Great places to hunt

[forest]

Hi everyone I am hoping to plan a holiday to the states some time. I have been to the east and west coast before but never got inland. I am an outdoors guy and don't mind walking or having to climb. I am not out looking for a trophy hunt. I would only want to go out there and hunt if the animal was a pest to someone or the meat could be saved and used and not lost.
Which part of that massive country should I read up on, Also I am not sure about the laws in USA. Can I hunt if on holiday? Can I bring my own rifle? and if so how is your firearm transported when traveling in trucks or cars?

Any advice would be a great help. And if you are ever out my way passing through on holidays I would be greatful to help you out, and try hunting out my way.

 

[WildRose]

Texas and the other Gulf Coast states sure have a lot to offer from varmints to predators to hogs, turkeys, and white tailed deer not to mention quail and waterfowl.

Pick the right time of year such as Nov/Dec and you can hunt all of those species.

Yes you can hunt if you are "on holiday" which I assume means on vacation from a foreign country as long as you don't have a felony record which would preclude you from handling firearms. Even at that you can still hunt with muzzle loaders and archery equipment if you do.

Licenses are relatively inexpensive but if you want to go for western big game in many states those hunts are by draw/lottery and have to be applied for six months or more in advance.

If you are hunting private lands there will in many/most states be landowner fees to be paid in addition to the license/tags.

It's a big country with lots of things to hunt so come on over.

 

[forest]

Thanks for that it was helpful. Yes it would be a holiday as I come from Ireland. Out my way we have deer, fox ,rabbits, and any crows which are on the land. I live on a farm but no deer on it. I can also go boar hunting in England but none in Ireland. We have around 4 different species of deer to hunt. As our country is so small it can be hard getting the hunting rights for some of the land.
So that is now why I hope to travel and use my own firearms to the states, I am using .243 , .222, 308 and afew rimfire. I will now look into what permits I need, thanks again and if your ever over my way I would be glad to help.

 

[WildRose]

Glad to help. Keep in mind that you don't necessarily even need to bring your own firearms. Most of us have spares!

When it comes down to planning details feel free to pm me if you want to come to Texas. I can set you up for about anything you can name or put you in contact with outfitters who can.

 

[westcliffe01]

While it is POSSIBLE to bring a rifle to the US for a hunt, it would be likely far more expensive than simply using the rifle of a guide. I am sure there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and fees to be paid for the importation and re-export of weapons from the US.

Regardless of how the US is portrayed in the media, there are many laws, both Federal and state and usually under either law it is not possible for non US citizens to acquire weapons in the US. Washington state just passed a law that essentially precludes loaning a weapon from someone else, even for target practice. What is legal in one state can land you in prison in the one next to it.

In addition to the above, the airlines and many EU countries prohibit the transport of rifles which are chambered in any cartridge which may have been used by the military at some point in time.

So before making plans, please investigate the laws of your own country, any country you may transit through, the destination you may fly to in the US (watch out for IL, any of the east coat states, California and now Washington) DC is out of the question, since you need a permit to even possess a cartridge, let alone a rifle... Consider your destination, and whether the operator could let you have the use of some of their weapons and ammo.

 

[forest]

Cheers thanks westcliffe it may start going into alot of money to bring my own firearms over.
In Ireland the laws are different for the north and south of the country. In the north you can reload in your own brass at home but in the the south for some reason you cannot. You then also have to get a permit to transport your rifle from north to south as you need 2 different firearms cert,The south is in the EU You can only load on approved ranges. There are ranges which stretch out as far as 1200 yards here, to test your skills. I have watched guys trying to hit clays and eggs at distance for fun.
I am still not sure how the hunting in the states works. If i am there are there stores or offices where you book a hunt? or do you have to contact the landowers by your self? Thats how it works mostly over here in Ireland. If thats the case i would be glad to get help from you someday wildrose thanks, As i said i have been to Newyork and Cal, states which was great but never got inland. I look forward to try and plan a trip sometime,
I still never picked a scope yet from your advice what kind of $$$ are they in USA they are very costly for me to buy over the Web. I am not sure if I can buy one in the USA and what I would be charged with import tax.
Thanks.

 

[WildRose]

Cheers thanks westcliffe it may start going into alot of money to bring my own firearms over.
In Ireland the laws are different for the north and south of the country. In the north you can reload in your own brass at home but in the the south for some reason you cannot. You then also have to get a permit to transport your rifle from north to south as you need 2 different firearms cert,The south is in the EU You can only load on approved ranges. There are ranges which stretch out as far as 1200 yards here, to test your skills. I have watched guys trying to hit clays and eggs at distance for fun.
I am still not sure how the hunting in the states works. If i am there are there stores or offices where you book a hunt? or do you have to contact the landowers by your self? Thats how it works mostly over here in Ireland. If thats the case i would be glad to get help from you someday wildrose thanks, As i said i have been to Newyork and Cal, states which was great but never got inland. I look forward to try and plan a trip sometime,
I still never picked a scope yet from your advice what kind of $$$ are they in USA they are very costly for me to buy over the Web. I am not sure if I can buy one in the USA and what I would be charged with import tax.
Thanks.

We would need to make your booking arrangements ahead of time but doing so is not a great big deal.

