The best state to live in for hunting

[Bolo4u]

There's some great fly fishing in Montana! I'm not a big fly fisherman myself, more into spinning gear or bait, but the streams here are chock full of trout. The Black Hills of SD have some good fly fishing spots but not nearly as many as MT.

MT has a state income tax which thanks to Trump won't be deducted from your Federal taxes. It's also extremely expensive to license your vehicle here ($400 for my four year old car!) and it has some of the highest insurance rates around due to deer collisions. I got kind of spoiled in SD as they're one of just a handful of states with no income tax. On the other hand MT has no sales tax so that's a bonus.

Not to derail the topic of this thread.... but vehicle license fees are subjective. Not knowing what kind of car you have, but I just paid $1285 for my 2017 Ram 3500 diesel (14000 GVWR) due to weight fees, $156 for a 1998 ranger and just shy of $400 for a 2015 Highlander. Not counting the cost of paying for smog checks on 2 of them. here in California. We're actively looking to relocate away from here for many reasons, quality of life and the continued decline of where this state is going are the main factors, and right now MT is our top destination.


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[16Bore]

I just spent the past year working in DC and living in N VA. No thanks

you forgot ticks oh did I mention a lot of ticks

I did see a a decent 11 point wt bedded down hat would score at least 150 in a small urban 10 acre park about 400 yds from a shopping mall. I sat and watched him for about an hour less than 30 yards away while people walked past him.

NoVa ain’t Virginia! What a cesspool of shit.

 

[[email protected]]

Being a res in CO really doesn’t have much benefits over a non res cheaper to live elsewhere and then just come here to hunt if I could pick anywhere on the map to live I’d be in Wyoming or Montana

 

[Midwest.Bushlore]

Not to derail the topic of this thread.... but vehicle license fees are subjective. Not knowing what kind of car you have, but I just paid $1285 for my 2017 Ram 3500 diesel (14000 GVWR) due to weight fees, $156 for a 1998 ranger and just shy of $400 for a 2015 Highlander. Not counting the cost of paying for smog checks on 2 of them. here in California. We're actively looking to relocate away from here for many reasons, quality of life and the continued decline of where this state is going are the main factors, and right now MT is our top destination.


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Most folks here would say we have enough Californians here already! But we have two state's worth of land and barely a million people so I say there's still room for a few more. No smog inspections here but I expect that licensing your truck will cost an arm and a leg. I guess you're used to it but moving from the midwest it was a shock to me.

If you can find work [in whatever your field is] then you'll enjoy it here. I don't like living in really large cities but I at least have to have a Costco!

 

[Bolo4u]

Most folks here would say we have enough Californians here already! But we have two state's worth of land and barely a million people so I say there's still room for a few more. No smog inspections here but I expect that licensing your truck will cost an arm and a leg. I guess you're used to it but moving from the midwest it was a shock to me.

If you can find work [in whatever your field is] then you'll enjoy it here. I don't like living in really large cities but I at least have to have a Costco!

We'll be coming from NorCal (of Oroville Dam spillway and the Paradise Camp Fire area. I'll be retired (as of later this year after 30+ years) LEO. Not to worried about finding work, except to fight boredom haha. We really like the Kalispell area.

I've checked into registration and unless I misunderstand, the registration is part vehicle based and property tax based, and it can vary from county to county based on the percentage they charge. In the end it can't be any worse than here, and the benefits of living there will far outweigh the current status here.


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[timekiller13]

My reasons for saying alaska are because its the only place in the US that I can be guaranteed to hunt sheep, moose, caribou, black bear grizzly bear, and deer every year. Obviously location and finances will dictate when/how often you can hunt those species. Also, you have the chance of hunting bison, goat, muskox and brown/kodiak bears. Plus there are wolves, wolverines, plenty of trapping and fishing is outstanding, both inshore and offshore. Not to mention all the other outdoor activities. One trip to Alaska is all it took for me and the wife. Wife has already said we will move there in next 10-15 years.

 

[Midwest.Bushlore]

We'll be coming from NorCal (of Oroville Dam spillway and the Paradise Camp Fire area. I'll be retired (as of later this year after 30+ years) LEO. Not to worried about finding work, except to fight boredom haha. We really like the Kalispell area.

I've checked into registration and unless I misunderstand, the registration is part vehicle based and property tax based, and it can vary from county to county based on the percentage they charge. In the end it can't be any worse than here, and the benefits of living there will far outweigh the current status here.

Congrats on retirement! If you love the outdoors you should have no trouble with boredom here! Lots of things to do, for sure. I expect you'll love MT overall.

 

[Pronghunter]

Alaska.
Montana/Wyoming tied for second.
Idaho
Utah/New Mexico tied for 4th.
South Dakota.
Arizona.
All the rest are just meh.

 

[TheGrayRider]

I love reading the posts from current and former residents of states that are drowning in debt like California, “Taxachusetts”, and New Jersey. They can’t seem to get out of those places fast enough. My jaw hurts from smiling and laughing. Old country song, “ Where corn don’t grow...”

 

[dallen]

Alaska is a great state to live for hunting and fishing. There is solitude within very close proximity to major cities ( Alaska version of major cities). You can be in the middle of nowhere really fast, and have freedom that probably can’t be found anywhere else in th US. My vehicle registration cost $0.....for three vehicles and all my trailers. Try to find that somewhere else. Been here for 30 years and wouldn’t trade all my experiences for anything. Unfortunately, we will be moving down to WA this summer in order to get closer to my parents. I’m pretty torn over that but, my parents are needing more help as they age. We’ll keep our cabin in order to keep some ties to Alaska, and I can’t help but think that I’ll spend a portion of every year in Alaska for the foreseeable future, maybe even moving back.....

