I've had a lot of arguments with hunters (especially on this site) about why KY produces so many more top-end bucks than TN does. I've always said it was soils and what is growing in those soils. Others want to believe it is KY's 1-buck-limit. However, looking at trail-camera data from both states, I don't see much difference in buck age structure (as a general rule, KY doesn't have a higher percentage of mature bucks in the population than TN properties). So the difference is either food or genetics. Considering how rapidly gene flow occurs in white-tail populations, I'm going with food quality.
I recently began working on a couple of large properties near Springfield, TN. This location has "KY soils." I always knew the soils were more productive there, but I've had a chance to really look at the plant communities in the region and the caliber of bucks produced. I'm telling it is night and day difference from what I see in most of TN. What grows in overgrown fields and pastures in KY soils is a staggering difference with much of TN. Those northern tier of counties along the KY border have an assemblage of plants most TN deer managers would die for. The volume and quantity of food in those northern Middle TN counties is mind-boggling. And the quality of bucks produced are a direct result.
