Best state to hunt multiple game animals

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The_shooter

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Ok hypothetical situation, I’m getting to the point in my life where I can retire and I’ve always wanted to leave the east coast. I’m a hunting fanatic so I’ve always imagined going to Alaska or Montana or maybe Wyoming. I’d really like some input from other hunters about the best state to move to for hunting.
 
Excellent question. Tagging as I am interested also. Not so into the cold though. I would think CO may be worth a look if the politics aren't an issue.

Are you looking for big game or a variety of game? I ask as there is a LOT of hog hunting in the South these days and you may find more bird/small game hunting in different states than where the big game is.

Where are you now? May help some also.
 
Excellent question. Tagging as I am interested also. Not so into the cold though. I would think CO may be worth a look if the politics aren't an issue.

Are you looking for big game or a variety of game? I ask as there is a LOT of hog hunting in the South these days and you may find more bird/small game hunting in different states than where the big game is.

Where are you now? May help some also.
I’m really looking to go after elk moose deer and bears and would really prefer to move out west or up north I’m currently living in NC
 
My hunter buddy is nearing retirement and asking the same questions.
My nephew works on a cattle ranch in western Montana. They have it all. Antelope moose deer elk small game, excellent fishing hiking, parks, public land..natural beauty......but it is remote. It is cold.
It can be hard to get around in the winter.
My friend is looking at Tennessee.
deer, elk, bear, small game, good fishing, hiking, Mild climate, a easy day to the gulf shores.
Georgia is similar.
 
I first started looking at Alaska than discovered the price of a moose tag and there big game tag cost in general then Montana and Wyoming I’m not a fan of cold weather but I won’t let it effect a choice like that I’m really just searching for people who have hunted the states above and there rating and if there are other states I have over looked
 
Believe it or not, jersey with all its stupid limitations has a wide variety to hunt, just few options to hunt with. Deer, black bear(which are large comparative to other states), coyote, fox, Turkey and waterfowl galore.
If you own only a shotgun/slug gun combo, its all you need. Can't use a rifle
 
NV has a lot to choose from, but big game is a lottery draw. I would also look at Idaho and Montana, Northern Arizona and New Mexico as well.
 
I’d love to move to western Montana or Idaho.
I don't blame you - Idaho is a great place to live. Except for 4 years when Uncle Sam made me live somewhere else, I've lived here my whole life, and I'm 72. The OP asked about a good state for big game hunting though, and I'll tell you right now - Idaho ain't it.:(
I’m really looking to go after elk moose deer and bears

Elk: Most of Idaho is "draw hunt only" for elk, meaning you have to draw a tag (and the odds aren't that good) unless you're talking about archery hunts. And the few areas that are "open elk hunts" (over the counter elk tags) are way over-populated with with elk hunters during the season.

Deer: Only 1 in 3 Idaho deer hunters get a deer, and that's in a good year. My wife and I do a little better than that in that one or the other of us usually gets a deer every year (I got one this year). However, my wife and I have some advantages - we live in the middle of some of the best deer hunting area in the state, we're retired and can spend as much time deer hunting as we want, and we have over a hundred years combined deer hunting experience. BTW - you're mostly talking mule deer in Idaho. There's getting to be more whitetails around, but that's a fairly recent thing.

Moose: You have to draw a "once in a lifetime" Idaho moose tag. Neither my wife or I have ever drawn one, and we've been putting in on them for over 30 years.

Bear: Idaho does have some decent black bear hunting. I used to like the Spring black bear hunt up around Salmon. It's steep country, but beautiful.

Antelope (Pronghorns): You have to draw a tag. Neither my wife nor I have drawn one in the last 5 years. If you draw a tag though, your chances of killing an antelope are pretty good.

