A woodlot can straddle a state line, and the buck kill can differ right at that boundary. In the 2022 to 2024 seasons Michigan's Hillsdale County killed an average of 5.07 antlered bucks per square mile of land. Ohio's Fulton County on the other side averaged 1.27, putting Hillsdale's buck kill per square mile at 4.0 times Fulton's. The yearly average was 3,030 bucks in Hillsdale and 514 in Fulton.
IOver the Fence
Hillsdale Beats Fulton 4 to 1 in Buck Kill per Square Mile
The gap persisted in each season at 4.6 times Fulton's rate in 2022, 3.9 times in 2023 and 3.6 times in 2024. Hillsdale ranged from 5.02 to 5.09 while Fulton climbed from 1.11 to 1.40. Michigan's figures come from hunters' mandatory reports in the Michigan DNR harvest summary. The DNR's survey estimate for Hillsdale puts the rate at 5.39 bucks per square mile, about 4.2 times Fulton's rate. Its 95% range spans 3.7 to 4.8 times and includes the 4.0 from reports.
Matching every county with its neighbors over a state line in the 16 states of our county ranking gave us 245 pairs. We removed 42 pairs where either county is urban or suburban, including Lucas County around Toledo. We were left with 203 rural pairs on 22 state lines. Most pairs have much smaller gaps than Hillsdale and Fulton. The median gap between paired counties is 1.3 times, with 78 pairs within 1.2 times of one another.
- Hillsdale MI
- Fulton OH
IILopsided State Lines
Each of 9 Lines Had One State Lead Every Pair Every Season
On each of nine lines one state's county led every pair, and the same state led every pair in each of the three seasons. The two rural Michigan counties on the Ohio line killed 4.05 bucks per square mile compared with 1.81 in the two Ohio counties opposite them. All 3 pairs had the Michigan county ahead. Ohio's figures come from the county appendix in the state's yearly deer summary.
Wisconsin's counties bordering Iowa killed 3.52 bucks per square mile compared with Iowa's 1.82, with Wisconsin ahead in all 5 pairs. The rate was 4.70 in Wisconsin's Vernon County and 2.07 in Iowa's Allamakee County across the Mississippi.
Kentucky's lead over Missouri gives that line the largest ratio at 3.03. Along that stretch of the Mississippi the 4 Kentucky counties killed 1.18 bucks per square mile and the 2 Missouri counties opposite them killed 0.39.
Indiana's counties on the line killed 1.82 bucks per square mile compared with 1.31 on Ohio's side, with the Indiana county ahead in 12 of 13 pairs.
Swipe table to see every column
| State line | Pairs | Higher-side counties | Higher side per sq mi | Other-side counties | Other side per sq mi | Ratio | Pairs where higher side wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky over Missouri | 5 | 4 | 1.18 | 2 | 0.39 | 3.03 | 5 of 5 |
| Michigan over Ohio | 3 | 2 | 4.05 | 2 | 1.81 | 2.24 | 3 of 3 |
