Hunting out of state
General Topic
Just wondering, I am going to Idaho to bowhunt this year, I was talking to a guy I know , he told me how bad he has been treated I’m Montana and Idaho from other hunters, rude, when going down the highway because he out of state plates , local hunters tried to push him off the road. Has this happened to any of you? I have many times given information to out of state hunters and encouraged them to hunt my home state, last time I checked we are one country and a community of liked minded individuals.
I've never been treated badly in any state. I'd guess it's a rare occasion when it happens.
Here in MT, where I now live after leaving AK I've had exactly one occurrence and that was with two guys from NW MT. Nearly hit me as I stood by my truck in the dark, leaped out with their bows and said the elk we could hear were their's. Leaped the fence and were gone. I had AK plates at the time.
I'm not excusing it, but it's possible it has something to do with the fact that NRs are limited to a certain percentage of the available tags in your state, while unlimited numbers of NRs come to compete with residents for many of the hunts in the two states you mentioned. You can invite as many NRs as you'd like to your state, because the same number of NRs will get to hunt there no matter how many apply. I don't believe that's the case in those states, and it's possible they get tired of more and more NRs each year hunting "their" areas. I've never been treated poorly in another state, but it's been a few years since I've hunted in one (and I have never hunted the two you mentioned).
It may also depend on where you are from. You might be alright with NM plates.
I had some ole boys outta Texas try to pull some crap to push me out of the spot I was hunting in my home state kinda the same but opposite I guess.
I've not experienced any ill will from resident hunters when hunting out of state. In fact, most times they have been helpful and welcoming. It may be slightly different with firearms, but during archery seasons I've never had anyone act rudely toward me. Lost count of how many times I've been invited to have a drink or share a meal in a close by camp.
One time a couple older, resident, muzzy hunters in a horse camp told me where in a creek they kept their beer cold. Said I was welcome to quench my thirst even if they weren't back in camp. My hunting partner and I have shared our meager backpacked-in supplies with resi's several times as well.
It's a shame that there are some who feel the need to treat others poorly.
It is happening some in states that don't have a lot of public ground like BLM and nat forrest but can understand the local feelings. Has been a real problem here in KS because of the big money moving in and buying and leasing.
About 15 out of state hunts and never a bad experience. Even had a couple patrolmen let me out of tickets when I explained I was trying to get to hunting camp ;)
In my experience the vast majority of the time, people are treated how they treat others . . .
I’ve hunted all over the west, never had any issues.
I've hunted all over the world and outfitted in 11 states and have never had a problem. In spite of what one might read on the internet I never had a harsh word even leveled at me
When we started to outfit in Illinois if you believed the chatter on the internet you would have thought we would be shot the minute we arrived in Illinois. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Everyone was incredibly nice and helpful
I have hunted 6 states (other than my own). Some of them multiple times over multiple years. I have had zero negative encounters. No theft, no vandalism, no ill words. Residents and non residents.
The only times I have ever been treated poorly on out-of-state hunts is by my “friends”
Only had one bad experience in all my years hunting. It was two years ago in MT. Some guys didn’t like us hunting the public ground. Wrote, “GO HOME!” in the dust collected on the side of my truck I’m picky about my truck and gear so it kinda ticked me off!
Also a bad move on their part. We own and control about 1,500 acres of prime whitetail property. Loads of turkeys and upland game. Coulda worked out in their favor with an invite to hunt...their loss!!!
Stickflicker, Montana does limit NR tags and also puts a 10% limit on NR's for special permits
I agree with Bake, I generally find that you get what you give.
I’ve hunted all over the US and the world for that matter, and not a single bad experience with other hunters that I can think of.
—Jim
Thanks for the feed back, makes me feel more at ease, since I am headed to Idaho this year! normally hunt wilderness here in N.M. and have talked to a few hunters from out of state, always wanted to make them feel welcomed and let them know if they needed help to come to my camp. I always wanted to promote bowhunting especially to the youth. Keep our love of the sport alive!
Never had a problem with my Colorado plates. I do know of a situation in Utah where bowhunters with California plates were shouted at repeatedly to "Go home".
Never had an issue in the 5 states I've hunted.
Honestly it seems like when I run into someone in the mountains they're usually non-residents too! Seems like so many WI plates running around out there it hardly feels like I left.
There has been a lot of chatter from resident hunters about the numbers of non-resident hunters here. Typically, those are from the Eastern more crowded units that are a few hours north of Salt Lake City, and some units in the Panhandle whereby again, a few hours from Spokane Valley/Washington.
