NR Whitetail hunts

[JLS]

Probably the biggest question to answer is what kind of country do you want to hunt. Big difference between north woods whitetail hunting and river bottoms in Colorado. Both are fun, but way different.

 

[JLS]

...

 

[Northwoods Labs]

Wisconsin deer hunting sucks

 

[SandyCreek]

to the op. if you ever decide to make an Iowa trip I would be happy to offer some input. despite what others on here might say there are plenty of places to get after it..also check out the hunting public. ps.. still plenty of booners around..we put down a few last year that won't ever see a book

 

[nontyp]

I would take the B&C entries with a grain of salt. In my experience no one in Iowa gets their deer officially scored. Not that I want to draw more attention to Iowa’s deer, but i’ve seen prly 10 all time b&c bucks killed and 0 of them are in the book. Also, you have to take into account that the northern half of iowa is all crop ground and not really deer country at all other than the areas bordering the rivers.

 

[FLS]

I hunt SW Iowa every time a can draw a tag and it's worth every penny. i have friends and family in Red Oak and they kill studs every year. I'll draw archery this year, and gladly pay whatever they want. If I can stay long enough I'll at least have an opportunity at a bruiser.
My second choice would be Mizzou or Western KY.
I live in South Carolina, and we have a ton of deer. Season starts 8-15 and up until last year limit was two per day with no season limit. theyre small but plentiful and we have a ton of public land.

 

[THINKIN6X6]

Iowa...Iowa...Iowa

 

[Grundy53]

Another vote for Idaho

 

[LCH]

Living in Indiana, I know that my best chance a truly big buck is right here at home, just due to the time I'm able to spend in the woods here and my familiarity with the area.

When I think about NR whitetail hunts, I think about the type of experience I am looking for, rather than the type of buck I'm after. Do you want to stand hunt small pieces of agricultural property? Stalk big woods style? Access remote islands via canoe or kayak? Glass big, open country? Spend time in the desert SW after the rut is over at home?

Whitetail inhabit such diverse country, and offer such an incredible range of hunting styles and methods, that I advise the OP to first decide what type of experience you want out of the hunt. After that, you can decide what state/area offers the opportunity you're after.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

Idaho

 

[Thomas11]

Living in Indiana, I know that my best chance a truly big buck is right here at home, just due to the time I'm able to spend in the woods here and my familiarity with the area.

When I think about NR whitetail hunts, I think about the type of experience I am looking for, rather than the type of buck I'm after. Do you want to stand hunt small pieces of agricultural property? Stalk big woods style? Access remote islands via canoe or kayak? Glass big, open country? Spend time in the desert SW after the rut is over at home?

Whitetail inhabit such diverse country, and offer such an incredible range of hunting styles and methods, that I advise the OP to first decide what type of experience you want out of the hunt. After that, you can decide what state/area offers the opportunity you're after.

Well said

 

[C_Dick_Run]

Idaho

Did some reading of Idaho's regs, a little cleaner than trying to sort out Montana's. Looks like about $450 for a NR deer if I'm reading correctly. Not too bad for OTC and even some units with rifle rut hunts, big plus. The pan handle area would only be about a 7-8 hour drive which I like.

 

[Dooger]

Did some reading of Idaho's regs, a little cleaner than trying to sort out Montana's. Looks like about $450 for a NR deer if I'm reading correctly. Not too bad for OTC and even some units with rifle rut hunts, big plus. The pan handle area would only be about a 7-8 hour drive which I like.

You could do NW MT once you tag out in ID too. You’ll most likely need a point for MT though.

 

[C_Dick_Run]

Nebraska and Idaho. Tag opportunities abound. And so does public land. Nebraska is overlooked and has over a million acres of of land to chase WT on. And way more cost effective than say Iowa or Kansas. I lived in North Dakota and there was good hunting opportunities along the little Missouri river. Not sure what part of Montana ur in but that would be an easy drive probably.

Cost effective has the attention of a penny pincher like myself. Looking about $450 for Idaho, Nebraska I can only find a price for the hunting license ($97), there is no information yet under deer permits on the game and parks page. Where the LM crosses 94 @ Medora would only be a 4 hour drive from where I live (just outside Billings) and looking about $320 for base and deer license.

 

[C_Dick_Run]

You could do NW MT once you tag out in ID too. You’ll most likely need a point for MT though.

Luckily I'm a MT resident. That would be neat to take a 2 week trip and spend a week hunting each state.

 

[C_Dick_Run]

WY was mentioned and I think there are quite a few walk-in areas within two hours of Laurel that have whitetail if close by was a factor. I don't know if they have quite the crazy numbers I used to see outside of Columbus, though.

WY is a for sure option, a 2 hour drive gets me into some pretty good WT hunting. The unit I have my eyes on has some potential for pretty good size deer but I'm pretty sure it takes some points to draw.

 

[C_Dick_Run]

This post went south! You can kill mature whitetail anywhere whitetail live. Just do your homework, get off the road/path, and have fun.

It sure did. Look what I started. Was there an Iowa/Wisconsin basketball game that week or something?

 

[C_Dick_Run]

to the op. if you ever decide to make an Iowa trip I would be happy to offer some input. despite what others on here might say there are plenty of places to get after it..also check out the hunting public. ps.. still plenty of booners around..we put down a few last year that won't ever see a book

Thanks SandyCreek. Iowa is a little farther of a trip and would be a little more pricy but it is definitely still on the bucket list. Big fan of HP. I want to be like them some day when I grow up.

 

[Buffs35]

Differing stats, fyi.

15 Most Pressured Deer Hunting States in America

Some of The States on This List Might Surprise You

www.realtree.com

 

[Dooger]

Differing stats, fyi.

15 Most Pressured Deer Hunting States in America

Some of The States on This List Might Surprise You

www.realtree.com

That’s a deer-to-license ratio. Still doesn’t mean squat.

...and MI wasn’t even listed, nor was IN...due to inability to gain data.