whitetail deer grayer color in fall

BIG bucks! | The Best States In The U.S. For Whitetail Hunting

As hunters, we all dream of harvesting the trophy buck of our dreams, but harvesting a trophy whitetail for the record books is often similar to winning the lottery.

So, what states have the best whitetail hunting in the United States? Below, we’ll take a look at just that, and we will also explain how we came to rank the states where we did.

A look at the data

We have very few places where we can find trophy whitetail harvest data. Sure, we can get data on the numbers of whitetails harvested in a given year from the various states’ departments of natural resources, but this is all deer and not just trophy whitetails.

Looking at the Boone and Crockett record book is the best indicator of which states are best to target when hunting trophy bucks. (photography by Jeff Coldwell)

If we want to find the best states that produce the biggest numbers of trophy whitetails, then we have to look at the Boone and Crockett record book.

The Boone and Crockett Club has cataloged all world record whitetails harvested since 1932.

So, now that you know where we are getting the data to determine our selection of the best five states to bag a trophy class whitetail, let’s get started!

#5 – Ohio

ohio-counties-map

Ohio is fairly recent to the number five spot on the list and has now surpassed the number of records held by the state of Kentucky.

All of the top 10 typical records and 6 out of 10 top non-typical records for the state were harvested in the last 22 years of the 2000s, and when you consider that the records started nearly 100 years ago, that is a sharp increase in the number of giant bucks.

This sudden jump in record whitetails is due to the stellar management practices by the states’ conservation agencies in recent years.

#4 – Minnesota

minnesota-county-map

Minnesota has four counties that rank in the top twenty best counties for whitetails in the U.S., and St. Louis County is #2 in the entire nation. A grand total of 1,194 trophy whitetail entries have been recorded for the entire state of Minnesota.

Minnesota may not be top of mind when it comes to whitetail, but it ranks #4 according to Boone and Crockett statistics.

The other 3 counties listed in the top 20 counties in the U.S. are Otter Tail, Houston, and Winona counties.

Oddly enough, the top 5 record whitetail bucks in the state didn’t come from any of these four counties.

In 2012, with a typical buck scoring 193-⅛ being harvested in Winona county; this buck also ranks #15 in the state’s history.

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#3 – Iowa

iowa counties map

Iowa coming in at just #3 may surprise many hunters, especially those from Iowa, as the state has a legendary status regarding the number of big whitetails roaming the state’s woods.

But the Boone and Crocket Club record books don’t lie, and the numbers are what they are.

andrew urban iowa buck

Iowa is epic hunting grounds for those chasing large whitetail deer.

Iowa has 1,330 records in the books, and the state is home to three of the top twenty counties in the nation, with Allamakee, Warren, and Clayton Counties making the list.

Like with Minnesota, it’s interesting to note that the top five record bucks harvested in Iowa did not come from these three counties.

In 2016 a whitetail scoring 194-⅛ was entered in the record books. This Clarke County buck ranks #8 in the rankings for Iowa’s highest scoring whitetails and #70 on the all-time record list.

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#2 – Illinois

illinois-county-map

Coming in with a total of 1,445 trophy whitetails in the books, Illinois comes in at #2 for record whitetails.

Four of the top twenty counties in the country call Illinois home, and these four are the legendary Pike, Fulton, Adams, and Jo-Davies Counties.

illinois luke brewster buck 2018

This non-typical giant, harvested by Luke Brewster, is an example of what is possible in the state of Illinois (photo credit: Boone and Crockett).

Keeping with the theme set by Minnesota and Iowa, the top five typical record bucks to come out of Illinois were not harvested in any of the top four counties.

Illinois has had more entries into the Boone and Crockett Club record books in the 21st century than any other state, with eight entries.

In 2018 an Illinois trophy buck of massive proportions was harvested that came in at #3 on the all-time record list. This monster non-typical buck scored 327-⅞.

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And The #1 State To Hunt Whitetail is… Wisconsin

wisconsin-county-map

Wisconsin is the top state in the nation of trophy whitetail records, with a whopping 1,822 record bucks registered since the Boone and Crockett Club records began.

