Eastcoasters hunting out West

[Fullfan]

Pa fella here and been driving for the past 25 ish years. Have a great crew of guys, some years 4 some years 10 go. Several of us are retired or own our own buisness. So time is not an issue. The younger guys that work steady all fly. Rent a vehicle and drive to camp.

Long pull from Pa to Idaho w a 26’ enclosed trailer. Only way to get all the equipment there, and the meat and horns home.

Two years ago we killed 8 bulls. That is a lot of meat..

 

[lineman0406]

I drive from NY to WY, MT, ID. It’s a haul but isn’t really all that bad, even solo. Get some audio books or even podcasts and the hours click by a lot faster than you’d think. Have stayed in the bed of my truck at truck stops and gotten rooms. More efficient to sleep in the truck, saves an hour or more of messing around and easy to sleep with all of your gear with no worry of it getting stolen or having to bring it into a room. The flexibility of having your own truck and all the gear you need is worth it to me to drive. 34 hours behind the wheel solo to central Idaho isn’t that bad!!! The drive back always seems to take twice as long…

What part of ny?

 

[160andup]

What part of ny?

CNY

 

[Brendan]

I have driven every time, most solo, coastal Massachusetts to MT, WY, CO, NV, etc. 8 trips now.

Takes 2 days each way, so 2 days extra time when everything shakes out, as compared to flying.

No way I could take a rental vehicle some of the places I've been, and makes it much easier to have your own gear, coolers, etc.

 

[jdmaxwell]

Drive every time for years and years annually

 

[Rich M]

I drove the first 2 times and am flying this last time.

Driving 20-30 hrs to get there is easy, the drive home drags and has eliminated and rest i may have gotten on hunt.

 

[Mikido]

Solo driver.

If you’re going to rough it in backcountry for 10 days, what’s another 4 sleeping in your trunk. Unoimeen?

 

[Boarmaster]

Depends on the hunt but I would drive if I could get there in two or two and a half days which for me is approx 24-30hrs drive time.
The advantage of having my truck , gear and a way to haul back meat would be worth the extra day or so each way. Not to mention the headaches associated with airline travel these days. My attitude on this is somewhat effected in that I can continue to work while being out of town so I can take more days away than most.I am single and self employed so another consideration. I also enjoy the heck out of a roadtrip.

 

[Clovis]

I have done it a few times flying from NYC to Montana. Zero issues with rifle or bow at LaGuardia airport--they see it all the time and handle it straightforwardly like professionals. For whatever reason an NYC cop is generally there and takes a peek, not sure why. I put a lot of other stuff in the bow or gun case, had a big duffle with my backpack more or less squared away and some in-town clothes in it. When I landed, rented a vehicle and the only thing I needed was a canister of fuel and bear spray. I could wake up in New York metro area and be a few miles in and hunting by afternoon local time. It isn't perfect and the baggage fees add up, but it does get you where you want to go quickly and if the end project is a backpack hunt you need to get your packing list dialed somewhere along the line anyway. If I had more time, I would love to go back to driving, but for now, this works better for me,

 

[BigK421]

I live in PA and I drove to Missouri 2 years ago. I'm planning on a trip to Montana next year and will drive there as well. A nice comfortable vehicle makes it a much easier trip. When I drove to Missouri in 2021, we had a brand new Honda CR-V AWD touring model with a few thousand miles on it. Automatic cruise control/distance regulation is great for those long stretches with minimal traffic.

 

[Wellsdw]

Antelope, deer fly. Affords you sometimes 2-3 more days hunting or less time off from work. Elk drive it. Also depends on hunt location. I’m in NC for reference purposes

 

[lineman0406]

CNY

Southern part of the Catskills here

 

[Nick992]

Planning my first one for this fall and will be doing 30 hours to Montana.

Eventually we want to do an Alaska trip, which will definitely be a flight. We've gotten advice to bring fishing gear to kill the time while we wait for the guns to make it through Oregon airports. Apparently they run through a several day process for about half the guns that travel.