Out of 4 states to live.....

[Billinsd]

One thing to think about it state income tax, which Idaho and Montana have. Its far more expensive than out of state tags. We moved here years ago and now that we have kids, we are going to be heading back to Washington. The public schools here are terrible when compared to whats next door in Washington. I will second the observation that the area has also been flooded with new residents in the last few years and it feels over crowded.

I wouldn't pick the state you live in based off hunting seasons. There are a lot more important issues that affect your day to day life than some cheap tags in the fall. Unless you are single. If you are single and don't plan on changing that, money isn't an issue, and you get plenty of time to enjoy the outdoors, Western Montana gets my vote.

That's good to look at everything, especially taxes. Montana does not have sales tax!!

 

[Billinsd]

I feel that every where I research folks complain that there are to many people, and to many hunters... I feel that way as well about areas I hunt. Yet statistics say we are losing more hunters than gaining... I'd be curious to see a report that shows historical hunting license purchases by state. My gut says the west is gaining hunters and the east is losing?? But that is just a wild hunch......

Too many people and too many hunters is very subjective. I'm in San Diego and pretty much any other area has less people and less hunters and more game. Even Utah which is full has less people, more hunters, but when you spread them out much less pressure than I'm used to. I talked to a Montana biologist about sharptails and he said he doesn't like to see other hunters. If he sees other hunters anywhere it's too crowded for him. I expect much less, much, much less. I tell people if you live in Southern California it's real hard to hunt. You gotta be bit by the bug, it's like a curse. I'm bit real hard.

 

[Billinsd]

He is bluffing. Wyoming is where it's at.

Randy

Wyoming is excellent. Upland birds not real good, not tons of agriculture.

 

[Billinsd]

I can give you 7.5 million reasons not to move to Wa.

I can think of one. Seattle. I visited there once, lots of city life, finer things in life, but not for me. The big cities dominate Washington.

 

[Billinsd]

I've seen a few mentions of the Wyoming weather. Is it really that different than Montana?

In the west part of these states, well further north generally colder all other things considered, altitude
Etc . In eastern part in Montana, it's wide open prairie and extreme weather. Southwestern Idaho is called a banana belt. It's warmer, it has to do with geography and how it affects weather.

 

[wildcat33]

Too many people and too many hunters is very subjective. I'm in San Diego and pretty much any other area has less people and less hunters and more game. Even Utah which is full has less people, more hunters, but when you spread them out much less pressure than I'm used to. I talked to a Montana biologist about sharptails and he said he doesn't like to see other hunters. If he sees other hunters anywhere it's too crowded for him. I expect much less, much, much less. I tell people if you live in Southern California it's real hard to hunt. You gotta be bit by the bug, it's like a curse. I'm bit real hard.

I left San Diego almost 20 years ago and never looked back. I love when people say "but the weather is so great!". F**k the weather! that place is hell! But seriously, get out of there man.

 

[Billinsd]

Thanks!! The girls are very pretty too, however I'm married. Our jobs pay well, our house equity is rising, our pensions will pay well. My wife and I have pensions and a few short years left. It is hell, but it's the best big city I've been in. I'm a born and raised Californian, it used to be great here. I spent about 30 minutes trying to get through an intersection after work yesterday. A timid man was letting other drivers cut in front of him. People block up the intersections. I called my wife and said let's talk about moving, let's make this real, let's talk, let's plan. Thanks!

 

[bridgermgmt]

Idaho sounds like the Sierra Nevada’s. The amount of California transplants has crushed the area. Crime, traffic, and loss of the very few decent trails we have are all a major issue. The rise in home cost is gross and has driven up the apartment and homeless like I have never seen.

6months ago we were on a path to go to either cda or Spokane. With what has occurred in that time, I’m glad we didn’t.

Having said that, Washington and Wyoming are now the two were looking at. Both provide access to amazing hunting/outdoor recreation opportunities and still have small sized towns close to bigger cities (not Seattle sized cities).

 

[RCB]

Here's a simple calculation: take the four states' total public land area and divide it by the state's population. That gives you a rough ranking of how much back country open space you'll have without crowds.

The numbers, in public land acres per person (I'm only counting NFS and BLM, from here: Public land - Wikipedia
Wyoming: 47.7
Montana: 23.8
Idaho: 18.9
Washington: 1.3

Of course, Wyoming also gets a bunch of non-resident visitors due to Yellowstone.

Others for reference
Nevada: 18 (almost all BLM)
New Mexico: 11
Oregon: 7.6
Colorado: 4.1
California: 0.9

I suppose if you strongly prefer NFS to BLM, you could redo the numbers with just NFS.

 

[JWP58]

Housing prices are insane in Wyoming. Anything under 200k is a complete schithole. If you want a parcel of land bigger than a normal city lot, expect to pay over 500k.

 

[ben h]

If you're strictly speaking outdoor activities, WY, MT then ID would be my 1st-3rd choices. I have not spent much time in the winter in MT, but I have in WY and it is COLD. I'm from UT which you'd think is pretty much the same, but it's not; generally speaking WY is higher in elevation and has huge open valleys to capture cold air coupled with wind. It used to piss me off when getting my oil changed at Jiff-lube in Salt Lake and they'd refill windshield washer fluid with watered down Utah temp range fluid and that shit would be frozen solid when I'd drive through WY.

