What is the best state as a resident big game hunter?

For me, opportunity is a priority. Personally, I prefer to hunt as much as possible, not have infrequent opportunities for giant bucks/bulls. Long seasons, multiple tags readily available, multiple species, public land/access, opportunity for antlerless/female harvest to stock the freezer plus opportunity for mature antlered animals too, would all be a big plus. I’m mostly thinking the west because I love elk, but I’m curious to hear arguments for other parts of the country too.

You mean, besides Alaska?

Yea, I was thinking lower 48... sorry should have clarified

I'd say Montana or Wyoming.

My initial thought was the same. Wyoming followed by Montana. I guess I'm curious if there are any "sleeper" states out there.

I'm thinking Nebraska is the sleeper.

Michigan at one point was pretty good to me. Especially the Upper Peninsula. Deer,bear,grouse,snow shoe hare,cottontail,waterfowl,predator hunting and abundant trapping and great fishing. All over the counter. Then came wolves,Fisher,Pine Martin, poor fur prices,EHD,CWD, Gill nets and being overrun by all sorts of other vermin planted by the DNR. Now things kind of suck. But, the abundant federal forest,CFA land and state land makes it great for wandering. It’s pretty in the fall.

Neb and S. Dakota are great!!!

Wyoming for big game. Idaho if you like to mix in upland with the big game. Both of tons of opportunity for residents.

Idaho.

for sheer numbers of tags, you can't beat many of the eastern states with large whitetail populations. In some states, you can get dozens of tags. Western states offer a greater variety of species, but not lots of tags. Usually it's 1 elk, 1 deer, and many of those tags are only available by drawings. Species like moose, goats, and sheep are virtually all by drawing and sometimes you can go for years before you draw.
For access to public land, the large western states are much better. Idaho, for example, has over 50,000 square miles of public land and almost all is open for hunting.

Utah sucks, i have to go to Wyoming to get a tag, i guess nothing new, Utah love,s to give their money to Nevada to gamble Idaho for lotto tickets and Wyoming to hunt

Nevada is all by draw. Some years ago, I bought a bunch of llama pack equipment from a big game hunter from Reno. He had a pack string for hunting but he'd gone almost 10 years without drawing an elk or deer tag. He finally sold off his llamas and gear and started going out of state using outfitters. It was great for me as I got a great deal but it sure sucked for him.

SD has good pheasant hunting. Very poor big game hunting unless you want to wait years for a license.

I've only had one license in SD for Elk in my life time. Deer licenses used to be available on demand in the Black Hills. Not any more. I've hunted deer and in some states elk from New York to Idaho. From the Mexico border to the Canadian border. I'd say SD has the worst chance of getting a tag of any state I've hunted and I live in SD. I apply for East River, West River, Muzzle loader, Antelope, Elk, Black Hills. Custer State Park and various other state parks. I also apply for mountain goat. I get an antelope tag now and then. Never got a goat tag. No black bear in SD (GF&P personnel either kill them or tranquilize them and move then out of state.)

Getting a license is very iffy. - for big game, SD has poor opportunities! I pay out-of-state fees for hunting elk and deer in WY and have had very good luck getting tags in the past few years.

I think that in the lower 48, Montana is the best and Wyoming the second best. Unless you want many deer tags in one year, then there are states where you can get a tag a day, use dogs, etc.

Depends on WHAT and HOW you want to hunt.

The time I'll be unable to pack out an elk is on this side of the horizon, and they are the reason I moved to Colorado in 1980. Never had an interest in goats or sheep or bears or exotics and don't care that much for deer meat. And anyone can pick up antelope tags for cheap in Wyoming or Montana, resident or not.

I think there is something to say for southern states where pigs are plentiful. And some have gators.

Hands down, Colorado is the best choice.

Colorado is good for deer and elk. Tough to get antelope (pronghorn) or moose.

Oh Lord it's hard to be humble...

LOL!!

No Texas? What the hell?

I would think Colorado too.

IF a guy has cheap access, Texas is hard to beat.

We can't play??

After three kids in six years and starting two businesses, I'm ready to start really taking advantage of what SE AK has to offer. Been a long break from the "big" hunts.

Lol, yeah SD sucks. Last year I shot three bucks over 130" and two elk (one was out of state) my wife and I ended up killing 6 deer, 2 antelope and an elk within the state. We didn't fill our 4 archery tags. This state sucks for hunting opportunity. I could only hunt Sept 1- Jan 1 this year. Not counting the 6 turkey tags I had and phenomenal walleye fishing.

