If you haven't hunted whitetails in the Upper Peninsula recently because you thought there weren't many big bucks left, you might want to reconsider based on the results of the 2008 seasons. A pair of U.P. bucks bagged last fall carried the largest antlers of any deer taken in the state last year, and I'm sure there were other U.P. whoppers spotted that remain tightly guarded secrets.

The U.P. has historically produced some of the state's biggest bucks, but during recent years, those honors have typically gone to the southernmost counties, where winters are seldom severe, nutrition is excellent and bucks as young as 3 1/2 years old have grown antlers of Boone and Crockett proportions. The fall of 2008 represents a turnaround. The U.P. may be reemerging as a trophy buck producer.

Part of the reason for a possible turnaround in big-buck production in the U.P. is reduced hunting pressure. Fewer than 100,000 deer hunters out of the estimated 700,000 in the state now hunt whitetails in the U.P. during gun season. (Continued)

The downward trend of U.P. deer hunter numbers started when the deer herd crashed after the disastrous winters of 1995-96 and 1996-97. A boom in the southern Michigan whitetail herd, high gas prices and a downturn in the state's economy continued to cut the number of hunters who ventured north from southern cities to hunt whitetails in the U.P. Reduced hunting pressure combined with some mild winters has allowed more bucks to reach the age-classes at which they grow big racks.

The two monsters that were bagged in the U.P. last fall have Boone and Crockett-qualifying non-typical racks. To make the all-time listing in national records maintained by the Boone and Crockett Club, non-typical antlers must measure at least 195. The minimum for typical antlers is 170. Typicals that score at least 160 and non-typicals that tally 185 still make it into B&C's honorable mention category.

Bill Rushford from Newberry bagged the slightly larger of the pair of U.P. "booners" in Luce County on Nov. 26 after capturing a trail camera photo of it. The 14-pointer had a gross score of 199 7/8 and netted 197 3/8. It appeared late in the day, following a doe that was likely in heat.

Rushford recognized the buck right away, based on the trail camera photo he had. The whitetail had a dressed weight of 212 pounds and was aged at 5 1/2 years. There was more snow than normal during the 2008 firearms season in the U.P., and the excessive snowfall may have been partly responsible for Rushford's success. Deer tend to migrate toward winter yarding areas once snow starts piling up, and that might have worked in Bill's favor.

Bob Vitton from Hancock killed the second B&C non-typical from Houghton County on Nov. 21. That buck's image had also been captured on film by a trail camera before it was shot. The Vitton buck had a 17-point rack that grossed 201 1/8 and netted 195 2/8, according to Commemorative Bucks of Michigan measurer Greg Dupuis.

Vitton said he was hunting over bait, which remains legal in the U.P., when he got the buck late in the day. Several does and small bucks were at the bait when the monster showed up. The buck may have been following the trail of a doe. That buck had a dressed weight of 185 pounds and was aged at 6 1/2.