Indiana continues to produce plenty of great bucks in the modern era. One noticeable trend is that some counties that never used to produce many (if any) Hoosier Record Buck Program (HRBP) entries are now providing trophy bucks in spades. The main reason is the age-class of our bucks has improved substantially. With the continued emphasis on harvesting surplus does and more hunters' understanding of the importance of backing off taking immature bucks, this trend should continue.

At the time of this writing, 234 bucks taken from the 2008 season either made the 140-inch typical, or the 160-inch non-typical minimum scores for inclusion into the all-time HRBP record book.

For information about the HRBP or questions about the program's records, call North Liberty's John Bogucki at (574) 656-4271. Bogucki is the chairman for the HRBP, and is a contact for information about the program's recent record book: Recol­lecting Nature's Miracles Hoosier Record Buck Program 2008 Edition. For a look at the state's many HRBP certified scorers, visit www.hoosierhunting.com/idhacertscore.html.

ZONE 1
Zone 1 is a seven-county area that lies in northeast Indiana's famed Natural Lakes region and consists of a variety of habitats that grow and hold many deer. Wood lots, drainages, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields, waterways, lakes, swamps and farm fields provide an interesting array of habitat for white­tails to flourish. Historically, this zone has produced a handful of Indiana's top all-time bucks, and 2008-09 saw no significant changes.

DeKalb County led all counties with 12 entries for the year, followed by Steuben with seven entries. LaGrange County contributed five entries, while Noble and Marshall counties each gave up three entries apiece. Kosciusko provided two entries.

The top buck for the zone is Dennis Treesh's DeKalb County trophy. This muzzleloader beauty ranks in at No. 3 for the year in the firearms typical category and scored 172 3/8 Boone and Crockett (B&C) points.

Another big typical was taken by Aaron Gray with a shotgun. This buck is also from DeKalb County and scores 168 0/8, ranking it as the No. 5 overall firearms typical for the year. Nearby Steuben County produced a 165 3/8 scoring dandy for Andrew Nichols, coming in at No. 6 for the season in the same category.

The top non-typical from the zone was actually found dead by Steuben County conservation officer John Deem earlier in the year. This monster double drop-tined buck scores 205 2/8. The top harvested non-typical from the zone was arrowed by Jason Hile. His massive buck scores 178 4/8 Pope and Young (P&Y) and came in at No. 6 for the year in the archery non-typical category.

Another noteworthy non-typical that scored 176 3/8 was taken by shotgunner Wayne Beechy in LaGrange County. Zone 1 should continue to produce many of the state's biggest bucks for years to come.

ZONE 2
This 11-county northwestern zone has produced some of the state's best overall bucks over the years as well. The zone's excellent combination of timber, farm fields and urban fringe habitats grows some big bucks. The area's soils are diverse with sandy soils adjacent to Lake Michigan and more traditional heavy farm soils in the southern portion of Zone 2.

The zone produced 39 total entries for the year, up from the 28 it produced the previous year. The top county in the zone is St. Joseph, which produced eight entries. Lake County was next with seven entries, while Jasper, White and Pulaski counties all produced four apiece.