Starting over in a new state, ID or MT?

[Lungbuster]

Well it's that time to start planning for next years elk hunt. 2 out of our 5 man group got to go this year, had a great time but didn't see any elk and seen enough hunters to feel like they was back hunting Pa rifle season. After talking we all agreed we want to reformulate our game plan for elk. The past half dozen years we went out 4 times same unit for OTC archery in Colorado. We (not me) had some success and brought meat home once and it was great. What we discussed doing and want is First picking a new state, Colorado is out, dad no longer wants to spend money there as they banned trapping. He's been preaching it for years now and everyone is alright with dropping Colorado even though it offers the better opportunity, Wyoming also due to limited areas we can hunt without a guide.

So we are left with Idaho or Montana. Which ever state we pick our plan is to try to get away from just OTC tags and find a unit that takes 2 or 3 points to draw a tag, and still be able to buy a few cow tags. That way at least one person(hopefully) every year has a bull tag and the others have cow tags. Thought is at least with a cow tag we up our odds to bring meat home, which is our main goal besides having an awesome time hunting, we can learn the unit really well and minimize seeing other hunters all the while having a fair chance at a bull. We are easterners so no one has much knowledge about these states at all. Our unit in CO was passed on from a couple guys that had been going out years prior to us. What we like in a new hunting area is something more glass friendly, this is pretty far up on our want list as where we hunted was pretty wooded. We'll mainly be hunting from a base camp but have no problem bivying in for a few days when needed. We don't mind rugged but we don't want anything too extreme as we won't be bringing pack animals. I can do the leg work on picking a unit based on draw odds, number of hunters,harvest data, etc. I'm just not sure what state or general part of a state we should start looking in. Any suggestion based on what we are looking for? Anything we should be looking at doing different in our plan?

 

[idahohikker]

I would think that you want to hunt in Wyoming likely, possibly Montana.

Idaho doesn't have a point system and non-resident odds for bull tags are usually quite low. You could go for a cow tag there and hunt OTC. That will be somewhat hard I think.

Wyoming has great hunting in the 2-3 point range compared to many Western states through their general tags. You can also draw cow tags to learn an area. You can hunt much, if not most, of the state being a non-resident. That shouldn't be a major deterrent IMO, though it's just something to watch as far as on your maps. Wyoming has a nice mix of quantity/quality.

Montana isn't a state I'm very familiar with but you can at least build points there while hunting OTC.

 

[Lungbuster]

Totally missed that on Idaho not having preference points, for some reason I was thinking NM was the only was that didn't. May have to talk it over about Colorado again as most the guys was pushing for Idaho due to Montana high tag prices.

Hmmm maybe I'll look into Wyoming a little more and see about being able to get cow tags with out using points and compare some 2-3 point units to areas we are able to hunt with out a guide. It's hard not to start feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the choices. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions and throwing some info my way. Hopefully someday I'll be able to return the favor

 

[Bacwest]

My family has done really well in Western Idaho, OTC.Tags are cheaper and hunting is great, just pick an area where the wolves are not!

 

[jmez]

The only places you can't hunt in WY without a guide are designated wilderness areas. It is a stupid law but is what it is. There is more than enough FS to hunt however. As long as you don't draw your first choice unit in WY you keep your points, and get another one that year. They have all the draw statistics posted on their website so you can go through them and figure out what is realistic.

Like MT, WY has both general areas and draw areas. With a general tag you can hunt in any general unit in the state.

 

[sndmn11]

What unit in Colorado were you hunting? What were the three things you liked about it the most, and three you didn't?

 

[bmart2622]

MT uses bonus points, not preference points.

 

[Lungbuster]

The only places you can't hunt in WY without a guide are designated wilderness areas. It is a stupid law but is what it is. There is more than enough FS to hunt however. As long as you don't draw your first choice unit in WY you keep your points, and get another one that year. They have all the draw statistics posted on their website so you can go through them and figure out what is realistic.

Like MT, WY has both general areas and draw areas. With a general tag you can hunt in any general unit in the state.

I spent the last week going through Wyoming book. I like that you can draw second choice and keep your point. I made it through 16' and 17' Preference point drawings odds but still have to look at the random draw. I'm a little confused to as how you can tell what you'll be able to draw second choice. I'd like to be able to say apply for a general tag, if not successful, still be able to go hunt cows in the same unit for a year or two while building two points to draw the general tag the second or third year. I've narrowed it down to 3-4 units that I think I can do this but I just ain't sure.

 

[Lungbuster]

What unit in Colorado were you hunting? What were the three things you liked about it the most, and three you didn't?

Unit 15, We like that we had some success there and that we was starting to know a little bit of it from hunting it past years, the terrain wasn't bad, guys liked being able to archery hunt and draw a muzzleloader tag every few years.

We dont like the amount of hunters we starting to see and we didn't like that we wasn't able to do much glassing. The unit isn't bad, we're just looking for something different

 

[CC]

I wouldn't worry about the bonus/preference points. Both States are good, just do some research and get away from the road system. Either state has a chance at a 300+ inch bull in a general unit. Had friends come from Pa as I live in MT and 2 -6 points were killed in Idaho, and 2- 6 points in MT. Some in Archery, some in rifle. Best of Luck!