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Post by lscg on Aug 22, 2016 20:59:30 GMT -5
i'm hoping to hear from some of y'all that live in states that have a lot of Public land.
do you know how hard is it for a non resident to get tags in your state?
is it a lottery or can you get them over the counter?
and what game is the easiest/most plentiful in your state?
besides hunting can you go shooting on Public land?
it won't be this year but hopefully next year I'd like to pack up some gear and head to Idaho/New Mexico/Wyoming/Montana or Alaska for two or three weeks and do some camping or fishing/hunting. I realize each state is different and there are no Guarantees when it comes to hunting but i'd like to head somewhere where the odds are good that I might actually see something.
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Snyd
.375 Atomic
The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Aug 22, 2016 21:32:01 GMT -5
Lots of opportunity for DIY OTC tags in Alaska except for Sheep, Goats and Griz. AK has a guide requirement for those. But, you can moose and caribou hunt OTC. I've talked to guys that have hauled atv's and freezers/generators up the Alcan. Others use a service to rent float equipment and get lined out for a fly-in float-out hunt. Go here for lots of info, I'm a moderator there in the forums www.alaskaoutdoorssupersite.comHere is the AK Fish and Game website www.adfg.alaska.govEnjoy your planning wherever you end up!
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Post by bushog on Aug 22, 2016 22:36:55 GMT -5
You either need to draw or buy a landowner permit in NM for big game. Small stuff is OTC. Coyotes are free...
If you look on the NMGF website there are draw percentages published for each species and unit.
Probably more elk tags than anything else
You can shoot on public land but there are folks using the land too for ranching and such so prudence is needed.
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Post by sixshot on Aug 23, 2016 1:16:51 GMT -5
Alaska is the ultimate hunt if you have the time & money but you need to do your home work. I've done a backpack hunt (17 days) where we had a pilot drop us on the south fork of the Kuskokuim River, he also moved us once over onto the Hartman River. We took bears & Caribou & could have taken moose but we held out too long. If you plan on driving to Alaska don't plan on taking handguns, either ship them ahead or make some other kind of arrangements. Idaho has lots of OTC tags but the best ones are draw hunts. Its quite easy to get a cow tag, the hard part is getting into the back country. A very large portion of Idaho is public land & you can go just about anywhere you want, I think a lot of Montana is the same except for the low land country along the rivers, etc. I guess it mostly comes down to your experience camping & taking care of yourself in rough country, if you're just deer hunting you can stay pretty close to a town, if you're elk hunting then its going to take more effort because they stay farther away from roads, campgrounds, etc. but it can be done. Wyoming is another great state for deer, elk & bear & probably the very best for antelope. Lots of public land in Wyoming & I've hunted it many times. Central Utah can be outstanding for deer & most of it is public land, most of the elk hunting is a draw, plus most of the Utah residents hunt with a fishing pole! Nevada is a draw on almost everything, even for residents but it has some great hunting if you get a tag. In most all of the western states Oct. is the magic month, in Alaska its probably more like Sept. if you want to beat the weather.
Dick
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Post by lscg on Aug 23, 2016 3:06:20 GMT -5
Lots of opportunity for DIY OTC tags in Alaska except for Sheep, Goats and Griz. AK has a guide requirement for those. But, you can moose and caribou hunt OTC. I've talked to guys that have hauled atv's and freezers/generators up the Alcan. Others use a service to rent float equipment and get lined out for a fly-in float-out hunt. Go here for lots of info, I'm a moderator there in the forums www.alaskaoutdoorssupersite.comHere is the AK Fish and Game website www.adfg.alaska.govEnjoy your planning wherever you end up! thanks for the info and the links. a DIY moose or caribou hunt would really be awesome! and i'd never heard of fly-in float-out hunt but after looking into it on the site you posted it looks like a lot of fun. I definitely need to make it up to Alaska!
