if you are looking for a new place to hunt out west, how do you decide where to go?
 

if you where looking for a new place to do a western hunt, how would you go about it? I know this is kind of an open question, but i would like to hear some thoughts. i have been elk hunting co for about 12 years now on and off and am just kind of thinking maybe its time for a change. i would love to try mule deer hunting and by no means giving up on elk. this is all diy hunts, trophies are not very important to me. would you just pick a state and try it? maybe research internet harvest stats, along with tag availibility and access. word of mouth. just looking for some thoughts, tia

I head east. The best places to hunt "out west" for me are east of here 200 miles or so.
Since "out west" covers about half the US you may need to be a little more specific about your preferences. With that thought....... Wyoming.

if you want a mulie and just want to shoot whatever..... Montana is your state!

Tons of factors go into it. There's personal preference things to consider: what terrain do you like? what landscape do you like? bowhunting or rifle?

There's priorities that you need to ask yourself. Everybody can think of the ideal hunting place, where you have 100% success, and there's no other hunters around. But you need to prioritize these things. Is it most important for you to get away from it all? Or is success the only ultimate goal?

Then there's other factual things to consider, such as: What kind of shape are you in? What are the hunting stats for a specific area? What is the herd health like there?

Other stuff: are you coming alone or with others? Pickup? ATV? Horses? what's your budget? do you have camp/hiking gear for wilderness hunting? etc. etc. etc.

I tell people to narrow down their preferences first. Find out what kinds of places are a good match for them - in other words, find a place where you'll have fun. Then narrow it down to where there's good numbers of animals.

This article may be of help to you.

If you're interested in Idaho, I can help. PM me.

New place to hunt
 

We live in South East Montana (hunting district 705) and allow self guided hunts for Mule deer, Antelope, Whitetail deer, or Elk. We charge a flat rate and give the hunter or hunters a map of our ranch show them around the first day and after that we let them hunt their way. We have rustic lodging you can stay at or you can bring your own camper/RV and plug in to our electricity for no extra charge. We don't have trophy fees etc. The flat rate you pay will cover everything. We have over 10,000 acres that we split into two tracts. If you or your group schedules a hunt you will be the only ones hunting that tract for 6 days. For further information and pricing feel free to call us at 406-972-4568.

montanta man, check your private messages.