Montana is a tough place, nonresidents not liked by residents. The nonresident fees are a bit rough too.
I've hunted in 7 different states. And, have been treated very well in them all. However, WV is another story. Had my vehicle broken into and all sorts of things here.
Legislation passed the house to limit non-resident tags and a possible fee increase to offset. In any case, even if you would like to see this happen it is not very "neighborly" to be anything but polite to all hunters.
Never had a problem when hunting but encountered several rude rednecks in Wyoming in the general population.
I can’t say I’ve ever had any issues at all. In fact, I’d say the fellow hunters I’ve met have been polite and helpful, whether it was at a gas station, trailhead, or even the backcountry.
I have had rude comments or unfriendly experiences in multiple states, but nothing I would consider a problem. It is often the "road hunters" who are jealous of my success. NO problem among those actually out in the field. Last year I hunted in five different states, and don't recall one unfriendly word. Some of the worst I have experienced has been in rural Alaska, but I would still qualify those encounters as unfriendly, but not really a problem. Bill
Dan....hopefully that Idaho bill falls flat. At least the one state senator is honest about the fact they want to stiff the NR's.
In 40 years I have not had a problem.
The outfitters that I run into way back in the wilderness have always been super bubbly. (Not!) All the state land lease holders in New Mexico are just down rite hospitable as well. If u consider hospitable as placing no trespassing signs on state land and gating/posting county roads. These groups of people seem to almost feel like they own the game and should be able to sell to the highest bidder and U shouldn’t interfere with that by ur mere presence. That being said The other hunters I encounter have for the most part been pleasant and courteous
Pat and I were heading to a restaurant for dinner with our outfitter and his wife. I was doing 45 in a 25 zone while we were bsing. Got pulled over and Pat talked us out of a ticket. He should have been a lawyer!
Mad tapper I got pulled over in Minnesota early 1 morning Cop wakls up to truck says sir why were you going so fast, I said the 4 of us are headed to Manitoba bear hunting, he handed me my licence and said slow down and get going then you have bears to kill
I was ticketed for speeding in 2015 for speeding on my way to the elkwoods. I had to leave my hunt early to attend a funeral. On the way back I was driving a little to fast. After the state trooper was done with the ticket, he asked me to step out of the car. I thought I was being profiled by an anti. Then he showed me pics he and his crew had killed during the first archery hunt in the unit I was hunting.
We’re professional mean muggers here in South Dakota. They even put articles about it in Outdoor Life. I will burn in hell before I help a NR! There’s dozens of guys on this site that will confirm it! :-)
The problem I seem to have on out of state hunts is that I end up making too many friends with the locals. That often leads to staying too “hydrated”, which leads to more local info which leads to more out of state trips!
Well, that seals it, I’m never going to SD again!!!
—Jim
Most folks are decent wherever you go but there's also a few a***** wherever you go. The percentages may vary a bit...
I can say that the folks in upstate New York are genuinely nice people from my experiences there. And I will never spend another 5 cents in one New England state that I won't name. Bottom line is, your personal experiences will color your comments on this thread.
SD people will throw Dot's pretzels and Grain Belt at you while making you eat chislic Jim! We're all evil!
I've been on quite a few out of state hunts and never had any real problem.
Got some negative feedback in MT when I had NY plates, but not when I had WA plates... Mostly got it from a 'friend' I had there. Turns out he was the jackwad though, nearly shot me with an .06 once..
Hell, I've got CA plates, and I've hunted all over the West, and never been mistreated.
Hunters in general, seem to be good people.
I've hunted all over and have for the most part great experiences aside from a few and never anything like theft or vandalism. Wyoming and Montanans especially, are tough and hate nonresidents, and in a way I've learned to appreciate it. Living in Colorado I fully understand the headache that comes with nonresident hunters and transplants. Just part of it.
By in large, hunters are good folks. I doubt you have issues.
I have hunted in Montana for the past 5 years and not had any trouble. I even got access on a couple ranches , however one year I headed to hunt early and as I was putting up a blind at a water hole I was suddenly surrounded by a group of trucks hauling livestock trailers. Inside them were several angry ranchers with firearms. They thought I was a tresspasser until they realized who I was ! Made me very cautious about crossing onto land I don't have permission on. Only placed I had trouble was Alabama 2 tires slashed and Kansas one tire slashed and a nasty note left !!
I have been judged, as a hunter on the opposite end of my state of residence. Of course when all was said and done it didn't turn out the way they expected it.