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Post by lscg on Aug 23, 2016 3:12:58 GMT -5
You either need to draw or buy a landowner permit in NM for big game. Small stuff is OTC. Coyotes are free... If you look on the NMGF website there are draw percentages published for each species and unit. Probably more elk tags than anything else You can shoot on public land but there are folks using the land too for ranching and such so prudence is needed. I love calling coyotes so even if I didn't draw anything it sounds like I could get some shooting in. safely of course.
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Post by lscg on Aug 23, 2016 3:32:37 GMT -5
Alaska is the ultimate hunt if you have the time & money but you need to do your home work. I've done a backpack hunt (17 days) where we had a pilot drop us on the south fork of the Kuskokuim River, he also moved us once over onto the Hartman River. We took bears & Caribou & could have taken moose but we held out too long. If you plan on driving to Alaska don't plan on taking handguns, either ship them ahead or make some other kind of arrangements. Idaho has lots of OTC tags but the best ones are draw hunts. Its quite easy to get a cow tag, the hard part is getting into the back country. A very large portion of Idaho is public land & you can go just about anywhere you want, I think a lot of Montana is the same except for the low land country along the rivers, etc. I guess it mostly comes down to your experience camping & taking care of yourself in rough country, if you're just deer hunting you can stay pretty close to a town, if you're elk hunting then its going to take more effort because they stay farther away from roads, campgrounds, etc. but it can be done. Wyoming is another great state for deer, elk & bear & probably the very best for antelope. Lots of public land in Wyoming & I've hunted it many times. Central Utah can be outstanding for deer & most of it is public land, most of the elk hunting is a draw, plus most of the Utah residents hunt with a fishing pole! Nevada is a draw on almost everything, even for residents but it has some great hunting if you get a tag. In most all of the western states Oct. is the magic month, in Alaska its probably more like Sept. if you want to beat the weather. Dick
thanks for the great info Dick! I definitely want to go to Alaska but I might hold off till I have more experience in the back country. growing up my dad and I would load up the truck with all our possibles and head out to terlingua for a week to ten days and hunt lion. I've got some good experience but i'll admit i'm pretty rusty.
in Idaho can you get pretty far in on a four wheeler? my thinking was use a four wheeler and small trailer to pack my camp as far in as I can go and then hike and hunt from there.
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Post by bulasteve on Aug 23, 2016 9:50:50 GMT -5
Something I've noticed on lower 48 public hunting land, patterns to access. It seems to run two ways. From the limited points of access, small end of road parkings lots, you have the people that won't get much more than a mile from their vehicle, and others that know that and so head for the middle of the plot/acreage. Sometimes it pays to find the fringes or gaps in the use patterns. Maybe theres a nook or cranny off to the side that gets overlooked by the other two schools of thought. Luck.
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Snyd
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The Last Frontier
Posts: 2,388
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Post by Snyd on Aug 23, 2016 10:31:28 GMT -5
Lots of opportunity for DIY OTC tags in Alaska except for Sheep, Goats and Griz. AK has a guide requirement for those. But, you can moose and caribou hunt OTC. I've talked to guys that have hauled atv's and freezers/generators up the Alcan. Others use a service to rent float equipment and get lined out for a fly-in float-out hunt. Go here for lots of info, I'm a moderator there in the forums www.alaskaoutdoorssupersite.comHere is the AK Fish and Game website www.adfg.alaska.govEnjoy your planning wherever you end up! thanks for the info and the links. a DIY moose or caribou hunt would really be awesome! and i'd never heard of fly-in float-out hunt but after looking into it on the site you posted it looks like a lot of fun. I definitely need to make it up to Alaska! There are Hunt Planners that can help you with location, river, drop off, pickup, gear, etc. All hunt logistics, etc. Float hunting is a great way to go for moose. You can hunt LOTS of terrain and when you knock one down the raft does the work of hauling!
