Where to live if Public Land Hunting is a major draw?

[MoeFaux]

Idaho is over 60% public land with different topography in the north v south part of the state, giving lots and lots of options for different experiences chasing different species.

It might not be the best fit for you if you primarily wanna chase whitetails, but it would be high on my list!

 

[Gobbler36]

With what you’re describing I’d be moving to Kentucky, I would say TN but to many ******* ppl moving there too.
It’s a shame we ruin every place

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Virginia, but make sure you are west of the blue ridge so you don't have to deal with the previous mentioned deer hunting with dogs. Plenty of Deer, and some large ones, but you will have to work for them. Plenty of national forest, some WMA.

Despite someone saying deer is all Virginia has, they couldn't be more wrong. Plenty of Bear, Squirrels, Tukey, Rabbit, some grouse.

Liberal Predator hunting season's coyote year round, red fox and grey fox, and bobcats also.

Drive down to the coastal area and you run into some waterfowl hunting, doves, etc.

Fishing: You can find many native trout streams in the mountains, and Virginia stocks trout in several streams several larger impoundments with bass, striper etc. James River for monster catfish, and if that isn't enough again drive down to the coast and fish in the ocean.

You can probably get somewhere around Roanoke and be within your 1.5 hrs to a airport. and the weather suits your needs as well.

Want to get adventurous? drive from Virginia down south and hunt hogs once a year on the cheap, or to Ohio and catch walleye, Ohio has big bucks also, well documented

Sucks driving out west to hunt though, absolutely no where out west is a short drive

there are other states that offer just as much as virginia, north carolina comes to mind, they have literally everything listed above as well and milder winters in most of NC.

South Carolina has avery liberal and long deer season and even milder winters than NC

WV has everything listed except the coastal fishing, and stripers and monster catfish

Tennessee has alot to offer as well and Kentucky as well

 

[HornPorn]

Relying on public anything is a poor strategy in my humble opinion

While I'd like to LIVE out West....the clean air, the smaller populations, the big views, the variety of big game to be hunted.......the trend I'm seeing, accelerating during Covid, is that more and more people are moving West and trying to live that same dream. Not only are you having to deal with other hunters, you have hikers, snowmobilers, dirt bikers, whatever.....just people everywhere trying to enjoy shrinking areas of natural landscape. It's only going to get worse.

I'd rather buy land in the southeast. Think the bible belt....land is cheap, and you don't need much acreage to be able to hunt deer on your own land every year. Ive hunted on as little as 3 acres, because of the size of the neighboring parcels and how the deer move, 160 inch deer a realistic possibility every year. Go to landwatch.com and use the filters and search. Price, acreage, etc.

Every few years, go on a guided western hunt. Have the best of both worlds. MOST guys out west dont own land they could hunt on. They are 100% dependent on govt land. There is nothing like walking your own woods and not seeing another soul, ever. The imagine holding the antlers of a buck you killed on your own land. Its a pretty priceless feeling.

 

[Swamp Fox]

For weather, if I am being picky, I prefer to avoid the New Orleans style 100% humidity and given the choice I prefer snow over rain. My ideal summer less concerned with how hot it gets and more if the air keeps moving and I can find some shade. For winter, my ideal temperature is cold enough that the snow doesn't melt and refreeze and warm enough that I can manage the ice buildup on my beard as a result of exhaling.

I haven't considered Missouri, which is odd now that I think about it, because I have done some research on Illinois because southern Illinois has interesting deer populations, even if it has less encouraging legislation.

I think the weather requirement prolly eliminates most of the Southeast. Even Virginia can get right spongey in the valleys. Those who like pretty snow prolly need to stay north and west of The University, so then it's not even the South anymore ... lol.

 

[justinspicher]

I landed in my current spot in Colorado back in 2016 and have never considered moving anywhere else. I have everything I need here for recreation and hunting. The towns are the right size and I enjoy my seasons. I thought I’d like it here when I took the job that brought me here, but I’d never been to SW Colorado. Turns out i absolutely love it here. I have zero plans to go anywhere else.

