I didn't want to hijack Shultzy's thread about the best state to hunt deer. But I'm curious. What state do you think has the easiest access? Several of you picked Texas for best state to hunt deer based on sheer numbers. However access to those numbers can come at a considerable price. I hunt a VERY low budget lease for Tx and my hunt club dues are $750 for the year. I can afford more for better land with greater deer numbers, however my financial priorities lie elsewhere having a wife and young daughter along with the mortgage, car payments, etc. The old knocking on a door for permission in Texas won't get you very far. Farmers and ranchers know that hunting = $$ in Texas. And public land in Texas is very limited. What is open to hunters is highly pressured. Most quality public land has a lottery system of drawn hunts of which I am 0 for the last 5 years, entering an average of 6 applications per year. So tell me, what state do you think has the easiest access to hunt deer. What are lease prices like, is a knock and a handshake still a viable option, and finally how is the public land access?
Wisconsin has a ton of public hunting land. Tags are easy to get. Wisconsin always ranks in the top 3 Pope & Young states every year. The down side is it is public land,but you can obtain private land it is not out of reach.
Jeff has had awesome results acquring land - but once you hit south towards Charlotte, the land access if difficult at best - and they are developing at such a rate you wont have access very long - The land is Leasing anywhere from $10-15 an acre and it is the route I have went the last 2 years - Public land is around but not very close - also crowded because of Charlotte- any property I hunt I have at least an hour drive - further north and east you have a better chance of gaining permission - I got 40 acres 10 mins nrth of Jeff and I pay nothing for it
Mn has a ton of public land, some of It Is outstanding. Most of the public around me Is very small tracts of land, 10 acres here and 10 acres there. Go down to the SE Mn and It gets real good down there. Go on up to northern Mn and that's where 70% of the public land Is. It's huge big woods up there, tough hunting but I gaurantee there's world class bucks running around up there. Bow hunting pressure In the area I hunt Is pretty low so hunting on public land here Isn't so bad, the quality of the land could be better I guess. Getting permission to hunt on private land has taken a 180 the last 5 years. Leasing was never heard of here until as of late, now a guy needs to take his check book with him when trying to accommodate land. Kinda bites but It Is what It Is I guess. So I'd say Mn ranks up there very high on finding state land to hunt on.
Maryland has a lot of good public land to hunt and there is usually some of decent size close. Where I live there is a lot of good size chunks, 1000, 1700, 400, 350 and much more that is smaller. The funny thing is, hardly any of it is bowhunted very much. An interesting statistic about MD bowhunting kills is that 85% of deer taken by bowhunters comes from private land. There is a lot of farms and undeveloped land in my part of MD which is probably why I don't see many bowhunters (about 1-2 a season). If I shot all of the deer I was allowed too I could take 6 bucks and 30 does (unlimited does in four suburban countys). In each respective season, bow, ML and shotgun, you must take 2 does before the second buck.
I do not have a lot of exposure however, in the Northeast, BOTH PA and NY offer reasonable licenses fees and excellent public hunting access. Just in PA alone there are so many state parks which allow hunting then you can add in the state game lands. In some counties, the the local townships even have plots for public hunting. DE is an option when you compare how many deer you can take with the costs of licenses. Northern DE has limited access however, middle and southern offer some positive oppertunities.
"Live free or die" NH state motto, tangled in with legal hunting access on most land that is not posted, renders some decent access through most of the state. My area happens to be overloaded with deer and offering antlerless tags to help manage the deer herd. White Mtn. national forrest and a couple hundred thousand acres a the tip of the state isn't to shabby either... I'm envious of my buddy's game room (his pick's), in which these deer where taken within a 15 mile radius of my home! I'm slowly playing catch up
MO has a TON of public land and some of it nevers sees any pressure at all. NR tags are over the counter and I believe $125, not bad for a midwest state. I keep telling them they need to raise the rates to keep up with the neighbors.
John, I've been wrong before but I think if the non res lives in a bordering state, MO charges them what their home state would charge us to hunt there. At least I think so....
I have ALWAYS envied the way New Hampshire conducts their politics. "Live free or die" is the best state motto. As an Illinois-an with LOADS of corruption and a King of a mayor running things.. kudos to you guys.
I love MO and MN as you can buy over the counter tags. MO is a real deal; 2 turkeys and 2 anysex tags, all for for $225 NR. MN is $140 I believe for for 1 anysex tag. Both states have world class deer hunting in them.
Virginia can make it difficult on public land hunters. I am lucky to have found a large military base to hunt the last 9 years. It is public, but people either don't know much about it or don't like to go through the hassle of obtaining a hunting permit each hunt. Either way I am very grateful to have good access to the public land I hunt. About 10-15% of the base or so is bowhunting only. I would love to learn about the large National Forest we have here in Virginia. I want to camp out for a week or so and hunt in the Forest. It would be challenging but a heck of a lot of fun.
Lol..it's 13..you can't ever count. NM is a great place for a resident, but non resident is tough to draw...hence it not getting a review. I reported for MN and MO, as I know, because I put a Pope and Young down in each state last year:D
