Best state for public land bowhunter to live?

[stash59]

Of course, Montana. Though overall wages are lower, so is the cost of living. Of course out there elk are king and mule deer are queen. And even though I saw alot of "pic and grins" with whitetails from the Montana Weekend Warriors site, last season. Whitetails are often overlooked and are mainly shot by opportunistic road hunters.

Whitetails out there are a smaller subspecies so on average their racks and bodies don't get as big as a mature midwest buck. But the state record typical still scored over 200". And their still plenty fun to hunt!!!!

You could hunt a different area for all of the huntable species every year, for the rest of your life. And never go to the same one if you wanted to.

[john1984]

Wisconsin

[218er]

It has to be Iowa for whitetails. Montana overall. Montana seems less pressured than other western states in my experiences. It seems average age structure and size in areas of Iowa are at the top end of many other states.

[mike_mc]

Of course, Montana. Though overall wages are lower, so is the cost of living. Of course out there elk are king and mule deer are queen. And even though I saw alot of "pic and grins" with whitetails from the Montana Weekend Warriors site, last season. Whitetails are often overlooked and are mainly shot by opportunistic road hunters.

Whitetails out there are a smaller subspecies so on average their racks and bodies don't get as big as a mature midwest buck. But the state record typical still scored over 200". And their still plenty fun to hunt!!!!

You could hunt a different area for all of the huntable species every year, for the rest of your life. And never go to the same one if you wanted to.

How does the weather compare to around here? Is it windy in Montana?

[stash59]

Of course, Montana. Though overall wages are lower, so is the cost of living. Of course out there elk are king and mule deer are queen. And even though I saw alot of "pic and grins" with whitetails from the Montana Weekend Warriors site, last season. Whitetails are often overlooked and are mainly shot by opportunistic road hunters.

Whitetails out there are a smaller subspecies so on average their racks and bodies don't get as big as a mature midwest buck. But the state record typical still scored over 200". And their still plenty fun to hunt!!!!

You could hunt a different area for all of the huntable species every year, for the rest of your life. And never go to the same one if you wanted to.

How does the weather compare to around here? Is it windy in Montana?

Yeah the wind can really blow in some places at times. It can get pretty hot in the summer, but it is drier! The winters can be brutal in the far NE corner, but the rest of the state can actually be milder than here in southern WI on average. But spring doesn't really come until May, June up high! I'm sure this affects a deer's growth, of both their bodies and racks! They also rut a little later because of the later spring.

[hambone]

I chose Iowa for whitetail. Montana overall.

[Uncle Lou]

I picked Michigan.

[muddy]

Not Montana

Not Iowa either.

Honestly I dont think we have enough public land here in the Hawkeye state to compete.

[seazofcheeze]

Not Montana

I heard the state is full now, anyways.

[stratocasterNJ]

How come no one wants to come to NJ and hunt our public land? Oh, nevermind, I forgot. Hunting public land and NJ really can't be used in the same sentence. Mutually exclusive. lol

[greenhorndave]

How come no one wants to come to NJ and hunt our public land? Oh, nevermind, I forgot. Hunting public land and NJ really can't be used in the same sentence. Mutually exclusive. lol

Yeah, NJ doesn't scream "hunting destination" fairly or unfairly.

[Bonecrusher101]

It’s hard to beat being a MT resident if you like to hunt.

X2 I picked Colorado and Montana. Those are a southern mans dream hunts!

[tbunao]

With over 30 million acres of state and national forests available (doesn't include block management which is growing) MT is hard to beat. Certain sought after cities can be pretty expensive to live in but the state in general still ranks 33rd in lowest cost of living. As a resident you are looking at $19 elk tags, $19 antelope, $16 deer, $19 bear (spring or fall) , $19 mountain lion, $19 wolf, and if you are lucky to draw a moose, goat or sheep tag it's $125. This year was the 2nd coldest in Billings history and to be honest it wasn't that bad for a former NY resident. Fishing is also excellent. Enough to keep your weekends busy and you could hunt/scout/fish/explore a new area for the rest of your life and never come close to where you began.

Oh and the whitetails...... locals don't know what they have.

[greenhorndave]

With over 30 million acres of state and national forests available (doesn't include block management which is growing) MT is hard to beat. Certain sought after cities can be pretty expensive to live in but the state in general still ranks 33rd in lowest cost of living. As a resident you are looking at $19 elk tags, $19 antelope, $16 deer, $19 bear (spring or fall) , $19 mountain lion, $19 wolf, and if you are lucky to draw a moose, goat or sheep tag it's $125. This year was the 2nd coldest in Billings history and to be honest it wasn't that bad for a former NY resident. Fishing is also excellent. Enough to keep your weekends busy and you could hunt/scout/fish/explore a new area for the rest of your life and never come close to where you began.

Oh and the whitetails...... locals don't know what they have.

Gonna make more of us want to move there!

[tbunao]

With over 30 million acres of state and national forests available (doesn't include block management which is growing) MT is hard to beat. Certain sought after cities can be pretty expensive to live in but the state in general still ranks 33rd in lowest cost of living. As a resident you are looking at $19 elk tags, $19 antelope, $16 deer, $19 bear (spring or fall) , $19 mountain lion, $19 wolf, and if you are lucky to draw a moose, goat or sheep tag it's $125. This year was the 2nd coldest in Billings history and to be honest it wasn't that bad for a former NY resident. Fishing is also excellent. Enough to keep your weekends busy and you could hunt/scout/fish/explore a new area for the rest of your life and never come close to where you began.

Oh and the whitetails...... locals don't know what they have.

Gonna make more of us want to move there!

Imo it’s THE best overall opportunity state. Some have mentioned CO but if you are a die hard whitetail hunter your options are limited in that state compared to MT. WY and ID also hold good whitetail numbers and plenty of other game to chase.

If we are just talking whitetail then IA hands down. To be able to hunt there every year would be remarkable. It also allows you to hunt multiple good buck states within a short drive such as MO, KS, IL, WI, NE, SD etc... even KY and IN are semi close. I’m not sure about IL but all are OTC