Living and hunting in the west?

[maineac]

OK, my wife is going through a little mid-life crisis.  She has decided she is tired of the long winters and gloomy springs of Maine.  She is interested in moving to the west where there is more sunshine.  Loving the west myself I am interested.  

My issue is I have become used to having lots of land to roam and hunt right out my back door.  Game numbers are low, no matter what game you are talking about (except turkeys). And even though we don't have high populations we can get a tag for deer, turkeys etc. without a draw (moose is the exception). I can usually hunt every afternoon after I get out of school with a short drive and a hike back into stand areas or bird covers (depending on my choice that day).

My question is how do the western states handle their big game hunting.  Arizona and New Mexico seem to be entirely draw formats for any big game.  Colorodo I know is more liberal with over the counter tags.  I have seen posts on moving west before but could not find any with my search query.  

So what states would offer the best opportunities to hunt big game every year without having to drive to the other side of the state?

[elknut1]

Colorado, Idaho, Washington, (limited elk areas) Oregon. WY & MT are good bets for getting a tag yearly as a resident outside of LE draw areas. Pick a State, then look for areas/towns outside the heavy snow areas.

  ElkNut1

[centaur]

If you are tired of long winters, you can scratch Wyoming and Montana off the list, although the hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities are good in both states. Now that I am old, I spend three months of our 7 month long winter in Arizona. From what I can discern from Arizona, everything is on a draw, and I know people who have lived there for years without drawing an elk tag. I have considered javelina hunting while in Arizona, but found it cheaper and easier to travel to Texas to hunt the little stinkers.
Colorado is beautiful, and in the lower elevations their winters aren't as long as Wy or Mt, but the front range is overpopulated, unless you get south of Pueblo. The western slope still has some great country that is not too peopled. New Mexico has lots of great and varied terrain, but it is my understanding that drawing tags for elk is tough.
Tradeoffs are everywhere when looking at a place to live; I love Wyoming, but the winters get really old. As I write this, it is snowing, and I live below 5000 feet. The Bighorn mountains, that I live near the eastern slope of, still have snow measured in feet rather than inches, and our runoff will be of record proportions this year. The old saying of Wyoming, Montana and other northern western states is that we have two seasons; winter and road construction. That pretty much says it.

[Whip]

If it were me I'd be looking at southwest Colorado.  I don't know what you have for season lengths in Maine, but be aware that western bowhunting seasons are often not very long.  I get tired of winter as well, but I sure do appreciate the long bowhunting seasons we enjoy here in the midwest.

[Charlie Lamb]

Around Pinedale we'd have a big party if summer happened on a week end.
Not only that but usually we had 9 months of winter and 3 months of really bad skiing.  
 

[Shedrock]

Hunting is great here, but the winters are looonnnggg! I live at about 7,000 feet, snowed yesterday, and is snowing again today.

We have alot of folks move to this town, then move away after 6 months or so. That is a plus, very low population here.  

[StanM]

Hey Michael,

As a teacher in Oregon I can tell you new teaching jobs are tough to find in our state right now, but not impossible.  Most districts are laying off teachers, not hiring.  The upside for someone new to the profession or new to the area is that first year teachers cost less, and although no one will say it, are more desireable.  Now is a good time to start hitting the different district websites for job postings.  

Another state to look into not mentioned is Northern California.  Good luck.

[twitchstick]

