Missouri 🤔

[Wyhunter]

I just moved to Iowa last week. Similar situation. I will miss my overcrowded mountains in CO, but I bought and newly remodeled home on acerage for literally 25% of what a home was in CO. It's dead quiet here. Wife and I sat outside and watched the stars last night and we loved every minute of it. We committed to a debt free lifestyle last year, and we are on track to have this home paid for in 3-5 years. Once I no longer have a mortgage, I will hunt more tags, more often, in more states than I ever could have as a resident of CO.

I think the auto response is always going to be I would never leave this state for that state, but living somewhere for hunting has never made sense to me. The west is becoming more crowded, and there is more demand for tags than ever. I think this trend will continue and those with the most disposable income will hunt the better tags more often.

Also, I don't buy into the BS that the west has more opportunity, more variety, yes, but not more opportunity. I can chase whitetails with my bow from Oct 1 to Jan 10th. Kill two bucks a year, no draw, and the public land hunting is actually pretty good. In CO I was getting one buck tag every other year at best. I met my neighbor yesterday and he punches tags every year on public and offered to show me around. I get a pile of turkey tags every year, pheasants, waterfowl, and believe it or not they have trout streams here. Plus they'll be at least 1-2 trips out west for elk every year.

I think what you're doing is smart. I was done with CO when I tried to buy a home with a tiny little lot that was dump for $450k. That's a lifetime of debt, no thanks.

Good luck!

You are doing my dream, sir. That is exactly what i want for my family. I believe you are right on point with all of your topics. Its hard to imagine a quiet night watching the stars around here. I would be on track to be debt free in 7-8 if i moved out there.

 

[Dl1969]

I Live north of KC,bigger deer farther N you go,hogs to the south,public land ,if you bow hunt can almost have to yourself,having our first elk season in forever,but it’s still not OUT WEST HUNTING

 

[Shangobango]

Sounds like you have a good plan to me.

I have toyed with the idea of doing the opposite of what you are talking about doing. Once I started doing research on the cost of buying a house in a few different western states I changed my mind real quick. I had it in my mind that I could sell my paid for house and land and purchase something similar in Wyoming or Montana. Nope. Colorado is not even close.

 

[Losing_Sanity]

Springfield area? I hope you like Chiggers, Mosquitoes, and Humidity. Beautiful area and countryside though. Good luck with your move.

 

[coleslaw]

So much good information and insight on this. I really appreciate everyones knowledge, passion, and respones. This is truly an awesome site with great people. Im willing to be a little hot during summer to set my family up for success. Maybe ill look towards Iowa because i have 2 little kids and education is important to me.

 

[Gellar]

I just moved to Iowa last week. Similar situation. I will miss my overcrowded mountains in CO, but I bought and newly remodeled home on acerage for literally 25% of what a home was in CO. It's dead quiet here. Wife and I sat outside and watched the stars last night and we loved every minute of it. We committed to a debt free lifestyle last year, and we are on track to have this home paid for in 3-5 years. Once I no longer have a mortgage, I will hunt more tags, more often, in more states than I ever could have as a resident of CO.

I think the auto response is always going to be I would never leave this state for that state, but living somewhere for hunting has never made sense to me. The west is becoming more crowded, and there is more demand for tags than ever. I think this trend will continue and those with the most disposable income will hunt the better tags more often.

Also, I don't buy into the BS that the west has more opportunity, more variety, yes, but not more opportunity. I can chase whitetails with my bow from Oct 1 to Jan 10th. Kill two bucks a year, no draw, and the public land hunting is actually pretty good. In CO I was getting one buck tag every other year at best. I met my neighbor yesterday and he punches tags every year on public and offered to show me around. I get a pile of turkey tags every year, pheasants, waterfowl, and believe it or not they have trout streams here. Plus they'll be at least 1-2 trips out west for elk every year.

I think what you're doing is smart. I was done with CO when I tried to buy a home with a tiny little lot that was dump for $450k. That's a lifetime of debt, no thanks.

Good luck!

Welcome to Iowa. What part of Iowa? If healthcare is a concern I’m guessing around Ia city? If you get up to the ne corner and need tips on any public land let me know.

 

[MO Betta]

Just looking for some input on Missouri deer hunting. I currently live in Idaho and the wife and I are thinking about moving out to Missouri where we can buy a chunk of land. I would buy at least 28 acres so I could land owner tags. What is the deer population like? Is there descent public land out there? Is the hog population good?

Deer hunting is pretty darn good. Turkey hunting is exceptional, though the numbers have been down the last few years. Tons of squirrels and other small game, though quail has been lacking for a long time (same as most everywhere). Quite a bit of public land, awesome conservation department that is well funded. Can't shoot hogs on public land, can on private though they prefer you to contact them for trapping and removal. Cost of living is nice.

I've been here 6 years now in Springfield, originally from SE KS. HVAC is in high demand, especially if you do commercial. Most everyone seems to go into the residential market anymore. If you have any questions about the area, or if you move here and want a partner to hit the woods and rivers with, feel free to reach out.

I will say though, living in Kansas for a year first and getting a lifetime license then moving to where you want to be would be a great idea. Springfield is a a little over an hour from the Kansas border on I44.