As far a big game hunting goes, Idaho's one redeeming feature is that nearly two-thirds of the state is public land. That's 34.5 million acres, and less than 1% of that is inaccessible. So Idaho has plenty of areas to hunt big game without paying a lease or asking permission from a land owner. In other words, the problem with big game hunting in Idaho is not the hunting, it's the finding.;)
 
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To be honest I’m really more interested in big game hunting and that’s kinda why Alaska and Montana have caught my eye. I suppose it’s more of which state has a better system of getting a tag and chance of shooting your animal. I haven’t really given Arizona a look yet but I’m trying to stay away from California’s border states.
 
To be honest I’m really more interested in big game hunting and that’s kinda why Alaska and Montana have caught my eye.
I don't know for sure about the big game hunting in Montana, but our youngest daughter lives in Missoula - in fact she's a wheel with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. So in the last 10 years or so, we've driven up to Montana for a visit more times than I can remember. And it seems to me there are deer and black bears everywhere - even in the big city of Missoula.
 
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Once you’re a resident here, you dont need to be drawn for moose. There is plenty of drawing tags to put in for easier hunts like cow tags or any bull tags, but you dont need to be drawn to hunt for bulls. Most areas only require you shoot a bull over 50” or with 3 or more brow tines on one side, or a spike or fork on one side. Black bear season never closes in many areas, brown bears do not require you a drawing permit with a few exceptions like kodiak. Caribou is open most areas by permit most anyone can get. Sheep is one youll more likely have to put in the lottery for, unless you wanna fly up to the brooks range for $5000.
 
...,or maybe Wyoming .

Check out Kemmerer Wyoming. You'd be less than two hours from a several National Forests (not nearly as restrictive as a National Park), as well as a little over an hour from either Utah or Idaho.
It's the county seat of Lincoln County, and but Wyoming is sparsely populated..., you can pretty much drive a few minutes and find an area to shoot.
You're into large game now, but as you age, you may want to switch to small game.

LD
 
Based primarily on what I read on this and other hunting related forums I'd say Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah might be top considerations if you are thinking deer, elk and bear. In the lower 48 moose are hard to get a tag for in most states. Colorado has the largest elk herd, but deer numbers are way down. It is the easiest state for a non-resident to get an elk tag, but maybe not the best place to connect with an elk. It would take several years worth of preference points to get into a good area.
 
Based primarily on what I read on this and other hunting related forums I'd say Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and Utah might be top considerations if you are thinking deer, elk and bear. In the lower 48 moose are hard to get a tag for in most states. Colorado has the largest elk herd, but deer numbers are way down. It is the easiest state for a non-resident to get an elk tag, but maybe not the best place to connect with an elk. It would take several years worth of preference points to get into a good area.

true in the West; Maine doesn't have that issue, but the OP wants to move out West.

OP might also want to live in a state near good hunting areas in Canada and do some hunting there as well as the states.
 
Somewhere where there are no lottery draws, at least for residents.

For me, I would like good amounts of rabbits and squirrels too. Maybe British Colombia or Manitoba.
 
When I was in AK I asked folks in bars about hunting. So limited survey. I was susprised by answers. Oh other year I went to this island to hunt this big thing, or couple years ago this.

For me it would have to be a state that residents can get big game tags every year where ever they want, no lottery. I couldn't imagine being in a state without a deer hunting culture. Though sadly it is changing in many places. Not the holiday in some parts of the state. People just hunt some areas by their homes.

UP deer hunting is still more important than Christmas. My mom would trade days at the mill. She would trade deer hunting days with guys, so she could Christmas off
 
I couldn't imagine being in a state without a deer hunting culture. Though sadly it is changing in many places.
It sadly has changed here in Idaho. When I was growing up in western Idaho, deer season opened on Saturday, and half the kids in the high school were absent that Friday - the day before opening day.
Nowadays, I'm about the only one in my group of friends that still goes deer hunting. A couple of them still go archery hunting for elk, but they don't care about deer hunting anymore. That could very well be because of what I said in my first post in this thread - only 1 in 3 deer hunters in Idaho get a deer these days, and that's in a good year. Besides that, unless you're 16 or under, the deer you kill (if you kill one at all) better danged well be wearing antlers, or you're going to be in big trouble.
 
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