Go west young man...

[3darcher2]

Idaho has great access to OTC tags, with reasonable draw odds compared to other Western States. Boise is big enough to have what you need, but small enough that you might run into someone you know at random. There are places within 30-45 minutes that would be remote enough for your tastes, I would think. Access to good hunting country is a few hours away.

If you're comparing the drive between Montana and New England, versus Idaho and New England, it's almost no difference. Adding 3-4 hours to a multi day trip just isn't that big of a deal, in my mind.

All that said, Montana and Wyoming are great options too. Plus, you're less likely to take my moose tag.

Well I comparing as of now the drive from Pittsburgh, not New England, to SW CO. That difference is more like 450 miles or 6-7 hours. I'd say it's not insignificant.

That said, I do like ID, maybe even further north towards CDA and be able to work in Spokane if I had to. I'd still have to check the griz/wolf action there, but it's got good weather, better than Pittsburgh (which isn't hard) and lots of great public land.

Moose does sound like fun...

 

[3darcher2]

If I move more than an hour or two, I am going somewhere that I can roll out of bed and hunt an elk, every year, within a half an hour.

Would you ever consider the Southeast? Not a lot of love for southerners on this website, but probably due to super thick woods which limits long range shooting.

I've been all over the US, and for me I can never leave the SE. With a northern retirement you would be living like a king. Taxes are lower, people are friendly, and you can live in a farming town but still be 30 mins away from a retail outlet. Its got a nice balance.

Also, tons of public land to hunt, but the majority of hunting is through friends who own big farms. If you're a new guy (especially a Yankee) in town who strikes up a conversation about guns, you'll be invited to hunt on private land in no time.

We have a ton of game too! Deer, bear, turkey, small game, tons of upland game, water fowl, and varmints! Just something to consider. And I had to brag about the SE, Georgia Specifically

 

[aspenbugle]

Uh, I'm sure you have reasons but why is driving always the metric? Unless hauling a ton of stuff or ton of people flying is usually as cheap or cheaper and a whole lot faster. Round trips starting around $300. Just saying...If you consider that, airports and airlines at them trump distance and distance becomes mostly irrelevant. Also, if you only do it once or twice a year, vs monthly, not sure it would be a primary factor of where I live the next 20 years (for me), but you're the one moving, not me

 

[3darcher2]

It's not the metric, it's a metric. That's why I said ID is still in the mix. Those other three on the left coast were out long ago, although I could possibly transfer to western WA, maybe far enough downwind of Seattle to be in the clear.

 

[ARKLITE881South]

But, you'd still be in Wa same state, same laws.

 

[ltgibbson]

I will certainly avoid west coast states of CA, OR, and WA. Hunting is really crowded there

 

[3darcher2]

I will certainly avoid west coast states of CA, OR, and WA. Hunting is really crowded there

Clearly, you've never been in PA for the first day of rifle deer season. Heck we have 300K archery hunters.

 

[3darcher2]

OK so I'm looking at regulations, which is a whole 'nother thing. The people who write the regulation books in general should be taken behind the woodshed and flogged.

That said, I am wondering if some residents from each state could go over what your rules are for residents as far as licenses in a synopsis. Things I am interested on are rules about generally what you can do with a license (is it good for archery, rifle, muzzle, etc. or weapon specific), is it statewide, region, or just unit specific. Are there extra bull/buck tags available? Extra cow tags? I think the states I am interested in most all have OTC bull/buck tags for residents at least for one tag. Then anything quirky you think is worth mentioning. In general, I hunt archery, but I do like to rifle hunt and have a few builds underway to be able to be a little more effective in the west. I like the thought of being able to drop back to rifle if archery doesn't pan out, which I think is what MT has. Stuff like that. Thanks in advance.

I know this is in the books, somewhere, but I hate reading and thinking something is right and then finding out two weeks later I have been wrong the whole time. I've done it a few times now.

Edit - the states I am looking at are ID, MT, WY, CO, and on the fringe is NM.

 

[KNOTFERSAIL]

Yes...Id or Mt is were you wanna be.WY not so much.

 

[MtPockets]

Wyoming and Montana do both have OTC "General" tags available. I never hunted a general tag area in Wyoming, but I believe there are some areas near Yellowstone. The biggest downside of that is it is also Grizzly and wolf territory.

Here is some information on Wyomings elk license rules-

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/Elk-Hunting#learn

Here is a map of the hunting areas. It will help you find the General Tag areas-

https://wgfd.wyo.gov/Hunting/Hunt-Planner/Elk-Hunting/Elk-Map

Mostly, it sounded like (at least, where I was hunting) if you put in for an Archery Tag as your first choice you were probably going to get it.
I did draw a tag the only year I applied for one.
There is also a time frame where you can purchase leftover licenses on a first-come, first-served basis and in some cases you can purchase a third license at reduced cost. So that makes it fairly simple- you put in for an Archery tag for the area that you want to bowhunt, then pick up a General Tag for rifle and also have the opportunity to hunt some of the late cow seasons.

Also, you can use a crossbow in Wyoming during archery season, but not in Montana.

I have only applied for an Archery Tag once in Montana, so I don't know the odds. For what its worth, I did draw it.

There are a lot of General Elk areas in Montana, and there are also areas with special "Shoulder Seasons" that extend the regular season for cows only. Some of these hunts go very late into the winter.

http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/seasons/elkShoulder/

Hope this helps!

Ron