I am not afraid to admit it but I sure do like to come in after an all day hunt to a hot shower, dry bed and a place that I dont have to worry about battling the elements in the middle of the night. I hunt hard but when its over for the day I like it to be over.
To facilitate this Ive been thinking about DIY in Wyoming or Montana. Ive hunted in Sheridan before and it seemed like there was some good public land close to town. Im talking deer, either species but cow elk would do too.
I just want a big open, wild space that I can get to in a 1/2 to 1 full hour drive from my comfy digs, well rested and caffeinated.
I am not set on Wyo and Montana so I would love to hear what you have experienced. West of the Mississippi is my only requirement.
For you hard core spike campers and back packers God bless you all and have at it. I sure like hearing your stories and seeing your pics it just aint my cup of tea.
Thanks and lets hear it. Pics would be really fine too. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Izzy, You are soft! Not that I blame you, your reasoning sounds good! :smileystooges:
Hmmmm domestic it would have to be New Orleans
Exotic maybe Singapore
Izzy...........
I am with you brother, no tents and skeeters for me. A hot shower at the Ramada Inn, a few drinks in the bar then on to the Ribeye and baked tater. That is as rough as I can stand it.
I hear what your saying Charles. Miami and Montreal for me, but Im talking deer not dear. Charlie, I aint ascared to admit I appreciate creature comforts, it comes with hard earned wisdom which you should be acquiring anyday now. Howd you make out today? I missed a squirrel a couple times losing one arrow and mushrooming another. :knothead:
Granite Lodge in Granite OR.
Where I grew up..Bridgeport,CA. The bucks are easy to find during archery season and there are few hunters but once gun season opens hang it up.
Decent hotels and food in town and you can be hunting in 15-30 minutes from it. Beautiful country! Town sits at 6200' and surrounding mountains reach 11,000+ Plus bear is open about the same time and lots of bears.
snakewood3...now that right there is funny :biglaugh:
Thompson, Manitoba. My bear outfitter had problems at his camp, so he put me and my partner up at a great hotel. Room service, reastaurant tab, big, comfy beds, and satellite TV. Gave us gas money to drive to camp and back too!
Izzy now your talking my kind of hunt.
Im looking into Cali as well MikeW, thanks.
The Frontier Inn, in Halsey Nebraska. 90,000 acres of National Forest ground less than 5 minutes away. Mule deer,Whitetail,Turkeys and even a good number of Antelope. It lays about dead center in the state. Archery seasons start Aug. 20th for Antelope and Sept. 15th for the rest. The drive wouldn't be as far either. Hope this helps!
Steve
Stayed at the Prudoh Bay hotel one time. Was hunting the north slope haul road. That's pretty remote. 430 miles to the next services
I'm with you Izzy. I like roughing it all day but after the camp fire bring on the creature comforts.
Hunting Columbian blacktails in western OR and unbelievably, the same crappy motel that stykbow67 just mentioned although it has been a bunch of years.
I have never hunted from a hotel. Always a camper. tent, or the back of my truck. With the high price of fuel, I like to live close to the game I'm hunting.
Black Hills out of a Holiday Inn Express in Hill City SD.
Northern New Mexico or Southern Colorado. Raton, Chama or Dulce, New Mexico have great motels and many National Forests to hunt. Pagosa Springs, Bayfield or Durango, Colorado's same.
Danny
Hi Izzy,
All you need to do is head up route 9 or 87 and take a left at North Creek and have at it. If you can bring home a nice buck from that six million acre Bermuda triangle with a longbow, you have achieved greatness :-)
Izzy,
You sound like a guy that would enjoy the South Fork Inn west of Buffalo on Hwy 16. Hunting and fishing right out your door, and for the past couple of years they have had a gourmet cook. Plenty of mule deer, and good elk population if you can draw a tag.
http://www.southfork-lodge.com/
I've hunted western Wyoming many times from a motel in town. Like said above, a hot shower and dry sheets sure are nice.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/fremontpeakr.jpg)
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/halfmoondistant.jpg)
Killed this buck while hunting from a motel in Glenrock, Wyoming. The country was new to me and the deer plentiful.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/GlenrockBuckR.jpg) (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Muledeervista.jpg)
Hunting buddy Pete Coats and I shared expenses of motel hunting on an antelope hunt along the Yellowstone River not far from Miles City.
(http://www.tradgang.com/upload/charlie/Yellowstoneriver.jpg)
Greybull Wyoming.....
QuoteOriginally posted by snakewood3:
Hmmmm domestic it would have to be New Orleans
Exotic maybe Singapore
That's funny stuff right there.
The big problem with DIY out of state hunts is the concept of setting up and outfitting a camp on a BUDGET of TIME. Vacation time is always at a premium. Even if you want to drive out and set up camp and have the backcountry camp experience it isn't a practical option for many people.
Great question, Izzy. This would make a very worthwhile and useful article for TBM.
Alamosa... Colorado
Quite a few Hotel/ motels around and 45 min drive to nice hunting
Charlie, those pics right there of of the type of country Im speaking of. Those are the views that give you that tingly feeling in your spine.
Greg, logistics are 3/4 the problem with backcountry camps. Two day drive both ways, a day to set up camp and a day to break it down, you almost need two weeks. I could swing it with work but I wouldnt want to be away from my family for that long.
Hunting from a motel/hotel, you fly in get your rental vehicle, get to your room, get out and scout/hunt if theres still daylight left. You can hunt til dark as you dont have to worry about cooking in the dark.
If you get rained out you dont have to deal with your smelly partner in a small tent all day.
The only cons that I can see are not much opportunity for campfire bs'ing, cost of fuel getting to and from hunting land and hotels costs.
