Things escalated dramatically from 1986 to 1995. By then the age of modern management was well under way. Typical entries hit 1,737, and non-typicals accounted for another 902 entries. These 2,639 entries more than tripled the previous decade. Milo Hanson's new world-record typical from '93 surpassed the Jordan buck by more than 7 inches. The highest-scoring non-typical taken that decade fell to Tony Fulton of Mississippi in 1995. Scoring 295 6/8 inches, it stands as No. 5 all time.

MODERN MARVELS
The recognized total of B&C entries from 1996 to 2005 jumped again by a huge percentage. Total entries of 3,822 equated to 2,491 typicals and 1,331 non-typicals. Robert Smith showed the world in 2000 that Kentucky had world-class potential by tagging a 204 2/8-inch-net typical. Then, in 2003, the best non-typical ever killed by a hunter fell to young Tony Lovstuen. This monster Iowa buck panel-scored at 307 5/8 inches.

It's interesting to note that a smaller percentage of B&C non-typicals are being entered today than in years past. From 1830 to 1975, more than 44 percent of all recognized B&C trophies were non-typical. From 1976 until the present, though, that number dropped to less than 35 percent. There are two theories on this: 1) Whitetails lived longer years ago and grew more abnormal points with age. 2) Non-typicals were more highly revered due to point count and oddity and they were more apt to be entered in the records.

With that said, can you guess the only place where history has shown that it's twice as likely for a hunter to harvest a B&C non-typical than a typical? You'll find the answer at the end of this story. (It should be noted here that with modern management and the increase in age structure in places like Illinois, the curve is once again swinging toward a higher number of B&C non-typicals.)

For several decades now, the popularity of trophy whitetail hunting has fed billions of tourism and conservation dollars into the economies of the top-producing states and provinces. Some state wildlife agencies have recognized the value of quality deer management, while others have not. But before deciphering the "who's who" of good deer management, let's look at the record book for the top 10 states and provinces. (See chart).

SOME INTERESTING STATS
Although Texas (with 261,797 square miles) and Saskatchewan (with 228,445 square miles) fall off the five-year chart that analyzes record-book entries by landmass, it's interesting to see that tiny Maryland (with 9,774 square miles) does make the cut. It's also interesting to note that Pennsylvania (with 44,817 square miles) comes in at No. 13 for B&C trophies and No. 7 for Pope and Young trophies. More on Pennsylvania later.

Obviously, Texas and Saskatchewan are great whitetail regions, but much of their total area holds sparse whitetail populations. Since the world-record typical presently hails from Saskatchewan, it's reasonable to assume that another could come from that province. What about Texas, however? Does Texas have the potential to produce either a world-record typical or non-typical?

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