 

[Firemedic92]

Northwest Arkansas is yuppie central. Hunting here is hard to find if you don't have land. Land is super expensive and mountain bike trails are everywhere. So if you drive a subaru and are into mountain bikes and trails and have lots of money then come to NW Ark. I grew up here and have seen the destruction of the land I used to hunt and enjoy. Sorry If i offended anyone that rides bikes and drives Subaru's.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Welcome to Iowa. What part of Iowa? If healthcare is a concern I’m guessing around Ia city? If you get up to the ne corner and need tips on any public land let me know.

We are in the SW corner between atlantic and creston. I wanted to be in between Omaha and Des Moines.

 

[Gellar]

We are in the SW corner between atlantic and creston. I wanted to be in between Omaha and Des Moines.

Good crappie fish in that area!

 

[Shangobango]

Northwest Arkansas is yuppie central. Hunting here is hard to find if you don't have land. Land is super expensive and mountain bike trails are everywhere. So if you drive a subaru and are into mountain bikes and trails and have lots of money then come to NW Ark. I grew up here and have seen the destruction of the land I used to hunt and enjoy. Sorry If i offended anyone that rides bikes and drives Subaru's.

I didn't grow up there but I visited regularly for a decade. It has definitely changed. The last 5 or 6 years we have been spending our time farther east closer to Mountain View.

 

[iaengineer]

I grew up in Missouri and spent most my life there. When I lived there I owned land. I also lived in Iowa for some time and owned land. Everything said so far is true. One thing about Missouri it is very different from north to south. The MDC is first class. In my opinion the hunting opportunities are much better in Missouri. Rifle for deer and tags are very low cost. As others have said fishing in Missouri is awesome. Doesn't get any better than fishing some of the ozark streams.
I can tell you first hand that Iowa is much more expensive. Higher property and income tax.

 

[C17loadclear]

We currently live in NC and am doing the exact opposite of you.

We are moving to Idaho next spring. The primary reason is the heat and humidity but there are other factors as well.

 

[Northwoods Labs]

I can't wrap my head around someone wanting to move from Idaho to Iowa.........no offense to any Iowa folks

 

[westbranch]

I can't wrap my head around someone wanting to move from Idaho to Iowa.........no offense to any Iowa folks

My in-laws live in NW IA and we were considering moving there several years ago. They have cash crop farm and own quite a bit of land and wanted us involved in the farming. So hunting options wouldn't have been too bad, but not as good as southern IA. We talked about it for close to a year and we ended up in Idaho.

 

[MO Betta]

Northwest Arkansas is yuppie central. Hunting here is hard to find if you don't have land. Land is super expensive and mountain bike trails are everywhere. So if you drive a subaru and are into mountain bikes and trails and have lots of money then come to NW Ark. I grew up here and have seen the destruction of the land I used to hunt and enjoy. Sorry If i offended anyone that rides bikes and drives Subaru's.

I went to college at U of A in the early 2Ks, couldn't believe how different NWA was when I drove through last year.

 

[jlmatthew]

Wanting to bail out of Colorado myself! I can always come back and hunt here with the overly generous NR tag system in place

 

[7mm08mo]

FYI it is currently illegal to hunt hogs on public land in Missouri. It is a very contentious debate here, but one we hope to keep winning. MDC and their partners spend a lot of time and money in trapping.

 

[darrendbeck]

I've lived in Missouri my entire life and hate to see some of the comments but, unfortunately, there is truth in the negative comments. However, I believe there are challenges everywhere and there likely isn't a perfect place on this earth. As far as deer numbers go they are generally good everywhere in the state, aside from a few places in the far southeast corner. The great thing about the current MDC system is, if you are a venison and hunting fan you can take several deer throughout the season. With my landowner tags (archery and rifle) I can legally take 4 deer on my property (that number will vary with the amount of acreage owned). If I purchase a resident archery and rifle tag ($36 combined cost) I can kill 3 additional deer on or off of my property. I also believe I could go to other areas and purchase additional antler-less tags ($7 each) but I don't feel the need to. There are restrictions on the number of bucks you can take so make sure you fully understand that prior to firing away. I don't tag out completely as I think that's excessive for the amount of meat our family needs with the other hunting, fishing and purchases of beef/chicken/pork. If you choose to fill all of your tags and cannot personally consume everything Missouri has a Share the Harvest program that provides venison to needy families throughout the state.

Turkey hunting can also be good but has been spotty over the past few seasons in my experience. Overall there are plenty of places to find birds.

Fishing is great and there is not a shortage of lakes or rivers to fish pretty much anywhere south of I-70. There is likely just as many places north but I don't usually need to travel that far to find great fishing.

We now have an elk season but the tags were limited to 5 this year so I would keep planning on hunting elk in another state.

There will likely be a black bear season in the next few years but tags will be very limited, similar to elk. I wouldn't plan on this hunt being a sure thing for a long time, if ever.

Public land access is good in my opinion. It isn't the west but it's pretty good. You can find a lot of different types of terrain to hunt on public land throughout the state.

I've lived in the Springfield area and worked commercial construction since 2003. Shoot me a PM if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to share any knowledge or experience. I want to do my part to change our reputation in the southern part of the state!!

 

[Midwestwhitetail]

This is just some of the pics from the past couple years here in Missouri. I would feel very comfortable saying the hunting and fishing aint to bad.