There are export restrictions on optics so if you bought a scope here we'd need to look ahead of time at the paperwork necessary to take it home with you.

Bringing your own is not a big deal as long as you have the paperwork/permits necessary ahead of time. Like I said though you do not have to bring your own however unless you just want to.

To maximize your possibilities I'd say if you wanted to come to Texas plan on coming between in December. That way you have pretty much everything in season from deer to waterfowl to hogs and turkeys.

How much we can get you into just depends on your time and available budget.

 

[forest]

OK thanks for that, any help is great.
I am now also going to put a message on swap a hunt post just in case someone is ever traveling out my way so I can help them also.
Will keep in touch.

 

[Bigeclipse]

While it is POSSIBLE to bring a rifle to the US for a hunt, it would be likely far more expensive than simply using the rifle of a guide. I am sure there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and

In addition to the above, the airlines and many EU countries prohibit the transport of rifles which are chambered in any cartridge which may have ates, California and now Washington) DC is out of the question, since you need a permit to even possess a cartridge, let alone a rifle... Consider your destination, and whether the operator could let you have the use of some of their weapons and ammo.

I have never read anything about caliber restrictions on airlines in the US. Not sure about foreigners traveling into the US but when I went on my hunting trip I brought my 3006 which was THE caliber of WWII. The airlines looked the rifle over and the travel case I had. Then put the paperwork inside the box saying it was inspected and I locked it and that was it. No mention of caliber was needed. Ammo is even transported in your checked luggage and not locked up if you don't want it to be. In fact the rules state the ammo has to be in the original factory box which I believes means you need to bring factory ammo but I'm not positive about that.

 

[MOA Chaser]

In many (most?) states you need to show proof of a Hunter Education Course in order to purchase a license. Not sure how that would work with you?

Once you have decided what and whereyou want to hunt your best bet may be to just go online and find a reputable outfitter/guide and let them work out the details.

 

[westcliffe01]

Game laws differ in every state unfortunately. Whether or not one needs permits (tags) depends on whether the species is defined as a game species or not. Usually, any type of deer and up are considered "big game".

However, coyotes and varmints like ground hogs as well as feral hogs MAY not be considered game species and so you may not need a hunting permits. In Michigan, coyotes are classed as "small game" so that you have to pay a fee to hunt them and they are subject to seasonal restrictions. The entire "tag" system was just redefined this past year and you need a "base license" which essentially replaced the previous small game license, before you are able to buy tags for any other game species. Thus if you want to hunt deer, you now basically have to get a small game license whether you want to or not.

In Texas the Feral hogs are considered invasive and are not a game species. Yet despite this, there are restrictions on how many hogs you are allowed to take as a non Texas resident. Why it all needs to be so complex is all down to lawyers in government protecting their livelihood and providing more reasons to send people to jail to protect the very expensive penal system... Taxpayers continue to vote for the people who make the idiotic laws, so good for us...

Firearm law in the rest of the world is quite different to the US. One cannot even make the basic assumption that citizens are permitted ownership of firearms or simultaneous possession of a rifle and ammunition... One always has to check the laws as they apply to the entire route one has to travel. Just like it would be a bad choice for a US citizen to attempt to transport a legally owned rifle through DC or through Chicago, NYC or Dulles airports... Even though all of those locations are clearly on sovereign US territory..

 

[westcliffe01]

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/610/~/bringing-a-firearm-or-ammunition-to-the-u.s.-for-hunting%2Fsport-purposes

What is required to bring a firearm to the U.S. for hunting purposes?

Effective February 19, 2002, ATF requires nonimmigrant visitors entering the U.S. with firearms or ammunition to obtain a federal permit through ATF in advance of their arrival. U.S. law also forbids certain nonimmigrant visitors, workers and students from buying guns and ammunition in the U.S. Diplomats, foreign law enforcement officials and visiting dignitaries designated by the U.S. Department of State are not exempt from this requirement when bringing a gun for hunting purposes.

You will need to obtain and complete ATF Form 6NIA (5330.3D Application/Permit for Temporary Importation of Firearms and Ammunition by Nonimmigrant Aliens) to apply for the ATF permit. You will also be required to obtain a license from any state in the U.S. where you intend to hunt. Please note that you may fax the ATF Form 6 NIA-5330.3D application to (304) 616-4554 for expedited processing.

You may contact ATF's Firearms and Explosives Import office by email at [email protected] if you have additional questions. For more information about nonimmigrant visitors who wish to import firearms, please see ATF's Frequently Asked Questions.

This specifically covers FEDERAL requirements for bringing a weapon to the US temporarily.

 

[forest]

Hi guys thanks for the help. As I suspected the paper work may take a bit of work. But from them posts I feel it is possible if I look into it enough. Even here in Ireland things aren't straight forward when you travel between the north and south. But it can be done if you follow the right avenues. I will keep an eye on this post thanks for the help.

 

[CoasttoCoast]

another place you could look at is Hawaii. They have several species from sheep to goats to deer to hogs... I haven't done a Hawaiian safari, but its definitely on my bucket list. The best advice I could give you is to contact an outfitter and talk to him about all the local laws and regulations. He should be able to provide all the info you need, and he can tell you what you can expect. as mentioned before, each state is a little different when it comes to what you can and cant do, so talking to someone who operates in that state is a great place to start.