Resident Hunting Idaho vs Colorado

[Pikespeak]

2 years ago I had to move to Washington for my wife to get a job but we now finally get to move back to the Rockies. It’s been tough. We are considering moving back to where we were before, Colorado, but I am also strongly looking at Idaho.

I’ve found a lot of hunting comparisons from the out of state hunting perspective but not for residents. Looking at elk, mule deer, and upland birds. Feel free to IM me if your perspective isn’t something you want to put on the net.

Thanks!

 

[PathFinder]

Colorado is the best western state not to be a resident of. There's no cap on non-resident tags, so draw odds are the same as a resident or non. I think they are pretty similar in terms of opportunity, Colorado probably has more game.

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[sneaky]

Colorado is about to get wolves that they'll not get to manage for a long time, if ever. That's gonna change a lot of things when it comes to elk especially.

 

[evergreenethos]

I don’t blame you for wanting to leave Washington. My wife and I have been thinking about doing the same. I tried to talk her into moving to Alaska, but she is the type who gets cold in a tanning bed so she shut that down quick. Idaho would be my pick, but I have friends and family there so that’s a big factor. I’m going to hunt unit 17 in Idaho this year, if it goes how I hope it does I might have to bring up the idea of moving over there again. I am fed up with Washington.

 

[Pikespeak]

Yea we decided we don’t like overly wet mountains, I once had romantic visions of living in Alaska but after being in the cascades those are gone.

So does Idaho have a significant advantage for tags for in state hunters?

 

[KHNC]

Yea we decided we don’t like overly wet mountains, I once had romantic visions of living in Alaska but after being in the cascades those are gone.

So does Idaho have a significant advantage for tags for in state hunters?

I read once that Patrick Meitin moved out of New Mexico and went to Idaho due to the great conditions for residents to elk hunt. He was a great outdoor writer that killed a ton of elk. Seems like Idaho would have be a much better decision than Colorado. Elevation isnt as high either, even though its steep as F!

 

[Customweld]

I'll chime in with my opinion on Idaho. I can't offer anything on Colorado.
As a resident, there is currently an incredible amount of opportunity. I say currently because of the massive influx of new residents. With the amount of new pressure, I can't help but think that there has got to be some sort of reduction put in place for opportunity. We have limited NR's to picking units and putting a quota on those. This will quiet some folks down, but those same folks are refusing to address that elephant in the corner. Wolves have been here since'94 and the elk have adjusted their patterns and a good portion stay within that private/urban interface. Mule deer have been on a steady decline throughout the west and we aren't any different. Whitetail just got hammered by EHD in the northern part of the state. There is great upland hunting, but even the toughest places to get to are being accessed with UTV's/ATV 's with tracks and dog boxes. It's getting tougher to get away from the crowds. Also ,CWD showed up last fall. This was in Central Idaho, in a mule deer controlled hunt unit. It will only expand from there. I believe it's also in Colorado though.
I am a 4th gen Idahoan, and would not live anywhere else. But there are some serious growth pains going on right now.

 

[Minute_of_Antelope]

I moved to Idaho from NM. It’s so nice to have access to general elk and deer tags (unlike NM’s pure draw system).

Mind you, the general tags are filled with obese flat brimmed side by side boys and horse trailers, but I digress.

I have no complaints really, but while there is great opportunity, there are also significant challenges. It can be hard hunting and my hat is off to those guys that have learned their spots over generations and hunt them hard.