Our experience in GA is limited.  However, in the short term we were there deer hunting we learned a tremendous amount about the deer herd and how the state is managed.  

Quota Hunts 

Each year Georgia offers Quota deer hunts on select WMA's.  These are designed to regulate hunting pressure and manage the resource to produce quality hunting opportunities.  Quota hunts must be drawn via an application process which takes place June 1st - September 1st.  Most are firearms hunts with short season dates.  Priority points are awarded if a hunter is not drawn.  These build up over time and increase your odds of drawing as you accumulate more points.  Each year you can apply for 3 quota hunt choices maximum.  Here's a link to all quota hunts in GA.  

Certain areas are managed for "Quality Bucks" meaning they impose antler restrictions of some kind.  That could mean a 4 point minimum per side or a spread/beam length minimum.  Most of these only allow one buck to be harvested.  These areas are more difficult to draw but have higher numbers of mature bucks. 

To apply for these hunts go to gooutdoorsgeorgia.com

Archery Hunting and Antler Restrictions

Georgia has a handful of counties which are archery only areas.  In addition, there are several more which have extended archery seasons.  Generally speaking, archery only counties often yield older deer herds and more mature bucks.  Something to think about if that is a goal you have. 

Some counties in GA also have antler point restrictions.  These areas help more bucks reach older age classes as well. 

Here is a link to the deer hunting regulations in Georgia. 

Maximizing Opportunities 

As you can probably tell by now, Georgia has a pile of quality hunting opportunities for those willing to do some research.  There are high quality options for mature bucks all over the state but they can be difficult to decipher with all the different seasons, WMA's, and tag quotas.  

Our advice is to research each of these areas both online and through scouting.  The quota hunts have short seasons so scouting is paramount.  Develop a plan to apply for quota hunts and utilize archery only and antler point restrictive counties.  Some of these seasons are short so look at other WMA's and public areas for the remainder of the fall. 

 

 

Iowa is widely regarded as the highest quality whitetail hunting state in the U.S.  It also happens to be where most of us at THP currently reside.  For non-residents, Iowa is one of the most sought after destinations.  Especially for those hoping to harvest a mature buck with big antlers.  Access to huntable lands can be an issue.  Iowa has a low percentage of public land to private land and private access is often costly to obtain.  

Non residents must wait multiple years to draw the tags.  Currently it’s taking 4 or more years to draw Southern Iowa archery permits.  That’s $200 worth of preference points before you even get the tag which is an additional $498, plus $131 hunting license and $15 habitat fee.  That’s a ton of dough to shell out for a deer license!  
 
Is it worth the money? This all depends on your goals and the time you have to devote to them.  Monster bucks don’t live around every tree but Iowa does have more 2 and 3 year old bucks than most states.  This is a main reason the rut can be action packed.  In order to harvest a high scoring mature buck, you need time.  You also should weigh the opportunity cost of hunting a state like Iowa.

Here’s a scenario we see often.  A hunter from a good whitetail state like IN, MO, KY, or PA will wait years to draw the IA permit and bank on it to produce their “once in a lifetime” trophy buck.   Then they devote two weeks of vacation to accomplishing this goal during the rut.  They see great deer activity and tons of bucks.  Including a couple giants.  However, by the end of the trip they've either shot a buck below expectations or didn't get an opportunity at a trophy deer.  In reality, more time/money spent closer to home might have yielded different results.  Although the odds of seeing a mature buck go up in a state like Iowa, other states like those mentioned above provide hunters with more options to hunt.  Not to mention, many of those states are more affordable. Tags which are cheaper to obtain combined with more options closer to home can yield more time in the woods, and time is valuable when waiting on mature bucks.  

The point here is this - mature “trophy” quality bucks are specific animals, even in IA and especially on public land.  Those that can devote multiple scouting trips and multiple weeks during the fall to achieve this goal are much better positioned than those relying on one week of vacation to get the job done on public land.

Hunting Pressure

Since we live in IA, we get to hunt public land through all times of the season.  Hunting pressure is highest during opening weekend of the 1st shotgun season which occurs in early December.  The 2nd highest time frame for pressure is during the first week of November by archery hunters.  However, public land is a ghost town for much of the month of October and pressure slacks off considerably by mid November.  If you’ve kept up with our videos, you’ll see we have success often in October and mid November.

Our Advice

We’d encourage anyone who’s willing to spend the money and time on Iowa to do so.  It’s an awesome deer hunting state.  The system is designed to limit opportunity to non-residents which results in more bucks on the landscape. Keep your expectations realistic and hope for the best.  There may be no better place to harvest a 3-4 year old P&Y buck with a bow on public land.  If your goals are for something bigger and older - plan to invest more time than two weeks.  This is not to say it can’t be done.  I mean, you’re in Iowa!  There are BIG bucks here!  But be prepared to work for them on public.

