As the old saying goes, “Records are made to be broken”, but does that hold true when it comes to world record whitetail bucks? Some world records only last a short time, while others last for decades.
For instance, the current world record typical whitetail was taken by Milo Hanson in Saskatchewan and has held the title since being harvested in 1992, that’s nearly 32 years!
The current world record non-typical whitetail has held the title for a much shorter time, (almost 6 years), and was harvested in Illinois in 2018 by Luke Brewster.
So why has the Hanson buck held the record for more than five times as long as that of the Brewster buck? Simply put, the B&C scoring system makes it much harder for a buck to have a high typical score than compared to a non-typical.
Not only does the system deduct abnormal inches, in order for it to reach the net score, it deducts differences in symmetry. This scoring system makes it so that the world record might not actually be the largest antlers in the world, but it is the largest symmetrical antlers in the world.
These two records could potentially fall this year, or they may continue to hold the title for years to come!
What Does It Take To Make a World Record?
Before we get into where I think the next world record buck will come from, I think it’s important to go over what it takes for a buck to reach world record size, and how rare they actually are.
With as popular as QDM is now, it’s widely understood that for a buck to reach trophy class size, it requires nutrition, age, and the right genetics, but for a buck to become a potential world record, it requires even more.
A world record buck must have all of those ingredients, but be made with an extremely rare recipe in order to reach his potential, and that doesn’t happen very often.
Think about it this way, most hunters have never seen a 200” whitetail in the wild, not to mention wrap their tag around one. It’s been long said that a 200” whitetail is a once-in-a-lifetime buck, so if that is true, a world record whitetail must be a buck of once in numerous lifetimes!
According to a 2014 article in the Boone and Crockett Club, it said that continent-wide, the chances of a hunter harvesting just a Boone and Crockett qualifying whitetail was approximately 1 in 20,000.
That is a minimum typical score of 170 inches for the all time record book and a non-typical score of 195 for the all time record book.
Determining Where the Next World Record Will Come From
Total B&C Entries
When trying to guess where the next world record may come from, there are many ways to go about it. Looking at the B&C record books would indicate that Wisconsin would be the best bet based strictly on having the highest number of B&C entries, followed by Illinois and then Iowa.
Having more record book bucks than any other state could very well be a good indicator of where a potential new world record buck may come from.
Hunting Restrictions and Game Laws
Like it or not, some states just do a better job of managing their deer herd for quality than others. These management techniques are normally evident by what restrictions or game laws each state has.
States such as Iowa who make it more difficult for out of state hunters to draw tags help ensure the quality and quantity of the herd. Other states such as Ohio that only allows one buck per hunter per season help to ensure that the quantity of bucks remains there, but it also helps with the quality and age structure as well.
While states such as Illinois that allow for two bucks per hunter per season, and over the counter out of state tags, which really encourages a higher number of hunters and outfitters.
Disease
Diseases such as CWD and EHD can have a huge impact on a states ability to produce a potential world record. With many states practicing an intense herd reduction program in CWD areas, it makes it even harder for a young buck with world record potential to make it to maturity.
Although EHD is something many states worry about every year, it seems to be more of a concern across the Midwest as opposed to the southern or northern states, that’s not saying that those areas aren’t impacted by it.
Hunter Density
Hunter density could play a huge roll in how likely a potential world record buck is to make it to maturity. The more hunters there are, the higher the likelihood of a buck being tagged before reaching maturity.
States such as Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York and Wisconsin rank as having some of the highest number of hunters per square mile.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, states such as North Dakota, Nebraska, and South Dakota rank as having some of the lowest number of hunters per square mile.
Previous World Records
Looking at states that have produced world records in the recent past could be a good way to predict where the new world record may come from, but not all world records come from states known for producing huge bucks.
As for non-typical, the world record before the Brewster buck came from Tennessee of all places! That’s not a state that you hear much about when talking big bucks, and certainly not one that I would expect a world record to come from!
States such as Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio have had a long reputation of producing huge deer, many of which have held the title of world record at one time.
Experience and Opinion
To assist in narrowing down where the next world record whitetail may come from I reached out to Mr. Don Higgins to get his opinion on the matter. Don is a well respected expert on whitetail deer, president and co-owner of Real World Wildlife Products, and Co-Host of the extremely popular Chasing Giants podcast.
Don is no stranger to world class whitetails; he both chases them himself and provides land management consulting services to clients wanting to improve their property for big whitetails. Don definitely does more than talk the talk; he also walks the walk with having harvested 3 bucks that scored over 200” as well as two in the 190’s to round out his top 5!
When asked where he thinks the next world record whitetail will come from, Don stated that he believes Ohio is the most likely place, especially if they stopped baiting in the state.
Where Will the Next World Record Whitetail Will Come From?
Based on the factors listed above, my prediction for the next world record whitetail is to come out of Canada, specifically Saskatchewan or Alberta. Saskatchewan holds the current world record typical and Canada as a whole is know for producing some giant whitetails.
Not only does the typical world record hail from Canada, both the velvet typical and non-typical whitetail world records come from there as well.
For a closer look at those two velvet giants, check out the article titled New P&Y Velvet Buck World Records written by Bowhunting.com Editor Brodie Swisher on June 17, 2024.
Where do you think the next world record whitetail will come from? Let us know by commenting below!