Lol, yeah SD sucks. Last year I shot three bucks over 130" and two elk (one was out of state) my wife and I ended up killing 6 deer, 2 antelope and an elk within the state. We didn't fill our 4 archery tags. This state sucks for hunting opportunity. I could only hunt Sept 1- Jan 1 this year. Not counting the 6 turkey tags I had and phenomenal walleye fishing.
Hahaha Colorado sucks! Lived there for a decade

It must've sucked so bad you named yourself after it.

Yeah I did. Ten years ago. And it's still so awesome, all hunters should go there rather than Wyoming or South Dakota. I agree, Colorado is the place you wanna hunt. Hands down.

It's not the best and one of the reasons it's not is because we have so many non-residents who come here to hunt.

Montana

If it were me, I'd looking and hard at Wyoming.

Yeah, you've gotta look hard in WYoming, and squint, on account of it's always so windy......

Haven’t lived in Texas in a long time and when I did I was in the military. So I hunted on military property where it was allowed. But last I knew there was a bunch of military installations in Texas so that could be an option if you lived in Texas and need access for hunting.

What people don’t understand is that it isn’t their favorite animal as much as diversity. There are 10 Big game species you can hunt in Montana, Alaska can’t make that claim let alone any other state in the lower 48. Big game was the question, but birds, small game and fish are still more diverse than anywhere else.

The best part about Montana is there is no economy and the cost of living is high so it keeps the riff-raff to a minimum...

To each his own. Diversity is good but numbers of species are just part of it. Can you get a moose tag regularly in Montana? The other part of his question was "as a resident." If I'd grown up in AK I'm pretty sure I would've hunted sheep and goats regularly if not annually, with good chances for success.

How many people do that in Montana? If you're an AK resident, you can do it DIY, if not, you can't and it's expensive. Same with brown bears. How often can you hunt brown bears in Montana?

Texas only has about 75 species to hunt, but like I said in my first post on this subject, access can be a problem. Paying for that access helps keep the riff raff outa here too as far as hunting goes. Tags are readily available for most all of them except desert bighorn.

You need to go to Alaska sometime and see just how big it really is. I won't argue the immensity of Alaska and the rugged beauty is second to none. When it comes to hunting though, you need a boat or airplane to access much of it. I have hunted Alaska and will do it again, but I lack the airplane and jet boat that you need for a lot of that hunting.

Can you hunt elk in Alaska without a special permit, or Mule Deer Or Antelope? I did shoot a Grizzly in Montana. It isn't just the species, but access to them. Texas isn't the same because of the locked up land and imported critters...

"Best" is subjective, at best. And I've been to AK and hunted there. I want to go back.

Can you hunt caribou or Dall sheep in Montana? Musk ox? Can you hunt grizzlies or moose more than once in a lifetime?

My dad can beat up your dad, so there!

in my opinion there are only a few states to live and hunt in...…..no offence to anyone......mt...wy...ak...id.....they all have the good and the bad

my problem with ak would be access, not much of a road system....but that's good....if you have the right toys.....its going to cost a lot.

no you cant get a moose tag all the time.....like ak….and even then I think the best areas are a draw......I have gotten 2....1 ak….1 mt.….

you could go on comparing them...but for me mt is where I chose to stay......but I fish and hunt ak also....the brooks range and valdez are off the charts......tough choice's…..I lived in wy for awhile.....never lived or hunted in id.....will change that someday soon for birds......bob

I type way to slow......bob

Oregon or Washington is where all people looking to move somewhere should go. MT, WY, ID, ND, SD, and AK all suck and there isn't anything to shoot unless you're a millionaire. By all means, avoid those states.

I wondered when the “Stay Away” thread was coming.

I bet my wife could take your wife, 2.out of 3 falls. Whatever that means.

Yes, you can hunt elk in AK every year with an OTC tag, even for nonresidents with a very good chance of success. Look at the regs for Raspberry and Afognak Islands. While you are there, look at opportunities for mountain goat, brown bear, and Sitka blacktails.

Then look to SE for more elk opportunities.

Plus grizzlies, Dall sheep, mountain goats, moose, and caribou round out the AK Big Five, all OTC every year. But do not overlook the black bears, muskox, bison, and wolf, and tossing in the technical description of wolverine as a big game animal for hunting. None of them are limited to draw only and as a good friend always tells me "If you can fix it with money, it is not a problem!"