IA is a good state to put into your long-term deer hunting plans.  However, we'd recommend supplementing other good OTC states in years between drawing the IA tag.  Remember, big bucks can be found in MOST of them. 

Learn more about hunting in Iowa here - https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/

KS is one of the top whitetail hunting destinations in the country.  The lack of public land and available private land make it a difficult state to access.  However, the state issues a set number of permits which must be drawn by non-residents and only one buck is allowed per hunter for the entire year.  These factors allow bucks to reach old age the open terrain makes them visible. 

If you're planning to travel in search of whitetails, Kansas is a good choice to thrown in the rotation. 

Walk-In Hunting Land 

Kansas has WIHA (Walk-In Hunting Land) which is private land leased by the state for public hunting opportunities.  Some of these areas are small with little timber.  They can be overlooked by many hunters.  Especially those who prefer to hunt out of a tree.  However, these small parcels can produce excellent hunting for big bucks.  In Kansas, there are tons of these areas dotting OnX.  Don't ignore them. 

Our strategy when we hunted Kansas was to stay mobile and bounce to as many of these small walk-in areas as possible.  We were able to located multiple mature bucks on these spots in just a few days time.  There weren't many large tracts of public land in our units so we employed this strategy and it eventually worked out for Jake on a great buck. 

 

Our time in Kentucky was short and sweet.  We hunted during the first week of September in 95 degree heat but found several nice bucks on public land.  

Kentucky is one of a few states which allow the harvest of only 1 buck per year.  They also have a September 1st opener which allows bowhunters to chase velvet bucks.  The license was more expensive than average starting at $335 for non-residents.  However, with the long season and one buck harvest limit, Kentucky is a great choice for those looking to make an out-of-state DIY whitetail trip.

We have limited experience in Minnesota but hope to get more in the future as we plan to go back. This state offers an early archery season which comes in toward the middle of September each year.  The 2nd half of September and October can be a great time to archery hunt Minnesota.  

Some of their firearm seasons begin the first Saturday of November which leaves little time to archery hunt during the rut.  When we bowhunted MN during the Public Land Challenge in 2018, we saw little to no hunting pressure and had tons of public hunting opportunities.  In our limited time there we also saw multiple mature bucks.

 

Our experience in this state is limited. We’ve scouted properties a few times and hunted on public land for a little over a week. However, we have many contacts in Mississippi who do very well on public land each season. They have liberal bag limits where hunters can harvest multiple bucks with the correct permits and a high percentage of public land opportunities.

Licenses are easy to obtain with most sold OTC.  However, season dates are tricky to plan for because they change depending on the area of the state or the WMA you are hunting. 

The rut also takes place at different times than the Midwest. We’d recommend planning hunts within two weeks before/after the peak rut time frames. Here is the MS rut map - Click Here

Here is a link to season dates in the different zones - Click Here

Delta Zone

As you’ll see in the link above, the Delta zone implements the strictest antler restrictions. In addition, habitat and nutrition for the deer herd are better in this area. For these reasons, the Mississippi Delta is the #1 area in the state to harvest mature bucks with large antlers. Most residents in MS know this so expect hunting pressure to be higher in this zone. 

There are some large NWRs open to public hunting and state managed WMAs as well. The habitat is mostly flat and very thick with water weaving throughout.  Boats, canoes, waders, and hip boots are handy. Most of these areas produce giant bucks each season but hunters have to work for them. With the abundance of prime habitat, it can be difficult to narrow down specific buck bedding locations but not impossible. Successful hunters in this area spend long hours on stand during the rut. Bucks travel great distances in these river bottoms and can show up out of nowhere. Sitting remote travel corridors or pinch points created by water are proven methods for harvesting mature bucks in these spots.  Of course, there are other situational tactics that work as well.

We hunted on a large management area in the heart of the MS Delta in January of 2020.  You can watch those videos here:

Other areas also provide good hunting. Huge lakes surrounded by Corps of Engineer land and the enormous National Forests are located throughout the state. 

