Best place in America to Hunt Whitetails

[Plebe]

To Answer your original question: NOT VERMONT.

ITs a little further for you ovbiously...but all my friends that travel now to hunt Generally make a trip to Ohio or Pennsylvania. They ALWAYS tag out on big deer...

I have hunted in OH and PA. Good hunting. But I'm in NY, and it's even hard for me to get in out of state hunts there like I'd like, and they are within car's reach.

I've lived in TX, and were it not for family in NY to harbor gear for me it would have made for a complex travel situation to come "home" to hunt. Can't imagine the logistics doing it with +2 to look after.

Out of East TX, I'd look into Oklahoma.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

Yeahh reading on and adding to what i said previously, my wife is stay at home mom. I luckily make plenty money so she doesnt have to work. My hunt schedule is usualy first 7-10 days of Oct, 2nd week Nov, first week Dec and all of January. Hardly ever hunt during the week after Tgiving but i have weekends off and hit my 40 most weeks by Wednesday so i have alot of Thursday and fridays off included. Im blessed with my job and position and the wife lets me hunt due to keep my peace of mind on point, she understands its not a hobby for me its a way of life and we dont buy meat from the store so i fill the freezers as much as i can with balancing life and hunting and supplement gaps with grass fed beef from local farmer. Now that i live in N.La its much easier bc i dnt have to drive 3-4 hrs to hunt anymore. If i really wanted to i could hint off the front porch but those are “pets” and they get to live unless we get into a SHTF survival situation. And as far as never feeling the need or want to hunt other states, i have friends that have land and hunt in Kansas, OK, Missouri and yeah they do really well faster tag filling than me and mountable deer but the got spoiled to that. All my friends that have hunted other states except for maybe MS said its like shooting fish in a barrell compared to LA. I enjoy the challenge and even then i dnt find it challenging.

 

[DB4x4]

I know how much @kyler1945 loves when things go off his topic so let's turn it into the advice for how to hunt after having a baby thread!! That should really get him going!

The responses are right on target though. A bunch of guys who have already been through this and are trying to gently, or maybe not so gently tell him what his expectations should be.

I married a girl who hunted and fished. We did EVERYTHING together. We shot deer, we boated muskies, we hiked out west, we took long overnight canoe trips. And then one day, she decided she wanted to procreate... The physical action itself I was fine with, but the aftermath was something I was not ready for...

I did not handle it well at first. Why would someone so adventurous want to do the same boring thing that everyone else does? I thought we were different? It killed me, I mean GUTTED me. I'm talking... Havalon Piranta, Outdoor Edge Flip n Zip, Hunter Specialties ButtOut 2.0... Gutted me.

Adapt. That's my advice, adapt. What I'm saying probably doesn't even make sense right now, but I bet two years from now, it will. And I bet this post ends up with a lot of likes from dads with young kids, because they've already been there. Adapt.

In early bow season, I started hunting mornings only. I can get up early and sneak out while everyone is still asleep. Hunt for a couple hours and scout for fresh sign on the way out. By the time I get back, everyone is up and just getting ready for the day, and I can spend it with them. If I hunt evenings, that means I miss dinnertime, playtime, bath time, and bedtime.

A few weeks of this and I have a pretty good read on the deer. Then right before or during the rut, I take some days off of work for all day hunts. There's less hunter pressure on weekdays and the wife and kids do their normal weekday routine, so I'm not missing anything. I've found this to be the right combination of success with the least amount of dad guilt. If you don't know what that is, you'll find out soon enough, haha.

That's all I have for you. I've only ever hunted one state, so I have no words of wisdom for your original question.

 

[Gator]

The responses are right on target though. A bunch of guys who have already been through this and are trying to gently, or maybe not so gently tell him what his expectations should be.

I married a girl who hunted and fished. We did EVERYTHING together. We shot deer, we boated muskies, we hiked out west, we took long overnight canoe trips. And then one day, she decided she wanted to procreate... The physical action itself I was fine with, but the aftermath was something I was not ready for...

