Western DIY Whitetails?
Whitetail Deer
Within the next 6 years my wife and I will be moving from Vermont to Colorado. We already have a house and land in southern Colorado and have been successful on numerous elk and Mule Deer hunts. I am looking forward to more of them!
But I will truly miss whitetail hunting. Vermont isn't know for good deer hunting, but there are enough to keep me interested and having fun. I have enjoyed improving my "back 40" and being able to "go out back" when ever I wanted to. I have hunted the mid west on several occasions for whitetail but would like to be able to do diy hunts without having to pay a lease (nominal trespass fee would be ok) or outfitter. Would also like to be within a day's drive of southern Colorado and have OTC tags or draw with zero points. Not looking for trophies, just a fun hunt to chase whities around.
Have considered Nebraska but need to look more into what public land is available. Eastern Colorado and western Kansas seems to be mostly private where whitetails live. Maybe WY or OK? Anyone willing to suggest states/regions where public land holds whitetails and DIY is possible?
Thanks for any input, Rob
Both KS and NE have great opps for public land WT and plenty of quality public land to chase them. CO has decent WT hunting on public but not as good as KS and NE in my experience. pm if you'd like a few suggestions. Welcome to CO!
Oklahoma panhandle has public land. I'm in Woodward county and we have 21,000 acres of public land about 10 miles from town. Lots of WT's.
I wouldn't look in OK. Pretty much all deer in OK have moved to other states.
Not sure what your definition of a days drive is but you can drive to Illinois in a day (done it several times). If you are looking for a short drive and otc tags NE is your best bet and you will see plenty of CO plates on the public land.
IL would be a looong drive from the San Luis valley.
A lot of Colorado guys hunt whities in Kansas. But you'll have 8 other big game species to pursue in your new home state. Whitetails might lose their luster ;-)
If you want to talk, PM me. I've got some intel on several public land areas in Western OK that has really good opportunities.
I would look into the Dakota's. Lots of public land, OTC tags, and a long season.
Embry:
You been holding out? :)
If you count Coues Whitetail then plenty of public opportunity in AZ with a great multi-season structure with OTC tags, also in a short drive.
Rob, if you decide on South Dakota send me a PM, I'll give you the skinny on western SD.
You'll soon forget about whitetails after living in elk country... Just saying :)
Thanks all! Didn't think about the Dakotas or Coues!
Cnelk, I have hunted elk 12 years now and it's a blast. But I don't think I will ever loose my passion for chasing whitetails during the rut.
I love VT, nothing like it in my opinion. I'm not talking about the hunting, just the feel of it when I'm there and the scenery. Definitely a big improvement in hunting though in CO. I can't add much other than good luck to you and your wife on your future move.
Embry:
You ain't right! Damn Okies. :)
Western SD has decent whitetail population, lots of public or walk in. We have access to lots of private and still hunt public quite a bit. However, I haven't bowhunted in SD in about 5 years(I miss it). Colorado for elk takes all my vacation.
I grew up in Iowa and live in Colorado, but hunted Midwest whitetail again this fall and it brought me back to my youth! It not cheap when you have to travel, but PM me if you want to chat!
I grew up in Iowa and live in Colorado, but hunted Midwest whitetail again this fall and it brought me back to my youth! It not cheap when you have to travel, but PM me if you want to chat!
S. Dakota is a long drive from Southern Colorado. Why not take a week off, go back to Vt. and hunt with friends and family?
Moving to the San Luis valley? Know people that have moved out of there like my neighbors, but never into it.
I do have a friend in Iowa and hopefully will draw a Zone 4 tag this year to hunt his farm. If I understand the draw correctly, I don't believe I would be able to draw an Iowa tag each year.
Vermont deer hunting isn't that good and certainly isn't worth a drive back to deer hunt.
IAHunter, nice buck! Congrats.
My place isn't actually in the San Luis Valley. It's in the Sangre de Cristo mountains at 9,100'. It about 12 miles east of Fort Garland.
3 hours your hunting, no issues. Less if you wanted.
I hunt Kansas everything included for 100 bucks or under a day. I went this past year and I was there 18 days and I had 1800 into the hunt. My drive is 1571 miles one way, so gas and tolls plus the tag take up quite a bit of that. I get a great rate on a room and eat lots of stuff I bring from home. Scooby
Spend some windshield time in southeastern CO in the summer looking for whitetails with a platt map in hand. Any trees with CRP and row crops around will hold whitetails. Once you find the deer look and see who the landowner is and go knock on their door. You will eventually get access. Get a few smaller parcels and you'll be good. Once you get to know the landowner they'll be able to get you access to their neighbors. The further east you go the easier the access. The big landowners usually lease but the smaller section here and there guys are your best bet.
You'll be passing on bucks that would win the local VT general store buck pool in no time. Good luck from a former born and raised Vermonter.
