brag to me about your state (western states)

[FireArmFan]

I plan to take my dad on a hunting trip out west after I'm finished with college. I got two years left so there is a lot of time for me to plan and all but i was wondering what recommendations people have for me for people that hunt out west. these are some of the questions i'm looking for answers to. I'm thinking the game would be either Elk or Mule Deer. Not 100% on that yet either.

1. which state? (I was initially thinking Montana, but i'm open for suggestions)
2. What would an out-of-state lisense cost for either elk or mule deer?
3. are there any good hunting lodges, or maybe hunting guides, places to stay?
4. anything else you could add that might make me choose that area.

My dad has always wanted to go hunting out there but I doubt he'd ever take the initiative to plan the trip and take the time. It's always just been more of a dream to him. I figured it would be a nice present for him. (plus I dont think i'd complain about it either) I just have to wait until I have more time. Thanks

 

[runninmike]

Well I'm from MT and I am now a resident of SoCal, so I was checking into non-resident fees for my home state and found out that it costs about $1000 for elk and deer for non-residents. You must enter the draw by March, so start looking at the Montana dept of fish and game web site to get all the info you'll need.
I do not know of any guides or hunting lodges, but I'm sure you can find ooloodes of them online and check references. Most state land and some blm is open to big game hunting and is regulated to species and sexes by sections as is in most states. Mt goes from about oct1- nov 1st. Roughly 4 weeks for regular season. Hope this helps a little.
Best-MC

 

[FireArmFan]

thanks, that does help, i didnt know you had to enter it by march.

 

[Lennyjoe]

I'd say Arizona is great for Elk but you have to get drawn and that aint easy especially for an out of stater. Mulies are out here but hunting them is tough. I'd say look towards Colorado for an out of stater.

 

[Northslope Nimrod]

I wish I could brag about Utah. The deer population in Northern Utah is horrible. Right now it is spotty. Some areas DO have deer but many areas are over-run with cougars. Fish & Game Division will not recognize the cougar problem.

For deer, we are considering Wyoming permits next year.

Elk herds in Utah are doing well. You just have to find some ground that isn't private or pay the big $$$.

 

[carnaby]

Washington is interesting. We have great habitat, but we don't have great deer population, except maybe in the far east or western peninsula. Anyone know why Washington is not known for trophy deer? What makes for good deer habitat anyway?

 

[Steve H]

I wish I could brag about Utah. The deer population in Northern Utah is horrible. Right now it is spotty. Some areas DO have deer but many areas are over-run with cougars. Fish & Game Division will not recognize the cougar problem.

We are having the same problem in Southern Utah. I would think about New Mexico for elk. I here there are some nice packaged deals there that would be a great father/son trip.

 

[Cosmoline]

Alaska Facts:

--Over One Million Caribou in 32 herds

--Over 100,000 moose

--Over 100,000 black bears

--Over 70,000 dall sheep

--Over 30,000 brown bears

--Over 7,000 wolves (probably twice that number)

--Tens of thousands of Sitka deer, probably more

--Thousands of Roosevelt Elk

--Thousands of mountain goats

--Hundreds of thousands of beaver, mink, muskrat, fox, coyote, and other fur bearers.

--Several thousand musk ox

--Millions of squirrel, hare, ptarmigan, grouse, etc.

--Countless millon migratory waterfowl.

--Countless million anandromous fish.

--Countless million ocean fish.

--Half a million people.


The big drawback is the expense of coming and the price of out of state licenses. If you're not after the more exotic species, caribou are probably the best bet. You're almost guaranteed to get some, but hunting is still a challenge and takes place in some really breathtaking areas. Even guided bou hunts are often quite reasonable, going for a few thousand dollars a person. Unguided or dropoff hunts are cheap, too. If I were planning a big hunt/fish trip here, I'd time it to come out in late July and get a meat boat out of Seward to nail the silvers, halibut, ling cod, and bass all in season. Then have that meat prepped in Seward. You would then be into August and go do a Caribou run up north or one of the hunting cruises for black bear out of Seward if you can wait until Sept. I'd also try to work in some ad hoc small game hunting as well, esp. the grouse if you're into them.

