Where have big bucks been shot in the past?

The Boone and Crockett Club (B&C) and the Pope and Young club (P&Y) keep the records for the biggest big game animals in North America. In 2008 the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA) created a color coded map showing where the "record book" bucks have been shot, or found in some cases.

You can access an updated map at the following location: QDMA Whitetail Map Guide

You Can also purchase this QDMA map from Amazon.com for $9.99.

Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young Distribution Map

As you can see from these maps a lot of big bucks have been shot in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Southern Texas.
If you don't live in or near one of these places that means that there are probably fewer deer, and therefore fewer big bucks. You can still have great success while deer hunting elsewhere, but you should understand going in that your odds of a really big buck may be less than in these highlighted places. So, if your goal is to own land where a lot of big bucks have been shot look at these maps for reference.