I did not handle it well at first. Why would someone so adventurous want to do the same boring thing that everyone else does? I thought we were different? It killed me, I mean GUTTED me. I'm talking... Havalon Piranta, Outdoor Edge Flip n Zip, Hunter Specialties ButtOut 2.0... Gutted me.

Adapt. That's my advice, adapt. What I'm saying probably doesn't even make sense right now, but I bet two years from now, it will. And I bet this post ends up with a lot of likes from dads with young kids, because they've already been there. Adapt.

In early bow season, I started hunting mornings only. I can get up early and sneak out while everyone is still asleep. Hunt for a couple hours and scout for fresh sign on the way out. By the time I get back, everyone is up and just getting ready for the day, and I can spend it with them. If I hunt evenings, that means I miss dinnertime, playtime, bath time, and bedtime.

A few weeks of this and I have a pretty good read on the deer. Then right before or during the rut, I take some days off of work for all day hunts. There's less hunter pressure on weekdays and the wife and kids do their normal weekday routine, so I'm not missing anything. I've found this to be the right combination of success with the least amount of dad guilt. If you don't know what that is, you'll find out soon enough, haha.

That's all I have for you. I've only ever hunted one state, so I have no words of wisdom for your original question.

I probably have 20k worth of mountain bikes in my basement that haven’t been rides since my 4 year old arrived


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[thedutchtouch]

I probably have 20k worth of mountain bikes in my basement that haven’t been rides since my 4 year old arrived


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We don't post the totals. Even if our wives aren't online. We don't. Post. The totals. Unless that's the "what I spent on this" total


(I have a feeling she does the same on her Sephora purchases so we are all good lol)

 

[dalton916]

As usual, I got a whole lot more than I bargained for here!

I'm fully prepared to be fully unprepared when the little snot factory arrives.

I don't intend on abandoning my family.

I plan to hunt my old haunts in LA when home visiting family, and I'll hunt around the house on public in TX. Those will be convenient "hunt without making everyone mad" options.

I don't have "ego deer". I shoot pretty much anything legal until the freezer is full. And then I'll be selective if I'm in a place that being selective makes sense. I like to bowhunt because there's less people in the woods. That's it. I don't have some notion I'm more noble because I shoot stuff with a bow. I will gun hunt just as much. In the same places, where deer are almost always 50 yards and in. In other words - I'm an opportunistic hunter, looking to get the most bang for the buck on time/opportunities. I chase cold fronts, good dirt, and thick cover.

I'm not "planning" to leave for 3-4 weeks next deer season while I leave my lady to tend to the offspring. But I want to prepare for carving out 7-14 days total, spread across a few long weekends or vacation days. If it makes sense, I do it. If it doesn't, I don't.

I've killed deer in Colorado, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, and Missouri. I have a good feel for those states. It is good to hear folks perspective on those, and others though.

The lady likes to hike, hunt, and generally be in the woods about 20-30% as much as I do. Both in terms of quantity (time) and quality (willingness to do it in crap weather, ugly woods, etc.). Which is perfect - She's game for 45*-75* weather, and pretty woods. This creates opportunity to camp, hike, and hunt together enough to get quality time. Much of that will be doable with the half pint in tow - we can hotel, camper, or cabin it. I can tack on more intense hunting activities around that type of trip.

Has anyone figured out a pulley system to hoist up the crash rated car seat to hunting height yet?

Now we’re getting somewhere and there’s enough information to give answers and not guesses.

I don’t like to toss names out there, but the state due North of you is the answer to your pursuit.

Having a kid isn’t a death blow to hunting time, you just need to do your part when you’re not out doing your thing. The time from birth to season opener will give you idea of how much of your time the child will take. And the key here is it’s not just the child that you’ll be looking at, your wife will also be a part of the equation. They’re all different, but find out what she wants and provide for her. It’s not as easy as it sounds, but if she knows you’re there for her then she’ll be more receptive to you being away. Sounds counter intuitive, but trust me on this.

The first season y’all probably won’t have it figured out, but you’ll definitely have a baseline to learn from going forward.