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Your Experience Hunting Other States

I am interested in your opinions and experiences in other states.

I hate Connecticut's political environment but love our hunting habitat and opportunities. The stone walls in the woods, fields - just incredible - I love getting out there

I have also hunted NY, RI for waterfowl and Iowa.

New York public property once was like going to a concert - parking cars with multiple guys directing traffic with flash lights and a hunter for every tree.

Adirondak terrain was incredible but deer were sparse.

Columbia County first rifle county north of NYC sounded like a war zone on opening day- mature bucks very rare - I have never seen one there- few spikes survive - I know now there are antler restrictions but don't know if it's the whole state.

Delhi has incredible habitat but alot of hunting pressure.

IOWA- I hunted turkey in Winterset (Bridges of Madison County - chick flick) and had lottery tags for deer in the fall but could not travel at that time -Habitat and game populations are incredible - the peace and quiet in those farm towns are something I have never experienced

Rhode Island I only hunted ducks- it was nice - scenic - a bit competitive to get the best blind and locations

South Dakota Black Hills Turkey - Public Land self guided, lots of fun, but hard to score. Kind of ruined me for CT turkey.

Minnesota Pheasant - Public land, can be very hard and timing dependent, best time is during or right after the corn is being harvested. If you hit it good can be absolute blast. Helps to hunt with someone with local knowledge. Currently my favorite out of state hunt mostly because of the dogs and hunting with buddies.

Minnesota Turkey - Private land, SE part of the state has a lot of birds. Hard to get access.

Minnesota Deer - private land northern half - not great, especially lately with the incursion of wolves.

Kansas Turkey - Private Land, semi - guided, lots of birds, two different species available.

New Mexico Antelope - Guided Private Land - crazy amount of animals, almost too easy.

Montana Deer and Elk - Public land guided - very difficult hunt with low success rates, but a ton of fun if your up for it.

Thanks Toonces - I forgot to say I did the Canadian Caribou hunt - long long drive -

Complete opposite of deer hunting - you post up on a frozen lake and they parade by in the hundreds and you pick the one you want. More like shopping for antlers.

I tagged out in 30 seconds- dropped the lead bull and then the herd started running and I dropped a non typical at the end of the herd.

I played Hockey in Waterloo Iowa back in the 70's and early 80's Got to do some pheasant hunting, that was a different bird than the ones stocked here. Spent a lot of time in Oregon also and got to do a bunch of Elk, deer and bird hunting. Also spent some time in Idaho, same thing, Elk, Deer and Bird. I also hunt Arizona both Draw hunts and non draw hunts, also quail and waterfowl. I hunt Newfoundland almost every year since the late '80's for Moose and Caribou. I don't get out and hunt CT as much as I used to, I find I'm pretty bored with the hunting here.

New Brunswick for deer with rifle (only be my boss didn't hunt any other way) big woods, few deer, but got a buck the 2 years I went, one was an 11 point that dressed 220 lbs.

New Mexico elk, public land, Cibola National Forest - lots of elk, easy hunting in that it's not steep, but it is a high altitude desert with lots of walking.

Maine Deer West Fork area - big woods and few deer, but bruiser bucks! You can walk for miles and not hear or see a thing.

The diversity of habitat, terrain, and species we can hunt is truly a blessing for hunters throughout the USA. The fact that we have such varied opportunity is a testament to the great job done by all of the (Fish and) Game Departments and also to the North American Wildlife Management Model. The Pittman Robertson act of 1937 has made amazing things possible, and that includes a huge amount of public land on which to chase your favorite animals.

Pick an interesting animal which you'd like to hunt, do some research, and jump in with both feet. Wild pigs offer a lot of opportunities in many states, bears over bait can be pretty cheap in some places, deer are everywhere, elk opportunities are good in a lot of places, (but good tags are becoming harder to draw). Buy a few chances in out of state lotteries, that is one way to open up your opportunities fairly inexpensively.

Leftover tags or cancellation hunts can offer big discounts at times if you are flexible and can travel on short notice. There is an auction (which ends tonight) for a bear hunt in Alberta in early June (that looks like it can be had cheap) on the Big Game board.

Go hunt whatever and wherever you get a chance, Just Hunt! If you go in with the right attitude and focus on the experience, I don't think you'll regret it.

I would love to hunt Hawaii. Over run with invasive species and long seasons with great bag limits.

spike - I agree about Hawaii. I understand the beaches are overpopulated with thongs and topless doe. I'm willing to step up and do my best to help out,.....although once every 16 years is about right in that dept as well :(

Pennsylvania - I've hunted only the highest elevation of the Poconos. Game is there, but my timing has been off and I haven't connected. The woods are a little thicker in growth, hence I've been turned around a couple of times and will not go too far without a GPS. My first bear in the woods was there, but I never felt threatened. Sometimes there were other hunters passing nearby, but mostly it was quiet and peaceful.

Hawaii - Booked a wild boar hunt in Maui and loved it. No pig, but hunting with a pack of dogs and hiking up a river bed was a sensory overload of wonderment. It lasted four hours, but the memories should follow me for the rest of my days. It was my first morning there and I met the guide in the dark, before sunrise. I went there for a wedding and found it to be indeed like a paradise.

Maine - Bear hunt over bait. First evening a bear winded me, thrashed and crashed as he popped his teeth to drive me away. I stayed up the tree till the guide came to get me in the dark. Rest of the week I saw nothing but a flying squirrel who sailed past me two evenings, and a coyote who nearly walked into me, as I sat waiting for me ride back to the cabin. Did a lot of early morning fishing with my son and thoroughly enjoyed the whole time.

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