 

[SWOHTR]

Move to Canada!!! Just kidding.

But really, you will encounter a lot of western xenophobia. Pick a state and go there. I’m in ID and love it, but as some people already mentioned you can buy some out of state tags with the income tax saved by living in, say, WA. So, save potentially thousands on income tax and buy a $600 nonres tag and license or pay the thousands in order to buy a $50 tag.

Either way it beats being a CA resident and having that stigma associated with you around here!


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[Crippledsledge64]

Don't you know OP that the entire West is full and there's no more room? Funny how many responses say something similar on all these threads, "blank is full, try going to another state." I get things are changing and people don't want things spoiled but there's worse neighbors than fellow hunters and people are moving regardless. Heck I had a similar thread and got a PM telling me to go back where I came from. Do your research, try to spend some time in the places you're looking at, and while there's some good info here I've learned to take it all with a grain of salt. Good luck on your move, hope it works out for you and your family.

 

[SWOHTR]

Heck I had a similar thread and got a PM telling me to go back where I came from.

That’s called “hospitality!”

Wow. The good news is not everyone is like that, including most people on this forum.



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[dirtytough]

I lived in Washington. Its funny to hear people say it has great hunting. There is basically zero game management there. I live in ND now and it is amazing the amount of deer I see here compared to what I would see in Washington. That being said I am looking at moving to Wyoming. Of the 4 states listed Wyoming seems to pencil out the best. Zero state income tax. Least amount of people. General deer/elk tags that as a non res you have to draw. The deer and elk hunting is arguably better in WY then the other 3 states.

 

[JWP58]

Idaho is Valhalla. Especially the owyhee area, love it. Honestly northern NV wouldn't be bad either.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Valhalla you say..... finally one gets me lol

 

[Doc Holliday]

Population density map. Lighter is better

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[slick]

Red dots is where I’ve lived and black dots is where I’ve worked, or spent a considerable amount of time recreating/have good friends there.

This thread got me thinking, and I have been penciling out big game opportunities the last few days in primarily ID, WY, & MT.
I was born and raised in ND, and wouldn’t ever move back. Sure the oil has brought lots of economical benefit to the area, but other than that I would say little else that’s good for hunting. ND GFP mismanaged their deer. Big game opportunities are limited to an OTC archery tag every year. Mule deer rifle tags take 6+ years to draw, and muzzy tags are approaching double digits. You used to be able to shoot a buck, and 4-7does, not the case anymore. Few bad winters didn’t help. Elk, moose, and sheep are OIL. Pronghorn are very limited. Great bird hunting and walleye fishing.

Have spent most of my adult life between SD and MT.

SD deer hunting is great for trophy quality and opportunity, and if you play your cards right could be shooting 3-4 bucks a year. Their elk system isn’t bad for what it is, and when you do draw a tag, I’d argue it’s some of the best elk hunting around. Big bulls, vocal bulls, ease of access, and typically not too much pressure. Good pronghorn hunting in the NW. OIL for sheep and goat. Also great bird hunting.

After looking at how many tags you’re able to get, and for what species, and the cost of it all; depending on what your goals are (ie trophy bucks or meat in the freezer or a combination)

MT is the most affordable between the the 3 states mentioned (this is all based on resident tag prices). WY can shoot 3 elk, but ID 2 bulls- for a NR priced 2nd tag. MT 2 elk. Price wise goes to MT. Trophy quality probably WY. WY is a PP state, ID is lottery, and MT is BP.

WY has more deer opportunity with 1 buck and uncapped leftovers. Montana is 1 buck with 8 doe tags ( having to drive all over the state) and again, ID is 2 bucks.

Pronghorn-undoubtedly WY

Sheep hunting goes to MT with trophy potential in the breaks and the opportunity factor with the unlimited’s.

Moose hunting I think goes to ID- or at least used to, but the big 3 in ID are all OIL tags. With the extra opportunity for a 2nd subspecies of sheep (California Bighorns)

Mountain goat is a toss up. Idaho- no points. MT- good odds historically in some areas (Crazies). Wyoming- not educated enough.

Wolf- ID 5, MT 5, WY 2. With the nod to Idaho for cheaper license

Mtn Lion- ID 2 with a 2nd NR priced tag. Other states 1 per year. Can run hounds in all states. Northern Idaho seemingly having the chance at the biggest cats.

Bison- I think more opportunity in WY, with a more expensive price tag than MT (by about 3 fold $414 vs $125) None in ID.

Black Bear- arguable. Idaho, again with the 2nd tag at a NR price. NW MT as far as economics go.

They are all great. They all have their shit holes. Boise, Missoula, Bozeman, Jackson. Everywhere is what you make it, and I think that you would enjoy anyone of these states.

I left MT for OR only as a career move that’ll hopefully lead me back to MT later. OR hunting is more limited, but better than WA. The season structure will be a change, but will give me all of Oct to try and pursue out of state opportunities.

 

[Billinsd]

How about living in 2 states? That's what I'm thinking. Maybe Montana for 6 months of the year and then Nevada in the winter? How many of you have 2 or more homes in different states and how do you figure which state you are a resident in?