 

[svivian]

Georgia

 

[liveaxle]

Maybe find a town within 1.5 hours of the Minneapolis airport on the Wisconsin side, like eau Claire or something, there is a good bit of private but also public opportunity. The further you get from the city the better your options may be, but there are a lot of people out and about in Wisconsin public hunting lands. Grew up out there.
Utah might have 34 million acres of public land but 30 million of that is barren wasteland - a bit hyperbolic but not totally untrue . Live there now.
Check out West Virginia too, might not fit the airport criteria but consider that part of the world for some good small game and deer opportunity.

I live about 45 min north of Minneapolis, the public land near my house gets a bit crowded, but drive 45 minutes north or east and there is tons of it. I have a cabin in WI 2 hours east of me that is just surrounded by tons and tons of county forest land.

If you are open to flying out of Duluth and connecting through MSP that opens up all of NE MN and NW WI. Same out of Green Bay.

60-90 minutes outside of MSP though can out you close to good deer hunting if you go south, good grouse and bear hunting if you go north, and good small game and fishing all over.

I work from home and travel 100-120 days a year for work so had similar requirements to you, though I didnt just want an airort, I wanted a hub where I could fly direct nearly everywhere. MSP was one of the best options that checked that box along with outdoor activities.

I do work from my cabin on starlink around 50 days a year as well and dont notice substantial downside compared to the fiber I have at home. But within the area I described you can almost always get good regular internet.

I have been looking around MSP a bit, trying to compare between MN and WI. I'm particularly curious if there is a hunting advantage of living in one vs the other if I were looking to hunt both. For example, does MN have more limited licenses or tags vs WI (or the other way around)

I'd start hunting again first, then worry about moving should i determine that the area I'm currently in is not living up to my standards.

I am working to get back into it, but over the past few years I have been moving across the country for work. I would like to take my savings and settle down somewhere (and where I am now is not where I want to be).

 

[Sandhills]

Deer hunting absolutely sucks in California. Doe hunts are severely limited and with the predator population the buck hunt success rates are awful unless you draw a premium hunt

Considered Northern California

 

[Speaks]

I have been looking around MSP a bit, trying to compare between MN and WI. I'm particularly curious if there is a hunting advantage of living in one vs the other if I were looking to hunt both. For example, does MN have more limited licenses or tags vs WI (or the other way around)

From a hunting perspective I dont think there is a particular advantage to living on one side of the river or the other. I live in MN but have a cabin in WI, I buy fishing licenses, small game, and deer hunting licenses in both states. I think MN is just slightly cheaper for non-res tags but its by like $20 so really does not matter. I might not buy a MN deer tag if I lived in WI but would still get a fishing license and small game for grouse hunting in MN.

I tend to spend more time in WI hunting partly due to my cabin but partly due to large public forest being closer on the WI side vs heading north (which I suppose is also why my cabin is there).

I suppose northern WI is culturally a bit more of party atmosphere in the northern areas than northern MN, certainly a bit more of a drinking and ATV riding culture. You can also find plenty of counties where you dont need building permits etc once you get a couple hours from the cities. Really though within an hour either side of the river is about the same in many ways. We are looking to buy a new house within 20 min or so of our current one and I look at both MN and WI properties without a particular preference.

Tax rates might be a little better in WI. Gun laws are a touch better in WI and I think there is less threat for future problematic gun laws. There is always an element in Minneapolis that wants to copy CA and IL, I think culturally it would be hard to do here but harder to do in WI.

I suppose if I were to pick a spot to live right now and maintain a reasonable commute to the airport for regular travel I would be looking somewhere near Osceola, Dresser, and St. Croix falls on the WI side. Maybe as far as Amery for the right property though I think my wife would veto that as being a bit too far from the cities. On the MN side I like East of 35 from Hugo up to North Branch.

St Cloud area is nice too, close enough to MSP and provides good access to northern MN. Housing cost will also be significantly lower. Same could be said for Eau Claire area of WI . Either of those would work for me though my wife would want to be closer to her friends.

 

[liveaxle]

Thank you for that detailed reply.