Best Deer State

[DOUBLELUNG]

Wyoming for whitetail and mule deer.  However, I've never killed a really high scoring buck deer, a few 160s mule deer and best whitetail 132.

[C-Money]

Washington for mule deer, Oregon for my best whitetail

[Bluemoon]

My last year's spindley Montana buck. I have the best Blacktail in Washington right in my backyard.  But I will never hunt this state again...They don't deserve my money for doing nothing to help hunting.

[boneaddict]

Phool nailed it when he said each has a positive and a negative.  Every state fits in that right along with Nevada, Utah and Oregon.

[elkrack]

Big sky for me. But that’s the only out of state hunt I’ve done! Hopefully be doing a outta state hunt in the upcoming year! Tagging this thread 

[bigmacc]

Well, Washington at one time had some big bucks, I posted some pictures a few years ago on this site of deer my family has killed going back to the early 1900,s. This state at one time held some huge deer(1930,s-1960,s) and some big fellas were killed into the 70,s also. We would every once in awhile throw a tape measure on a good buck but I will say we have never had a deer "scored". We have killed somewhere around 600 bucks in this state and I know at least "a few" of them could have been some sort of a record. I recall a buck my dad killed in 1963 that hung in our garage rafters that was 33inches, one that was killed by my great grandma in "43" that was 36inches and one my uncle killed in 1957 that was a hair over 37inches. The thing was back then was "you can't eat the horns", we gave most of those racks away to people who "made stuff out of them", a "trophy" was a medal you hung on your wall for doing something good in life, not for killing an animal. I seen with my own eyes a buck hanging in a shop, up a dirt road in the area we hunt that was probably THE biggest deer I have ever seen dead or alive, yes it was in this state and no I don't have a picture but I seen it in the back of a Ford pickup as they backed up to hoist it up into the  rafters of the shop and that bucks head was like a cow and the rack was huge. A few on here may have heard of this buck (1966), and I mean only "heard" of it because the old fella that shot it was a bit of a recluse. My dad and I seen a buck in November of 1973(or74 ) that was ONE of the biggest deer I,ve ever seen, strolling through an apple orchard in about a foot of snow, a rack about 32-35 inches wide and HEAVY horned, he was by himself, walking slow and his neck barely was able to hold the weight of his horns, his head swung side to side and he would stop every 10-15 feet and rest, I remember my dad saying "he won't even make it another week, let alone the winter". This state used to hold some big deer, its really to bad where its at today....

[M_ray]

What Phool said ...

I chose other cause I have shot my largest scoring buck in Montana and some great bucks in WA and love hunting Idaho for the lack of orange dots but have settled for mostly tag soup in doing so.

[jjhunter]

The only states that I have 100% penciled in for 2018 are Colorado and Montana.  Typically, Montana would be a filler state for me, but I need a 180” buck from MT and I believe that now is the time to make that happen.

I will only hunt Idaho on a limited entry permit from now on.  I have purchased a tag in Idaho every year since 1999 (senior in High School), many years, I purchased two in order to hunt different areas/times.   I have also drawn 5 LE deer tags.  The odds of finding a buck that I want to shoot on a general tag are too slim to waste a week of vacation.

I have drawn Nevada in back to back years.  Two of the best tags in the state.  16 days hunting, one dead buck.  Low densities, good quality.  You need a lot of days to kill a really big deer (190” plus).   I wasn’t able to get that done...

I’ve hunted western Wyoming twice, both times Region H.  Beautiful country and lots of bucks.  I have 7 deer points and am kinda waiting to see what happens with deer tag quotas in G and H.  If they continue to limit tags, could make for a very enjoyable hunt in the near future.

Colorado can be an ass kicker on the 3rd season hunts.  They can also be amazing with weather.   I got tired of rolling the dice and will hunt early from now on.  Lots of effort, but the potential for a giant is much more probable.

Of all the states listed, if I wanted to be 100% positive that I would kill a 160” plus 4 point mule deer, MT would be my state every time.  Plus, you always have the small chance of seeing something exceptional.

[pianoman9701]

NH. Sorry, I have no photos from back East.

[cem3434]

I think JJ's assessment is pretty spot on.

[hunter399]

I will add my  ,even though it's not 2 cents at all.
NOT WASHINGTON
when wdfw manages for wildlife and not for hunters in mind washington has great potential for some great trophys.
There is that saying the grass is greener on the other side , But it really is not ,so I'm not sure.

[boneaddict]

One of the benefits of Washington, the ability to hunt Muleys, whitetail, blacktail, and yes Benchlegs. 

[zwickeyman]

WA Muledeer
WA Whitetail
WA Blacktail

Only hunted Muledeer in Idaho when I was a kid

[Kazekurt]

I've only hunted WA and Montana for deer.  I've shot some nice bucks in both states, but like MT better.  As far as what state has produced my best deer, I'll let you guys decide as I like them both.  WA buck is 33 wide and carries the mass throughout, but MT buck has better symmetry, deep back  forks, and color.  If we're factoring in the hunt, I'd choose the WA buck because I got him in late archery and had a ton of time invested in him.

[REHJWA]

I've only hunted WA and Montana for deer.  I've shot some nice bucks in both states, but like MT better.  As far as what state has produced my best deer, I'll let you guys decide as I like them both.  WA buck is 33 wide and carries the mass throughout, but MT buck has better symmetry, deep back  forks, and color.  If we're factoring in the hunt, I'd choose the WA buck because I got him in late archery and had a ton of time invested in him.

I like them both too