Montana puts county numbers on license plates so by looking at a plate it can be told what county you reside in. I traveled to the far side of the state to hunt one year and asked on a ranch if I could hunt. I was told that as a rule locals do not let ## county plates hunt their ranches due to past experiences. He used weed control, rutting up of roads, open gates and a list of other issues, but in the end he said ## county hunters are just A-Holes. For some bizarre reason he elected to let me hunt (smooth talker) and was unsuccessful in the couple of days I was there, but when it was over I had made a new friend, and despite my undesirable license plate numbers I was invited to come back and hunt anytime.
If you are from Montana it is likely you can guess what county # my truck has on it ha ha. for a short time I went to RMEF plates so it didn't display the county # but then My truck the the magic 10 years old and I could get permanent plates so I am back to displaying my county #
oz
Ive never had a bad experience with all the hunts that I have done, in fact I normally stay in touch with the people I have hunted with and have formed some great long lasting friendships from people I have met on those trips.
I haven't had any bad experiences. I talked to a local in WY last year for 45 minutes in the dark and we still text and check in, I'll probably do a hunt with him at some point. Have met quite a few people on the mountain and have never had any issues.
MT one year we had some issues with other non-residents completely ignoring thermals and blowing elk out, but it's public land, it happens.
Sounds to me like your buddy has road rage and he assumes all the bad drivers are mad because he has an elk tag. ;) I’ve encountered only nice people in Colorado. Most have divulged more information than I would. Several have given me lifts down the road on their atvs even when they were traveling the other direction.
Haha Hunter. My first guess too! Born and raised in 50. Flew an old boy from Kalispell during rifle season one year who only had a motor home. Rained a lot so he flew multiple times I guess just so he could see some elk. He went back to home for a break mid season. When he came back he was telling me his buddies had asked him if he had smeared mud on his license plates. Said he was confused till they told him; They don’t like us there. He was a very nice guy tho.
Yup, we are 2 for 2
born and raised in 7 hehe. What a reputation to have eh.
oz
15 States all public bowhunting & never a problem. I have had 2 instances from NON hunters in my home state of Illinois years back & I was bowhunting private property.
Roughly 50 out of state hunts, only thing remotely close to an issue was somebody writing "Go Home" in the dust on my tailgate. Montana 2017...and I eventually did go home. LOL!
All I have had is positive experiences with locals in WY, MT and CO. Most stop and say hello and an hour later say I better get going. The only jerks I have run into were other NR in CO and that was only once.
The only theft from a camp I ever had was in MT. We we hunting huns, sharptails and pheasants and had our 8-man Cabelas Alaskan dome and vestibule set-up about 3/8 mile off the Milk River. We'd driven out for a bit of hun hunting closer to the wheat fields. That evening we were missing a bottle of red wine and our wine cork screw. Hope it gave them a head-ache like it always gave me. We had a lot of nice camping gear and food but none of that was missing.
Sounds like a bit of a pattern that some in MT expect you to hunt around home! That said, we have some pretty good MT friends that took us down onto their place from the walk-in area we were hunting, showed us around, let us camp there and invited us back....the most hospitable ranchers we've ever met short of Danny and Jim Willems sharing some Kansas bird hunting on their father's place with us.
I guess I'm one of the exceptions...
I had a guy in WY scream at me and my dad saying we should hunt in our own state.
I've gotten speeding tickets in AZ and one in WY for going precisely 1 mph over the speed limit (no speeding tickets otherwise in 20 years).
I had a nice long conversation with a lady who was dropping off meat at the same meat processor as me in WY one time. After talking for several minutes, she saw my CA plates and told me, "if I'd have seen your CA plates, I wouldn't have even spoken to you."
Been flipped off and glared at countless times.
I think part of it is having CA plates on my truck. Nowadays, since the tickets, I now rent a truck/suv for my out-of-state hunts and request a vehicle with plates from anywhere but CA. Not just for that reason (I don't like to put 4-5K miles on my truck for a hunt), but it's a nice side-benefit.
^^^^ That's what I'm saying. If you are in Colorado with Cali, NY, or Texas plates, be prepared to get vibed. Not from me, I have family in Tx and I spent some years in NorCal. I had a good time out there.
I've had great luck hunting out of province. My first foray into the US this year was very good. Lots of nice people. Some real nice landowners let me not only hunt their place but stay on it as well. Let me use their water, power etc. I didn't need any of it because I am came self-sufficient, but super nice people. Also had some people say no, but it's to be expected when they ask where I'm from and I say Canada. They're like what are you doing down here???
Ike, definitely the Cali plates. If I had Cali plates and coming to the mountain states to hunt I'd pull into the first truck stop and steal a pair from a local....