I (Aaron) grew up in Missouri and have a good understanding of what the state has to offer.  Licenses are easy to purchase OTC and there are abundant public hunting opportunities across the state.  It’s an incredibly diverse state with the Ozark mountains in the Southern portion and flat fairground in the North.  Hilly hardwood terrain with rocky soil exists across much of the state South of I-70.  As you move North of I-70, the terrain becomes flatter with more rich farm ground mixed into creek bottoms and woodlots.  The habitat in Northern Missouri is more conducive to growing larger antlered bucks but don’t sleep on Southern MO.  There are some large public land areas down South where hunters can escape pressure and find mature bucks in remote areas.  Each year there are great bucks taken from all over the state.
Hunting pressure is heaviest during the firearms season in mid November.  Archery season begins in mid September and runs until the opening day of firearms season.  Late October and early November archery hunters can find success in many areas of the state.  However, an overlooked time to hunt mature bucks is during the early part of archery season.  Public hunting pressure the last two weeks of September is minimal.  Bucks can be found on predictable patterns before hunting pressure causes them to change their movements.  Late archery season can also be very good hunting once deer have time to relax from hunting pressure impact over the November firearms hunt.

This is a mature buck Ted harvested during the early season in Missouri -

Overall hunting pressure is high due to the high number of resident deer hunters.  However, with plentiful public hunting opportunities, well managed wildlife areas, and a long archery season, hunters can find success here if they adapt to the hunting pressure.

If traveling to hunt Missouri with a bow, consider the first 10 days of archery season and the week long period over Halloween.  These are excellent times to catch up to a mature buck.

The Cornhusker state offers a wide variety of high-quality deer hunting experiences for both white-tailed deer and mule deer, including over-the-counter tags, long seasons, and the opportunity to harvest a velvet antlered buck in early September! From east to west, Nebraska has a diverse and varied landscape. Hunters can enjoy anything from rolling hardwood timber in the East, to river corridors and shelter-belts, the sprawling prairies of the Sandhills, to the rugged Pine Ridge forests in the West. Whitetails are found across the entire state, with the highest populations in the East and along river corridors. Mule deer are found primarily in the western two-thirds of the state. There are many areas where the two species overlap. Habitat and soil along riparian corridors is more conducive to growing larger-antlered bucks, but quality deer can be found across the entire state. According to Nebraska Game and Parks data: “Buck age structure is at or near all-time highs with 50% of mule-deer and 39% of whitetails aged at 3.5 years or older during the 2019 November firearm season.” 

PUBLIC LAND OPPORTUNITIES

Only 3% of the state is open to public hunting. Nebraska ranks almost at the bottom of the list nationally in terms of access. The majority of public land is located in the western half of the state. In the eastern half, where I grew up, public land opportunities are few and far between, although some of it can be very good. Nebraska established the Open Fields and Waters Program, which has opened up 346,000 acres of private land to access opportunities. If you truly want to “get away from the crowd” there’s only a few places in Nebraska where public land is vast enough to do so, and almost all of it is in the western half of the state. 

 Here's a video of Greg's Nebraska buck from the 2020 Deer Tour 

For archers and muzzleloader hunters, deer permits are unlimited and sold over the counter. Archery season opens September 1st, allowing bowhunters the opportunity to harvest a velvet-antlered buck. Bow season runs continuously through December 31st, meaning archers can hunt during the November rifle season, but are required to wear orange. If a velvet buck is on your list, hunting the first week of the bow season is going to be your best chance. That’s also when there will be a rush of hunters looking to accomplish the same goal. If you don’t care about shooting a velvet buck, hunting mid-September can be a great time as bucks are laying down easy-to-read fresh sign, acorns are likely to be falling, and less out of state hunters are in the woods. Late October and early November is also a great time to bowhunt Nebraska, as most out-of-state archers choose to hunt the rut during the week leading up the rifle season.  November firearm season permits are issued on a quota management unit basis.  Application dates for these permits is usually in mid-June.  Obviously, hunting pressure is heaviest during the firearms season in mid-November. 

Despite the low amount of public access, Nebraska has a long archery season, quality age structure of bucks, and the opportunity to hunt velvet bucks and both white-tailed deer and mule deer. Hunters can find good success if they are willing to put in the work and think creatively. We love hunting Nebraska, and someone from our crew has harvested a buck on public land there every year since we started The Hunting Public. 

New York has a ton of opportunities for hunters because of the ability to hunt on the same license throughout seasons with different methods. When you buy a regular season tag and archery privileges in NY, you are able to shoot multiple bucks: one during the archery season and one during the firearms season. Learn more about deer hunting regulations in NY here. https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/8305.html

The cost of this license is fairly low compared to other states. This makes New York a great bang for your buck opportunity. By simply glancing at a map of New York you’ll quickly learn that most of the state is extremely rural. This creates a lot of opportunities for hunters. There are plentiful public land opportunities with large tracts of state and federally owned land.

