Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Best state or province to shoot a 300 pound whitetail?

I'd be looking at East Central Minnesota.

South of Taylors Falls you will be restricted to shotgun & slug, handgun or muzzle loader. North of there it's rifles.

From Wabasha up to Duluth there's enough deer that big to make it a realistic proposition if you want to try it. I would start scouting and put in as many days as possible starting in August.

There is not so much public land south of Prescott Wisconsin. North of Hudson you get into Wild River National Park along the St Croix which is open to hunting. Order plat maps for the counties you choose from the county recorder's office.

Most nights I have a doe in my yard (Chisago County) that will go better than 200 live weight. Pine county has a lot more public land. Carlton is similar, but you need to find pubic land that is adjacent to corn fields.

In East Central Minnesota you can't expect a big rack to go along with a 300 Lb body. Some deer that heavy will have itty-bitty racks you could catch a cantaloup in. Big racks in that area tend to be pretty uncommon. You see big racks once in a while, but I wouldn't go looking for one there.

The easiest scouting will come in April and May. Just drive likely areas looking for big does loading up on greens in fields for the fawns they're carrying. If there's big does, there's big bucks. The ones you're looking for will be very noticeably taller and longer than normal does. In good country you can see 100 deer in an evening easily. Learn to judge size by comparing to big round bales. When you have a deer that looks big against a 6 foot round bale that's where you start to concentrate your search.