Washington Vs. Idaho

[RLM]

I am planning on moving to one of these 3 towns this summer, but I can't just decide.  Spokane, WA, Pocatello, ID, or Boise, ID.  I lived in Pocatello from 92 to 98 and liked it a lot.  I've been living in Texas for the past 10 years and am sick of it.  Obviously hunting is a major factor in my decision.  Basically how does Eastern Washington stack up against Idaho as far as public land/hunting opportunities, and will I have to drive a ways living in Spokane to find good public hunting?

[archery288]

Welcome to the site!    I would say Idaho would have more public land as they have more national forest land than any other state besides Alaska!

[GoldTip]

I would say Idaho has hands down better public land hunting opportunities.  If you have a good job and can afford it, I think living in Spokane, Washington is a far better choice than living in either Boise or Pocatello, at least for me personally.  It is not that terribly expensive to hunt Idaho as a Non-Resident, and I am actually closer to most the hunting spots I hunt in Idaho, than the ones I hunt in Washington.  But I get to hunt both.  Non-res tags are OTC in Idaho as long as you buy early, and then if you tag out early, you still have your Washington tags to hunt with.  Also, Idaho hasa much longer general deer or elk season.  I usually am hunting Idaho for a while early season, then come back to Washington to fill some tags, then head back over to Idaho while the season are closed in WA.  Also, there is no choose your weapon rulke in Idaho.

[boneaddict]

I'd rank Idaho as the best state for overall hunting in the bottom 48.  Alaska doesn't count....its in its own class.   Yes, I said best.   HUGE mule deer, HUGE moose, Great elk, Greaat bear, and hey...you can hunt wolves almost now too.

[WDFW-SUX]

That poll question is laughable 

I'd rank Idaho as the best state for overall hunting in the bottom 48.

I'd say Colorado and Idaho are a toss up............ the Idaho draw system is much better though.

[boneaddict]

Yeah, I'll probably never get drawn to hunt Colorado.  Any state with NO POINTS wins the award for me.

[Intruder]

I'd rank Idaho as the best state for overall hunting in the bottom 48.

I'd say Colorado and Idaho are a toss up............ the Idaho draw system is much better though.

I agree that ID compared to WA is better.  

Interesting perspectives... Having lived in CO and ID I too think they are great hunting states.  I'd probably give a slight edge to CO based on quality and # of elk and muleys.  ID does have way better moose hunting though.  I'd also rank MT way up there.  Kinda depends on your criteria.  There are a lot of things you can throw in the mix.... big game, small game, upland waterfowl, turkeys, pigs, game #s, diversity vs. quality, public access, seasons, management.... etc.  Tough to judge best.      

[boneaddict]

True on all accounts.  My perspective is swayed heavily that I can buy a tag OTC and hunt alot of premium country in Idaho for elk and deer.   I haven't had that much experience with CO being able to do that, so that is a heavy proponent of my statement.  OTC and still has outstanding game.   Its also one of the easiest to get a OIL hunt the way they have theri draw set up in regards to selecting species etc.

[WDFW-SUX]

I wish WDFW would just copy idaho........

[snohohunter]

Dumb question, but what's an OIL hunt?

[boneaddict]

Once in a lifetime.

[Houndhunter]

and you can run hounds and trap with real traps, i like idaho

[RLM]

I probably get just as excited hunting small game (rabbits, grouse, squirrels) and waterfowl as anything else.  I like playing around with rimfires, air guns, bows, and stuff like that.  I've spent a lot of time in Colorado during the summers fishing and camping and such, but never hunted there.  I've always just assumed Colorado would be an expensive place to hunt with not a whole lot of public land, but never really did much research on it.  One thing I liked about Pocatello was you could just drive 30 minutes or so from town and be out hunting.  The only animal I've shot since moving here is a single goose in 10 years.  You will go out and you won't see a rabbit or squirrel, and if you're lucky maybe an occassional glimpse at a running deer.  There is good hunting here if you've got a lot of money but public hunting in Texas is really pretty awful.  Thanks for the great info.

[Wacenturion]

I wish WDFW would just copy Idaho........

Does that include reducing the population to Idaho levels as well.  Problem is Washington is the smallest state in size west of the Mississippi River with the 2nd largest population after California.....unfortunately many of them liberals.
I too would chose Spokane with the ability to hunt northern Idaho as well as eastern and southeastern Washington......and hey.....Montana is just up the road. 