Add to that the generous limits on black bears and grizzlies, and caribou, there is nowhere else even close.

Unless you count upland birds and there AK really sucks... between the various grouse our daily limits are sometimes as low as 15 or so, but some areas are in triple figures, per DAY. And we have seven species and all are wide open. My best days with a shotgun have been over 50 birds...

Sandhill cranes, emperor geese, dusky Canada geese, scads of sea ducks, yeah AK has nothing on MT...

Oh yeah, I have put bullets in quite a few brown bears, both interior and coastal... only three were on my tag, and many I witnessed I did not have to shoot... but quite a few were slow-learners.

Oh, AK considers bears in predator control units both big game and furbearers,,, so selling bear hides is legal in some areas (just buy a trapping license) and they have been very good money through the years.

PA for me. I don't pretend to think it's ideal for others but it has everything I want.

Of course I'll pick Montana...Wyoming would be second, then Idaho. I really love Nevada, but most everything is on a draw system there.

As somebody already mentioned, while Alaska has a considerable variety of great big game animals, it;s also a huge state with much only available by boat and/or plane. As a result there's the frequent (and often expensive) problem of going somewhere to hunt for all those species.

For somebody who wants relatively easy, inexpensive travel to a wide variety of big game, one of the northern Rocky Mountain states where many tags are available OTC might be preferable. One example (though not unique) is the valley where Eileen and I have lived for 28 years now, about 10-15 miles wide with a public mountain range on either side. We used to travel far more widely to hunt, both to other states and countries and all over Montana, but mostly hunt around home anymore. Since moving here we've taken whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, pronghorn and black bear within less than an hour's pickup ride from our house. (There's also a good mountain goat herd within an hour's drive, but have never drawn a tag, which doesn't exactly break my heart.) There's also excellent waterfowling, due to a 35-mile-long reservoir surrounded by grainfields, and 8 species of upland game. In fact we often go hunting, whether for big game or birds, for an hour or two at the end of the day, since we can get to some good spots within 30 minutes. But there are plenty of other places like this not just in Montana but Idaho and Wyoming. I've even lived in a couple, and would be perfectly happy to relocate to Idaho or Wyoming again if this part of Montana gets overrun like Colorado.

But if sheer numbers of legal big game animals is the criteria, somewhere farther east in a whitetail infestation area would be the deal.

I do believe we can make that claim - Alaska has:

Black Bear
Brown Bear
Caribou
Moose
Dall Sheep
Wolf
Wolverine
Elk
Blacktail Deer
Muskox
Mtn. Goat

That be TEN ELEVEN !!!

"Best" is hard to define for sure. The size and remoteness of Alaska is a big part of the draw, for me at least. As a nonresident it's hard to scratch the surface but as a resident it seems that a hunter could get around to many different parts of the state.

That really isn’t the whole issue, I have been to Alaska and will no doubt go back. Access is the issue. Without aircraft or boat, you need to plan on very few species at a much more expensive cost in time and money. You can take a pickup with a camper and spend the whole hunting season chasing most of the big game in Montana if you want to.

Montana is not Alaska but the diversity and access suits the hunter that wants to live where he can hunt something, even though it might not be big game, all year. People do complain about what out of state fees are in Montana, but they should check out Alaska for real sticker shock...

Lumpers and splitters!

You left out grizzly bears...

A little local knowledge goes a long way. Literally within sight of home I can hunt Dall sheep (drawing with odds better than any other state,) black bear, brown bear, caribou (drawing with odds better than 10%,) moose, and mountain goat (draw) without anything more than a car. Like lots of places boats and planes just move the congestion a bit...

Sticker shock on nonresident hunting licenses? Alaska is cheaper on virtually all tags than any other state and we offer far more. It is cheaper to hunt Sitka blacktails than deer in MT. With elk it is about the same. Moose, sheep, and goats are cheaper here and much is OTC. Not really sure about much else. I thought AK has a horrible website, but MT is actually worse!

Could you post up those prices please. I may have gotten screwed because a non resident bear and caribou tag would cost more than the combination license for Montana. Then the hunting license I had to buy just to say I could go hunting cost me a bunch more. Did I miss something?

You do have a wonderful state up there and can’t be equaled in remoteness and grandeur; but try and access it all and you are in a different world altogether. I live in Montana because I do hunt all those animals not because I can...

Shrap’s Alaska is Montana.... it’s pretty much the same thing.

I did not realize Montana had caribou available to hunt!


