I listed the facility as the area in the state with the best trophy potential back in 1998; that's still true today. Decades of virtually 50-50 buck-doe harvests dating all the way back into the 1960s have led to a buck:doe ratio that few spots can match. Big-woods hardwoods surrounded by numerous row crops, dense security cover along with limited hunting pressure, especially from gunners, also factor into the equation and combine to guarantee that big deer live there.

All gun hunting on the refuge is by permit. Both the modern gun and muzzleloader hunts consist of a pair of three-day segments: blackpowder in October and modern gun in November, with a youth hunt and a mobility-impaired hunt in December at the Cook's Lake unit. The refuge is divided for these hunts, with state Route 1 being the dividing line between the north and south units.

Naturally bowhunting is popular, and more so since the season was extended until Jan. 31 on the north unit (it closes Dec. 31 on the south unit) several years back. Wayne Lindsey of Harrisburg took the current state-record typical bow kill, a 177 7/8 10-pointer, there in 1998.

Because of its size and flat topography, White River can be an intimidating place for the first-timer. Take along a GPS unit, pick up a map at the refuge office, and don't be afraid to wear out a little shoe leather. Start along the edges early in the fall, especially close to standing row crops, then look for interior security spots later in the year.

I live in Clarksville, which is about as far as you can get from White River and still be in the same state. But even with all that distance involved, I still hate the years when I can't make the trip.

So that's a look at some of the "best" places for harvesting your buck of a lifetime this fall. But always keep in mind the gradual shift taking place in those areas where big bucks are coming from today.

Some years back, Keith Burrow, who owns Burrow Taxidermy in Brinkley and who sees a lot of the biggest deer from that area, and I discussed the fact that at that time Monroe County had no bucks listed in the B&C rankings. It made no sense to either of us, since in land fertility and usage, Monroe virtually mirrors such well-known buck counties as Arkansas, Cross and Prairie.

Check out the list showing the top B&C-producing counties since the year 2000. Monroe leads the entire state with five, and has had seven B&C taken there in the last decade. Just as Cross County led the state for the 1990s, Monroe is now annually the hot producer .

But after the last two seasons, which saw B&C bucks come from virtually every corner of the state, I'm no longer surprised to hear about one taken from just about anywhere deer are present.

And isn't that a great thing!