Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire thinking of moving out west.

Start with a few weeks of -40 or colder every winter. When you're young it's an adventure. When you get older it's not so much fun anymore.

Beautiful area, horrible politics forced on folks from those to the west...

tikkanut,

I agree. I'll be back up your way come general buck season. I was lucky to get a tag. Even the general season mule deer drawings produce huge racks if you know where to look. I've hunted Boulder Mountain for 30 years. BTW, what lake is in your photo? I might just spend the entire month of October in Utah fishing and hunting big bucks.

I've hunted four Rocky Mountain states. Utah is by far the most beautiful with Wyoming a close second. HWY 12 is beyond gorgeous.

Utah people are extremely friendly, but I wouldn't cross 'em. A fella could end up permanently missing that way. I always try to patronize local businesses because many of the smaller towns suffer from poor economies. And I have never, ever been a victim of any type of crime while I've been in Utah. On my last elk hunt there, I left my Sako rifle outside all night. I knew that it was safer outside at night in Utah than it is at home in So Cal locked in my gun safe.

Utah has huge everything, but getting drawn in another story. I did manage to draw for what most elk hunters know as the best trophy bull elk unit in the nation. I killed a ten-year-old monster. Now if I can get into one of the two top trophy mule deer units in the nation, I'll be happy.

Some 25 years ago or more, Utah's Division of Wildlife Resources committed to grooming trophy herds of the '60's. It sure looks like your wildlife biologists know what they're doing.

The most beautiful state I've been is California. We have stunningly gorgeous Sierra Nevada Mountains, and spectacular vistas of the Pacific Coast. Laguna Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches and cleanest and crime-free in the USA, and it's close to me. There is no way I could afford to live there. The central coast along US 101 is breathtaking. But...CA politics has transformed what might be the prettiest state in the union to the ugliest. I cannot stand the political culture of this state. Every single statewide office is held by a Democrat.

If I were to move, I'd look in to Cedar City, UT. It's only about a 7 hour drive to So Cal beaches. And Utah is a free state. CA regulates us one way or another 24/7/365. The politics of this state make its phenomenal weather feel like constant freeze. We're limited to types of handguns we can buy. If gun confiscation occurs in the USA, CA will be the first state it's implemented.

Probably the four things I'd miss most were I to move from So Cal are the amazingly gorgeous women (chicks walk on PCH in thong bikinis), endless summers, convenience to everything from sporting events to concerts to cultural events (I'm immune from rarefied cultural; e.g., theater and Getty Museum) and shopping, and, of course, fishing: the Eastern Sierra for trout and offshore for huge tuna.

I hope we cross paths this October. I'll buy breakfast.

Yes, I will need to work. Been a heavy equipment mechanic for 24 years and currently rebuilding some models of allison transmissions. We are financially secure but I still gotta work.

My idea of a small town we like is maybe a blinking red light, neighbors still help each other, etc.

Texas is way to hot for me. NoCal was brought up but it's still attached to SoCal.

I totally understand the outsider mentality, been there.

Yes, I will need to work. Been a heavy equipment mechanic for 24 years and currently rebuilding some models of allison transmissions. We are financially secure but I still gotta work.

My idea of a small town we like is maybe a blinking red light, neighbors still help each other, etc.

Joel have you looked at the UP? By Houghton there are as big of mountains as Michigan gets and it isn't very populated. You can also find jobs if you are a heavy equipment mechanic there are always places hiring. It doesn't get as Cold but you still get winter and your dollars will go far there for everything.

Otherwise I Lived in Havre, MT for awhile and liked it. Small with good hunting around and for your profession there are good jobs to be had. With your budget you should be able to afford a nice place to call your own. I would Strongly advised avoiding North Dakota I lived there almost 5 years and don't miss it.

Just my .02

Yes, I will need to work. Been a heavy equipment mechanic for 24 years and currently rebuilding some models of allison transmissions. We are financially secure but I still gotta work.

My idea of a small town we like is maybe a blinking red light, neighbors still help each other, etc.

AK only sucks if your a liberal wanting to move there. My wife is looking into SE AK. Just to get back home.

All of this is patently false. Utah is a dry, dusty, miserable place. There are millions of people, no alcoholic beverages and the traffic is worse than it ever was.

Also, if you drive a vehicle with California plates and the locals figure out that you have been encouraging people to move to or hunt in Utah, they will abduct and sell you to a polygamist colony in the desert, where you will be forced to become a 'plural wife'.

I highly recommend Texas. El Paso has some nice mountains.

If I were able to if head to Bufflao,Sheridan,Dayton Wyoming area