recommendations for trophy whitetail hunts

I have 5 to 6 people that next year we are looking to go out of state to hunt trophy whitetails with a bow..does anyone have any recommendations on where to go? what state should be looked at? Guided hunt? Public?

Regardless of where, when, how, etc. Do your homework 'well' before you commit. Many dreams have been made and so have nightmares. Various states offer public land for hunting however, access to that land may be limited or impossible. You may choose to hunt a non-guided reserve only to pay more even though unsuccessful. Speaking of reserves, make certain to get ALL cost up front before you shoot their trophy buck. (is it a trophy?) Venison can get really pricey when it is sporting a hat rack. Least not forget, should you opt for a guide, gratuities are expected.

Having traveled literally two million plus miles across Americas highways and byways I have to say 'The Buckeye' impresses me the most when speaking of whitetail. Time and time again I would see awesome heavily racked deer in the fields and woods. Many times these deer were in groups feeding along the highway. I often wonder just what a trophy would be if what I was seeing was common to the area. Conversation with locals while making deliveries, as to open land for hunting, didn't reveal a serious problem with getting access to public or private land. Archery would not be a problem, especially, in those areas limited to shotgun and bow hunting.

I'll certainly stand corrected when I say W.VA. is most likely the most difficult to access private land and, public land is usually surrounded by private land.

Definitely check the web sights as some states offer free hog hunting as an incentive to visit.

Just do your homework WELL before.

I lived in Kentucky from '98-'01 during grad school.  Very good public hunting opportunities with the bow, and is often one of those second tier trophy states mentioned in the outdoors media.  I lived just south of Lexington and hunted about 40 miles west on private property (mostly) near Taylorsville Lake.  Saw many quality bucks at check stations and deer processors, and saw the biggest buck I've ever seen on the hoof there during archery season one year.  
 
Not sure if things are still the same, but when I was there:
 
State WMA's (Wildlife Management Areas - their version of our SGL's) were wide open to archery hunters but restricted in gun season to a lottery system.  The times I bow hunted on WMA's, I rarely saw other hunters.  Deer densities were not real high in many areas back then, but trophy potential was pretty significant.  
 
As BTDT referenced with regards to WV, private property was very difficult to get into.  A friend and I lucked into a 260 acre farm when we stopped to ask for directions to the Taylorsville Lake WMA one day.  What I was told - not sure if it's true - was to NEVER venture onto private property that I didn't have permission to be on because of the high concentration of marijuana grows in the state.  Pot was at the time the #1 cash crop in KY.  
 
Seems that Western KY is a popular destination for trophy hunters, and also northern KY along the Ohio River.  

I like all the ideas

Eman, if you decide on which state let me know.
I have a stack of those Atlas and Gazeteer maps for many of the central states from when I was planning on going out that way.
Have; Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and Colorado.

Dakota, I don't know if there is a better way to express ones interest as for enjoying stories and pictures submitted by others.

Your post certainly shows your enthusiasm for the sport and, how you fill the void when you have to miss out. Know that feeling all to well cause BTDT.

Good luck on your hunt and we'll stand-by eagerly waiting for those pictures. :-)


For those who can't make it out and would like to hunt a reserve there, is a listing in Venango County PA.

My uncle has a camp right on the border of Alabama and Florida. He wants me to come shoot hogs, but I haven't gotten an invite for deer yet. They haven't harvested any monsters yet. I guess it can be hit or miss on areas with good feed in that part of the south. It has to do with banding of nutrients in the flood soils or something like that. If my work travels take me down that way, I may try to take a hog with one of the bow/arrow/broadhead sets I made. 

Every buck taken with a bow is at least a little special.