Seriously, I've had a much better reception in WY with my CO plates since I put a WY bucking bronc sticker on my back window. When they ask, I tell them I live about 8 miles on the wrong side of the border but my heart is on their side. That always brings a smile.
Lots of KS guys dislike that NR's are here buying and leasing up land that they used to hunt. With that said I've never know one (resident) who wasn't polite and helpful when in contact with NR hunters. I think there is a big difference between not wanting a situation to be a reality, and having manners with a fellow hunter. I know I've personally helped NR hunters, offered my stands to them, and showed them trailcam pics of local bucks. Doesn't mean I want them to lease the land I hunt, but also doesn't mean I think they are bad people or a scourge on KS. Only one time have I ever met NR's who weren't polite and appreciative to begin with. Made it hard to want to be polite back. Most of the time it comes down to like minded people sharing opportunities. Sometimes there are jack-wagons involved no matter how polite you are though. I would venture to guess there are a lot more positive interactions than negatives.
BigOzzie, you must have 7 plates, I've never had any issues with out of state hunters, it is always people with 7 plates here. Had one guy during general season get all pissed off yelling at me that he's hunted this area for 20 years, I laughed, pointed down to my town and said I live there and your point is moot. I have plenty of other stories to, along with quite a few of my friends who complain about certain people from our state. But I know for the most part, it is just a few bad apples who make the rest look bad.
A friend of mine from Minn. had all 4 tires slashed, while hunting in MT.
I have hunted Idaho from out of state for 14 years or so now and we have never had any issues. The locals we have ran in to have always been polite.
I have hunted in Kansas public for 4 years and last year got my oklahoma plates changed. I was never treated badly but I have definitely been treated better this year.
Living in Kansas I’ve found out why. Out of state folks have made hunting fairly unaffordable here and only getting worse. For folks who live in Kansas there’s not a whole lot else for the place to offer.
I’ll treat any person decently but I do see the perspective of locals.
And if you have California, Texas, or Arkansas plates you’ll get more of it.
California is about the ruin the west
Texas is where hunters make lots of money and inflate the prices of leases and land in other states because it’s so expensive there
Arkansas...well that’s a special one but the only issues I’ve had so far have been Arkansas plates
In all the days, hundreds on out of state hunts. I've never had a problem anywhere with hunters or others. The only real problem and I don't call it a problem was in Wy when a rancher saw me on BLM land. He came flying over to me upset I was there. But after talking to him and him seeing I was hunting, he calmed down quickly. I guess he was having problem with others and his fences. He helped me by telling me where a bunch of water hole where as I was doing DIY pronghorn.. I ran into him later and he was very nice to me. I had Pa plates on my tracker. Ed
"Out of state folks have made hunting fairly unaffordable here and only getting worse."
Correction, Michael; Out of state folks taking advantage of Kansas' regulations regarding hunting and land ownership have made hunting fairly unaffordable there, lol. Hope all is well my friend. We'll be chasing hogs in the swamp again next month. It would be great if you joined us!
"If I had Cali plates and coming to the mountain states to hunt I'd pull into the first truck stop and steal a pair from a local"....
Good plan, Lou! I think I've gotten by so far, because of the NRA sticker in the back window...dunno?
Hackbow, Agreed that is a better way to put it. And it’s not the every day do it yourself person that has made that situation. It’s the big guides and real estate brokers really. Sure they are some great people I’m sure and just trying to pay the bills like the rest of us but it has ramifications
I agree, here in Idaho there is definitely an anti-California sentiment. That is partially due to the fact that Boise and surrounding towns are growing at an unbelievable rate mostly fueled by Californian's fleeing and relocating. I think it is best to rent a car here if coming from Cali ;)
Only issue I have had was the same guy that wrote on Pav's truck in Mt. We actually saw him write on my rig from 2 Miles away. Still can see it in the paint. He also made some accusations after we left. I hope to draw that tag this year and have a talk with him.
I wonder what the going rates are for used Idaho, Montana, or New Mexico plates. After reading these posts, I may be in the market ( aaah I mean, just asking for a friend).
When I lived in SD, another SD resident yelled at me while I was putting the Wild Turkey I had just killed with my bow into my car. He stopped on the road, rolled down his window, said "you got to be kidding me", and peeled off. Other than that therapy-inducer, nothing negative while out-of-state hunting.
Haha brotsky, I have the same problem, I'm always too hydrated!
On 3 different occasions have had Mt residents help me get bulls out.On one occasion one resident let me use his old Blazer to haul quarters to a freezer when my truck had issues.Handed me the keys and went back hunting.Still friends and that was about 1985.
