards away a tree fell. No wind, no storm, just decided to fall - and when I looked over at the noise of it crashing through the smaller trees - a deer went bouncing away. Prayer answered.

No time spent outdoors with the Lord or with family (both my son and daughter hunt with me) is wasted, but to me, deer hunting comes the closest. Heck - at this point I use deer hunting to scout for late season small game, LOL.
@tuna - Right. When someone (usually who has never hunted in their life) criticizes hunting, my response is, 'If you think hunting is all about killing a deer, you are sadly mistaken'.

Usually this is after they say something profound like, 'Oh, you go out in the woods with a 'big' gun and blast a poor animal - that's real fair'.
Because they know it all :rolleyes:...
 
Well said. Its not till you hunt other states and realize, that if your just there to fill the freezer, its nice to be able to do it without busting your ass and wasting all your vacation time to see one deer and kill it.

There are plenty of states that filling the freezer takes a day or two. When i hunted CT it was like that, private land, fill the freezer Sept 15. Hunt big bucks from there on out, or don't hunt, but at least the tag I paid for filled the freezer and I didn't have to spend a week doing it busting my ass.

Yeah....you can feel better about busting your ass, but I say work smarter not harder if your just getting meat.

Big buck hunting.....totally different story......most of my big bucks never came easy. I scouted and hunted them. Even in CT, they were noctournal. My biggest buck down there it took me 50 hunts and 3 years to kill. He was on the camera every year starting in Sept-Dec......just was night walker until one day I got lucky right before dark and called him in. It was at that point I realized I probably spent about 2-3k trying to kill that deer. Bait, time, gas, wear and tear on truck, etc....and that was just a 140 inch racked buck....not some 160 or 170" Kansas brute.

So you can bust these guys balls for going to Kansas and spending dough for big bucks.......but a lot of times, at least in my world, big bucks have never come easy, or cheap. And they are going to the source and getting it done. A lot of people have more money than time. I'm one of them now as well.
When I retire I may change my outlook and put time in on bigger bucks. But I will not bust the balls of guys with jobs for taking the first legal deer that comes their way.....for working guys that's the way it is. My issue is with the big buck hunters that point their fingers at the guys that take smaller bucks and say they are somehow unethical for not buying into the whole qdm shit and blame them for "lack of quality deer in the area".....quality is a matter of opinion.....and a 120 pound 4 point sure is quality to me and many......they make for great eating.
 
To me hunting has always been "fun". I would hunt with my now departed brother on his 120 acres in Maine. No competition and good deer country made it easy to take deer. Then bringing up the three sons into hunting. Then the grandkids. What a thrill when each one took their first deer. The family hunts NH, Maine and Mass each year but the camp in Maine that we built is the go-to place. Still plenty of deer. And cards. And beer. For a long time I held the family record for first deer at age 12. Then came along grandson Little Jack. At 10 yo he drops a deer in NH with his bow. Then another in Maine with shotgun. Then another with rifle in NH. He's a "natural" like his dad. Jack.
 
To me hunting has always been "fun". I would hunt with my now departed brother on his 120 acres in Maine. No competition and good deer country made it easy to take deer. Then bringing up the three sons into hunting. Then the grandkids. What a thrill when each one took their first deer. The family hunts NH, Maine and Mass each year but the camp in Maine that we built is the go-to place. Still plenty of deer. And cards. And beer. For a long time I held the family record for first deer at age 12. Then came along grandson Little Jack. At 10 yo he drops a deer in NH with his bow. Then another in Maine with shotgun. Then another with rifle in NH. He's a "natural" like his dad. Jack.
It is always fun. The best deer I've taken part in hunting at this point was my brother's first deer a few weeks ago. A 110 pound spike. He's my twin brother.....never hunted until last season.....he went through some shit woth alcoholism 7 years ago and has been sober and committed to his family since then. Took him 2 years and alot of money in a lawyer to get his ltc in mass to be able to hunt and own guns. I've spent a ton of time with him at the range getting him ready and we've had a blast together and got to re connect after a few years apart due to work and his recovery. Seeing him take his first deer and helping him get out there and take it was a mission accomplished. Never seen someone so happy to harvest a deer. In my opinion that's what it's about now. It's not about shooting as many deer as you can....or the biggest deer you can.....its about family and time together. I still have tags to fill.... because I put in time in nh season to help him get his but I'll say it was a very successful season.
 
You call it shooting, I call it awesome. I don't particularly enjoy spending my entire fall in a stand/blind. I'll take MN deer hunting over New England every day of the week.
IDK man, I am building a "hunting blind" out back for next year so I can spend more time "hunting" in a "blind". It will have a mini wood stove, a reclining chair, a small table to put my whiskey glass on, and a rifle rest built into the window. I am going to start to love hunting. [laugh]
 
I know guys that have "hunted" deer for years and never even seen a deer in season.

Want to fill the freezer? Go over to Nantucket. Ask @BlackwaterFence what that is like. I have seen pictures he took of a dozen or so deer all taken from one drive, just laying in a big ole pile.
 
When I retire I may change my outlook and put time in on bigger bucks. But I will not bust the balls of guys with jobs for taking the first legal deer that comes their way.....for working guys that's the way it is. My issue is with the big buck hunters that point their fingers at the guys that take smaller bucks and say they are somehow unethical for not buying into the whole qdm shit and blame them for "lack of quality deer in the area".....quality is a matter of opinion.....and a 120 pound 4 point sure is quality to me and many......they make for great eating.
Most of these big buck guys are either snobs that have access/pay for better hunting areas then spout off about crap. They forget that most of them started out shooting spikehorns.
Or many of them don't even care about meat, they hunt for Antlers only.

