state contest was this weekend,here are the top 3 in the unlimited point class in va for the 2011 season.

1st place

2nd

3rd

WOW!

great bucks

I wonder where in VA they were shot. Though not that big, I have seen monsters eating my bushes around the house and chasing does here in NOVA.

1st place surry county
2nd place wise county
3 rd isle of wright county

yes,there are some huge deer in nova. i have a friend thatkilled a 15 pt last he never entered that i bleive woulda been close to winning. it was killed in nelson county.

If you consider Nelson County NOVA...I have to wonder where you are. Nelson is slightly west of bulls-eye in the state...you down in the southwest tip srwshooter?

Deer on the far right will score high! powdr

nelson is not northern va. you said nova,i said nelson. i'm directly across the mountian from nelson county. i'm 1 mile from the shenandoah national park 10 miles north of waynesboro.

far right score the least of the 3. width hurts it on va scoring

Very impressive racks ...

I like #3 the best.

Nice bucks especially for Virginia, I live in Wise county and had heard of this buck as it is exceedingly rare for a buck of this size to be killed in these parts but thats the first time I got to actually see that monster...............Hb

Great looking bucks! Do you know what their scores were?

va score only,not b&c

279 1/16 1st
267 2nd
237 11/16 3rd

Things seem to be improving in Va-big buck wise. It is interesting one of the top 3 came out of Wise Co.

At one time in the late 80's or early 90's the Virginia state record buck was from Wise Co. Very few deer in this area but lots of remote habitat where a whitetail can grow old.................Hb

some of the counties where the deer herd dropped back in the late 90's have been producing bigger bucks due to less hunting pressure. bath and highland are 2 near me that have seen a increase in bigger bucks being takin,not as many but a few real nice deer. inhighland you can find srape and horn lines that go faor miles . i guess bucks are having to travel farther to breed does with the population being down. the odds of killing that buck are slim.

there are also lots of bucks near or better than these 3 being killed that never go to the big game show. for a hunter that lives on the south eastern shore in va this year would have to travel 3-4 hrs one way just to enter his deer in the contest . plus you have to leave them at the show the whole weekend,that means 2 days in a motel.

Awesome bucks for sure, but I'm not too sure there were "lots" of bucks killed like that in VA. After all, the buck that came in first place this year ranks #2 in the state all time....if there were a lot better, I'm sure we'd have heard about it.

Va. produces some incredible bucks. I've been to the state show a few times and the deer are quite impressive. The Eastern region is held in Franklin, Va. a 4 hour drive from Northern Va. I've had several deer I didn't enter cause it was so far away and it takes an entire weekend. Wish they would at least move it around the state from time to time. 163bc

I agree it should be moved around or they should add more show sites. However, if I killed a buck that was going to rank in the top 10 all time for the state, I'd find a way to be there.

Agreed & BTW I have taken bucks that score in the top ten and I managed to get them there. I've had others including deer my son & daughter took that would have qualified for state recognition if we could have gotten them there. With the kids in college at the time it just was not doable. I'm in northern Va., Franklin is 4 + hours away and Harrisonburg is 2 hours away. I can't enter in Western show in Harriosnburg because I have to go to the Eastern Region in Franklin 1st. Takes 2 full weekends if the state finals are in Harrisonburg. Some folks myself included just don't have that kind of time. Plus many from the region that does not hold the finals that year don't go to the finals and as a result many fine deer are not oficially entered in the state finals. Don't get me wrong. I love the VPSA and am grateful that they do what they do. I just wish it was closer or they moved it around from year to year.

What I meant was, if I killed a buck that qualified for an all time state record, then I'd make plans to be there. The previous poster made it sound like there are "lots" of deer taken better than the new, #2 all time buck from Surry County. I just don't buy that.

harrisonburg was the state show this year,not just the western half. it was 2 hours from nova

i scored 3 from last season that were close to making the top 5. one woulda finished 3rd. there are lots of hunters that don't care about getting those blue ribbons in a show. they also are paying for leases and don't really want other hunt clubs tryin to buy the leases out from under them . deer hunters are very jealous people and will pay big money to hunt where big deer are being killed.

i have a good friend that owns 300acres that he leases to 2 guys to bow hunt only. they will never tell the land owner what they kill on his land in fear of someone offering him more money for the lease. i have lost 2pcs of property that i hunted for 10 years due to guys offering big bucks to lease the land. they saw to many buck pics hanging at the checking station that i killed on that land.

I understand what you are saying and we have the same problem in the southern part of the state. Lot's of big money from North Carolina trying to lease land out from under people.

There still are not a lot of bucks killed every year that meet or exceed this year's best, that eventually wound up being the #2 all time state buck.

The VPSA rules state you cannot enter the state contest unless you have entered your regional contest. When the finals are in Harrisonburg you have to go to Franklin for a weekend then Harrisonburg for another weekend. You have to do the reverse when the finals are in Franklin and a deer is from the western part of the state. That is why lots of super nice deer don't make it to the finals.

I think you should define what you mean by "lots" of deer. I'm sure there are awesome bucks killed every year that would warrant state recognition but don't go to the state finals, for whatever reason. But, I don't buy it that there are "lots" of all time state record bucks killed each year that are not entered.