Every deer hunter dreams of shooting a monster buck. Whopper whitetails can evolve essentially anywhere deer live in our resource-rich state. But Buffalo County in western Wisconsin has a proven track record for producing more trophy bucks than any other Wisconsin destination.

Bob Decker's state-record non-typical bow kill from 2008 is the latest proof produced in the state which shows that Buffalo County is still producing some serious racks. Photo courtesy of Kevin Naze.

Over the past 20 years, the pastoral, rolling landscape with deep valleys bordered by the Mississippi and Chippewa Rivers on the west and northwest, Trempealeau River to the southeast -- and bisected by a host of smaller creeks and coulee streams across lower elevations -- has given up more big bucks than perhaps any county in the world.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' one-year moratorium on Earn-a-Buck rules will undoubtedly result in a 2009 spike in the state's antlered deer harvest. Since Buffalo County has led the state as the top trophy deer venue from 1991-2007, with nearly three times the trophy buck harvest of second-place Dane County, conventional wisdom says this will be the year of years for record-book bucks.

Will the one-year waiver in EAB rules have a negative impact on trophy deer harvest in Buffalo County and other EAB units in years to come? Nobody can say until data from the next few years is analyzed.

"EAB was the best thing the WDNR ever came up with for growing trophy bucks," Steve Ashley, director of the Wisconsin Buck and Bear Club, said. "Every EAB county rates right at the top for producing trophy deer in Wisconsin," he continued. "In its previous form, EAB wasn't perfect, but our records clearly indicate it was an overwhelmingly positive concept."

Whitetail biologists agree that it takes three factors to grow a rack of dreams -- habitat, good nutrition and age. Tagging a respectable 130-inch buck this autumn will deprive you of the possibility of shooting this same animal in 2010, when it would likely score 150 inches. With EAB no longer in place, the 130-incher you pass up might possibly be harvested on adjacent property by a hunter content with shooting a "decent" buck.

Decades of intensive habitat management on the already outstanding landscape of Buffalo County have resulted in a natural laboratory to grow big bucks faster. Taking EAB off the table increases the odds that an antlered deer will have a bad day.

But on tracts of land in Buffalo County, where precise food plots, bedding areas and similar habitat have been sculpted to nearly ideal parameters, those who control access to the land have generally adopted a "let it go, watch it grow" philosophy when the moment of truth in dropping the hammer or loosing the bowstring arrives.

Buffalo County bowhunter and outfitter Cory Mielke says he is confident hunter ethics will trump a need for quality deer management like EAB in Buffalo County, citing statistics from client success in his High Tines Outfitters operation last year.

"We had 46 clients harvest 13 trophy bucks in 2008," Mielke said. "The average score of these animals was 144, with the biggest buck (measuring) 171 inches. Almost every one of our clients had an honest opportunity to shoot a buck, but they chose to pass up the shot because they were waiting for a better animal."

Mielke said his High Tines Outfitters operation charges $2,150 for a five-day all-inclusive hunt. Last year, only six clients were Wisconsin residents. The fact that 33 hunters forked over substantial cash for the opportunity to shoot a trophy buck on the 4,000 acres Mielke leases or owns in Buffalo County and went home with just doe meat or nothing at all says a great deal about the deer hunting dynamic here.

Would High Tines' successful harvest percentage have been higher if clients could pass on the doe in anticipation of the buck that might be trailing her? This season will provide a clear indicator.