I realize I live in an amazing area of whitetail country but I'm looking at going out of state sometime from Nov. 1st - Nov. 13th. I need an over the counter tag or maybe a left over tag if I am not too late. I will be hunting public land or walk in hunting. Will be camping in a tent. I don't mind getting away from roads... Much prefer to hunt deep away from roads. I kind of feel like there are so many options that its hard to narrow down where to go. I will also be going alone. I am willing to drive a good distance if it looks promising. I am just looking for ideas.... Please throw some at me.
Thanks
Stay home, that is the Chase Phase, and the best time to be in the Midwest woods. That's my idea for that time of year.
I knew I would get that.... I know I must be crazy to leave licking co. Ohio
Just my 2 cents but I'd say Nebraska would be hard to beat the first week I think their gun season opens earlier in the month, my dad hunts nebraska every year and has killed 3 pope and youngs in the first week of November... I don't blame you for wanting to get out of Ohio those dates, I hunt just outside of frazeysburg and it's been real slow lye last few years anymore I prefer the last week of October. Good luck on your search
Last couple years have been tough..... It's hard to find land to hunt anymore..... Most everything in this area is leased up..... I just am too stubborn to pay to hunt land I guess. I need to keep saving and buy my own piece of land so I don't have to worry about it anymore.
I would say you should come to Montana but the out of state tags are ridiculously expensive.
My vote will always be Montana. But like the Dwarf said, the tags are crazy expensive if you want a guaranteed. I'm gonna live there someday
*****sigh*****
Personally if it's whitetail your hunting I don't think there's a better state to do it than Ohio.
I would give a serious thought to finding a really big chunk of public land with terrain tough enough for you to hunt it like you would a pack in elk hunt in the Rocky Mountains. That's if a place exists where you can pack in far enough in rough country to have to yourself.
Gotta agree...leaving Licking County in November? :knothead:
I have a nice spot here in PA...I'll trade with ya! :pray:
Good luck finding anything in licking co. To hunt.... Gotta have money to hunt here anymore. A lot of land is leased up.
Nothing wrong with wanting to try new places! I've always wanted to go somewhere where I will see a lot of deer. The old days along the Milk River in Montanna would have been heaven for me!
If you want to buy land someday take the thousand bucks or so that you'll drop on an out of state whitetail hunt and put it in the "land piggybank". If I was in your shoes and looking for decent public hunting in that timeframe not too far away I'd check out western KY. There used to be some pretty good public hunting in SW Indiana as well, but those areas have been hit hard by 1. the IN DNR and 2. EHD last year, so populations are generally way down compared to a few years ago.
I hear some areas in NE didn't get hit too bad with EDH
Irish wilderness south central mo.
I used to live in Licking county before I moved to MI., sorry to hear about the leasing situation. I would suggest going down to the Wayne Nat. Forest area.
Check out South Dakota, alot Deer.
Look into Halsey State Park in central Nebraska. Thousands of public acres with whitetail, mulies, and antelope. Great whitetail in eastern NE but land is tough to find here....
MT and ID would be great choices. MT has leftover tags and a deer combo is $570. There is no such thing as a guaranteed tag anymore, the system has changed. Since the regulation change it seems they don't sell out. The MT tag comes with upland bird and fishing....that could be a great trip. ID has a ton of whitetails and over the counter tags. For what it is worth any weapon seasons will be on in both states during that time frame. There are a few bow only units though. Washington has some great whitetails on the east side of the state if that is of interest.
You can certainly get away from the crowds out here. There are a couple of wilderness areas that would be a blast to hike or float while hunting.
Unless you are looking to hunt another species I would definitely park my A$$ in a treestand somewhere in Licking Co all day everyday.
Thanks for the ideas guys..... I figure the best odds of seeing bucks is this time frame. I have from end of sept.-first of feb. to kill a buck in licking county. But it is hard to argue that I live in great whitetail country.... Just looking for a change and get away from tons of hunting pressure and leased out land.
Check out Kentucky. Over 1.5 million acres of public land. Kentucky has been producing some giant deer if you are looking for horns. The out of state permits are priced right too. Not to far from home either.
stick flipper, i no how you feel! used to hunt in the state land, 20 yrs ago you wouldnt run into another hunter. last year i quit hunting the state land ,i had guys waiting for me at my truck asking when i was leaving, so they could hunt were i was!! i`m like you i wont lease land to hunt on. i knocked on some doors this spring and got a few farms to hunt on. i`m planning a hunt up in the u p this year. not as many deer as the southern part of ohio, but i`m hoping a little more elbow room! good luck!
The quest for Big antlers is causing hunting deer to be less appealing. People see what's there on trail cams and freak out you may kill "their" buck. It's causing all kinds of problems with overpopulation of animals and fewer hunting opportunities. It used to be relatively easy to get permission. Why would you risk messing up an area by shooting a doe when you have trail cam pics of several good bucks, that you will likely never lay eyes on? I love the term given to this as "horn porn" in the book A Man Made of Elk. So true.
My opinion, go west and look for big tracts of public where you can escape. Or choose a different, less accessible animal to pursue.
My full intention was to head up to Vinton County, Ohio then until I pulled an elk tag here. Places to hunt are getting hard to find no matter where you go. I'm afraid you'll find the situation no better elsewhere. Can't see a reason to go looking for whitetail anywhere else. Now if I wanted to hunt something else I can see traveling. I hiked 8 miles into Montana wilderness to "get away" last year. Don't think I've ever ran into so many hunters on a trip in my life.
I understand the desire to wander. I own my own whitetail land here in WI and the hunting is pretty darn good. Yet I really love to see new places and do out of state trips each year as well. Nothing at all wrong with wanting to expand your horizons!
Kentucky, Kansas, SD, ND, Nebraska, Missouri are all states I would look at.