Then there's information available on the age composition of antlered bucks within the harvest. A quotation from a DNR season summary explained the importance of these figures: "DNR biologists annually monitor the age structure of the antlered buck harvest. This serves as an index of the mortality rate, most of which is accounted for by hunter harvest. Limiting buck mortality at acceptable levels, while controlling population levels through adequate doe harvest, ensures that mature bucks are plentiful in the population, and doe/buck ratios are low. The proportion of yearling bucks (41 percent) in the antlered harvest during the 2003 firearm season was the lowest in recent years."

What the summary did not say is that the proportion of older deer in all three classes during that same season was the highest in recent years.

In order for a buck to reach trophy status, it has to mature. We're moving in that direction.

THE SLEEPERS
Sportsmen and sportswomen have a tendency to gauge success by numbers. A creel full of fish, blind full of ducks or pickup bed full of deer is the mark of achievement.

In making our top 20 lists, we use that approach simply because it is most recognized. After all, Pike County gave up 53,525 deer over the last nine years of shotgun and archery hunting, and the No. 2 guy on the list -- Adams -- "only" gave up 31,443. Obviously, Pike County has the most deer.

TOP 20 COUNTIES, 2002-2004
County	Total Harvest
Pike	19,711
Adams	10,874
Fulton	10,676
Jefferson	10,655
Randolph	9,584
Jackson	9,243
Marion	8,870
Macoupin	8,818
Pope	8,410
Jo Dawiess	8,397
Fayette	8,192
Hancock	7,701
Wayne	7,373
Calhoun	7,353
Perry	7,149
Greene	7,127
Williamson	7,094
Union	6,968
Brown	6,866
Peoria	6,837

But is it the best place to hunt? Not necessarily.

That leads us to our top 10 "sleepers." This list is comprised of those counties that have the highest hunter success rates in the state. I always prefer to offer this alternative for looking at hunting potential.

First, where you find a great many deer, you also find a great many hunters. Some hunters, myself included, prefer to avoid the Great Orange Horde.

Second, large numbers of deer do not necessarily equate to high hunter success when the number of hunters is also high. Let's look at Pike County as an example and compare that to Scott County, the No. 1 spot on our top 10 sleepers list.

Pike County shotgun hunters killed 3,686 deer during the 2003-'04 season. In order to fill that many freezers, they fielded 9,037 tag-carrying sportsmen. The hunter success rate in this area was 40.8 percent. In other words, out of every 100 hunters who went into the field, 40 of them came home with venison.

Scott County shotgun hunters only bagged 673 deer during that same season. However, only 1,539 people went afield in order to reach that number. The hunter success rate for this area was 43.7 percent. Out of every 100 hunters that went afield in Scott County, 43 of them came home with venison.

Scott County doesn't give up anywhere near the number of deer that Pike County produces, but out of the last seven firearms seasons, Scott had a higher hunter success rate than Pike. In fact, Scott County has the highest success rate in the Prairie State.

It is important to note that the statewide average hunter success rate for the last nine years rests at 35.81 percent. That helps put things in perspective when we indicate that, of our top 20 list, only six have a hunter success rate that exceeds 40 percent. Those counties are Greene (44.09 percent), Pike (43.87), Wayne (41.80), Jefferson (41.12), Hancock (41.07) and Brown (40.66). These six, plus our top 10 sleepers, are the only counties in Illinois that maintained a 40 percent success rate or better over the last decade.