Check in at the Alaska Outdoors Directory for more info, as many guides and far more experienced hunters than myself post over there.

 

[carnaby]

Now that's just not fair

 

[Desk Jockey]

Not gonna brag (can't compete with Cosmoline).

Colorado still sells some over-the-counter licenses for elk during rifle seasons (~$500 bull/ $300 cow for non-residents). Deer are by drawing only. Drawing licenses for elk and deer require you to apply around April 1. Over-the-counter elk licenses can be purchased as late as the day before the season opens.

Over-the-counter elk licenses are good for about half (maybe less?) of the state's 150 (or so) game management units, during one of the four elk/deer seasons. Drawing licenses are good for one specific unit, during one season.

That's a bit of over-simplification, but gives you the general idea.
http://wildlife.state.co.us/Hunting/

Hunting lodges and guides are available throughout the west. I've never used either, but hope to do a guided horseback elk hunt someday. But I need to pay for at least 6 more years of kids in college before I even daydream about that.

 

[Art Eatman]

The Texas Panhandle has some good mule deer hunting. What few elk are found up there are considered feral, with no season or bag limit.

Art

 

[MCgunner]

I'm sure things have gone up in New Mexico since I hunted there last. That was over 10 years ago. No draw on deer and some fantastic mulie hunting there. NM is not an overpopulated state, either. Most of the population is in the few cities about the state. Half the state is federal land open to hunting. Lots of national forest and BLM land.

 

[Bottom Gun]

The hunting here is getting worse by the year.

Arizona is also overrun with cougars, at least in the southern part of the state. My neighbor has shot three of them in the past month, all right in our "neighborhood". That is way too many in a small area.
They are really screwing up the deer hunting. All the "guest workers" coming across the line 24 hours a day doesn't help either.

The Fish Cops here are out of control as well. Next year's license and tag fees here are going to increase considerably for both resident and non-resident.
If that weren't enough, they are also planning to increase the number of tags issued to "provide greater opportunity for hunters".
Unfortunately, that means lousy hunting from now on. They have oversold every single area in which I have hunted elk year after year. It makes for very tough hunting when there is a hunter behind ever tree as I have experienced for the past several years. It's very frustrating to set up in a blind only to have your hunt spoiled by other hunters tramping through scaring off the animals you have been watching. It really stinks.

It is only going to get worse here too because the Fish Cops have to pay for the new multi-million headquarters they are building.

I'm seriously thinking about hunting elk out of state next season.

 

[xd9fan]

North Dakota........please dont come here....I want it all to myself.....

 

[NRA4LIFE]

No bragging to be given for WA here either. Deer populations are not even close to MT, WY and ID. Again, I do not know why either. Seems like very similar country to MT. Elk is OK if you can draw permits for the east side or hunt in pouring rain for 10 days on the west side.

MT non-resident deer was $343 and deer/elk $643 this year. And yes, March 15 is the application deadline every year.

 

[Greybeard]

Looks like ya not too far from San Juan National Forest in southwestern Colorado where we've had moderate to good success with elk. From what I understand, there is a pretty high probability for "first time" out-of-staters to get drawn for a cow tag. They want to get newbs started sending them $.

Like someone above said, bull tags sold to just about anyone with $500. But locating the "legal" bulls, especially on public lands, often requires some pretty tough sleddin'. Ya did not say how old your Dad is or his physical condition, but it's something to think about ...

And to improve the odds of being able to take a legal shot, you could also throw some money down for a same-season mule deer and bear tag.

 

[X-Rap]

There is no big game in Colorado I just checked I think they went to Nebraska.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

Please don't come to Nebraska, If you do be secretive about it. We don't get the pressure that SD IA KS and CO do and I would like to keep it that way

 

[tobin2u]

Well; I may be biased , but I of course will put my vote in for MT. I have lived here most of my life and I have always wanted to to go to one place if I had the money and the time. The Bob Marshall Wilderness!! with a guide of course but none the less I can't think of a better hunt in all my life. Some of the animals up there are still in the record books today Be prepared to do approximately 100-125 miles on horseback , but the scenery , the food and the company will all make it worth while. Good luck and let us know what you chose and how it went.

