I think I'm going to indefinitely forsake big game hunting but . . .

I have completely lost interest in hunting for horns. Trophies just don't do it for me although I still hunt for venison. However, I love small game hunting. The older I have gotten the more pleasurable it is to shoulder a .22 and meander through the woods.

I've only hunted in one of those "worst 10 states" and that was Wisconsin. I found it quite easy to kill a deer there if you bowhunt. Gun season tends to be a zoo with many neophytes from big cities like Chicago joining the fray. Stay away from the crowds, if possible, and use your smarts and it's not that hard to get venison including some nice bucks.

That list has a different definition of "worst" than I do.

Here out west, the concept of hunting more than 1 per year is alien, as is the concept of having to get permission to use land. I applied for 1 tag this year and didn't get it, so it's upland season by default. I'm not too bothered as long as I get some chances, but will try for big game next year.

I would go with small game in my home state....no problem there. Get a dog. Hunt Quail, or rabbits, or squirrel, or raccoons, or ducks or..,.,whatever is plentiful in your area.

But......
I would plan a big-game hunt, even if it was a hog hunt somewhere.
A man needs to get away and watch a campfire burn and kill something for the freezer. It keeps you sane for 51 wks.
My $.02

Sorry but this sounds like whining to me. Where there's a will, there's a way. Cali has some great deer hunting and more public land than my home state of Texas. If you want it, it's there.

Time in the outdoors is never wasted time. I'm sorry you feel that way. Success is measured in many ways.

Jason_W said:

If I don't like it, why bother, right?

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Absolutely no reason to bother with it if you don't like it. That would be like someone trying to talk me into playing golf. I went once, hated it, and see no reason to bother with it again.

I have never been to California but it is one of the last states that I would choose to hunt in. Not only for the dearth of large game animals but for the hunter haters too.

In my business office I have several mounted animals in the waiting room. When someone complains about it, I tell them that my competition would welcome their business. I've never felt a negative impact from losing that type of customer.

Patocazador said:

I have never been to California but it is one of the last states that I would choose to hunt in. Not only for the dearth of large game animals but for the hunter haters too.

In my business office I have several mounted animals in the waiting room. When someone complains about it, I tell them that my competition would welcome their business. I've never felt a negative impact from losing that type of customer.

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It's a BIG state. The hunter haters are in a small part by area.

In my experience, hipster type places might have clients who don't like hunting but are fine with mounts on the walls. Maybe they think they're "fake" heads.

Jason_W said:

Agreed, but life can take a turn. It turns out that the whole "for better or for worse" part of the vows might mean a move to California. You young guys out there, ruminate on that for a bit .

Sometimes you gotta play the hand you're dealt. If the choice is making do with where I live or giving up hunting altogether, I'll try making some lemonade.

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We both grew up in CA, but I have convinced her I think to never move back. Aside from the obvious, neither of us are interested in the cost or the traffic.

I lived near Sacramento 1978-81 and hunted at Stumpy Meadows Reservoir near Georgetown. Always filled my buck tag with a forky and never observed a buck with more points than that. A job in Hawaii took me away for a time but I returned to live near Napa 1984-93. The deer hunting within the coastal mountains was quite good.
- I hunted at Sonoma Lake using a rented canoe to reach otherwise inaccessible public lands. A dandy 5X5 blacktail buck was taken plus some forkies.
- I hunted within the Trinity Alps and shot a big black bear there, too.
- I backpack hunted at Duck Lake in the high country just over the steep ridge from Lake Alpine. A forky was toppled from the big boulder.
- I backpack hunted within the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness and shot a trophy 5X6 mule deer. You need a permit from USDA to hunt this area.
In summary, I found some good places to hunt where no one else goes and had outstanding hunts to remember. You'll want to skin and bone out the meat right away and backpack it to your car with an ice chest to preserve the venison.You're welcome to check out these listed areas where I had consistent success. A good lightweight rifle has advantages. I hunt with a Marlin lever gun in 30-30 topped with a Bushnell 2-7X scope. My shots averaged about 100 yards or so.

Northern California has some very excellent hunting available. I hope that you do not become discouraged by the season dates.

