Since Tradgang members span the entire country, I was wondering if the community could assist me with some hunting advice for next year. I want to take a trip to hunt deer outside of California and was wondering which state has the best price for nonresidents as well as good access to public land deer population. Anyone out there have any suggestions? Thanks for the help
Tennessee! There are deer everywhere and lots of places to hunt them.
All I know is the answer is not Texas. Not much public land here.
I would highly recommend Ohio. Lots of public land and good deer numbers + they have some big ones too.
I have hunted Tennessee when I was in the army, but mostly military land. There is a lot of the state that I have not hunted so that could be a candidate. $175.50 for a seven day hunt or $251 all season. I spend more than that on resident licenses and tags here in Cali.
I have never hunted Ohio, but have heard great things. $125 for annual license and $24 for deer tag is a pretty good deal.
Yeah it's about $175 still for a week. Were you at Ft. Campbell? There are some big bucks there. Within an hour of Nashville there are several WMA's totaling in over 12,000 acres. A lot of which is accessible only by boat or the areas are just to far for the average hunter to walk. Lots of good bow only areas as well.
Nebraska or Western Kentucky.
Statewide non-resident archery tag is $209, $20 for a habitat stamp, $55 for a doe tag
Nebraska is a pretty popular destination for Colorado hunters, you can get two doe tags for fifty five dollars in Western Nebraska.
MO would be another good option
Maryland. Under $200 for license. Multiple deer tags. Lots of quality public land, good bucks. Plus they have wild free roaming sika deer in Dorchester Cty and on Assateague Island which is an incredible hunt, a great eating animal, and something everyone should try. Plan it right and hunt both same day.
QuoteOriginally posted by VictoryHunter:
Yeah it's about $175 still for a week. Were you at Ft. Campbell? There are some big bucks there. Within an hour of Nashville there are several WMA's totaling in over 12,000 acres. A lot of which is accessible only by boat or the areas are just to far for the average hunter to walk. Lots of good bow only areas as well.
I spent some time at Campbell helping out their LRS unit. Back then I was hunting with a Martin recurve. Now I have a custom long bow from Raptor Archery. It shoots just as well, but I have no sights. I remember having a lot of fun hunting out there and quite a bit of success. I am more of a meat first and big buck second guy, so I like being able to bag up to 9 deer
well if ya hop on a plane and fly down to New Zealand there is heaps of hunting free all ya got to do is look and ask and hey ya have a nice holiday at the same time :thumbsup:
If you decide to go that route shoot me a message on here and I will get you set up with some friends of mine who hunt trad. Heck if I'm in town I will show you around myself. I have access to a boat so we can go places where no one else bothers hunting.
I too would suggest Ohio. I lived my whole life in the Southernmost tip of the state and there is some awesome deer hunting land available to the public.
Heck, darn near the entire southern part of the state is public. Look up Wayne National Forest and you'll see. Miles upon miles of deer hunting land and it gets added to each year.
There are some whoppers out in them there woods too. Many near World Record size deer have came out of Ohio in the years.
Long drive for ya though.
Nalajr
Kentucky has 1.5 million acres of public land and non resident license are very reasonable. Kentucky has been producing some huge deer too if you are wanting to hunt for horns.
Oklahoma is also an option.
Non-res in CT is $135 (small game and four deer tags, 2 buck, 2 either sex) In zones 11-12, replacement tags are free, just kill a doe and get another tag, over and over again if you wish. Kill 3 does, earn a buck.
You need proof of taking a certified bowhunting course, old license won't do.
Southeastern Ohio
Hunting in Texas is way too expensive for us locals!!!
I may take the advice posted herein and head up north and east.
Ohio is a good value
Tags are cheap and lots of spots to hunt.
But keep in mind that it takes a while to find the big fellows.
I talk to out of staters every year that come to Ohio expecting to shoot a 200 inch deer
Most leave with a 4 pointer if they shoot one at all.