The state is home to six of the top 20 counties in the nation, with the trophy whitetail powerhouse of Buffalo County, Crawford, Trempealeau, Vernon, Richland, and Sauk Counties rounding out the six.

Buffalo County is such a good county for producing whitetails that if this single county stood alone against the rest of the states, it would still rank at #19.

giant whitetail buck with drop tine

Wisconsin ranks #1 when it comes to trophy whitetails, dominating the Boone and Crockett record books (photography by Jeff Coldwell).

Keeping with the weird traditions of other top-ranking states, none of the top five typical whitetails in the record books were shot in any of the top six counties.

The top five record bucks were harvested in five counties spread throughout the state. This shows that the entire state of Wisconsin hosts exceptional populations of trophy whitetails.

In 2018 a typical buck scoring in at 192-6/8 was harvested in Columbia County and took the spot as the fourth largest whitetail harvested in the state’s history and #96 on the top 100 trophy whitetails list.

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Honorable Mention – Texas

ohio-counties-map

While the state of Texas is ranked as #11 overall, it is our pick to be an honorable mention for one simple reason.

Texas is home to four of the top six counties in the entire country, which is one heck of a statistic for only coming in at #11 on the list of best whitetail hunting states.

These four counties are Maverick, Webb, La Salle, and Dimmit Counties.

bradley oates big texas whitetail buck

Texas is a state you shouldn’t overlook if you are interested in hunting big whitetails.

Texas has a total of 767 records in the Boone and Crockett record books, and unlike every state on this list, 2 out of 5 of these bucks were shot in the top four counties, and the other 3 were harvested outside of the top 4 counties.

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Final Thoughts On The Best States For Whitetail Hunting

There you have it, the top five states to chase record whitetails in the United States.

And remember, just because these states are on the top of the list doesn’t mean you’ll have an easy time trying to make it to the record books!

Hunt hard and hunt safely!

vortex 125 broadhead

What A Super Huge Cut! | The Vortex Broadhead Test

In this review, I tested a classic broadhead that has been around forever… the Vortex.

I had been hearing about it for a long time and it’s been a staple in the market from the very beginning of mechanical broadheads.

For this test, I used my Bowtech SR6 set at 72 pounds and Bishop FOC King Arrows. I also used the Bishop FAD Eliminator, for the concrete test because they are just so durable. So let’s check out the Vortex 125 grain…

At the end of the review, I will post the score sheet, and give it an overall Lusk grade, so you can see how it did in each of the test and compare it to other broadheads.

The Vortex 125-Grain Broadhead

Let’s take a look at the Vortex 125-grain broadhead closeup…

vortex broadhead in closed position

As you can see it’s just this classic mechanical, over-the-top deploying head. I really like the looks of it.

Vortex sharp blades on front of blade opening

The blades in the closed position have 7/8″ cutting diameter. And, you can see they have the sharp edges going forward, so you’re going to get that cut initially. Plus, the chisel tip is going to put you at over an inch of cut. So, even if the blades didn’t open, you’d at least get that much cut.

The O-ring on the Vortex head is really stout. It rolls back and is reusable.

vortex wide cut

When the O-ring rolls back, the blades of the Vortex open up, expanding to a full 2-3/4″ of cut, which is one of the widest cuts on the market. Pretty cool!

vortex chisel tip

It has an aluminum ferrule as well as a really stout, strong-looking, steel chisel tip. The blades are 0.032″ thick and are made out of a spring steel to aid in their durability.

I was eager to put this head to the test and see how it performed.

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Initial Sharpness Test

I tested the initial “out-of-the-box” sharpness of the Vortex 125 grain.

vortex initial sharpness test

The initial sharpness of the Vortex came in at 225 (the lower the number, the sharper the blade is.)

Penetration Test #1 (2/3″ rubber mat, 1/2″ MDF, FBI Gel):   

I shot the Vortex into ballistic gel, fronted by 1/2″ MDF and a 2/3″ rubber mat.

vortex ballistic gel mdf test

The Vortex 125 penetrated 6″.