Good hunting to you.
TR

here the whiners are the ones who hunt in bars or set in their trucks and then complain about not seeing or shooting game. i hunt as many days as i can and if i kill nothing its still a worth while time in the wilds for me. if all hunting is to you taking game, i think your missing one of the great rewards of hunting.i keep notes on my hunting trips and here are some pictures taken on hunts where i didn,t fire a shot and still found thoses day enjoyable. eastbank.

Jason,

I feel your pain. Moving to a new state will require a learning process to find new places to hunt. As T.R. pointed out, there are places where an industrious person can find and kill deer in California. There is a learning curve, if you have the time an inclination to tackle it. It might not be a slam dunk, but if big game hunting and meeting challenges is in your blood its probably worth a try. That is solely your choice.

I think that the list that you posted is a joke. Two defining criteria for "bad" are yearling bucks and cold weather. I guess the authors like to hunt on a private deer lease ($) over a food plot in Texas. You have stated you like meat for the freezer, so trophy hunting shouldn't be a consideration. Personally, hunting in snow is my favorite time to be in the woods. Most of the states on the list are traditional deer states in the northeast and Midwest. Maybe not the best places to get in the "book" but certainly places where you can put meat in your freezer.

i also love hunting in snow and a light rain.eastbank.

You can always go the route of a non-resident hunter. States near you offer some great big game hunting.
J s/n.

Choctaw said:

I have completely lost interest in hunting for horns. Trophies just don't do it for me although I still hunt for venison. However, I love small game hunting. The older I have gotten the more pleasurable it is to shoulder a .22 and meander through the woods.

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horns make thin soup

You probably have kin in better deer areas,and they may live somewhere that the turkey is not as thick..Just go hunt on them for deer,and invite them to come hunt on you for turkey..When I was young we had relatives from North Carolina come visit us in deer season every year,because at the time the deer hunting situation was not very good there...I guess nobody gets to hunt everything in their own area..I wish we had the wild hogs that seem so thick in other regions.

stoky said:

horns make thin soup

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My Dad always used to say that. Now I'm all choked up.

Well, I'm a life long waterfowler. Not that Texas is a bad deer hunting state, FAR FROM IT! But, it's a land of private ownership and leasing and, thus, you have to be semi rich now days to afford a lease...that's if you can FIND one. There's little public hunting here and what there is sucks.

I own some land, now, and have since 1988. I went for years just hunting a day lease here and there and not getting a deer most hunts. Then, I bought a mere 10 acres and got 1 to 2 deer a year off it along with lots of hogs. It ain't the size of the place, it's the location. But, of course, it was stand hunting. I didn't even hunt a feeder on that place for the first 5 years.

But, when I was 14, I started duck hunting. There's public duck hunting here, GOOD public duck hunting. Much of it requires a boat, but my dad gave me a boat when I was 14 for my birthday/Christmas that year, a little 12 ft V bottom with a 3HP Evinrude. That's all I needed for my adventures.

I grew up squirrel hunting and still enjoy a squirrel hunt now and then, but bird hunting is where I'm at, doves, ducks, and geese. I hunt deer because we have such a population of 'em here and it's easy, just walk 200 yards behind my house and sit in my box blind. No, here again, this is not hunting on a billion acres of mountainous wilderness, spot and stalk. This is Texas, after all. If I could afford a billion acres, I'd consider it. But, I ain't hit the lotto, yet.

Bottom line, box blind hunting vs dove or duck or goose hunting, the birds are WAY more fun. I hunt deer and hogs for meat. I hunt birds because I just LOVE hunting birds. When I was a kid, I did it because it was the only hunting that was affordable. Now, I do it because it's what I do.

I'm not sure why when you mention hunting, everyone assumes you mean for whitetail deer. It's kind of like when I raced motorcycles, everyone assumed it was motocross. I raced flat track and road racing, never ran a motocross. Well, of course, I have hunted deer, of course, but that's not the only hunting, ya know.

There is just something about duck hunting that gets in the blood. There's a lot to know to be successful. I love talking to the ducks, been calling since I was in college and took up the duck call and an 8 track "how to" tape. I'd be driving to school practicing my call. I had no AC in that car, so folks would look at me at intersections as if I were nuts. LOL Then there's the proper decoy set depending on wind and such, knowing what hole to hunt any given day. There's just more to it than would meet the eye.

Yes, if I were in good duck hunting territory, I could be happy with just ducks. I've been there before. But, I do like having deer hunting so available to me now days.