What Is the Best Deer Hunting Sate?

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:04 am

Ok, an aside, I thin I am going to hunt deer exclusively. Rabbits are too smart for me, quail are too fast, etc.

So there is California and the ammo ban. What is the best deer hunting state?

I would look for:

Long season

Ability to take any deer, doe, spike, fork or better, etc.

Liberal attitude towards hunting in general.

Wide latitude in carrying sidearms.

What is the best state?

Swampman · Post by **Swampman** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:06 am

Mississippi has more deer per square mile than any other I believe.

DDude · Post by **DDude** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:10 am

I'm not a hunter so I really couldn't tell you. However, as a truck driver I'd have to say I see more roadkill in southern MN and WI than any other state which in my mind equates to higher populations of deer and the likelihood of bagging one of the critters.

I'd recommend southeast Oklahoma, in particular the area around Antlers where I call home, but last I heard the deer here headed down to Texas. Greener pastures and all. And no, I don't have a deer track running across my five acres. That's a trail my dog made chasing squirrels.

dkmlever · Post by **dkmlever** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:58 am

Check out Alabama, I heard the bag limit is a deer a day there!

Scott64A · Post by **Scott64A** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:11 am

GA.

10 does, (which somehow include button-bucks,) and 2 bucks.
One of the bucks can be a spike, a fork, or whatever, so long as antler is 3 inches. The other has to be a "quality" buck. 8-pointer or better.

Archery starts Sept.9 and goes to Oct. 14th, then it's two weeks of black powder, then rifle goes until Dec 31st.
Then in most counties, it goes back to archery until Jan 31st.

That's when most of us go hog hunting, as it lasts until March.
Then turkeys!

GA is a very gun and hunter freindly state, but you have to either hunt federal/state owned wildlife management areas, (WMAs) or know someone with private land to either lease you need written permission.

Pros and cons.... Pros and cons...

Dastook · Post by **Dastook** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:48 am

South Carolina
In the Low Country the rifle season starts around Aug. 15 and runs till Jan 1. One dear a day limit. It is hot and lots of bugs in Aug. though. There is a tremendous amount of timber country in SC due to the amount of paper mill land, it makes for great hunting. There are a lot of large clubs with very reasonable rates. I belonged to one which has 200 menbers but we lease 30,000 acres from paper mills. The annual dues are only $800.00/yr.

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:01 am

Wisconsin has terrible deer hunting......we only have 'bout 1.8 million deer.

Bigahh · Post by **Bigahh** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 9:33 am

If I could pick only 1 State, without hesitation it would be Montana. I hunt there every year, as I have a brother there. The season starts in October, or early September if you hunt with a bow, and lasts to the end of November. Unlimited doe tags in some areas, your choice of Whitetails, or Mule Deer, any size, and if you fill early you can chase Elk, and other game. Heres what I'm talking about...

Pete44ru · Post by **Pete44ru** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 10:59 am

IHO, The best deer hunting state is unconsious - You know - where someone just goes for a walk in the woods and trips over a Booner.

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:05 am

sobenk -

Get yourself a deer tag for one of the CA "C Zones" -- not affected by the lead ban. Lots of nice deer in the Northern part of the state. Go up to OR and get a tag there. I've already set up a deer hunt for next year up near Bly, OR. NV has some nice deer hunting too.

Where (approximately) are you in CA? Anywhere North of the line (Modesto more or less) in this map is open for lead ammo.

Even though I'm going up to OR next year for one of "fatboy's" deer, I'm still going to put in for a deer tag for a CA "X Zone" and if I don't draw one, I'll get an over-the-counter tag for one of the "C Zones".

cjm135 · Post by **cjm135** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 6:57 pm

Don't listen to Dastook, there's no deer in South Carolina. The season is so long to give the hunter a chance to even see a deer. I think there are two doe and one buck left and the DNR hauls them around from county to county.

He is right about the bugs. Big BUGS and lots of them. Also, he forgot to tell you about the snakes. Big SNAKES and lots of them. Oh, there are Alligators too. Big ALLIGATORS, and lots of them. Watch out for quick sand. Big areas of quick sand, and lots of it. Then there is the poison ivy patches. So if I were you I'd scratch South Carolina of your list.

shooter · Post by **shooter** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:10 pm

There's always Texas. That's where I'm from and where I love to hunt. The hunting in New Mexico sucks. You have to draw out and you only get one deer, and the season is only five days long. There's some good hunting in Texas, and in some counties I think the limit is up to 6 or 7 deer with different combinations of bucks and does depending on the county. The gun season runs from beginning of Nov. to begginning of Jan.

Junior · Post by **Junior** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:33 pm

cjm135 wrote:Don't listen to Dastook, there's no deer in South Carolina. The season is so long to give the hunter a chance to even see a deer. I think there are two doe and one buck left and the DNR hauls them around from county to county.

He is right about the bugs. Big BUGS and lots of them. Also, he forgot to tell you about the snakes. Big SNAKES and lots of them. Oh, there are Alligators too. Big ALLIGATORS, and lots of them. Watch out for quick sand. Big areas of quick sand, and lots of it. Then there is the poison ivy patches. So if I were you I'd scratch South Carolina of your list.

Nope, Louisiana is way worse than South Carolina for deer hunting. For one thing the season is only about 4 months long. And the limit is only 6 deer. That's 3 bucks and 3 does. And you can use pistols. Who'd want to deer hunt with a pistol? And if you use a rifle, it's got to be centerfire. No rimfires. And South Carolina ain't got BUGS and SNAKES and ALLIGATORS at all compared to Louisiana. You could probably use a South Carolina ALLIGATOR for Louisiana SNAKE bait. You'd probably have to pay $400 a year for a hunting club membership here in Louisiana, too, especially if you didn't want to hunt on the free public land just down the road. Nope, stay away from Louisiana for deer hunting. Plus, there's very few deer. This very morning I saw a 150 lb+ doe and a smaller doe, and wouldn't shoot either of them due to a full freezer. It's bucks only for me.

My cousin was hunting with me and he saw 3 does, but he didn't get a shot due to their fast speed and his slow aim. His dad, however, killed a 7 point buck this morning.

As you can see, South Carolina is a much better state for deer hunting than Louisiana. If you're an old geezer like me, 62+, a Louisiana resident hunting license is way too expensive, too. Why it costs me $5 a year for a fishing license, a basic hunting license, a big game license, a turkey license, a muzzleloader license, and a Wildlife Management Area hunting license. Nope, stay away from Louisiana for hunting!