| Tennessee over Missouri | 3 | 2 | 0.69 | 2 | 0.31 | 2.23 | 3 of 3 |
| Wisconsin over Iowa | 5 | 3 | 3.52 | 3 | 1.82 | 1.93 | 5 of 5 |
| Missouri over Iowa | 18 | 9 | 2.05 | 10 | 1.25 | 1.64 | 17 of 18 |
| Virginia over Kentucky | 6 | 4 | 1.94 | 4 | 1.23 | 1.58 | 6 of 6 |
| Wisconsin over Michigan | 2 | 1 | 3.8 | 2 | 2.51 | 1.51 | 2 of 2 |
| Michigan over Indiana | 7 | 5 | 3.71 | 4 | 2.5 | 1.48 | 6 of 7 |
| Wisconsin over Illinois | 6 | 5 | 1.98 | 3 | 1.35 | 1.47 | 5 of 6 |
| Missouri over Oklahoma | 3 | 2 | 2.28 | 2 | 1.63 | 1.4 | 3 of 3 |
| Indiana over Ohio | 13 | 8 | 1.82 | 7 | 1.31 | 1.39 | 12 of 13 |
| Virginia over Tennessee | 6 | 4 | 2.67 | 4 | 2 | 1.34 | 6 of 6 |
| Indiana over Illinois | 17 | 9 | 1.43 | 10 | 1.17 | 1.22 | 8 of 17 |
| Virginia over Maryland | 2 | 1 | 2.48 | 2 | 2.06 | 1.2 | 2 of 2 |
| Tennessee over Kentucky | 26 | 14 | 2.05 | 16 | 1.76 | 1.16 | 18 of 26 |
| Alabama over Tennessee | 7 | 3 | 2.76 | 7 | 2.4 | 1.15 | 5 of 7 |
| Illinois over Iowa | 11 | 7 | 1.41 | 7 | 1.32 | 1.07 | 6 of 11 |
| Indiana over Kentucky | 18 | 9 | 2.09 | 11 | 1.98 | 1.06 | 11 of 18 |
| Maryland over Delaware | 7 | 6 | 2.44 | 2 | 2.32 | 1.05 | 5 of 7 |
| Illinois over Kentucky | 9 | 6 | 2.09 | 5 | 2.02 | 1.03 | 6 of 9 |
| Kentucky over Ohio | 11 | 7 | 2.37 | 5 | 2.29 | 1.03 | 5 of 11 |
| Missouri over Illinois | 18 | 12 | 2.38 | 9 | 2.34 | 1.02 | 8 of 18 |
IIIIowa Border Counties
Missouri Tops 17 of 18 Pairs With 1.64 Times Iowa's Rate
Together Missouri's 9 counties bordering Iowa killed 9,477 antlered bucks per year, averaging 2.05 per square mile. Iowa's 10 counties across the line together killed 6,450 per year, or 1.25 per square mile. The Missouri county led in 17 of the 18 pairs and in 51 of the 54 pair seasons.
Iowa has the lower rate on all 3 of its state lines in this set. The gap with Illinois is small at 1.32 against 1.41, with the Iowa county ahead in 5 of those 11 pairs. The source for Iowa's county figures is Iowa DNR's harvest reports.
IVClose State Lines
Illinois and Missouri Split 18 Pairs With a New Leader in 2024
On their shared line Missouri's counties killed 2.38 bucks per square mile and Illinois's killed 2.34. The Illinois county led in 10 of the 18 pairs, while Illinois's side led in 2024 alone at 2.35 against 2.27. Six lines including this one have ratios up to 1.07, among them Indiana and Kentucky and Kentucky and Ohio. Along these lines your county choice matters more than your state choice.
Wisconsin's Walworth County leads Illinois's Boone County with 1.83 bucks per square mile against 0.76. Michigan's Lenawee County also leads Fulton, killing bucks at 2.6 times Fulton's rate. Kentucky's Harlan County kills 0.78 bucks per square mile and falls below both Wise County at 2.13 and Lee County at 1.82 on Virginia's side.
