Well every year my buddy and I head somewhere for an adventure the end of August sometime. Two years ago we went backpack elk hunting in colorado on public land. Then we went back last year for trout fishing.
Well, elk hunting won't work for season date reasons. I'm wondering if anyone has some good ideas for a hunting adventure that time of year. We've debated pronghorn hunting in wyoming, but season dates, units, and no preference points make that idea sound like a hurdle I don't know if we can cross. If you had eight days to take your bow anywhere in August where would you go?
you can come to mississippi and hunt mosquitoes, they are plenty big and piles of um. :goldtooth:
wish you luck on finding something
Alaska, season opens for bucks in Southeast August 1. Hunt would be spot and stalk up in the alpine, weather can be really nice (or not so nice, it is Alaska afterall) and the bears are mostly down low in the creeks eating salmon. I think caribou is also open in August.
Another thought would be California blacktails up north. It will be hot most likely. I'm not sure if archery is over the counter or draw though. Hike into the wilderness areas and you will likely not see another hunter. One more idea is Oregon, general archery opens the 29th of August for both deer and elk and tags are mostly over the counter, plus you can hunt the whole state with the exception of a few of the draw only units. There are 2 traditional only areas, Canyon Creek (part of the Murders Creek unit) and the Trout Creek Trad only hunt (part of the Whitehorse unit). Canyon Creek is trad only for the first few days of the season and you can hunt deer and elk. The Trout Creeks are a mule deer hunt. You would have to drive in and it's very remote and pretty rugged. It's a lot of area and deer seem to be in pockets. The scenery is awesome though and there are some massive bucks. Do your homework if you consider going into the Trout Creeks. Whatever you decide, have fun and be safe!
pig hunting on Fort Stewart here in South Ga. is usually good at that time as well as some of the best bass fishing in the country.Bass over 15pounds are caught there nearly every year. Base was close to most hunting all deer season and the pig hunting is good.But you gotta watch for snakes and have TWO thermacels.Close to the beach as well.RC
From Iowa driving to South Dakota is no problem..
Antelope tags are quick and easy to get,, and pretty cheap. Big beautiful country to chase pronghorns in...
John III
I second JDS3 speed goats are easy and a blast to hunt!!!!!
Caribou in AK are open.
Annie goats are open in many states. Bring lots of water. Sitting in an enclosed bling that time of the year is a form of torture and you have to be careful with the sun if roaming.
Fall bear season in Ontario usually opens around the 15th of August. And our whitetail season here in Manitoba opens the last Monday in August every year. Sometimes as early as the 26th.
I just tried to mapquest from Dubuque, IA to AK. There was no maps available. hmmm. I couldn't believe how resonable the tag prices were though. Keep the ideas coming, this is really helping.
Antelope in Idaho opens Aug. 15th other big game not till the 30th. OTC tags.
Is antelope ground in S.D. hard to come by?
If I'm not mistaken, there is quite alot of public ground in western SD and plenty of antelope. You could also knock on some ranch doors, they can pretty receptive to removing a goat or two off their property, especially if you don't care about killing bucks. Show them your bow and they may even take extra mercy on you, LOL! Maybe some of the members from SD can chime in and help you out?
Caribou in Labrador. Check out www.trophylabrador.com (http://www.trophylabrador.com)
Lots of public ground here in SD to hunt antelope on. The private ground is usually a little better but if you can figure out who owns the land it is usually not too tough to get permission to bowhunt goats unless the land is already leased out. Best bet for public ground is either NW or SW corners of the state. You can get a free atlas from SD GF&P for state land and you can get grasslands/ BLM maps for the rest of the public land.
Great thread! As a high school teacher I have plenty of time off but not much when I would like it. An August bowhunt trip is a great idea. Looks like I have some homework to do!
This is a good thread...my works busy time is 4th quarter so I'm usually out of luck in October and November, hard pressed to get time off.
August Antelope is my vote...looking at doing one in the next couple of years myself.
Josh
Alligator bowfishing in Florida if you can draw.
Florida rays and flounder...Georgia or Florida pigs
Texas bowfishing and maybe hogs
Louisiana saltwater bowfishing is hard to beat as well
Bmac...I teach high school as well so I can relate to your post. For me, trips are planned only on the scheduled breaks or in the summer.
This is a great thread - I'll be following it closely. Keep those ideas coming.
Thanks....CJ
SD had some very good private that charges trespass. While I hate to pay, the fees are very reasonable and the nice thing is that both deer and antelope archery tags are available on-line. If you get it clicked as a buy before 11am they guarantee it in that days mail. I've done it twice and they aren't kidding.
Deer won't open till about 26 Sep.
Someone sent me a email which I mistakenly thought was a PM... Of course I deleted the question regarding Antelope in South Dakota before I replied.. Please send this again.
I can answer that SD is full of Antelope and Mule deer. I saw hundreds of goats and some truly huge examples.
I hunted the far, far northwest corner of the state this past August on private ground. Contact the state dept. of game & fish about public ground.. They were fast and professional in answering my emails...
John III