Photo by Mark Werner.

Illinois Deer Program manager Tom Micetich has a tough job. He has to manage a state with a population of whitetails that surpasses 800,000, analyze nearly 200,000 deer killed annually, and deal with the stress of having one of the best reputations in the country for trophy bucks. However, if you were to ask him where our best places to hunt are, he would likely respond with a shrug.

"Illinois has the ideal complement of food to habitat," Micetich said. "Regardless of the county you hunt, anybody stands a chance at a trophy buck. So, to say where they'll most likely pop up is a tough question."

It's nice to know hunters anywhere in the Prairie State have the opportunity to kill a trophy whitetail, and the numbers speak for themselves. In 2006, there were 261 entries made into Illinois Big-Buck Recognition Program (BBRP). Our state ranks No. 1 on the Boone and Crockett Club's all-time list for non-typical buck entries with 382, and is in second place in the typical category with 543. We also have four counties in B&C's top 10 for overall entries since 1830.

Illinois is continuing to hold its own in the ring of heavyweight white-tailed bucks, and this season is shaping up to be excellent. We have taken a hard look at data from Illinois Big-Buck Recognition Program, records from B&C and regional herd densities. Regardless of where you hunt, every region has hotspots that consistently turn up big deer, and if you are interested in finding that once-in-a-lifetime buck, read on.

Using the descriptors of current as well as historical entries made from various counties into the Illinois BBRP, current and historical entries made into B&C and the respective harvest density of all the counties in Illinois, consideration was given to those areas that tabulated marks in multiple areas. With consideration to the fact that not all trophy bucks are entered into the records books, harvest density was used congruently to identify potential hotspots that have discrepancies in reporting trophy bucks. Here are the results.

ALL-TIME BBRP ENTRIES
Since its inception, thousands of entries have been made to the BBRP. To qualify, bow-killed typical bucks must have racks with at least a score of 115 inches, while non-typical archery racks must be at least 130 inches. Firearms typical bucks must be a minimum of 140 inches, and non-typicals need to be 160 inches. All bucks must be officially scored.

The two all-time leading counties are Pike and Adams with 323 entries each. Fulton County has notched 229 entries, Vermilion 226, Peoria 209, La Salle 199, Clark 197, Brown 195, Knox 191 and McLean has 187 entries to complete the top 10.

Randolph County was next with 182 BBRP entries while Montgomery and Schuyler had 181 each, McHenry 179, Macoupin and Sangamon 167, Bureau 153, Fayette 142 and Union with 134 total entries. Mason, Iroquois, Tazewell, Hancock, Jackson, Woodford and Jasper counties round out the best of the rest.

BBRP ENTRIES, 2003-2006
Closer to the present, entries made into the BBRP in the last four seasons also paint a good picture of where trophy racks have been coming from lately.

McLean County led in this category with 32 entries from 2003 through 2006. Randolph was next with 31, while La Salle had 30, Knox 29, Bureau 24, Adams and Macoupin 23 each, Peoria and Sangamon 22 each, and Pike, Richland and Vermilion each had 17 BBRP entries. Next up are Winnebago and Champaign with 16 each. Ogle, Lee, Montgomery and Brown had 15 each, Clay 14, and Will and Schuyler 13. Iroquois, Piatt and Mason each had 12, while Henry and Williamson both tallied 11.

BBRP ENTRIES, 2006
Over 80 counties statewide submitted deer to the BBRP last year. For the purpose of analysis, counties with four or more entries were considered.

Richland County came in first last year with 12 entries. La Salle and Adams tied with 11, and Knox and Randolph had 10 each. Next came Bureau County with nine entries, Macoupin eight, Menard seven, and Lee and Peoria tied with six. Ogle, Livingston and Champaign each had five BBRP bucks, and Winnebago, Putnam, Pike, Logan, Sangamon, Vermilion, Clark and Alexander had four last season.

B&C CLUB ENTRIES
The qualifications for entry into the Boone and Crockett Club are a bit more stringent than the Illinois BBRP. This distinction is for firearm-killed bucks only, and typical whitetails must be a minimum of 160 inches. Non-typical bucks must have a minimum score of 185 inches. Since B&C's inception, the Prairie State is in the lead for overall entries in the non-typical category with 382. It ranks second all time for typical whitetails with 543 entries. Pike, Adams, Fulton and McHenry counties are ranked on the club's all-time county report.