Admit it. We're all desirous of tagging a trophy buck, though the level of desire, and expectation, varies from one hunter to the next. For some, a mature buck is a dream. For others, it's a goal. All serious bowhunters know the importance of scent control, learning the ways of the whitetail, picking the best equipment and practicing until you are proficient.

Trophy bucks could turn up just about anywhere, but you're more likely to encounter one if you hunt near a major waterway. The author took this 140-class whitetail in December while hunting at the Turley Ranch in Durham, Okla. The ranch lies within the Washita River drainage.

But regardless of how much effort you apply, the odds of success are still low if you hunt in the wrong place. Conversely, you can increase your odds dramatically simply by hunting in a location with high numbers of trophy bucks.

Trophy Trends
Dr. Joel W. Helmer has spent considerable time researching the Boone and Crockett and Pope and Young record books and plotting the geographic distribution of trophy whitetails. The initial results of his work, released in 2001, showed some distinct trends. States with the most trophy bucks had firearms seasons that were relatively short (a week or less) and took place outside the rut. Furthermore, gun hunting in those states was limited largely to shotguns and muzzleloaders.

More recently, Helmer worked with the Quality Deer Management Association to produce two posters showing the distribution of record-book bucks. The latest version, which includes all records through 2005, is included in QDMA's Whitetail Report 2009.

In addition to acknowledging the impact state management practices and hunting regulations can have, Helmers pointed out another noteworthy trend. "The relationship between [record-book] entries and river systems is evident throughout the country, especially in heavily farmed states," he said.

In Iowa, for example, the best trophy counties border the Missouri, Mississippi and Des Moines rivers. They're not the most heavily farmed either, but tend to have a mixture of farmland and forest cover associated with rich, river bottom soils. Helmer noted a similar pattern recurs in many other areas along the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri river drainages. That's all well and good, but what if you don't live or can't afford to hunt in those states?

Closer To Home
About a dozen years ago, I did a little research of my own. My home state of Maine has two trophy recognition clubs. The Biggest Bucks in Maine Club recognizes hunters who kill a buck with a dressed weight of 200 pounds or more. The Maine Antler and Skull Trophy Club, meanwhile, recognizes deer with antlers that meet minimum scoring criteria.

They use a measuring system similar to B&C and P&Y, though minimums are lower in each antler and weapon class. I decided to take several years worth of entries (as much as was available at the time) and plot them on a state map. Initially, I noticed trophy bucks were well distributed around the state.