 Like many Northeastern states, New York sometimes gets a bad reputation due to the fact that the mature bucks typically don’t have the same antler size as some of the mature bucks taken from other Midwestern states. That doesn’t mean that they don’t exist! There are many places across the state where bucks are able to grow old. 

Here's a hunt Zach had from New York during the rut. 

Hunting Pressure

New York has significantly less non-resident hunting pressure than some other states that we have hunted like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Kentucky. While hunting here during the first week of November during the archery season we saw little to no non-resident hunters utilizing the public land.  

Regions of New York

Western/Southern NY

This region is made up of big hills and mountains with some agriculture mixed in. These areas of the state typically have the highest deer densities and the most diverse habitat. The public land areas are moderate in size and give you the ability to get away from other hunters. Using steep elevation change to your advantage may help you find solitude in the public lands of western and southern NY.

Northern NY

The Adirondacks are a great opportunity for hunters to experience a unique deer hunting experience where they will likely be alone in the wilderness. There are large contiguous public areas where hunters can reach remote settings. This area has a significantly lower deer density than the rest of the state and is mostly made up of mountainous habitat with wet marshy lowlands. It's a good choice for hunters looking to try the strategy of tracking deer. Although this area has low deer densities it is truly a great area to find really big bucks due to the vast amount of remote areas available. 

This state has been good to us the past couple years.  Jake and Zach have each harvested a mature buck during the early part of archery season and we've seen numerous other mature bucks on public land in our short time there.  

North Dakota offers great whitetail and mule deer hunting opportunities.  There are two deer permits available each year.  One is an any deer permit which allows the hunter to harvest either a whitetail or mule deer.  These must be drawn and usually take at least a few years to obtain.  The other permit is a whitetail only tag which can be purchased OTC for around $250.  These are the permits we've held when hunting there. 

Ohio is a great option for hunters looking to extend their archery season.  They have a long archery season that runs from the end of September all the way through the beginning of February. In addition to your valid Ohio hunting license, you must purchase an either-sex deer permit or a deer management permit to hunt deer in Ohio. Ohio’s deer permit gives the hunter many opportunities because the tag is good for all seasons, allowing hunters to use different weapons throughout the season. The permits/licenses needed to hunt Ohio are OTC (over the counter), and are reasonably priced in comparison to many other states. Especially considering you can hunt with multiple weapons throughout the season on one permit.

Along with the long archery season, Ohio also has an annual seven day firearm season, a two day bonus firearms season (some years this isn’t an option), and a four day muzzleloader season. During the firearms season, hunting pressure is usually high due to the large number of resident and nonresident hunters, but people can still find pockets of unpressured deer on public land if they are willing to cover ground.

Learn more about hunting Ohio here.

REGIONS OF OHIO

Northwest 

Diverse habitat exists throughout the state and each area can look much different from one region to the next. Northwestern Ohio is extremely flat with large agriculture fields taking up most of the landscape. The only permanent cover are small woodlots. Most of the land is private with minimal public hunting opportunities. This type of landscape continues until you approach the middle of the state and continue to the eastern side of Ohio.   

Northeast 

Northeast Ohio is also flat, but has much more timber and more public land opportunities. The timber is usually hardwoods with marshy habitat mixed in. The Northeastern part of Ohio receives higher hunting pressure on available public lands. Possibly because it's closer to larger cities where higher populations of resident hunters live.

East

As you move south into Eastern Ohio, public land opportunities begin to increase. Eastern Ohio is known for its high deer densities and big bucks. This terrain is hilly with moderately sized wildlife areas. Many areas have a history of mining. Some were previously owned by companies which reclaimed the mines. These reclaimed areas are a mixture of upland habitat and young timber stands that can be extremely thick. Much of the habitat that's been replanted and used to "reclaim" the land are invasive species. This can be a challenge to navigate, but deer still favor these areas for security. They are very thick and offer habitat where bucks can grow old. 

South/Southeastern Ohio

As you move into southern Ohio, public hunting areas become plentiful with larger state and federally owned forests and wildlife areas. Although these areas have room to roam, the deer densities are lower in this part of the state. Extremely steep terrain with unbroken, monotonous hardwoods can make these areas difficult to breakdown, but the deer have a good chance to reach an older age due to the large tracts of unbroken habitat. Hunters targeting these areas have to be willing to hike through rough country. However, by doing this they can find remote locations with some big bucks! 

Private Land Opportunities

Ohio isn’t a state that has a lot of opportunities for gaining permission on private land. The high population, coupled with the trend toward leasing land to hunters makes it challenging to gain permission. This isn’t to say that permission is impossible to get, but know that you will be knocking on a lot of doors to find landowners who will grant permission.   