Give me a minute on the price list, need a better computer than this tablet for ease.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=huntlicense.prices

Here is a link to the whole list of all prices including residents... it does not play nice when posted so I will get a better list.

Nonresident Tags: Do I need a guide? Nonresident
(PDF 29 kB) Do I need a guide?
Nonresident Brown/Grizzly Bear Yes $1,000.00
Nonresident Black Bear -- $450.00
Nonresident Bison -- $900.00
Nonresident Caribou -- $650.00
Nonresident Deer -- $300.00
Nonresident Elk -- $600.00
Nonresident Goat Yes $600.00
Nonresident Moose -- $800.00
Nonresident Muskox - Bull -- $2,200.00
Nonresident Muskox – Cow -- $2,200.00
Nonresident Sheep Yes $850.00
Nonresident Wolf -- $60.00
Nonresident Wolverine -- $350.00
Nonresident Duplicate (replacement) Tag
(For any above species) -- $5.00

Since the thread is about residents, here is the resident list...
Resident Annual Sport Fishing License $29.00
Resident Annual Sport Fishing and Hunting License $69.00
Resident Annual Sport Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping License $94.00
Resident Annual Hunting $45.00
Resident Annual Trapping $25.00
Resident Annual Low Income Sport Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping License $5.00
Resident Annual Sport Fishing License for the Blind $0.50
Resident Hunting License for the Blind $45.00
Resident Duplicate (replacement) License $5.00
Resident Duplicate (replacement) Low Income License $2.00

Resident King Salmon & Duck Stamps:
Resident Annual King Salmon Stamp $10.00
Resident Duplicate (replacement) King Salmon Stamp $5.00
Resident Annual State Waterfowl Stamp $10.00

As a resident with 60 in the rearview mirror I have a free permanent license and only have to buy a federal duckstamp.

Cannot get a pdf document to post in the image gallery, so here is a link to the page...

https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committe...ptember-2013/resident-fee-comparison.pdf

doesn`t Alaska also have American Bison hunts too ?

As listed, yes we do have plains bison in a number of places across AK, some are very difficult draws and some are OTC.

Woods bison have been reintroduced to areas they existed not all that long ago. The hope is to establish a huntable population.

CORDrew: The answer to your question is Montana.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Alaska has a insane cost of living and acess is poor unless one has planes, boats, etc.
I would like to hunt dall sheep one more time before I croak.

With the advent of big box stores, Costco, and jobs plateau of sorts Alaska is no longer anywhere near insane. Housing is not as far out of line as a large number of places I have been lately. Boats need not be expensive to open some areas for hunting and fishing. And they are always cheaper to rent.

Alaska sucks. Cost of living is off the charts, there are no roads to my favorite hunting spots, you gotta be rich to hunt any of the fun stuff, and there are places where even the water has been polluted with salt!


Soon as they pay me again for living here, I'm moving to Montana.

Well if wolverine is a "biggame animal" a badger must be as well..

All joking aside, as far as hunting goes I could happily live in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming. I think I'd miss the ocean though.

I could see being a pre-snowbird where you leave AK in October and head south for some more hunting in MT. Then come back to AK when it it gets too cold in Montana.

Substitute Bison for the Wolverine.
You can add whales, seals and walrus is you a native Eskimo.

A friend's daughter shot a 76 pound sea otter from my boat, legally... that is pretty fair-sized...

Well hell I guess we’ll add beaver to the “big game “ list too!!!

Damn.... I ain’t seen a beaver that big, since I dated a German chic when I was in college...

Dogshooter,

UNDERSTOOD. = When I was stationed in BRD & was a young/single guy, I was "fixed up with" a German girl by a friend. Jack said that she was "well endowed with great legs", GEORGIOUS & "a lot of fun". = That description was 100% true.

What he did NOT tell me was that she was 160# plus & nearly 7 feet tall in heels. = At 6 foot tall, I had never dated a grrl, who I had to stand on tiptoes to kiss BUT we made it work for several months.
(Gisela ended up in 1972 as an exchange student at Tulane University, where she met & married the center on the varsity BB team. = Last that I heard they were still married, with 6 grown kids & several grandchildren.)

yours, tex

Josh, was her beaver that hairy? grin

and I bet it still smelled like fish ?

I can handle a big beaver...😎

i would wrassle a Badger in a sleeping bag before i would fight a wolverine!
add Musk ox and polar bear to AK.

Still pickin it outta my teeth.....

Can you hunt polar bears if you're not a native?

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.