I think it can be a trade off no matter were you go. I live at about 5500 ft elevation in So Utah. It snowed yesterday by friday it will be almost 80. I have seen snow in every month on the ground here but the sun dose come out over 200+ days a year,alot more that the smogged in valleys of N. Utah. Summer temps are in the 80's to 90's and few in the 100's. Winter can get below -15 at night and 40 by afternoon(high desert temp swings).
Now the hunting is a draw system here except for archery elk is OTC. I have never went without a deer tag yet but gun hunters may go 4 years between tags. Seasons are short running from late aug. to mid sept. with an extended season in N utah that runs from late aug. thur nov. but I think it has really hurt that unit. Deer hunting is not what it use to be in Utah but I always get plenty of action. Next year it will be a 29 unit draw system that I hope will improve our deer herds.  Elk hunting is good on most spike/cow units but most anybull units can be a real tuff hunt outside of limited entry units,7 to 12 years to draw with 5 yr waiting periods. Turkeys can be ok but last year they opened up the late season to OTC and has killed the turkey population around my area. Rabbits,coyotes and grouse can be good hunting with a "few areas" that are good for duck and geese. Whip may be onto something with the SW Colorado area,I know their big game herds are in alot better condition than ours. Jobs don't come easy around here even in a good economy. I hope this helps you a little...jim

[bsoper]

I'm from southern utah as well, and I just want to echo what twitchstick said. Nice weather for over 75% of the year as well as a short travelling distance to the forest. Rifle hunts are ruining the deer hunting around here, but hopefully with the cuts they are doing the next few years things will get better. All the other hunts you shouldn't have too much of a problem with, at least no one in my family does.

[maineac]

I don't think snow is so much the issue as the sun.  This winter we had snow shoes on to walk the dogs every day from mid-December until March.  Our daily highs were in the 20's most of that time.  We did not break 32 until March.  Even some breaks in temp during winter and more sun would help.  I had actually been researching southern CO. as a location. She loved AZ when she was there in April, but I don't think I cold handle a draw system for everything.  Oh and Stan I already have 17 years under my belt of Middle school science.  I am hoping the science piece will help.

[Fisher Cat]

Michael,

I'm originally from Maine and have lived in southern New Mexico for about eight years.  My wife is a science teacher.  I used to make predator calls too, so we have a lot in common.  I moved here primarily because of the weather and lack of decent jobs in Maine.

Weather - The weather here is definitely better overall.  I do get tired of the heat, wind and sand, but its better than the cold and snow.  I miss trees, woods, whitetails and rain, but the predator calling here is great.

Jobs - I know teaching jobs in mid-coast Maine are tough to get, rural ones not so much.  If you have a good job there, think twice before giving it up.  There is not much hiring going on here in teaching now, but highly qualified science and math teachers are in short supply and should be able to find work without too much trouble.  

Hunting - Most everything but furbearers, varmints and small game is by lottery.  You missed the lottery for this year and have to have been a resident for 6 months before you can apply anyway.  Elk hunting is great, but everything else is unimpressive.  The main problem around here is that the lack of water forces the wildlife to live mostly in the mountains and there are a lot of people competing for those animals.  Don't even consider fishing here, it will only piss you off. On the bright side there is more public land (BLM & National Forest) than you can imagine.  

I don't regret moving here, but I do miss Maine.  The ideal situation would be to "snowbird," but as a teacher, you would still miss the hunting seasons in Maine.  Its a completely different world here.  Feel free to PM me if you have more specific questions - John

[Matty]

I dunno I'm going to have to disagree with those saying Colorado.
We have 1. long winters and 2 Very Limited hunting (both Animals and Seasons) You might Hvae a little better luck South West Maybe New Mex Or AZ.
But I would For Sure Scratch Colorado off the list...Just my Opinion

[steadman]

I am opposite of Matty. I loved CO when I lived there. Lots of elk opp, good bird huinting, although you have to drive. The deer were coming back, antelope, and a chance to put in for some great species. The winters are long, but not as long as the other western states. I miss living there for sure. An added bonus is that you are not too far from Nebraska or KS to hunt whitetails to increase your season length. I would not choose NM or AZ unless you want to hunt every 10 years or so. If it weren't for the family situation, I would move back. Good luck!

[Blackhawk]

Are you thinking about Washington on your short list? Well...    

My choice is Idaho...even if the wolves are moving in.

