Best state/province east of the Mississippi..

[bigbore442001]

After coming back from a vacation in the Dakotas I chatted with Dad. I told him that we may have better hunting right here at home. I told him I talked with a hunter from SD at length who told me that all the deer tags in the Black Hills are now by a lottery system.

I know that some people think of Massachusetts as the last place to hunt, but we can shoot up to three deer a year( some places like Nantucket Island have unlimited permits, but tought hunting) one bear, two turkeys as well as a host of small game without any kind of lottery system except for antlerless permits.

So. What state east of the Big River would you consider the best? I know each state has its good and bad points but lets hear it.

[buckbeast]

bigbore442001,
I'm from Pennsylvania, so my opinion is a little biased. I think the hunting here in Pa is great. With your normal hunting license ($20 for residents, $101 for non-residents) you can hunt small game (squirrel, rabbits, grouse, etc.) and big game (turkey & buck). You can buy a bear license ($16,$36), which there are bear all over this state. A muzzle loader license ($11, $21). We have two muzzle loader seasons. The first is a week long that you can use any muzzleloading long gun in, and the second typically starts the day after CHRISTmas and runs for 2 weeks but is flintlock only and you can hunt buck or doe with your original hunting license tag. We have antlerless licenses ($6, $26) that they sell an allocation of only so many, depending upon the wildlife management unit (WMU) you want to hunt. You apply for these by mail, and after the first 3 weeks of the application process, you can apply for another until a WMU is sold out of their allocation. Then if any of the other WMU's still have remaining licenses you can apply there. There are so many opportunities in Pa and there is so much land to hunt. I also love the fact that we have so many different types of terrain in this state. From heavily wooded mountains to open farmers fields. This truly is a great state for outdoorsmen/women.

I have friends from here that hunt in the southern tier of New York state (a state forest around buffalo I think) and they truly love it. I would like to hear from others that hunt in that area and what their thoughts are about the opportunities there.

Sorry if I seem long-winded,
Buck

[bigbore442001]

I'll admit that ypstate New York has a lot to offer a hunter. The only thing that I dislike is that they do not allow non-residients to hunt with a handgun. I personally do not see a problem with that but the Sullivan Laws go back over 90 years. So it is highly unlikely they'll change.

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I like to hunt Maine. I have friends and relatives up there that I only see during the deer season. Maine let’s me hunt with a rifle as well. My shotgun (20 gauge rifle barreled 870 with Leupold Vari-X II) is as accurate from the bench as my rifle at 50 – 75 yards (normal New England deer hunting distances) but I feel much more confident with my rifle. The other thing I like about Maine is I can drive into “town” with a rifle in the rack of my pick-up and people don’t look at me like I’m some Red-neck Rambo. If my main concern was shooting deer, I’d stay home in Massachusetts for sure; I see more deer in a day at times than I do for an entire week in Maine. I guess it’s all in what the hunt is about for you personally. My cousin in Maine always talks about coming to visit me so he can see a bunch and possibly shoot some deer.
I enjoy tracking/still hunting so Maine is great for me. I can walk all day and never see another person or push a deer onto another person. I can use a rifle. I don’t have to worry about being PC if I walk into a corner store or diner with a hunting hat on, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I live in a pretty rural area of Mass, but a lot of the people out here are so out of touch with their place in the food chain that they tend to make inaccurate assumptions about hunters. On my way to the tagging station one year I stopped to get some gas for my truck. I had the tailgate down and my deer was lying in the back of the truck (gutted side towards the cab). A woman gave me a piece of her mind (which she really couldn’t afford to spare BTW) about how it angered her that I had the deer visible to her. She said it was “bad enough” that I hunted but to “brag” about killing an animal was inexcusable. After politely listening to her rampage, I told her that the law required me to transport a deer in sight until it was tagged at an official station and offered to show her the abstracts in case she didn’t believe me. Of course, she was totally unaware of this…
If the same circumstances had taken place in Maine, the woman probably would have congratulated me at least and probably would have taken a closer look or even gotten her child out of the car to look at “the Dee-ah”.
My $.02

[bigbore442001]

I know what you mean. The trouble is that the yuppie pukes are invading the small towns and countryside in America. They escape the problems they created and inadvertantly bring the same ones with them for all of us to contend with.

I too love Maine. You can still hunt or track a deer in some places without anyone bothering you. The only thing I dislike is that you cannot hunt on Sundays.

But I have taken three bear out of the Pine Tree State with a pistol and one would qualify for the Skull and Antler Club if I submit the paperwork. Hmm. I should do that.

[DeerMeadowFarm]

They escape the problems they created and inadvertantly bring the same ones with them for all of us to contend with.

I couldn't have said it any better!

[Rick Teal]

If I were to be looking for sheer numbers and possibility of success, I'd probably have to opt for somewhere like South Carolina or Maryland, where the deer populations appear to be virtually unlimited, and harvvest limits are set appropriately.  

However, since I highly value the wilderness hunting experience, and like the opportunity to hunt a variety of big game animals, my first choice would probably be Quebec (if they didn't have their language nazis).  There you can hunt deer, moose bear and caribou.  

