out of state hunts

[northspear]

just wondering how easy or the best way to do any out of state hunt. i have been looking at going to iowa for a monster or even canada. and if a do it yourself trip would be better or guided.

[deerminator]

Just got my copy of field and stream and they had a good article on good DIY starter hunts for mulies, elk and speed goats. Not whitetail, and not all would result in monsters, but the article suggested some fun hunts and gave good advice on locale and logistics.

[mrklean]

first you have to see if you can get license, i know Iowa is a draw and non res take some time. I thought certain places in canada require if you hunt public and you had to have a guide, but thats something to check into. Plus you have to figure out how much you want to spend.

[Scoot]

We need more info to be very helpful- are you only interested in whitetails? Or, are you interested in info on other species? For most species you'll need one or two of two things: 1) time, 2 money. If you have both, you're set. If you have neither, you're in serious trouble in this effort. If you have one of the two, you can make lots of good options work.

The fact that you said you were looking for out of state "monsters" suggests to me that you either want to only do high end hunts or you don't have realistic expectations about most readily available hunts that are out of state. I'm not trying to be mean when I say that, but it's true...

I could help you get set up on a few dozen hunts that would provide great opportunities at very large whitetail, muleys, elk, bear, sheep, et. However, these hunts start at about 5K and go upwards of 30K. Obviously, most of us can't afford anything like that. If you're a DIY guy on a working man's budget, like I am, you'll need to either start saving or start building preference or bonus (depending on the state) so you can draw a good hunt. It takes time and patience, but after time you can get in on some really good hunts.

If you have more specific questions, fire away- we'll do our best to help you out.

[uptracker]

Yeah, there's a few States where the whitetail tags are a lottery now. It could take a couple years too. Some of their tags are above $400 now too.

Persoanlly opinion: If you want to hunt OOS on ag land, you're probably better off going through a guide. Northern big woods is all about homework though.

You have a great deer hunting State, not sure why you'd wanna go elsewhere and pay the high fees. Just find an area in S. MN and start looking for decent properties to lease or access. Over here in MI, we pretty much have to hunt out of State if we want a decent chance at a wallhanger. I've been hunting out of State for six years and haven't looked back. Our hunters in the southern part of the State are now fleeing to OH for a good hunt, but so many hunters are traveling 3-4 hours down there now, that it's getting overcrowded and the trophies are dissappearing at an alarming rate. I saw this same thing happen to one of my areas out of state: word got out and it crashed once it was overhunted for 3-4 years.

[northspear]

well im looking to go on an out of state hunt to try and get my dad a nice wall hanger and for a nice father son hunt. i just dont know what would be the better way if a DIY hunt is better or just start saving and go through an outfitter. and by a monster i mean a nice 140" or 150" deer. watching all these shows and how they talk about out of state hunting it sounded like a good time and way to take my dad on a great hunt. Thanks for the help.

[mrklean]

your better off saving money and going with a guide then. Yea you could do a DIY on public land but you could spend years of DIY hunts to find a deer like that depending on the state. If you want to have a great father son hunt then heck yea do a DIY someplace go out west for a chance at mule deer or elk, plenty of places in Colorado you can get late season OTC tags and do it at a decent price. Dont limit yourself to just going for a trophy, sometimes the hunt itself gives more memories then a head on the wall

[uptracker]

I agree with the above post. Maybe look at Buffalo Co. Wisconsin. It'd cut down on travel expenses too. Bluff Country Outfitters and Buffalo County Outfitters both have good reputations.

[deerminator]

I've heard good things about those outfitters too. I've read a lot of gripes about a lot of other outfitters on forums as well. I would ask lots of questions about what they'll do to get you an opportunity at a buck like those they have in their photo gallery. Because some will just throw you out there on whatever lease they have open and tell you to get to it. Others like the ones in Buffalo County will actually try to help you be successful by placing you on premium land in well-prepared set-ups.

[HunterLee]

Nebraska has good over the counter and decent public land options. We did well in SD last year but that is a draw. ND is a otc bow tags with pretty good chances of getting a big one, i shot a 158 in last year. Its mostly private but do some homework and legwork and you will find spots to hunt

[uptracker]

KS is an option too.

[Scoot]

Dont limit yourself to just going for a trophy, sometimes the hunt itself gives more memories then a head on the wall

Very, very true mrklean (and well said). I'd give anything to be able to go on a bowhunt for elk with my dad. I'd LOVE to show him some of the places we hunt and sights we've seen. He'd love it to. However, he's not in good enough physical shape to be able to handle the mountains anymore and I'm afraid that ship has sailed. Definitely some memories missed out on...

Northspear, are you only interested in whitetail? If yes, what's your price range for a guided hunt? If you're interested in DIY muleys or elk, shoot me a PM and I might be able to help you out.

[mrklean]

KS is an option too.

With any outfitter ask lots of questions and ask for plenty of references. The guy we turkey hunt with down in Kansas tells us horror stories of outfitters down there, he has actually let people hunt his land because he felt bad that the outfitter just sent them out to a random chunk of lease they had and never checked on them. But you will get that anywhere.

[archerystud]

I've had some good success going with a guide in No. Missouri. I was actually just across the IA border. The Missouri tag was over the counter and good for 2 turkeys and 2 deer but I'm not sure if any of this has changed.

The guide also did a drop camp hunt but for extra money I preferred to have the food and stands setup for me. I took one P&Y down there and saw a bigger deer 2 years later. The bigger one was a 160 class buck. I haven't been back only because I took up coaching youth hockey. I hope to head back down there or possibly try a IA, IL or KS bowhunt.....soon.

[MUSKY18]

Hey Archery.......if you don't mind, what was the name of the outfitter that you went through in MO? Few buddies and myself are looking at doing a bow hunt down there in 2012 and are starting to look for outfitters to go with for the hunt.

[sticknstring]

Bret - Check out Tombstone Creek Outfitters in northern MO. Run by some good people in WI and pretty darn reasonable. They've got some huge whitetails too!

[Hoyt4]

Nothern part of MO is great and a ton of public land to hunt. We turkey hunt this area a lot . A few of our group goes back down in the fall and have shot some nice bucks on public land. Taken a few PY deer and a few turkeys. It's one of the best tags to buy out of state for the price.

[archerystud]

J S Trophy Hunts is where I hunted. They have a HSOforum so you can google them.

I thought they worked hard for me and I shot 2 bucks in the 3 times I was down there. They had quality deer at what I thought was a decent price with no trophy fees. Not sure if any of this has changed as it has been a while (2002) since I've been down there. This is the only guide that I've ever went through so I have a tough time doing a comparison. I was happy with my hunts and figured they were worth the money.

The head guide in Missouri Jeff is from MN and is a great guy.