[Glunt]

Probably the biggest adjustment guys have when they move out here is the lack of easy access whitetail & small game hunting like there is back east.  You will need to be picky about location to have close by hunting.  I live on the front range in Colorado and its a great place but hunting before and after work is pretty spotty.  Our whitetail habitat is small and mostly private with guys lined up to get access.

Most hunting is an hour+ away and any public hunting close by is crowded unless you land some private access which is in big demand.

The trade off is that we have 10 big game species and 100s of thousands of spectacular public acres to run around on.  It just requires some driving and hiking so a weekend gets chewed up pretty fast.

Weather here is pretty easy if you stay below 6000' but look to the western slope for close access to huntable lands.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

I second what Blackhawk says, we have good hunting but no sun much of the year.

[Yolla Bolly]

Maineac---Stan mentioned northern CA---and if weather is the only issue I would have to agree.   Born and raised in the northern end of the central valley---it was a great place to grow up.   But conditions have degraded over the decades.  Recognize that the politics of the state are driven by the urban populations of the geographic southern 3/4 of the state, which tends to ignore the realities of rural folks.  The predominantly  rural orientation of my home area , traditionally financed by lumber and agriculture, has been supplanted by a huge infux of people fleeing the cities.

While I think you would enjoy our winters, our summers are probably another matter; typically dry, with temps often exceeding 115 degrees. I have known many families who moved in and left after the first summer. If you move to the mountains to escape the heat, winters snow depths can be problematic.  Wild fires often threaten most areas, as court actions have blocked fuel reduction efforts on a lot of USFS timber land.

Local teaching job openings are few and elicit many applicants---I am told salaries are much lower than in the urban areas, and benefit packages fall way below the national average. This is balanced some by lower housing costs---however, the flight of many retirees from the cities has rural real estate prices skyrocketing.
Hunting is spotty.  We have beautiful mountain areas-mostly public land, and a lot of timber company land open to hunting (but not camping).  Mule deer hunting areas are all under limited draw regulations, and we get drawn every 5-6 years. Residents of those areas have to complete for tags with everyone else.  Much of blacktail hunting is regulated with first come first served tags, but a lot of the prime lower elevation habitat is private land, locked up with hunting leases. Politically driven herd management practices, combined with major habit losses, have given us declining populations with wildly skewed buck/doe ratios.  The one saving grace are the wilderness areas,  which give us good backpacking hunt opportunities during the late summer bow season.
There are limited elk and antelope tag draws, even a few sheep in the southern Sierras.
Lots of feral pigs, mostly on private land.

As a result, my extended family is actively discussing a mass move to another state.  Sorry to be so discouraging, but I am calling it as I see it.  
Bruce

[Bjorn]

I live about 60 miles south of San Francisco in a very beautiful, sunny environ. A coupla days frost and occasional snow in the surrounding hills and 300+ days of sunshine. Hunting access is tough; but maybe easier in less populated areas.
As far as hunting goes, we hunt here a bit and mostly Oregon, SW WA and UT.

[PaddyMac]

If I had it all to do over again, and who knows I just might, it'd be Oregon, somewhere along US Hwy. 97 north or south (but not in) Bend. Drier. That way I could pop over the hills and hunt Roosevelts (or blacktail) on the coast or head over to John Day or even further over to Baker or down to Steens. And you have all that lodgepole forest around Wickiup and Crane Prairie to hunt. And you're not that far from a quick hunt in Washington southern Cascades or Idaho's Clearwater. And Oregon just seems more bowhunter friendly than most Western states.

Oregon is 53% federal land and another 20% give or take accessible state land, plus there are westside timber company lands to access.

The economy isn't as robust as Washington or California (cough-cough) but it's steadier.

And I just like the people there. More walk than talk.

The trouble is, you can out walk the riffraff in Washington, but not in Oregon. Buncha animals.

[Stryder]

You might consider Central WA.  If I could convince my wife we'd retire in Wenatchee instead of Seattle.  Four seasons, lots more sunshine, less people and a lower cost of living.  One my favorite areas to hunt mule deer is just a short drive from Wenatchee.