[wf70gonehunting]

I would go with Idaho. I lived in poky for 10 years lots of big wttail and mldeer down there. I would go back if there was some good work.

[cascademountainhunter]

i would go with idaho just because washington has alot of wierd laws

[bucklucky]

Hands down Idaho!!

[257 Wby Mag]

No comparison, only bad thing is, no Rosies or blacktails, but after prowling around over there the last 8 years, Idaho is hard to beat.

[MichaelJ]

You know... I know you guys are right, but I hunted Idaho last fall hard for 8 days in a an area that I was told holds some good deer (have since been told there's some monsters in there by two other sources), but we saw wolf tracks, and two cougars (one of which I shot), but the hunting wasn't ANY better than WA.  We hiked back into areas where there wasn't a bootprint and glassed hours on end. Saw a lot of deer (average maybe 30 deer per day) and a few small bucks but nothing big and it practically reminded me of the Entiat units as far as deer numbers go in October.

I guess just like any area you have to put in the time to really get to know an area and to be successful hunting it.  However unless I lived there, I wouldn't waste the money on the out of state tag unless I was going hunting with someone that knew the area well.

Michael

[iceman91m]

I am planning on moving to one of these 3 towns this summer, but I can't just decide.  Spokane, WA, Pocatello, ID, or Boise, ID.  I lived in Pocatello from 92 to 98 and liked it a lot.  I've been living in Texas for the past 10 years and am sick of it.  Obviously hunting is a major factor in my decision.  Basically how does Eastern Washington stack up against Idaho as far as public land/hunting opportunities, and will I have to drive a ways living in Spokane to find good public hunting?

I just moved to twin and have been going out in the south hills and up to sun valley and it blows E WA out of the water. I used to hunt Cle Elum and havent shot anything in 4 years. havent even seen a buck. got a good feelin bout this season!

[Bean Counter]

New Mexico!

[iceman91m]

i know NM used to be good for elk, but anymore isnt alot of it private land hunting now?

[Bean Counter]

Yep. Still lots of public land though. Not nearly as bad as Texas. Plus most of their tags are given to residents only.

[iceman91m]

good to know. have you ever hunted NM?

[NWBREW]

This thread is almost 4 years old.   

[BullMagnet76]

I-D-A-H-O that state is waaaaaay better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I would say move to Pocatello rather that Boise.

[iceman91m]

This thread is almost 4 years old.   

  wow didnt realize that.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Congrats guys ....thanks for bringing it alive again 

[MichaelJ]

I'll throw my two NEW cents in now that ive hunted Idaho the last few years.... hands down blows WA out of the water for all hunting opportunities.  Though the muleys and elk are hurting a lot more now than they were in 2008 there is still real good opportunities...

Mike

[iceman91m]

  good to know

[colockumelk]

By looking at the polls 8 people picked WA is better than I'D.       The question must have confused them. That or they are koockoo

[kentrek]

By looking at the polls 8 people picked WA is better than I'D.       The question must have confused them. That or they are koockoo

hey now i chose WA..but then again i am alil koockoo for 300 inch rosys 

this is also gona be my seventh year in a row hunting ID as well tho.... 200 inch deer and 370 class bulls are hard to forget about..

[whacker1]

I live in Spokane and answered Idaho, However, I don't think you can make the decision on hunting alone unless you are retiring.  If work plays into the cards, then you need to consider income tax in Idaho, ability to find work, and a few other factors.  To speak to the ability to find work, unemployment in Boise was higher than Spokane by quite a significant number a year ago, mainly due to a few large employers, which trickled down to the entire community.  I don't know if that has changed in the last year, but make sure you do some homework on the community. 

With all that said, there were some smoking deals on foreclosures / short sales in Boise / Nampa over the last couple of years.

[Special T]

You could work in Spokane and live in Post falls...  I know of several businesses that have moved to just inside the ID state line because they were tired of the Spokane taxes and harrassment.

OR you could rent in ID in the post falls area long enough to get residency  buty your "Life" membership and then move some place in WA and have the best of both worlds. 

[whacker1]

You could work in Spokane and live in Post falls...  I know of several businesses that have moved to just inside the ID state line because they were tired of the Spokane taxes and harrassment.

OR you could rent in ID in the post falls area long enough to get residency  buty your "Life" membership and then move some place in WA and have the best of both worlds. 

This is what I would consider if I had to do it all over again. 

[Pathfinder101]

Is there really any question?