 

[Walkalong]

I live in Al. My brother lives in Chicago but comes to a camp in union springs every year to hunt dear. Hard to beat Al. for dear hunting.

 

[FireArmFan]

thanks for the replies everyone. i'm no closer to choosing however, in fact now i want to go to even more places. I have plenty of time since i dont plan on taking the trip for about 2 years. For the Utah people and everyone else that say you have very little deer population, you are more than welcome to come to Minnesota. We have more whitetail than we know what to do with. It seems that way at least. My party usually does pretty well every year. I see them all the time in my neighborhood too and i live in the suburbs about 15-20 from Minneapolis. It's cool to see deer but I wasn't very pleased about 4 years ago when a deer decided to jump out in front of my newly aquired Mustang GT.

 

[T.R.]

Western South Dakota has very good populations of both mule deer and whitetails. The state contains vast areas of public lands:

1) Buffalo Gap National Grasslands
2) Black Hills National Forest
3) BLM lands
4) State leased private lands for hunting called "Walk In Areas"

If you make your base in Rapid City, it would be helpful to have a 4WD to access the fire trails to take you deep into the forest. Try the old Piedmont Burn for big mulies.


I've taken a number of good bucks in canyons and ridges of the White River just east of Badlands National Park on public lands.

For elk, head to the foothills of the Bighorn Mts. Crystal Creek Outfitters hunts with quality equipment into the deep wilderness areas.
TR

 

[JackOfAllTradesMasterAtNone]

Cosmoline wins on every count...

Except, for much of the game he listed, you have to get a profession guide for because of the Grizzley territory.

Cosmo, are you willing to take two seasoned hunters out for a Cariboo and Blackbear hunt?

Cosmo still wins on another thing he didn't list... Mosquitos the size of Blackbirds.

Washington isn't all that bad if you know where to go. We complain about the wet side, then complain about having to hunt in shorts because it's so warm on the dry side. But you don't have to "Draw for tags" for Deer and Elk. (check the regs for outa staters) For in-staters we buy tags over the counter/online right up until the last day of season. Just for one Deer, one Elk, though.
But don't expect trophy bucks. Our Elk are body size as large as any state. With both Rocky Mountain and Roosevelt breeds. There are regulations here just like any state that manages wild game.

Most people don't like hunting Washington because of the difficult terrain and foliage. Lets face it, Blacktail and westside Elk hide in some thick cover. It's not easy to get a smart old wiley Blacktail. Younger, smaller deer, yes. Our Whitetail herds are suffering in the south and southeast. Many of those to the north are migratory. Washington doesn't have a lot of Mule Deer huntable on public land. -Isn't it always better to hunt private land? Still, there are some public areas for Mule Deer.
We have a fair amount of Blackbear. But average size is much less than 275 pounds. 6 feet square is an above average bear.
We don't allow hound hunting for.. just about anything anymore since they put it to a public vote a few years ago.

So, aside from Montana where outa staters can get Mule Deer Doe tags most any season, I'd have to look hard to Oregon, where they have more Mule deer than Washington and bigger Blacktail. Quite possibly more public land to hunt.

Else, Off to Alaska. Because to hunt east of the Dakota's... Well, I don't own a slug barrel for my shot gun, and there's too many flatland states back there that cringe at the thought of hunting with a magnum or other centerfire rifle. -Let alone pistol. And Alaska is still the wild western frontier where the hunter can become the hunted at any given time. We're not always at the top of the food chain there.

-Steve

 

[FireArmFan]

I'm east of the dakota's and i know way more people that hunt with magnums and centerfire rifles than slug shotguns
(my 12 ga. is my back up for if my 30-06 breaks)