If you could live in any state for hunting, where would you live?

[el chupa nibre]

Hey guys,

Just some background on me. I'm a second year law student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lived in Illinois, specifically a small suburb of Chicago my whole life. Not very well-traveled as I've only been to a few states: Colorado, Massachusetts (Boston), Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Was most recently in Colorado interning for the Air Force JAG in Aurora, but didn't have much time to explore.

I'm in the process of wrapping up a rather messy divorce and it's given me a new perspective on life. Do what you want and be happy!

So right now I am thinking of places I would want to work and play after I finish law school. I've been doing my own research but it would be fantastic to hear from people who have either been to certain states and can give direct feedback to their experiences, or those who have made their own wish lists as well.

- Paul

[Jerry Jeffer]

There are many great places, but depends on the person. BTW, what is nibre? I don't think that is a word.

[el chupa nibre]

Originally posted by Jerry Jeffer:
There are many great places, but depends on the person. BTW, what is nibre? I don't think that is a word.

That is very true, Jerry. I was just curious of peoples' thoughts. People often ask this sort of question (of where they would like to live) but I wanted to hear opinions from a bowhunting perspective. For myself, I've been looking at Hawaii and Alaska. But there are 50 states out there...

And "el chupa nibre" is a character from an animated TV show: Futurama. Obscure reference, I know!

[Jayrod]

HANDS DOWN IOWA I love them BIG Midwestern white tails!  

[Whip]

It really depends on what animal you want to focus on. AK has great animals but is difficult to hunt most of them without a major excursion - flying in, etc.  HI is beautiful with year round hunting for feral animals. Western States have some great species to hunt and lots of variety, but most bow seasons are relatively short.

For me personally, I'd choose a state like Iowa, Kansas or Nebraska with some great whitetail hunting and long seasons yet reasonably close to the mountain states for a trip or two each year.

But that's just me....

[huntnmuleys]

that's easy.  south Dakota.  long bow seasons.  good variety of big game.  borders Montana any wy, close to all western action.  world class pheasant and waterfowl hunting. great fishing for about any species of freshwater fish available.  I live in wy, close to the border, and if I wasn't as close as I was with a good enough job for some out of state tags, id have moved over years ago...

[DaveT1963]

Montana or Alaska - I still have a few adventures left in these aging bones

[WESTBROOK]

Wyoming

[Sean B]

Anywhere in the mid west but particularly Iowa.

[Biathlonman]

Kentucky. Great deer numbers with long liberal seasons, land that is still relatively affordable, booming elk herds, and an ever increasing bear population. Weather is also pretty decent most of the time, and the economy is the central part of the state has been fairly recession tolerant.

[britt]

Colorado or South Dakota.

[Littlejake]

Rural Iowa or Ohio.

[Bobaru]

Limpopo.

Oh, wait.  That's a province....  where they're bummed if you do see at least four species of planes game per day.

[Cavscout9753]

Georgia not only has a wide range of animals and terrain (moutains in the north, lowlands in the east, foot hills in the west) but also has generous seasons and limits. I believe that if a fella likes to hunt, he can do serious hunting 12 months of the year with a Georgia license. The default being pigs, but deer, bear, predator, and small game are abundant. Also there are a good amount of WMAs and public land available, though in the southern and eastern regions finding land owners willing to let you hunt pigs is no real problem.

[Tim Finley]

I would live in Canada best hunting of all for almost anything .Then go to Texas for hogs and deer in the winter.

[CRS]

I am in the same situation as huntnmuley.  If I was to pick another state,  it would be WY.  I live 12 miles from the WY border in Spearfish, SD about an hour and half from newcastle.

From a strictly bowhunting perspective we have long seasons for antelope/deer.  Other opportunities are limited though.

[aim small...release]

Iowa or Ohio I love BIG whitetails. Really have no urge to big game hunt anything else. Weird I know but im a whitetail weirdo as my wife calls me lol

[Bernie B.]

I live and hunt in rural Iowa and love the state, however my wife and I spend about 150 days in Wisconsin each year at our rural property there.  Both states are great for hunting, but often times when people hear the word Iowa all they think about are the huge bucks.

There are some very nice deer in Iowa, but it depends a lot on what area of the state you're talking about.  In many of the strictly "agriculture" areas the bucks get thinned down pretty quickly during the shotgun seasons.  Not to say there still aren't some big ones out there, but the north central part of the state doesn't compare to other parts.

Bernie

[Bootlegger Ben]

As a fellow Illini (undergrad not law), I'd say Iowa.   About 13 years ago my wife and I were in your shoes.  She was finishing up med school and we were weighing our options on where to live/do residency.  We choose Iowa, and I am very glad we did.  

Obviously, everyone knows about the deer hunting here.  No, there aren't 180 inch bucks behind every tree like the television shows and magazine articles like to portray, but the deer hunting is very good.  Turkey hunting here is top notch too.  There is a decent amount of public land.  More would be better of course, but it's not bad.  Getting permission for private land isn't too hard either.  If you want to buy your own ground it is cheaper than Illinois.  It's still expensive though.  Besides deer and turkey our bird hunting is pretty good.  Pheasant numbers have rebounded and the quail population in southern Iowa is decent.  If you like waterfowl hunting there are plenty of options there too.  I would argue Iowa is the best state in the lower 48 for trapping, and our fishing is very underrated.  

While we don't have elk or bears it isn't too bad to travel for those hunts.  I can be at good elk ground in Colorado in 13 hours or so.  MN has good bear hunting and it's not a bad drive.

Good luck, and if you have any questions on Iowa I'll do my best to answer them.

-Ben

[dbd870]

Originally posted by Biathlonman:
Kentucky. Great deer numbers with long liberal seasons, land that is still relatively affordable, booming elk herds, and an ever increasing bear population. Weather is also pretty decent most of the time, and the economy is the central part of the state has been fairly recession tolerant.

This would be my choice as well. But I'm not really interested in anything bigger than deer. really like their season & license structure, and their weapon options.