Swipe table to see every column
| Higher county | Bucks per sq mi | Neighbor across the line | Bucks per sq mi | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsdale, MI | 5.07 | Fulton, OH | 1.27 | 4 |
| Carlisle, KY | 1.7 | Mississippi, MO | 0.48 | 3.5 |
| Alexander, IL | 1.5 | Mississippi, MO | 0.48 | 3.1 |
| Dyer, TN | 0.79 | Pemiscot, MO | 0.26 | 3 |
| Newton, IN | 1.27 | Kankakee, IL | 0.46 | 2.8 |
| Wise, VA | 2.13 | Harlan, KY | 0.78 | 2.7 |
| Lenawee, MI | 3.24 | Fulton, OH | 1.27 | 2.6 |
| Fulton, KY | 0.89 | New Madrid, MO | 0.34 | 2.6 |
| Walworth, WI | 1.83 | Boone, IL | 0.76 | 2.4 |
| Newton, IN | 1.27 | Iroquois, IL | 0.54 | 2.4 |
| Ballard, KY | 1.16 | Mississippi, MO | 0.48 | 2.4 |
| Vernon, WI | 4.7 | Allamakee, IA | 2.07 | 2.3 |
| Marinette, WI | 3.8 | Dickinson, MI | 1.66 | 2.3 |
| Green, WI | 2.05 | Stephenson, IL | 0.89 | 2.3 |
| Lee, VA | 1.82 | Harlan, KY | 0.78 | 2.3 |
Swipe table to see every column
| State line | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Pair seasons won by higher side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky over Missouri | 1.11 to 0.34 | 1.24 to 0.42 | 1.18 to 0.42 | 15 of 15 |
| Michigan over Ohio | 4.15 to 1.61 | 3.99 to 1.83 | 4.01 to 1.98 | 9 of 9 |
| Tennessee over Missouri | 0.65 to 0.28 | 0.73 to 0.33 | 0.69 to 0.31 | 9 of 9 |
| Wisconsin over Iowa | 3.43 to 1.76 | 3.62 to 1.77 | 3.51 to 1.92 | 15 of 15 |
| Missouri over Iowa | 2.09 to 1.36 | 2.07 to 1.21 | 1.97 to 1.16 | 51 of 54 |
| Virginia over Kentucky | 1.84 to 1.10 | 1.95 to 1.29 | 2.02 to 1.29 | 18 of 18 |
| Wisconsin over Michigan | 4.09 to 2.61 | 3.33 to 2.20 | 3.97 to 2.70 | 6 of 6 |
| Michigan over Indiana | 3.95 to 2.58 | 3.91 to 2.50 | 3.26 to 2.41 | 18 of 21 |
| Wisconsin over Illinois | 1.96 to 1.30 | 2.08 to 1.45 | 1.92 to 1.30 | 15 of 18 |
| Missouri over Oklahoma | 2.25 to 1.57 | 2.49 to 1.83 | 2.11 to 1.50 | 9 of 9 |
| Indiana over Ohio | 1.80 to 1.23 | 1.82 to 1.42 | 1.83 to 1.28 | 37 of 39 |
| Virginia over Tennessee | 2.59 to 1.98 | 2.68 to 2.01 | 2.72 to 2.02 | 18 of 18 |
| Indiana over Illinois | 1.44 to 1.10 | 1.36 to 1.19 | 1.51 to 1.21 | 24 of 51 |
| Virginia over Maryland | 2.29 to 1.82 | 2.45 to 2.04 | 2.69 to 2.32 | 6 of 6 |
| Tennessee over Kentucky | 2.01 to 1.71 | 1.95 to 1.67 | 2.18 to 1.89 | 54 of 78 |
| Alabama over Tennessee | 2.73 to 2.39 | 2.50 to 2.22 | 3.04 to 2.59 | 14 of 21 |
| Illinois over Iowa | 1.36 to 1.28 | 1.46 to 1.29 | 1.41 to 1.38 | 19 of 33 |
| Indiana over Kentucky | 2.08 to 1.89 | 2.04 to 2.01 | 2.16 to 2.04 | 30 of 54 |
| Maryland over Delaware | 2.31 to 2.34 | 2.46 to 2.29 | not in file (Delaware lacks 2024) | 9 of 14 |
| Illinois over Kentucky | 2.16 to 1.99 | 2.11 to 2.09 | 2.01 to 2.00 | 18 of 27 |
| Kentucky over Ohio | 2.41 to 2.21 | 2.28 to 2.21 | 2.44 to 2.44 | 16 of 33 |
| Missouri over Illinois | 2.43 to 2.31 | 2.44 to 2.37 | 2.27 to 2.35 | 24 of 54 |
VAt the Line
A Buck Kill Gap Goes With Different Limits, Seasons and Hunter Numbers
A state line gap measures bucks killed and reported per square mile of Census land. License costs, buck limits, season dates and hunter numbers all differ at the line and the harvest data cannot tell which drives a gap or how many deer live on either side.