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Post by sixshot on Aug 23, 2016 13:09:33 GMT -5
Snyd is correct on the float hunt, that's how we were going to do our hunt at first but then the pilot found a spot with lots of game & we decided to go with plan "B" & it worked out great. Packing out moose IS NOT FUN, no matter how you do it & I've done it 5 times. You have to break them down, bone them out & have a good back frame or horses. In Idaho there are many place where we take 4 wheelers all the time to get into the back country. Some of it is closed to 4 wheelers but a great deal of it is open, the Forest Service maps show you what's open & what's closed. Hundreds of old logging roads where you can get back & camp & with a little leg work you can find elk, deer, bear, etc. A couple of good skinning knives, a good steel, a Wyoming saw, some game bags & a pack frame should take care of it. You can also hire some one to pack you in on horses & then pack you out, just a thought. Remember if you bone something out & its a bull only hunt you must leave evidence of sex attached to part of the meat, just having the horns in hand isn't good enough.
Dick
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Post by BigBore44 on Aug 23, 2016 15:00:34 GMT -5
Zane I've thought of this very same thing many many times. I have recently been lookin for a small parcel of land for a huntin/fishin camp in Idaho. That area just pulls me in when I get to looking at areas in the states. I spoke with Dick/Sixshot a couple weeks back on the phone and that drove me even more to want to visit and possibly STAY! If you ever get to thinkin you might like a "partner in crime" for a trip to Idaho, I would like to have a talk with you about it. Might be a heck of a goodtime and make a good friendship too...? Just a thought, while think'n out loud.
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Snyd
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The Last Frontier
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Post by Snyd on Aug 23, 2016 22:05:51 GMT -5
Idaho.... I'm originally from Western MT. Missoula. Moved here to AK in 91. My wifey was born and raised here. She's tired of the winters. We've spent some time poking around in Idaho. If we were going to leave Alaska today we'd move to Challis. ATV Hunting is how I hunt moose. I hunt terrain where I can get my ATV and Meat Wagon to the critter. I use the gutless method to field dress, and haul em out that way. I've done 4 or 5 by myself. Here's a couple meat bulls.
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Post by sixshot on Aug 23, 2016 23:07:27 GMT -5
Snyd, now you're cooking, Challis! When I played ball in college one of my old team mates that got me in trouble was from Challis, after graduation I heard he became a principal up around Elk City. Challis is great country! Only bad part is, they've got wolves now & its really hurt the elk from when I hunted there up Morgan Creek & Alder Creek back towards the Middle Fork of the Salmon River years ago. Going gutless, how many know what he means? Best way to break down an animal, don't gut it, just bone everything off the carcass, cut your back straps out & go. You use the inner hide for a table cloth & it works great.
Dick
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Post by lscg on Aug 24, 2016 0:14:26 GMT -5
Ray, well i'm just in the planning stages right now but i'd be open to going with a buddy.
Snyd, great pics! your four wheeler and trailer are exactly the kind of rig I was thinking about using, at least here in the lower 48. I still gut hogs and take the ribs for BBQing but I've done the gutless method on almost all my deer. just not enough meat on their ribs to make it worth the trouble.
Dick, I wasn't aware that you had to leave evidence of sex attached to part of the meat. wherever I go I need to make sure I do my homework. last thing I want is to wind up in prison or something!
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Snyd
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Post by Snyd on Aug 24, 2016 10:52:24 GMT -5
Ya hunting regs state to state, like gun laws, can take quite some time to sort through. Here in AK we are required to "salvage all edible meat" like other states but here, that includes rib meat. Evidence of sex needs to remain attached except for Sheep. Horns are evidence and must be salvaged and "sealed". Some areas require antlers to be destroyed/cut in half. Other hunts require the jaw bone of the moose be salvaged and so the story goes. Oh, and then of course there are the antler restrictions, or not. I hunt an "Any Bull" area and will shoot the first bull I can. A spike/fork is really tasty and half of one fills my freezer. Some areas it's Any Bull for residents but Antler restrictions for Non-Residents. Spike/Fork or spread of 50".
I've read some about Idaho and it seems like there is a pretty good mix of motorized and non-motorized access. I like both. Then there is that program the encourages Land Owners to allow public access through their land in order to get to public land beyond. Which I think about 60% of Idaho is public land.
sixshot, ya, I've talked to quite a few locals in Idaho over the years about the wolf thing. Same deal in MT. That's another thread though!
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