TV has promoted Ohio as the be all state. Truth is most big deer are on private land or you have to scout a while to find them.
But if Ohio is your choice PM me and I'll help u as much as I can.
Michigan, Upper penninsula
I hunt every year in Arkansas. $100 for a 3 day license which is good for 2 deer.
If I was you I would check out Colorado. Millions of acres of public land with good deer numbers. I wish I could recommend New Mexico, but the deer hunting is sub-par. Now elk, that is another story.
I would not recommend NW Iowa. When out of area folks come here they expect to see monster bucks hiding behind all of our few trees. The public land areas are small and the deer get run around quite a bit before the bow season begins and those that put up tree stands on public ground claim that they own those spots, even when they are not hunting them. Many locals are heading to south central Iowa for some elbow room. There are reports of getting some harassment in the public woods down there as well, but it is better than here. Access to private land in Iowa is very difficult to come by. There are a number of NW Iowa hunters heading out to Nebraska every year, I have been tempted myself, but the drought has caused some problems with deer die off in greater numbers west of here due to the blue tongue epidemic.
FYI All deer in Colorado are on a draw. Applications must be the Department of Parks and Wildlife early April. April 2nd was the deadline this year.
Sure isn't Illinois - very little public ground and an embarrassingly high buck tag. Doe tags are OTC and cheap, tho.
Wisconsin has the good deal going this year, half price tag if you haven't hunted there in the last ten years or something like that.
Maryland or New Jersey..
Oklahoma is great plus hogs do not require a licence or season enemy for non residents! Lots of public land!
QuoteOriginally posted by MAGICMAN:
Oklahoma is great plus hogs do not require a licence or season enemy for non residents! Lots of public land!
Hey Jason...I was told if hunting hogs you DO need to have a license on you and if something is in season you need to have a tag for that with you too. Punched or not. ??????
Depends what you're looking for. If you're looking for a hunt where you have a reasonable chance at a bigger, mature whitetail buck, Ohio or Kentucky probably best fits your listed criteria.
If you want to camp in some great places, enjoy eastern US upland forest and you don't care if you see mainly yearling bucks and maybe a 2-3 year old 8pt in the 100"-120" class if you're really lucky and can kill a doe (or 2), much of northern Michigan offers lots of public land, the most public land east of the Mississippi, and tags are over the counter.
Non-resident tag fees just recently changed, but I think it's still around $250-300 for 2 "either sex" tags for archery.
Keep in mind, if you choose Michigan, you likely won't be alone, unless you pick places with low deer density, like the UP or the northern tip of the LP. We have 350,000 bowhunters in Michigan. Any public land with decent deer numbers will probably have bowhunters all over it.
I speak from experience, OHIO. License and doe tag right around $165 for out of state, Plenty of public land and the couple counties I have hunted you can knock on doors and get permission. I knocked on a couple doors and had over a thousand acres of private land to hunt! Shawn
Ohio is starting to look like the winner so far. Just and fyi, I'm a meat first, rack second guy. If I could take a couple of does versus a big buck, I will almost every time. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm not planning a hunting trip until next season, so I might have to revisit this thread later this year or early next.
Great thread!
What's the hunting pressure like in TN?
Very crowded here in MA.
Out of curiosity, why are you able to kill more does than bucks in most of the midwest and eastern states? Here out west, it is harder to even get a doe tag, much less be able to take more of them than bucks. Is it a species difference or one of wildlife management rules?
Here, it's a management issue. They shoot every buck they see here, if we didn't take some does we'd have serious imbalance issues.
I talk to very, very few meat hunters these days. All they want is that rack. Every year we see more deer left to rot in the woods. Makes me sad and embarrassed for my state.
How about Wisconsin!
Missouri would be a good place, lots of public land and deer and a reasonable chance at a big buck. If you decide, I'm from north west Missouri, if you decide on it, pm me I put you in some good areas, I've hunted over the years.
Good primitive camping on most of the public areas.