Indiana Deer Hunting

We've all imagined what it would be like to harvest a mature buck with a gargantuan set of antlers. In Indiana, the chance at such a buck is a real possibility. Of the three well-known components of mature buck production -- genetics, age, and nutrition --only one of the three has been lacking here in the past.

The excellent soils of Hoosierland have always produced great agricultural crops, in addition to creating highly nutritious native forages, which in turn help our whitetails to attain large antlers. The genetic potential of our deer is also very high; a few of the bucks harvested in the past rank right up there with some of the top-scoring bucks taken in North America. What the majority of our bucks have lacked in the past has been the ability to reach maturity.

County records are falling like fresh snow. Several of the top bucks harvested this past season are new county records. Take young Charles Harvey's Delaware County non-typical, which was harvested during the second week of the November firearms season. This 202 1/8 monster shatters the old record by nearly 15 inches!