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vortex entrance hole in foam

Here is the entrance hole and you see that it cut a one-inch cut through the initial layer of rubber foam mat.

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vortex opened in ballistic gel

One inch later after the two layers of rubber foam mat and the MDF, you can see that the blades had opened up well over 2″.

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Edge Retention Test (sharpness after Penetration Test 1):

vortex sharpness after ballistic gel test

I tested the sharpness again after the MDF penetration test and the Vortex came in at 300.

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Penetration Test #2 (layered cardboard):

I shot the Vortex into layered cardboard to see how many layers it would penetrate.

vortex layered cardboard test

The Vortex broadhead penetrated through 39 layers of cardboard. And, just like some other long mechanicals, a lot of that penetration was the tip and not the blades. But, that’s how I count it, nonetheless.

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Vortex Durability Test (1/2” MDF):

vortex after going through MDF

Here’s the Vortex head after going through the MDF 5 times. Now, I want to point out, you notice all the scratching on the ferrule itself… that’s not for the MDF. That’s from me trying to get it out of the MDF because on the fifth shot, it got like super lodged in there and I had to use a power saw to get it out. But, I was really careful to not bend the blades or the ferrule while I was getting it out, and that’s why I had to get so close like that. I’ve actually never had that problem, with it being so difficult to get out.

The ferrule held together fairly well. There was a little bit of wobble, which is not bad for such a long aluminum ferrule that had 5 impacts of the MDF. And, the tip obviously held together in excellent shape.

vortex extended blades broken after MDF test

As for the blades… the extended part of the blades on either side broke off on then second shot into the MDF. However, I kept going because I still had well over 2″ of cut, which is significant. And, even if at the very end, after the fifth shot, as much as these blades had bent backwards and lost those end tips, there was still 2″ of cut.

So, it’s really significant that it still cut a lot of tissue, even with the bent blades, because the blades are so long. They got a bit bent and after those two broke off on the second shot, then they got a little bit more bent up on the third shot and on the fourth shot. And, then of course, the fifth shot.

So, the good side is, you still have 2″ of cut after 5 shots in the MDF. The bad side is, they did lose those ends to the blades and they did get a bit bent up there.

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Concrete Test:

I shot the Vortex into a concrete block, which is extreme, but it helps show durability on extremely hard impact shots. Here’s the 125-grain after impact in the concrete.

vortex after the concrete test

As you can see, the ferrule got pretty jacked up and bent. One of the blades also got bent. They both impacted the concrete a bit and one of them got bent back, while the other one didn’t. The tip really buried deeply in the concrete. It might be the deepest-penetrating tip that I’ve tested. I couldn’t get it out. And it broke off on impact. It broke off at the threading where it goes into the ferrule.

Now, when you’re shooting a broadhead with this wide of a cut, you have super wide blades, so you have to have a really long ferrule.

I know you won’t be shooting this head into concrete and you’re not expecting maximum durability. But, in this test, It actually performed a bit better than I expected it to.

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Final Thoughts On The Vortex Expandable Broadhead

OK. So what do you think of the Vortex 125 grain?

You know, it did fairly well. For a really big cut like that, you’re not expecting the most durable broadhead in the world.

But, it actually exceeded my expectations in durability. Of course, you have the damage from the cinder block test and the damage in the center block and yeah, you see the damage in the MDF but that’s what a whooping big cut.

So if you got a really powerful setup or you’re going after a bit of a smaller animal like a turkey, a smaller deer, a hog, man, this is something really worth checking out because it’s going to put a whoop on whatever it hits.

Great job, Vortex!

vortex scorecard
The final scorecard.
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vortex lusk grade
The Vortex scored 7 out of a possible 10 golden arrows.
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Colt Russell Buck picture 5

The Story of An Adirondack Giant | The Colt Russell Buck

– By Colt Bison Russell, US Army Vet

Three years…

That’s how long I had been watching this buck on my trail camera.

In 2019, he was an 11pt.

Years and points…

Then, in 2020, from what I could tell, he appeared to be a big 14 point. However, a couple of weeks before bow season began, he made an appearance. And then, just like that, he vanished.