Michigan's reported counts fall below the DNR's statewide survey estimate, so Michigan's leads over Ohio and Indiana may be larger and Wisconsin's lead over Michigan smaller. The Ohio line alone has DNR county estimates for both Michigan counties. Our Missouri counts include only antlered bucks. Missouri's county tables put button bucks beside antlered bucks, and including button bucks would raise Missouri's rate on the Iowa line to 2.33. We included pairs facing each other across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers because they have a shared boundary. Counties facing each other only across Lake Michigan are excluded as neighbors.
VIBorder Hunt Planning
Check Both Agencies' Rules Before You Pick a Side
The current agency pages give different buck limits and were published after the 2022 to 2024 harvest. Michigan DNR writes "There is a statewide limit of two antlered deer, except in DMU 117, where the bag limit is one antlered deer." Indiana DNR writes "Hunters may harvest up to the statewide bag limit of 1 antlered deer and 6 antlerless deer." Iowa DNR says on its page for nonresident licenses "The application period for applying for deer tags is always the first Saturday in May through the first Sunday in June." It also says that "Customers that applied will get an email with their draw results." Ohio's 2025-26 deer summary says that "Approximately 12% of permit buyers were nonresidents and they accounted for 11% and 3% of the antlered and antlerless harvest, respectively, in the 2025-26 season." Read the Missouri Department of Conservation's rules for Missouri's buck limit and nonresident permits, then check every other agency's rules before buying.
Our read is that a gap gives you a reason to look and the agency's license page settles the choice. When one side leads every pair in every season the harvest points in the same direction county after county, as with Michigan over Ohio and Wisconsin over Iowa. Missouri's lead over Iowa nearly meets that mark at 17 of 18 pairs. When a line is divided like Illinois and Missouri, compare the two counties you can actually hunt instead of the two states.
NOTES AND SOURCES
- Source: Michigan DNR harvest report summary (county by season).
- Also: Ohio Division of Wildlife, Annual Summary of Ohio's Deer Hunting Season (Pub 5304), county appendix.
- Also: Iowa DNR harvest reports.
- Scope: Cross-state county pairs that share a land or river boundary among the 16 states in the county buck ranking, 2022 to 2024 average antlered harvest per square mile of Census land.
- Method: Adjacency: shapely intersection of Census 2024 cartographic county polygons, shared boundary of at least 0.02 degrees (about 2 km), which drops corner touches. County rates come from the 16-state buck ranking (top-50-buck-counties-per-square-mile-16-states pack). Line rates pool each side's counties (sum of bucks a year over sum of land). Pair ratios use rates rounded to 2 decimals. Rules quotes are copied from agency pages opened 2026-11-08 and re-found in the saved text.
- Limits: A gap at a state line measures bucks killed and reported per square mile. Hunter numbers, license costs, buck limits and season dates change at the line, and the data cannot say which of them drives a gap.
- Limits: Michigan's figures are hunters' mandatory reports, which run below the DNR's statewide survey estimate. Only the Ohio line has DNR county estimates for both of its Michigan counties, and both estimates are higher than the reports.
- Limits: We dropped pairs where either county is mostly city or suburb. Pairs across the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are kept because the counties share a boundary.
- Limits: Rules quoted here come from agency pages read on Nov. 8, 2026. Check the Missouri Department of Conservation for Missouri's buck limit and nonresident permits, and check each agency before you buy a license.
- Limits: County figures are 2022 to 2024 averages. The season-by-season table shows each line in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Fully Drawn Research is an independent data analysis desk, not affiliated with any state wildlife agency, transportation agency, mapping provider or outfitter. Fully Drawn Research is an independent data and analysis desk. This paper reports FDR's own analysis of public agency and survey data. Harvest, catch and survey figures describe what hunters and anglers reported or what agencies counted or estimated, not how many animals or fish are present, and they reflect regulations and hunter or angler choices as well as wildlife numbers.
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