How to hunt more western hunting seasons

[trasko]

Hi all,

Forgive me if this has been answered. I haven't turned anything up in my searches. I'm done with my elk/antelope hunting this year. It was awesome! The only problem is that I'm now 1 year away from doing it again!

My goal: to spread out the hunting season where I can do a week or so every couple of months. Is there anywhere which aggregates all the season data from the different western states to where you can view what is available all at once? Or more directly: do y'all have any recommendations on how to accomplish this?

It seems to me a lot of states have the October rifle hunts so that is covered.

To hunt earlier I can hunt in California (my home state). There is a lot going against it but it is close and cheap. Otherwise it seems like picking up archery is the best bet for hunting earlier in the season.

Late season: what do folks do here? It seems hunting the more southern states (Ariz/NM) seems like it lends itself to Dec/January seasons. I have no experience hunting down there (I just started hunting out-of-state last year).

I think I'll figure this out on my own in time but any shortcuts y'all have would be greatly appreciated. ;-)

~Trask

PS: I'm mostly looking at elk, deer, antelope, pig, javelina, (sheep, moose, bison if there are tags), etc. Upland game (w/o a dog) is great. I don't really hunt bear, predators, or ducks but who knows what the future holds. I'm not a trophy hunter. I just like being in the field. Camping, hiking, hunting.

 

[kylemcintyre67]

Following. With the addendum of what the heck do you guys do for a living that affords you all the time off to go on 7-10 day hunts?

 

[Backcountry Hunter 2]

AZ has OTC archery deer tags in December and January if I'm not mistaken.

 

[375H&H]

Following. With the addendum of what the heck do you guys do for a living that affords you all the time off to go on 7-10 day hunts?

What job doesn't have at least 7-10 days vacation?

 

[deer_shooter]

From what little i know, Wyoming has some antelope hunts that begin in September and Colorado archery begins in early September IIRC. A little out of range perhaps but Caribou in Alaska starts Aug 15 or thereabouts. Montana deer runs though late November and Wyoming has late cow elk tags in december and January. Arizona archery deer is OTC for January. With planning and a full wallet, you could do a 7-10 hunt each month Aug - Jan. GoHunt.com would help you put this all together.

Addendum: I am a manager at a very large healthcare organization and I am very fortunate to get approx 6 weeks vacation time.

 

[kylemcintyre67]

I guess I meant more specifically multiple 7-10 day hunts each year. My current job has 5 weeks of vacation but they are set weeks that I cannot get them to budge on. We only have 24 hours of flex time for the year.

 

[Cheese Curd]

I guess I meant more specifically multiple 7-10 day hunts each year. My current job has 5 weeks of vacation but they are set weeks that I cannot get them to budge on. We only have 24 hours of flex time for the year.

Could you negotiate different weeks off? Maybe see if you could swap weeks with another employee? Maybe you have considered this already but if not, it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[nrpate05]

I try to do an antelope hunt in September in Wyoming. Then I hunt 1st rifle in Colorado which is middle of October. After that I hunt 3rd rifle for deer which is first week of November. This year I have a December antelope tag. It spreads it out nicely where there are some weekends in between to spend time with the wife. I generally don't have to drive too far for any of these hunts which certainly makes it easier. I also only do one longer hunt a year generally and then a few weekends/ long weekends. Makes it easier with work.

 

[gdgwp]

Next year I'm hoping to do September archery elk, October/November archery deer, November rifle deer, and hammer the pheasants Oct-December. The elk hunt will likely be out of state, but everything else is a South Dakota hunt with only a few days off from family and work. May even throw in a January quail hunt in Kansas. There's always turkeys in the Spring to chase as well.

 

[406LIFE]

I am a bivocational pastor and project manager for a solar company. Both are salaried positions. Get the work done, then go play.

As for hutning seasons and knowing what to chase, Gohunt.com is a great resource for that. But also just look at the states around you and their Dept of Fish and Game and then look at seasons. You'll become more familiar with regs and websites, which will help you long term. Plus, half the fun is researching the hunt and learning where to go.

I start hunting in Sept and don't finish until end of June. Archery elk, then rifle everything, then waterfowl, then mountain lion, then wolf, then turkey, then bear.
My off season is fly season, so I fish a bunch and do research.

 

[kylemcintyre67]

Could you negotiate different weeks off? Maybe see if you could swap weeks with another employee? Maybe you have considered this already but if not, it doesn't hurt to ask.

Great ideas, but we all have the same weeks off. It's a private technical college. They have a week for spring break, one for summer break, one for thanksgiving, and two over the Christmas/ new year time frame. It is a great thing for planning trips with the kids, but not so much for trying to plan things like hunting trips or even getting to weddings and such. I am finding ways to work around it, I have a buddy that lives in Oklahoma so I will be up there over the thanksgiving break since their rifle season for whitetail works out. I will be getting an otc Barbary sheep tag in New Mexico this spring, several of the areas that are open for those are within a couple hours drive so I will be doing the weekend thing. I'm just trying to figure out how I am going to expand my hunting season beyond that eventually.

 

[rustneversleeps]

Not having a wife has helped my hunting tremendously haha

 

[dwm4375]

From what little i know, Wyoming has some antelope hunts that begin in September and Colorado archery begins in early September IIRC. A little out of range perhaps but Caribou in Alaska starts Aug 15 or thereabouts. Montana deer runs though late November and Wyoming has late cow elk tags in december and January. Arizona archery deer is OTC for January. With planning and a full wallet, you could do a 7-10 hunt each month Aug - Jan.

Don’t forget spring bear and turkey so you can hunt April and May. And also DIY New Zealand in March if you really want a full schedule.

 

[jtm307]

Wyoming has deer and antelope seasons that go to Dec. 31, some elk seasons that go to Jan. 31, and spring turkeys. I get to hunt from Aug. 15 to May 20.

 

[the nikster]

Idaho has some late cow elk seasons that run through December. Cats and wolves are options as well a spring turkeys and bears. There are really few times of the year that a Sportsman’s Pack holder cannot find something to hunt in Idaho.
I would say, whatever you do, concentrate on a specific species. Otherwise you are likely to just have a bunch of expensive camping trips.

 

[trasko]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm going to just go state-by-state and see what I can figure out. I'll report back what I decide.

 

[LaSportsman]

AZ OTC archery deer has been mentioned, Sep, Dec, or Jan depending on the GMU. I'll add spring javelina for February. Hunts are Jan/Feb with earlier hunts overlapping archery deer. Lots of fun. And if you buy AZ license you may as well buy points for big game.