As a young engineer, you’d find a lot of opportunity in Alaska. My current employer (FAA) is hiring engineers like crazy right now. Not a bad place to start or to turn into a career. I work in many very remote parts of Alaska, most of which many life long Alaskans have never seen. For a young engineer, Alaska will present challenges that will help your skills like no other place will.

 

[Bolo4u]

I love reading the posts from current and former residents of states that are drowning in debt like California, “Taxachusetts”, and New Jersey. They can’t seem to get out of those places fast enough. My jaw hurts from smiling and laughing. Old country song, “ Where corn don’t grow...”

It's very sad, actually. I live and work in the town where I was born, and live on 5 acres across the street from my parents. The house next to them is the house my grandfather built in the early 40's, and it still owned by family. My mom has lived on the same street nearly her entire 75 years. My daughter and her family live nearby, as does my brother. My 9 yo son is still in school, but the schools are becoming a joke. I had planned to live here after retirement, but with all the ridiculous laws and other challenges and changes to various laws, being put forth almost daily, it's a wreck.
It's unfortunate that the bigger metropolitan areas (most of Southern California and the Bay Area) have such a heavy influence politically in what happens statewide. It's just going to get worse before it gets better.

People are also fleeing Seattle do to the decline in livability.

 

[camelcluch]

I moved to Colorado for the hunting in 2003. If I was to do it again, I would be somewhere else. I hunt elk for about 4 weeks then it’s deer. I realize that I wanted access not species. I want to hunt elk, deer, turkey, ducks, doves and fish. Although Colorado has good hunting the access can be tough. I mean, it will most likely take some time to get the areas to do these hunts. I would probably end up in the mid west if I were to do it again and elk hunt as a non resident. Or Montana....

 

[452b264]

Its hard to beat Wyoming if Ur a resident... A Wyoming resident can receive several elk deer and antelope tags a year.. Fishing is pretty good all around the state...

This is where Im headed I am tied of only getting a tag once every 10 years. Casper is the area Im looking to relocate its close to everything I need and good work prospect for me. Wy wont be turning purple any time soon either.

 

[ramont]

...I liked SD a lot except for the conservatard government...

This is a perfect example of why we don't like people coming to Montana, libtards like this have ruined Bozeman, Missoula, Helena, and Kalispell. If you move here please leave your progressive crap at the border and just accept the state for what it is. Don't try to change it in to California and then leave when the illegal immigrants start crapping in the streets.

 

[ODB]

This is a perfect example of why we don't like people coming to Montana, libtards like this have ruined Bozeman, Missoula, Helena, and Kalispell. If you move here please leave your progressive crap at the border and just accept the state for what it is. Don't try to change it in to California and then leave when the illegal immigrants start crapping in the streets.

It boggles my mind to watch people flee a place they don’t like to a place they do then summarily turn it into the place they left. Cities saturate themselves and the overflow spreads all over...like a stopped toilet...

 

[Akwoodchuck]

Knew a guy up here about as badass as you can get...successful goat, bear, moose hunter, go out and get salmon and halibut for breakfast, etc...
...he married a gal from Missouri, went down to her family spread to hunt whitetails one fall....he was so excited about it when he got back, he was like a kid in a candy store, showing pictures off over beers...
...it's all relative. Find a place YOU love...

 

[Kilboars]

I really think that needs to be 2 questions if you're just out of collage and need to also make a living.

I'd say live where you can make a great living and be able to hunt anywhere you like. If thats in a state with good hunting then thats a bonus.

 

[Midwest.Bushlore]

This is a perfect example of why we don't like people coming to Montana, libtards like this have ruined Bozeman, Missoula, Helena, and Kalispell. If you move here please leave your progressive crap at the border and just accept the state for what it is. Don't try to change it in to California and then leave when the illegal immigrants start crapping in the streets.

That's about the only good thing I've found about Bozeman so far. It's always been a really hippy-dippy Earth-muffin kind of place, at least as long as I have been alive (50 years). The location of Bozeman is great, and it would be a good place to put a better town. Of course, the state I moved from is mostly more conservative than Montana! At any rate it seems to me that my political opinions are as valid as yours.

I suppose the folks that lived her for seventeen thousand years before you came along aren't so glad to have you here, either. The only constant in the world is change. You can get used to or not but you can't stop it.

 

[NVVAHunt]

As others have stated it depends what your looking for. In VA I can pretty much shoot as many deer as I want and a few turkey. I can travel for anything else. But cost of living in the DC area is INSANE which is why were looking to relocate in a few years.

I am surprised no one has mentioned any of the gulf states like Florida or Alabama. Lots of opportunity for deer and generous bag limits. Decent turkey hunting. Unlimited opportunities for hogs. O and in case you get tired of shooting sh*t you can take part in some world class fishing. Not to mention pretty low cost of living so that is a plus and would aid in the ability to travel for hunts out west.


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[AK Troutbum]

My reasons for saying alaska are because its the only place in the US that I can be guaranteed to hunt sheep, moose, caribou, black bear grizzly bear, and deer every year. Obviously location and finances will dictate when/how often you can hunt those species. Also, you have the chance of hunting bison, goat, muskox and brown/kodiak bears.

You can move mountain goat up to the “can hunt every year” list. Actually, as a resident you can harvest up to 2 goats a year on Kodiak. Oh, and don’t forget Roosevelt elk, we got those too!




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