You fellas have some great suggestions. I hope to have a destination picked by January to hunt 2012.
Thanks,Izzy
Gunnison Colorado and Craig Colorado. But...prefer to be camped in my hunt area.
QuoteOriginally posted by monterey:
Gunnison Colorado and Craig Colorado. But...prefer to be camped in my hunt area.
Both those area's are probably my favorite to visit in CO. California Park north of Hayden is a great place! It's probably an hour from Craig.
QuoteOriginally posted by snakebit40:
QuoteOriginally posted by monterey:
Gunnison Colorado and Craig Colorado. But...prefer to be camped in my hunt area.
Both those area's are probably my favorite to visit in CO. California Park north of Hayden is a great place! It's probably an hour from Craig. [/b]
Yes, have hunted California Park area several times. We always camped when hunting up there. When I hunted out of Craig we were going west into Unit 10. It's a pretty good drive, but highway all the way. Only did the hotel thing because it was January and did not want to deal with nights in the minus 30 range. :) As it were, the temps never went under +20 while we were there, but who knew?
Izzy if you find a place with a Hot Tub I'm In...
Sounds like a good plan.. :laughing:
Gator, think I got a line on one! Im waiting on measurements to see if I can shoot my longbow out of it. :thumbsup:
Perhaps not the wildest, but a long drive. In September, I spent a few nights in a Cuban hotel in Naples Florida and hunted hogs / deer in the Everglades. A shower, bed, TV, AC and a Nicaraguan cigar sure is nice after getting assaulted by chiggers and skeeters in the hot sun all day. The only deer I saw in the glades was too small to shoot. I guess I'm used to deer in Maine. But I crept up on a big gator (by accident, to within a few feet!), saw tons of birds and enjoyed hunting the area.
Then I went north to Arcadia with Archery Outfitters to hunt hogs and slept in my truck. There were hotels 30 min away, but if I'm in prime farmland loaded with hogs, I'm spending as much time afield as possible, and only sleeping a few hours. Plus the gas was so $$ on the ride down, I wanted to save a few bucks. So I slept in the truck 2 nights, hunted hard and got a hog. And no, I didn't need a blanket at night, as it was sweltering! The great hunting and a cooler full of ice in the back of my truck to keep my water and beer cold made it tolerable.
Hotels are nice, but roughing it can be fun too, if you have the right attitude and your back will tolerate it.
Izzy thumbs up on the "tub", might have fletch up some vanes...
Seriously, I hunt up at my folks cabin, family affair wife and little girl. We have a blast, good heat, water, and soft bed... It sure does keep a guy fresh, when you get a good nights sleep and don't fight the elements.. Heck after 4 days of "roughing" it, Im beat up.. LOL....
Black Hills SD as Stevo mentioned, may be a good place to check into... Not as far west, but some really nice country. Haven't hunted it, Black Hills but have passed through...
Deer Tag might be more reasonable too..
Mattamuskeet Inn, best known for the duck hunting in the area but there is also deer and bear. My bud had a mouse run across his face in the middle of the night which created quite a stir but, the oyster bar and the breakfast they serve up is both top notch.
Wonder how that hot tub blind would work out with a sinew backed bow?
Starting to narrow it down a bit. Keep it coming.
Quote
If you get rained out you dont have to deal with your smelly partner in a small tent all day.
Hunting Elk near Raymond, Washington (just like Glenn in "Bows on the Little Delta") it seems to always rain at least a day or two. Year before last I was hunting with a guy that just had to rent a Hotel Room, we actually got one less than 5 miles from where we were hunting (gated road) $40 a night, wasn't fancy, but great place to take a hot shower and dry off after a day of hunting.
I hunted the Uintas for elk in Utah near the Strawberry Reservoir. there are some pretty decent cabins for rent really reasonably during bow season. Not luxury by any means but hot showers, warm beds and a restaurant nearby. 15 minutes or less to the trailheads. You still gotta hike in a ways to get to the elk though depending on the pressure.
There are lots of lodges and nice cabins around elk and deer country out west.
I hunted the Wasatch mtn in northern Utah once from hotel. It's nice in late november in the snow. I have sure hunted out of cabins and ranch houses that are much nicer than most hotels.
I paid for a "Guided hunt" ( guided meant he drove the van to drop each hunter off and picked them up) in Aiken, SC years ago and stayed at what may have been the worst Days Inn I have ever seen. Of course did not have to stay in the room very long each day. Had to be in the parking lot at 4am to be picked up and by the time everyone was picked up and back to the hotel in the evening it would be 9:30-10pm. Needless to say it left a really poor taste in my mouth for guided hunts, live and learn I guess.
Salida, Buena Vista, Leadville in Colorado are all right next to the Coligates (huge mountain range in central CO) that in any direction you look pretty much are 13-14,000 foot peaks and it is a OTC tag for elk. Deer is all draw in CO. Lots of hotels to chose from and a lot of foom to roam. Going over Cottonwood pass right next to Buena Vista will take you over a almost 13K foot pass (you can drive it). Might see bighorn sheep or mountain goats or moose as well. Or Taylor Reservoir as well(on the other side of Cottonwood pass). The cabin are kind of expensive(approx. $100 night) but right in the heart of it( can be hunting in fifteen to thirty minutes) but they have a kitchen. Rough country at times though but you wont be let down!
Charley
Izzy if you want to hunt elk (spike/cow) out here there are plenty of places like you describe. Let me know if you want the particulars. Oh and to save gas, you can rent a 4 wheeler (gasp) and ride it right from the motel. You can access a lot of ground and during the week you won't see a lot of other hunters.