My other choices would be Newfoundland (moose, bear and caribou) or my home province of Ontario (deer, moose and bear).  In Ontario we have 3 more big game species that can't legally be hunted.  Polar bear exist around Hudson's Bay, elk have been re-introduced and may someday present a hunting opportunity, and we have a resident population of woodland caribou that the government seems to be reserving for the natives to poach.

[marylandeer]

Maryland is a very good state to hunt in. You have the mountains in the 3 most western countys then you have the flat farm land on the eastern shore and a nice transition in between. In some countys you can take UNLIMITED antlerless deer. Most others it is 2 buck and 10 doe. In the two most western countys you can only take 1 doe and 2 buck I think. If you want big trophy class deer head for the eastern shore, fewer #'s but better quality. In the mountains deer are everywhere but the bucks are SMALL. We have a 3 day early muzzle-loader season in October, A 4 1/2 month bow season, A two week firearm season and a two week muzzle-loader season. Plus a lenghtly spring and fall turkey. Crossbows are allowed for all hunters but only during a specific part of the season.

[Maine_Hound_Hunter]

I must disagree with Maryland being the best hunting state, sounds like a biased opinion, especially when they are just now setting up a bear program when Maine has had one for longer then Lord knows how long...

Have heard Maryand has some nice deer, but I can sit in my backyard and watch a 10-point go across my back field in the treeline if I catch him out at the right time...I have that deer scouted...lol

As for the no SUnday hunting in Maine, Game Wardens and animals alike need a day off sometimes...lol...There was a proposal to introduce Sunday bird Hunting in Maine where Grouse and any other game bird were legal but I think that was shot down because I haven't heard anything else about it...Besides that, it isn't in lawbook this year, so it must have been...Maybe 2005 when Maine loses it's traditional bear hunting methods because the southern, urban part of Maine controls what happens in the 300-some odd mile away northern communities, where bear hunting is easily needed? Even in the southern part it's being needed yet were still letting a group with money come in and kill some more of our already damaged economy...It just sucks... :x

[marylandeer]

I never said Maryland was the best state, but a very good state to hunt. I was just giving some insight to what Maryland has to offer a hunter. The only other state I have hunted in is PA. and this was on preserves. I would love to hunt in Maine one day.

[Leverdude]

I hunt in NY, NH & CT. By far theres more deer here in CT than the other 2 & I take advantage of it to the best of my ability. We get 2 doe & 2 either sex tags with a bow license & in zones 11 & 12 you can get replacement doe tags till the quots's met. Which never seems to happen.
That said, I much more enjoy NY & NH for the wilderness experience.
I guess I shoot deer in CT but I hunt in NH & NY. Now if theyd pick my name for a NH Moose tag I'd be a real happy camper.

[John Y Cannuck]

As Rick said above, the experience of hunting where there are no jerks to pester you, and the ravens circle and squawk without traffic noise outwieghs the size of the bucks, or the quantity of deer IMO.
The local Buck and doe contest had a 262lb buck on the scales when I visited. (Gutted, head and hide on) Not to shaby. The highest listed doe at that point was 241lbs.

[Rick Teal]

JYC:

That's some doe!

I've seen them in the 180's and heard of 200 pounders before, but 241 is outright scary.
 :shock:
Rick

[Jimi]

You guys seem to be neglecting Michigan, which is hand's down the best hunting state east of the Mississippi. Pennsylvania is a close second though.

[willysjeep134]

Michigan has some weird game laws though. For instance, in the Upper Peninsula you can use any firearm but a rimfire to take deer. There is no list of prohibited cartriges. From about the middle of the lower peninsula on down you need to use a shotgun, muzzle loader, or handgun. The handgun must be .35 caliber and IIRC capable of 600 FtLbs of energy. In the U.P. you can use a .25 auto if you want and it is totally legal, not that anybody does it.

In the UP you buy a $15 small game license and you can hunt squirrel, rabbit, pheasants in Menominee County only, grouse, and coyote and other furbearers and varmints. For another $4 plus the cost of the federal waterfowl stamp you can hunt ducks, geese, and other waterfowl and migratory birds.

To hunt turkey you need to enter a lottery for a license.

Deer buck licenses for residents are $15 I believe. You can use that one license in any season for a buck. There are also combo licenses which can get confusing. On a combo, you can take a buck over 3 points to a side, I believe, with the first one, then use the other on a doe, or somehow on another buck. I never get the combo, but it is cheaper to get it if you trophy hunt and hunt for meat, and you understand the restrictions.

Land owners can buy one land owner doe permit per day from august until they run out for the county (Deer Management Unit) in which they own private property. The permit costs $10 and can be used in any season.

Bear permits are on a lottery and hard to get. PETA members put in for the lottery and then burn their licenses.


In the Lower Peninsula ther are some very small lotteries for elk hunts. I don't know for sure, but I think less than a thousand permits are issued each year.

The deer are plentiful up here, but run small on rack size. In body size they compare to other agricultural areas with harsh winters. We probably run weight wise a little lower than Iowa or the Dakotas where there are crops as far as the eye can see. Our deer survive over the winter on cedar browse.

[sk330lc]

Whats not Leave Ohio out !!!   Many record book bucks have been taken in the past few years ..