Favorite Out of State Hunts

[Wetwoodshunter]

As my time in the woods are over this year I was thinking about what state I wanted to hunt in next year but having only hunted in WA and Montana was looking for input from others that have experienced other states.

I'm looking for a quality archery elk hunt where I have a good chance at harvesting a bull. Trophy potential doesn't need to be spectacular but I would love to harvest something mature. Additionally all my elk experience has been hunting elk in the timber so I wanted to experience something a little more open.

As for deer, I'm mostly interested in harvesting a whitetail as I have never harvested one. I'm interested in rifle hunting my deer as a few of my buddies are rifle hunters and it spreads my hunts out more. I'm looking for a late season rut hunt on this one.

So, what states and general units have you had good experiences in?
I will not be hiring a guide, and most likely hunt public land.
I am not afraid of hiking and camping or truck camping.
Looking for more "open country experiences"

Any thought appreciated.

[Wetwoodshunter]

Feel free to PM me if you don't want to broadcast units.

[buglebuster]

Idaho. North for whitetail and central for elk

[Smoke]

can't help you with the Elk... but I lived in South Carolina for many years... the season for white tail is from mid August until Jan 1st (4 1/2 months of hunting) limit is 2 deer a day on Game Management Areas, 5 a year...  not all areas are open but something is open every day... for instance.. France Marion GMA is broken into 5 units, one of three units is open every week for a week, any weapon, including shotgun buckshot (they run dogs in these areas for deer too), the other 2 open for 2 week periods for special hunts... archery only, black powder only, rifle only... no dogs or shotguns in those 2.... these are huge areas, so plenty room to get deep in away from the road hunters and dogs... lots of deer too.. (weekends are the worst, with hunters lined up on the roads waiting for the dogs to push the deer out across the roads... during the week, you'll pretty much have the woods to yourself) the other GMA's thru out the state run a bit differently but check their regs and you'll see, someplace is always open for deer... or weekend doe hunts..

[Stein]

If you want a quality experience in the open you should seriously look into Wyoming antelope.

[High Climber]

If you want a quality experience in the open you should seriously look into Wyoming antelope.

Funnest, most target rich hunting experience I've had!

[dc]

If you want a quality experience in the open you should seriously look into Wyoming antelope.

Funnest, most target rich hunting experience I've had!

I agree, most fun I've ever had on a hunt.  Headed back in 2017 hoping for a dandy.

[mburrows]

Colorados got the largest elk population by far and some good otc units.

[Jimmy33]

OTC Unit 1 Idaho Mulie Rut Hunt

[MTMule]

Where at in unit 1?

[Jimmy33]

Where at in unit 1?

You have any info for unit 23? I'd be happy to share.


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[finnman]

I have hunted out of state since the early 90's. Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, BC, and have never had so much fun as hunting in eastern MT and WY. Those 2 are by far the most fun, most deer, least amount of hunters, best terrain, and so forth.
Just play it right and your hunt can be everything you make it!
This year we were hunting NE WY, we stopped and asked for permission from 5 different ranches, we got 3 that said, yes, you can hunt! We only had doe tags for private land, but one was an outfitter, he took us on a guided doe hunt for my friend who was a first time hunter!
We had another guy say yes, meet me tomorrow and I will show you around. But, we were leaving that day, so we left a note on his door later, that we will look him up next year. He has 2,200 acres, surrounded by land locked state and blm, plus his neighbor is an outfitter. Should have some good hunting next year!

Basically you just need to get out and talk to people like they are real! That's all it took! And it helps to mention you have a doe tag!

[Bob33]

Wyoming antelope for me.

[Labs07]

WY Elk and sped goats.  Doesn't get much better really.

[Brushbuster]

WY Speed goat. I took my 79 year old huntin buddy this year & had a great time except for his constant bathroom breaks.   

[Skyvalhunter]

Because you were having so much fun drinking alcohol?

[Brushbuster]

Because you were having so much fun drinking alcohol?

It's an old guy thing. But we did throw a few down at night as if we were still in our younger days!! 

[Skyvalhunter]

 

[Wetwoodshunter]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I never realized how inexpensive someone could put together a speed goat hunt for. I'm going to have to look into them more.

So my next questions is people that have hunted elk in Wyoming or Colorado is there a lot of hunting pressure during archery? How does it compare to Washington or Montana?

[Matth]

eagle caps, eastern Oregon, over the counter archery elk. one of the coolest hunts ever.

[Hot Lunch]

eagle caps, eastern Oregon, over the counter archery elk. one of the coolest hunts ever.

Isnt that unit like Idaho steep?

 I elk hunted Idaho this year and there was a mix of Idaho and out of state plates at every trail head. I would recommend Idaho strongly, use their website to determine what unit plenty of info  to make a decision. I don't think there are bad units in Central Idaho.

[Eric M]

Colorados got the largest elk population by far and some good otc units.

Randy Newberg has some great videos on YouTube about Colorado's OTC opportunities. It's on my bucket list.

[huntnnw]

The ID controlled hunts have been fun, but NV was the best. Saw a ton of deer and bucks! will be back for sure

[TheKid#10]

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