Ya- from MI. Where I’m from- having a 2 year old is a “pretty big deal”. For my entire life there - I watched 1.5’s get roasted non-stop & I had seasons as a youngster where I didn’t get one glimpse at a 2.5 year old buck…. I would say I saw about 5-7 bucks PER SEASON (1.5 year olds) in several areas I hunted.
The southern tier is for sure the best- bottom 2-3 counties along bottom side of MI. It’s very similar for nutrition & cover to S iowa. The hunting pressure, IMO, isn’t incredibly different believe it or not. I personally think they are very comparable hunting/land situations. In MI- on the average farm- u be lucky to have a 3.5 year old. Very lucky. In iowa- even on average farms - u will have 5.5’s on it or traveling through periodically. Put it this way…. I’ve had countless buddies come hunt or sit with me who own land in S MI…. They have sat stuff like “my 80 acres with a food plot”….. I’ve heard this statement COUNTLESS times…. “I saw more big deer in one night in iowa than I have my whole life in MI”. No joke. This is on ground that looks very similar, equal nutrition & cover & fairly similar hunting pressure. That’s how bad MI is or how good Iowa is ….. almost entirely due to regulations!!! MI has guns in middle of rut, 2 bucks for anyone & crossbows & countless hunting seasons. U guys have no clue how bad other states are!!!!! If u haven’t hunted them. Yes- a realistic goal in MI is to pimp your land so hard core u might get a 3-4 year old on it or maybe have a couple in a magic situation. In a normal situation- setting up to have a 2-3 year old is huge. Having 5.5’s can be done but it’s so rare….. it just takes such a unique & lucky scenario to have that in MI. I personally have never seen or hunted a farm like that there. They exist but what’s common in iowa is so rare in MI that I can’t think of any farm in the whole state that produces what the average farm in iowa does. Please folks, if u grasp one thing here…. Understand that iowa is so far ahead of other states due to regs. Other states suck so bad & the hunting has been so degraded- those people flee those places every year to hunt: IA, Canada, KS, OH, KY, out west, some pockets in IL, etc.
Sorry on the rant. Back on track - yes, anyone in any state can make “60 acres” immensely better than: 1) they found it & 2) the general area’s situation…. Whatever that area produces on average - u can make your farm the “top tier” for that area even if small. & likely hold vastly more older bucks than other areas. When your ground is “safe” & others are pounded - u can stack bucks due to pure survival & u providing all of their needs. Must load with premium bedding areas & lots of em. Low pressure, plenty food, etc etc. Those deer need to know they don’t need to travel far for all of their needs. Won’t save em all but sure can make it exponentially better.