Why not Montana?

[buglebrush]

Serious question here.   Growing up in Idaho we always hated all the washington plates we saw in the woods.  Now living here, and posting on this site I have noticed that most washington hunters choose Idaho if Hunting out of State.  Why?  WHY??   I hunt Idaho, but I grew up there and only recently moved a couple miles into washington.  I also have the lifetime license.  However, none of us would ever choose Idaho if we were paying full price for an out of state hunt.  Montana has more elk, more area, and way less pressure.  I am honestly curious as to why?   It is only a couple more hours to Montana? 

[bobcat]

For me- the cost of the license and tag. I think Montana's about twice the cost of Idaho.

[JimmyHoffa]

I think the two main reasons I've heard.  Idaho is a bit more non-resident draw friendly.  Idaho is more gov't/public land--not the big ranches like Montana.

[theleo]

Because I'm family friends with an outfitter in Idaho and have free access to his camps.

[huntnphool]

Some of us hunt all three.

[furbearer365]

Closer, cheaper tags for non residents, more public land, lots of 4wheeler friendly land, a good draw system, and better all around opportunity for a trophy with an OTC tag.  Montana has a lot of areas for big bulls, but very few are OTC.  They do have great elk numbers, but you would be hard pressed to find areas that are OTC and able to pull a mid 300 inch bull out of it, with any consistency.  They do have them, but not like Idaho

[buglebrush]

Interesting.  Thanks guys.  If I was hinting the panhandle I would still hop across, and hunt the NW corner of Montana. 

[grundy53]

Closer, cheaper tags for non residents, more public land, lots of 4wheeler friendly land, a good draw system, and better all around opportunity for a trophy with an OTC tag.  Montana has a lot of areas for big bulls, but very few are OTC.  They do have great elk numbers, but you would be hard pressed to find areas that are OTC and able to pull a mid 300 inch bull out of it, with any consistency.  They do have them, but not like Idaho

Exactly. Plus I can shoot 2 bucks in Idaho.
My grandma and uncle live in NW Idaho and another uncle lives in NE Montana and I still hunt Idaho instead of Montana.