Eastern vs western hunting success rate

[grfox92]

One of the better troll jobs I’ve seen on here in awhile…

Not a troll job. Hes 100% right. To be a successful hunter in Maine is no joke. If a guy who's a successful hunter in Maine brings his skills and endurance to the west, he's going to be a killer.


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[Ecampbell25]

I have also hunted Maine Vermont and New Hampshire.

Maine is a hard place to hunt or at least where we hunted. Sebec Maine. Usually got of the group of hunters we would get 1 or 2 bucks every other year.

I shot one on the last day of a 5 day hunt.

I moved out west and have shot a nice mule deer and an elk every year for the last 9 years.

The guy who is consistently successful in Maine will smoke the western hunters after a year or two.

Agreed Maine is a different animal. Those smart white tails hear a twig snap they are gone.

Mule deer just stand there…

 

[willfrye027]

Not a troll job. Hes 100% right. To be a successful hunter in Maine is no joke. If a guy who's a successful hunter in Maine brings his skills and endurance to the west, he's going to be a killer.


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Never hunted Maine but have hunted both public land whitetails and mule deer. Different gear and tactics but killing an average public land whitetail buck is harder than an average mule deer buck IMO

 

[jtevanMT]

If you’re moving to Montana and you want to harvest a deer it’s gotta be near 100% success. Lots of zones it’s either sex, most you can hunt into the rut..should have zero problem finding a deer to kill.

Agreed, there are many public land areas/units where harvesting a deer is easy. If you put in some time and are willing to get away from people success should be 100%, unless you are looking for a a mature buck.

 

[Michael Rankin]

I grew up hunting ME NH VT and shot 2 or 3 deer in 18 yrs - i’m deaf. Plus the buck only rule sucked.

Been out west 3x and shot 3 antelope and a 160 inch muley. Find it easier.

Your skills are way more valuable than you really know. Out west you can see everything, back home you cant.

They have success rates on all the state websites. Pull em up before you apply.

Yep… it’s wide open out west.

Sometimes we get 20, and even 60 yards shots if we’re really really lucky!!!

Lots of thick country “out west”.

These are all NE Oregon, not the coast range

 

[Yoder]

I grew up hunting ME NH VT and shot 2 or 3 deer in 18 yrs - i’m deaf. Plus the buck only rule sucked.

Been out west 3x and shot 3 antelope and a 160 inch muley. Find it easier.

Your skills are way more valuable than you really know. Out west you can see everything, back home you cant.

They have success rates on all the state websites. Pull em up before you apply.

Those are definitely the three toughest states to kill deer in the NE. I lived in VT for three years. I missed a small buck with my bow and my son missed a doe. That was the only buck I saw. PA, I either kill a buck or pass up several each year. Then there's doe tags.

 

[Rich M]

Yep… it’s wide open out west.

Sometimes we get 20, and even 60 yards shots if we’re really really lucky!!!

Lots of thick country “out west”.
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These are all NE Oregon, not the coast range

Where we hunted in ME, clearcuts and logging roads provided the longest shots, usually it was like where you are sitting with that nice bull.

FL is a jungle half the time.

 

[Rich M]

One of the better troll jobs I’ve seen on here in awhile…

We can likely compare it to the heavily wooded areas out west - same thing.

If you grow up hunting thick timber and then get to hunt semi-open and partially open country, you will do well. Your whole life has been reading tracks and hopefully figuring out what the animals are doing. Then you get to go somewhere where you can verify what the animals are doing in a couple of days, visually, and adapt immediately to what you need to be doing. It is a whole different concept. Just a regional difference.

Not that the west doesn't have difficult hunts too. I'd take a weeklong western hunt over a week long ME hunt no questions asked.

 

[Amos Keeto]

I grew up hunting whitetails in east Texas. Got a chance to finally hunt Colorado and I took it.
I WAS NOT prepared for the conditions or the environment. Hunted around Pagosa Springs for four years. Killed one smallish mulie buck, a total of a month and half of vacation and several thousand dollars. Had one shot at a nice mulie buck. HE walked up on me!
I missed!
Enjoyed the experience, the people and the country. High country mulie hunting just wasn't my "thang"! LOL!
Hunting whitetails in East Texas was more rewarding, cheaper and vacation time was much more enjoyable!

 

[jimh406]

The MT Harvest Estimates by species are at the link below. As you might expect, success rate can vary.

FWP :: Harvest Estimates

 

[Rich M]

I grew up hunting whitetails in east Texas. Got a chance to finally hunt Colorado and I took it.
I WAS NOT prepared for the conditions or the environment. Hunted around Pagosa Springs for four years. Killed one smallish mulie buck, a total of a month and half of vacation and several thousand dollars. Had one shot at a nice mulie buck. HE walked up on me!
I missed!
Enjoyed the experience, the people and the country. High country mulie hunting just wasn't my "thang"! LOL!
Hunting whitetails in East Texas was more rewarding, cheaper and vacation time was much more enjoyable!

You can hunt the CO foothills and prairie too...

 

[jeffpenland123]

montana i have heard has good hunting. if you every are able to hunt in western north carolina or eastern no elk or mule deer but we have some pretty big whitetail bucks and some ok sized doe's its good hunting.