Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Best state as a resident big game hunter?

No.

We are not far from it, I think you will see big changes in next year's regs. Way too many people in the open hunts.

Art, Please don't be telling people what we pay for our "tags" It's rather embarrassing how expensive they are.

Didn't think so. The f**king Sierra Club would go nuts. But it's A-OK if a native does it. Nothing against native Alaskans, just the Sierra Club.

You think you are embarrassed? Wait until you are my age!

Uh oh.

Gotta make a phone call.

BRB.

you are the only guy I know who knew Moses personally.
I don't think I'll ever be able to compete with that.

I have only hunted Alaska for the last 53 years and as I approach 70 I realize more and more how much this state is made for young hunters. Every thing you hunt up here is in rugged unforgiving country, the game is heavy and hard to pack out. The terrain is hard to travel on and will suck the wind out of you.

With the deer and small game opportunities, Wyoming appeals to me. But, for sheer wilderness to travel through, Alaska is hard to beat. Our big game animals are not every where, moose and sheep and goats are in "pockets" and some areas seem pretty barren of big game. Our accessible caribou herds for most of us are hunted by to many hunters, as are the moose. So packing in some where is best as it gets one away from the crowds.

The good news is my wife is my hunting partner and we just enjoy Alaska, whether we make a gut pile or not.

In Idaho, you can hunt grizzly bear. Singular. One tag available. The tag's available but not the bear after that @#$%^ liberal judge stopped the hunt.

Well, it comes down to where you can make a reasonable living, Having lived and worked in Alaska, my busy time was also fall hunting time. It's expensive and I had access to aircraft since I fly for a living. Where I live in CT, we got plenty of deer and turkeys to shoot, the problem here is well crowds on public land, the state lands get hit hard. Private Property is well hard to to get access at times. I have huntable land, but it's not cheap by any means. Montana, Idaho Wyoming would be my picks but being able to make a living comes first without money, you are not going to be doing much hunting no matter how good it is. That is a fact of the matter. I myself would like nothing better than to pack up and find a spot in the North West Corner of Montana, the problem is finding work that pays well enough to support oneself that will give you the time to well hunt and fish. As a pilot, I could maybe get a job flying for one of the FEDEX feeders when they hire, still, I would end up living in Billings like I did when I few bank paper in the 1980's no time to do anything other than fly and sleep and rest up over the weekend. As it was there was never enough money left over to do much running around when the weekend came anyway.

This is BS. I draw a tag every other year, by design. The off years I am in Idaho hunting with my brother, who lives there. This year I drew a deer and elk tag, as I did in 2016, elk in 2014, deer in 2013, elk in 2011....

If you are willing to drive everywhere in the state, you can draw something with rifle easily 3-4 years out of 5. Every year is easily done with a smokepole and stick and string added in...

Guys that cant draw hold out for the so called premium units in their back yard.

Been a resident of SD, Ak and Mt.

None are a bad choice. All have great hunting. Like everywhere else, access is king.

I don’t hunt Nevada, but it does sound like you confirmed what Rock Chuck said about all tags are by a draw...

Yes, all tags by draw except Mountain Lion, but the guys that say that they can't ever draw are not telling the whole story I guess was my point.