It’s deer, deer, and more deer for Illinois in the Boone and Crockett records. To be fair, the state does offer hunting for turkey, waterfowl, small game, upland birds, and furbearers, but we do not keep records for longest spurs on a turkey or fluffiest squirrel tail. Illinois made waves back in 2018 when Luke Brewster killed a giant non-typical whitetail in Edgar County that scored a mind-…

Like its midwestern neighbors, Iowa is about whitetail deer. Sure, there are other opportunities to hunt turkey, migratory waterfowl and small game, but for big game hunting, it’s going to be whitetails. The highest number of all-time entries in the top 50 goes to the non-typical category. Most of those bucks high on the list have come in the 21st century while the top typical bucks entries…

The good news is that Idaho has just about any species a hunter would love to hunt. The bad news is they’re just not as big as they used to be. The 1950s and ‘60s saw record-book mule deer being taken, and while there’s no doubt the state has some whoppers running around, the trends suggest the good old days may be behind them for mule deer. If you want to chase down a trophy cougar or maybe a…

So you like Columbia blacktail deer? How about Roosevelt’s elk? If either one of those species happens to be your jam, then Oregon holds the best book potential for your money. Look to the wet and rainy West Coast timber cuts for them. It’s not all rainforest, though. Look to the arid southeast where the antelope (pronghorn) play, and you might even find a top 10 all-time entry down there.…

Utah is home to the current World’s Record non-typical American elk and black bear. It’s great for mule deer, too. The problem is that everyone knows that. If you apply for a tag to hunt in a trophy unit there, buy a Powerball ticket at the same time—your odds of winning are likely the same. Fear not wishful hunter. There are “average Joe” hunts if you take the time to look. With varied…

It doesn’t matter if you like the clean lines and picture-perfect symmetry of a typical whitetail or if you’re more into the kickers, stickers, drop-tines and freakish nature of a big non-typical, Ohio has you covered—and the deer are all over the state. The state has seen some real whoppers since 2000, including one non-typical that scored 295-3/8 in 2006. Since then, there have been more…

Do you want to know a secret in the world of whitetail deer? Kentucky! If you’re looking to hunt trophy whitetail deer and even black bear, Kentucky is a solid bet. In fact, Kentucky ranks in the top 10 states for whitetails, according to the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Whitetail Deer. Kentucky wasn’t always the big buck factory that it has become. Consider…

How much public land do you think sits in Nevada? The answer is 85 percent. Granted, much of it sawdust dry, but that doesn’t mean big game can’t thrive here. In recent years, pronghorn have made an appearance in the records as well as a number of Rocky Mountain goats. Believe it! Desert sheep make for a challenging hunt if you can get a tag. Plus, bighorn sheep and California bighorns live…

For such a massive state, Texas boasts very little public land. Hopefully you know a buddy with a big ranch. If not, plenty of guides and outfitters will be happy to lead you to find some decent whitetail bucks and some even better (scoring) pronghorn. There’s even an elk entry from 1934, but because they are not considered a game animal today, elk can’t be entered into the records. There’s…

It’s a little known fact that Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz was a maniacal whitetail hunter. That’s right, folks. You heard it here first. While Kansas’ record-book entries are overwhelmingly of the whitetail variety, the state has managed to throw a few curve balls. There’s the 88-inch pronghorn taken in 2013. Quite a few mule deer have come out of the state, too. And check this out. In 1988…