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I know this is a broad topic with lots of variables (quantity/quality, tag availability, variety, etc) but I'd love to hear ya'lls opinions. Say, hypothetically, I can move anywhere, economics aren't a consideration, and hunting quality is my main priority. Which state should I move to?
For the sake of my discussion, let's limit the northeast and midwest, unless you feel your state is REALLY good.
I know this is a broad topic with lots of variables (quantity/quality, tag availability, variety, etc) but I'd love to hear ya'lls opinions. Say, hypothetically, I can move anywhere, economics aren't a consideration, and hunting quality is my main priority. Which state should I move to?
For the sake of my discussion, let's limit the northeast and midwest, unless you feel your state is REALLY good.
Well, although very expensive Alaska has the most to offer in relation to the variety of game.
I don't think thats a fair question. I mean Iowa and SD is great for Pheasant, Wyo is good for Pronghorn and so on. Colorado has some of the best elk hunting and IMO one of the most beautiful. This is why the liberals from CA moved there and turned it into Cali 2
Almost too broad of a subject to answer easily or cleanly, but I will say that I hunted elk and deer in Washington state (both E and W sides) for almost 2 decades without getting much of anything. We moved to Montana and have taken one elk and more deer than I can remember in the last 7 years...in fact, I do not buy meat from the store unless I get a craving for chicken . Having said that... we got totally skunked 2 years ago and didn't get a single animal. That same year, my husband went to Wyoming and brought home a deer and an antelope.
So, in answer to your question (from my experiences)... Montana is decent, Washington is horrible, and Wyoming is fantastic.
The disclaimer would be that this is only based on my family and only encompasses 3 states.
Arizona does not fit the OP's criterea but I enjoy hunting there because of the huge amount of BLM land. No need to beg anyone for permission, just go. I also like Nebraska for deer and upland game but most of it is private land. Luckily I have family in Nebraska.
For variety of animals and ease of getting tags and opportunities, I will say Texas. But Texas is 95% privately owned and hunting is recognized as being an important economic contributor. The species range from native deer, javelina, alligator, dove, quail, turkey, etc. to imported species from all across the globe. You can hunt on foot, in blinds, over bait, from vehicles or even helicopters. Ranches/leases can vary in size from a few acres to hundreds of thousands. Seasons are really long and bag limits are generous. The licensing/tags weren't too difficult to obtain nor were the regulations complicated. The main issue with Texas was gaining access to land which could really vary--invites from family and friends to $10K per day.
If you want more public land and focus on native species, I think Colorado would be the best bet. Colorado has the highest harvest levels of the Western States and large herds, with licensing that isn't too tedious. They also still have plenty of critters in their wilderness. I would have agreed with Montana, but I know guides that no longer work over there during the season because so many outfitters went under. They specialized in wilderness, pack-in hunts in Montana/Idaho. They said that the public land wilderness herds got hammered by wolf introduction and the surviving herds tend to stay on big, private ranches.
I always liked my state of Missouri.Unlimited Antlerless Deer Tags,Firearms hunt for a month.6 Turkeys a year.Small Game Seasons are long.Got Wild Hogs.Plenty of Fishing.
Plus in a way Short drive to any other Big Game you could think of.
Almost 55% of the state is state owned land and can be hunted on with no restritions. For private land, several years ago they made our tags into three parts. One part stays on the critter, one part goes in your wallet to be sent in later for the survey, and the last part is given to the land owner so that at the end of season he can turn it in and get paid for allowing hunters on his property.
I hunt mostly on Private land, I do NOT pay any leases, fine, fee's, or anything other than the courtesy of stopping and asking for permission. I have been turned down, but have gotten permission more often than not. In some cases the private lands is held for trophy hunts for the first 5 days and then opened up for anybody willing to stop and ask.
The area where I live is "Unlimited" for white tail or muley, all you need is tags.
We have every major game animal in North America, with very few exceptions.
Hunting prices are reasonable. Hunting is well regulated, in that the critters are counted, the lottery is drawn, they are counted again and then available tags are put on sale. On bad years I am only allowed to get 4 or 5 deer and antelope.
Any type of hunting is available, i.e. flat lands, rolling hills, wide open, forested, mountains, and very rough mountain terrain.
You can camp in the National Forests, any place you can set up a tent, free. The limit is that you can only camp in that exact spot for 16 days and then have to move to another spot. There are a thousands of places to pull an RV back into the timber and set it up. Same restrictions, 16 days and move.
We DON"T Bait our critters, except bear.
When I got out of the service and brought my 5 kids back to Wyoming, the first 4 years they were back, the only time they ate beef was if they went out. At home was all game in the freezer. No problem keeping the freezer full.
If trophy animals is what you are after, we have some of the best Mule Deer and Whitetail you will ever find.
State is very willing to accomodate handycaped. I am disabled and I applied to the state and 2 weeks later I received my permit. I can legally hunt and shoot from my vehicle and I am also allowed to drive off trail to retrieve my game.
In the NE I would consider northern NH, VT, Me, or NY. Not that there's a ton of game, but more because there is good access to land, hunting is permitted on Sunday, its not too crowded (well in NY it depends where you go), and hunting is still an accepted activity.
For variety and quantity of game however, I would look to the mid-west. Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin....throw a dart. I'm not familiar first hand with the culture there and availability of land, but I think you'll find more varieties of small game, lots of waterfowl, and more/bigger deer than in the NE.
Crazy I know but back as early as the 1980's I would have ranked California as number ONE given the sheer variety, public land and amount of game to be had. Frigging Socia*******s of this state really started ****ing that up in the late 80's.
Dont worry its coming to you next. See Colorado.
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. Having said that... we got totally skunked 2 years ago and didn't get a single animal. That same year, my husband went to Wyoming and brought home a deer and an antelope.