Colt Russell Buck profile view

Getting to see this buck in the wild was a dream… Getting to harvest him was a dream come true!

He showed up again the final two days of our rifle season that year, but then disappeared once again.

As each year passed, he continued to have the same distinguishing characteristics; tall brows and tines that nearly touched. He also had split main beams.

Each year, he seemed to add a little more to what was already an impressive rack.

When considering what he had done the prior two years, I just figured I would never see him again.

The Video That Changed Everything

But, then, in 2021, on the 6th of September, I got one brief trail cam video of this buck in velvet.

This is the brief trailcam video clip that renewed my hope that I might actually get a chance to harvest this impressive New York buck!

One thing was for sure… this buck was an absolute stud, especially for Essex County, New York! You just don’t see bucks of this caliber around these parts.

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The Hunt For “Houdini”

I had hunted the same area the night before with no luck.

On September 30th, I really didn’t plant on hunting the same area again. However, I decided at the last minute that I would because two nice 8-pointers (both on my hit list) showed up on the trail cam.

colt russell with his big new york whitetail

I had nicknamed this buck Houdini, because he always seemed to disappear. But he showed up for one final act.

It wasn’t very long that I’d been in the woods when a mature doe approached, but I couldn’t get a clear shot on her.

So, I continued to check more of my trail cameras and still hunt.

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It was 6 PM and I was roughly 1.5 miles deep on my hunting lease when I decided I was going to head back to the house for dinner.

I was looking for deer the whole walk back, but when I was about 250 yards from reaching my truck, I noticed the big body of a deer in the wood line about 60 yards away.

colt russell buck profile view in the field

What if I hadn’t stopped to check the trail camera? What if I had shot that doe? What if I hadn’t been so hungry that I decided to go home? I’m glad those all happened!

I instantly nocked an arrow onto my Mathews Solocam bow and continued moving down the trail. When I got about 10 yards into the woods, I drew my bow back.

I could tell that this deer was a buck, but the light was dimmer under the canopy of trees and it made it difficult to see the rack. I thought this deer was probably one of my two 8-point hit-listers that I was after.

I really didn’t have time to get nervous, because from the time I drew back until I released the arrow was only about 8 seconds. It all happened so fast!

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The Shot

I was at about 50 yards when I let the arrow fly.

The arrow hit a little high and he dropped. When he did, I could see his rack and instantly realized what buck it was.

That’s when things got hectic. The panic was setting in!

I ran over to put another arrow in him to finish him.

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colt russell buck profile mount

“Houdini” grossed 205 4/8 inches Boone and Crockett and netted 196 inches (non-typical). It was the highest scoring buck ever in Essex County and was the largest buck harvested in the state of New York and all the Northeast in 2021.

I was in disbelief. The giant buck I had been seeing for 3 years was finally down!

His rack was covered in grass as if he had just racked the ground to shreds.

I picked up his head and just took a minute to soak it all in.

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I counted 20 points on his rack. All I could think was, “who is even going to believe me when I tell them that I just shot a 20-point buck with my bow?”

I started making phone calls. And, just like I thought, it took some convincing for my close friends and family members to believe me and understand that I needed help getting this buck to the truck!

colt russell buck wall mount on barn wood

I figured that this monster of a buck had to have watched me 80 to 100 yards down that trail before I had even noticed he was there. I truly believe that deer was going to just let me walk right past him.

All The “What Ifs”

When my friends and family came, they were as in shock as I was because, again, you just don’t see deer like this one in these parts!

There are so many things that could have been different that would have kept me from tagging this buck.

What if I hadn’t stopped to check that trail cam?

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What if I had taken a shot on that doe I had seen earlier in the evening?

It’s very possible that I would never have crossed paths with this giant.

Everything just fell in to place that day and I truly believe that someone was looking over my shoulder.

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Word Gets Around

I was shocked how fast the word spread across the country about this buck. In just a matter of hours, the state knew about it and friends of mine across the county were contacting me, offering congratulations.

I count myself truly blessed to have gotten the chance to harvest a true Adirondack giant!