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Best Big Game State?

Huntin' Fool

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Was going to make it a poll.

Would have needed to list all 50. And Canada and Mexico?

I've only really BG hunted in Idaho and California.

So Idaho. Although Alaska is on my bucket list.
 
1)British Columbia
2)Arizona
3)Montana
4)Alaska (though as a nonresident I can't hunt there)
5)Wyoming
 
1. Wisconsin
2. Iowa
3 Michigan
4. Washington
5 Minnesota
 
Alaska because most resident across the counter tags are free.
Alaska because residents get a free hunting/fishing/trapping license at age 60.
Alaska because of a diversity of unique opportunities starting Aug. 10
Alaska because of a wilderness experience where it can be rare to hear another rifle shot
and it is fairly easy to avoid competition from other hunters.
 
Alaska because most resident across the counter tags are free.
Alaska because residents get a free hunting/fishing/trapping license at age 60.
Alaska because of a diversity of unique opportunities starting Aug. 10
Alaska because of a wilderness experience where it can be rare to hear another rifle shot
and it is fairly easy to avoid competition from other hunters.

Not Alaska because you can only hunt deer, caribou, moose and black bear without a guide as a NR
Not Alaska because you can only hunt caribou from the road system in a few locations without drawing a 1 in 100 odds tag and they are all goat rodeos
Not Alaska because almost all NR moose hunting is 50 inches or bigger so you may see lots of moose but not a legal one
Not Alaska because there is no infrastructure so your hunting trip will often very pricey as a Nonresident

Anyway... I've had specular luck in the AK draws and some amazing opportunities in Alaska, but it's been luck, connections, and some cash that made it all happen. I've also seen the worst crowding of anywhere I've ever hunted or fished in Alaska.

Me - "How was fishing last weekend"
BIL - "Oh you know typical... combat fishing"

As a Resident, I'd for sure put AK #1, but it ain't all ice creams and chachas

So states where the average person from anywhere in the US can get there fairly cheaply, get a tag, have decent success, and that I've hunted.

1. Colorado
2. Wyoming
3. New England
4. Idaho
5. Montana
6. Alaska
7. Minnesota
8. New Mexico
9. Utah
 
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Texas.

They have fences to keep animals in, they drive you to a blind over a feeder, you load dead animal in pickup, sleep in a lodge, I could go on forever.


Sleeping on the cold ground, walking miles, packing meat, struggling to find critters is for suckers.
 
i think i gotta agree with wllm to some extent.

if you don't live in a western state, colorado is probably your best western and big game state. elk, deer (white tail and mule deer), bear, and turkey tags for anyone and everyone, and honestly your odds of success really aren't bad, actually they're quite good on the deer and bear tags.

now, which is the best western state to live in for big game hunting? that is an entirely different question and we all know the top two or three for that.

i just got back from a long weekend in rural wisconsin. and i gotta say, it's damn tempting to try and pick up 40 or 50 acres in wisconsin and up and leave this stressful, congested, expensive, and loud craphole we call colorado.

my odds of hunting colorado don't really change much as an NR and my odds of hunting any other western state don't change at all if i did that.
 
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