QDM only works on private land unless the state enacts restrictions. Hence, I would never say anything to anyone about shooting a small buck on public land.

To the guy that has access to private land of a large amount and shoots little bucks every year, then complains to me, man......how did I get big bucks on the wall in New England? I tell him to stop shooting little bucks and they can become big bucks. Take a doe for meat if they are plentiful. But if your happy shooting little bucks, who cares. Its a personal decision that shouldn't be questioned.

Feel the same about a guy who shoots an assload of does in one spot then complains about seeing no deer the next year.......

In states where the deer population is pretty low......I would never expect a guy with limited vacation time, and no hunting on Sundays, that can't hunt another state, hunting on state land, to pass a legal deer up if its the only one they think they will see. Hell, I did it this year because I wasn't hunting CT. I needed a deer for meat. Freezer empty and not hunting out of state this year due to lack of time. I will very likely not shoot another deer this year, unless its a HUGE buck. Everything else will get a pass, and for umpteen years, I've passed little deer and all does in MA because I hunted CT where deer were plentiful and needed to be harvested.

Would I like to see antler restrictions, season limitations, 1 buck only, and no doe permits central and west in MA. Yeah......because it would send the meat hunters East where they are needed to reduce herd numbers, and hopefully improve the herd in the other parts of the state. Herd improvement and seeing more deer is the goal. Seeing more and better bucks a side effect, but not the #1 goal i care about. That said......it will never happen.......doesn't matter to me that much anymore anyway, my time in MA is limited now.
 
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To me hunting has always been "fun". I would hunt with my now departed brother on his 120 acres in Maine. No competition and good deer country made it easy to take deer. Then bringing up the three sons into hunting. Then the grandkids. What a thrill when each one took their first deer. The family hunts NH, Maine and Mass each year but the camp in Maine that we built is the go-to place. Still plenty of deer. And cards. And beer. For a long time I held the family record for first deer at age 12. Then came along grandson Little Jack. At 10 yo he drops a deer in NH with his bow. Then another in Maine with shotgun. Then another with rifle in NH. He's a "natural" like his dad. Jack.
As it should be always about fun....especially with new hunters or kids. I got serious and big buckitis when I got in my mid 20's-Mid 40's....and hunted with my dad or alone.

Now....could really care less, would like to see more deer, but its all about fun really.
 
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Problem with hunting where there's a ton of them in New England, it's usually where there's a ton of people. Nantucket and Eastern Mass mentioned in the last couple posts - who the Hell wants to go there to hunt? I like to "get away". Granted, I didn't see any deer in season and judging by tracks I'd probably be more likely to see a bear or moose - but we barely saw any vehicles pulled over where we hunted, let alone seen any other hunters in the woods.

Give and take - go where you're happy and hunt how you're happy. For some it's big antlers, for others it's quiet, others just want to drink beer with their buddies in camp at night - it's all good.
 
By the measure of killing a lot of deer, yes: the entire Northeast sucks.

By the measure of pounds harvested per shot fired, the Northeast rocks.

If you just really want to kill a lot of deer, go join a hunting club in Texas that is part of the state's wildlife management program. It will be stupidly expensive, but (depending on the club and their arrangement with TPWD), you might be able to shoot as many as you'd like, no limit, from October through February. Over bait, too.

Of course, even a trophy buck in Texas (based on rack points) would be a skinny poodle in New England.
 
In one of the Southern states, maybe Virginia or Alabama?, there used to be a DAILY limit of 5 deer.
Or something crazy like that.
 
In one of the Southern states, maybe Virginia or Alabama?, there used to be a DAILY limit of 5 deer.
Or something crazy like that.
Virginia has a load of cwd problems and cannot kill enough of the animals. I stayed behind the big rigs when I was down that way to not be the one to hit one first.
 
In one of the Southern states, maybe Virginia or Alabama?, there used to be a DAILY limit of 5 deer.
Or something crazy like that.
Alabama is one deer a day. Not sure of the season limit....but its high.....it litterally could be 1 deer a day for the whole season.......like 60 deer or something. I have no idea.

South Carolina is broken up into 4 zones and the coastal two zones are high....like 10 deer per year, Bow season starts August 15, Rifle Sept 15th. From Sept 15th on you can use any weapon choice you want, Rifle, bow, crossbow, muzzleloader.........Ive been to butcher/check stations down there and an average weekday in October is litterly like a check station on opening day of shotgun up here. Deer are rolling in several per hour. Yes they are 10-20% smaller in body size, but the Antlers are just as nice or bigger, more points, taller tines. Not those stumpy tined New England racks.

I talked to a guy who lived in NH for his whole life and moved down there. He was bringing in a nice 8 pt. I asked how he liked it compared to NH......he's like no comparison....SC WAY better......I see deer Everytime out, yeah there smaller, but I just kill 2 instead if I'm meat hunting. Plus in NH......I ate my tag half the time and the freezer went empty. Here......I could easily kill 7 or 8 deer if I want without even working hard.

My future son inlaws stepfather shot 2 nicely racked 8's on his 350 acre lease this year, in 3 - 4-5 hour sits. Body weights were between 135 and 150 dressed. Says they only shoot 8's or better, and don't really take does, cause they get enough meat with the bucks. I'm trying to get in on that lease for next year.
 
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