Hunting Pressure 

The highest hunting pressure in Ohio typically takes place in the first 10 days of November and during the firearms season. Many non-residents travel to Ohio during this time, and resident hunters take to the woods during this time as well. The rut takes place through the month of November and Ohio’s gun season doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving. This gives archery hunters more opportunity to rut hunt in comparison to other states.

Early and late season can be great opportunities for bowhunters trying to avoid the crowds. During this time, public land isn’t hunted as hard. Firearm hunters should expect to see people during all seasons but there can still be opportunities on public land if you are willing to work hard to cover ground and find areas that aren’t being pressured. 

Our Opinion

Ohio is often regarded as a big buck state and is a huge draw for non-resident hunters. Keep in mind many of the big bucks taken in Ohio are shot on private land. This isn’t to say there aren’t big bucks on public, but the opportunity to shoot one isn’t as high as it is in other states. If your goal is to shoot only mature bucks be prepared for realistic expectations. It isn’t uncommon to see non-residents from Florida, Vermont, Michigan, and states in between. Hunting Ohio for non-resident hunters can be frustrating if they choose to hunt at the same time as everyone else. Don’t be afraid to “think outside of the box” when it comes to picking a time of the season to make a trip to Ohio to hunt.  If you can hunt when there is less pressure, it may increase your odds of finding a mature buck. 

Our experience for whitetails in Oklahoma is somewhat limited. We have hunted both deer and turkeys on public land there for about a week each. The state offers a wide variety in habitats from one side to the other. The Eastern side of the state is similar to what you would see in the Midwest with more wooded areas and creek bottoms but as you start to venture West, it changes to flat prairie habitat (both can be great for deer hunting). When Jake and Ted hunted Oklahoma during the Fall of 2020, we hunted in both types of habitat and had success in each.  

Here is one of our hunts from Oklahoma:

Archery deer licenses for non-residents are OTC and cost between $400-500 if you buy the annual license. They also offer a five day license for non residents which comes in between $200-300. The tag allows you to shoot two bucks and four does. These licenses can all be bought online or on their app, “Go Outdoors Oklahoma”. Once you have harvested a deer you will need to make your own physical tag to put on the deer and it needs to include: your name, area of harvest, date, time, confirmation #, gun/bow and county. You must also E-check your deer on the Oklahoma website or app and this must be completed within 24 hours of the harvest.

Oklahoma DNR Website: https://www.wildlifedepartment.com

Our Experience

The hunting pressure during our time in Oklahoma was moderate. We started off on the east side of the state and ran into a good number of hunters. This is typical for these OTC states. First week or two of November is going to have an influx of hunting pressure with non-resident hunters taking vacation time and traveling.

We were able to escape some pressure by using a boat. We hunted the backside of areas that had a lot of foot traffic from other hunters. Jake was able to harvest a buck using these tactics and I had multiple encounters in just a few days of hunting.

After hunting that area for a few days we ended up talking to a local who recommended a few spots farther West. We decided to pack up and move to those areas for the remainder of our trip. Immediately we saw less pressure and more bucks in the west side of the state.

Being able to spot deer from the vehicle and oil rigs helped us find bucks. Ted was able to take the buck in the video above on the second morning after our move. A popular method in these open terrain states like Oklahoma and Kansas is to sit funnels and be patient for an opportunity. Although this works well if you have the time, spot and stalk hunting is definitely something to keep in mind, especially on a short time frame. All of Oklahoma can be very good for deer hunting and the state is becoming more popular each year for whitetail hunters.

We hosted the Public Land Challenge in PA during the 2020 fall archery season.  We hunted in an area of the state which is not known for big bucks but had tons of public land available.  Deer density was high and most of us got into bucks within a few days hunting there.  The licenses are affordable and give you several privileges including one antlered deer, one fall turkey, one spring turkey, and the ability to hunt small game.  Add on an inexpensive archery permit and you're able to archery hunt in PA.

 

Recently, there have been some changes for non-residents in South Dakota.  They can no longer hunt public land during the month of September and must apply and draw the permit to hunt before the April 1st deadline.  However, non-residents can still hunt private land during September.  

Here's a link to learn more about hunting as a non-resident in SD. 
https://gfp.sd.gov/license-types/

Jake is from Wisconsin and has hunted deer all over the state.  Deer hunting tradition is huge and so are hunter numbers.  The gun season is heavily pressured in addition to archery hunting during the rut.  The advantage to Wisconsin is the vast amount of public land - especially in the Northern portion of the state.