Big Game...per?

[DDM4LV1]

Very rarely do I "google" something and come up empty???
I was trying to search:
"what WESTERN U.S. State, has either, the highest 'concentration' of Deer or BIG Game, per Sq. mile?"...
...and worded that every way possible?

Seems there are NO sources for that, just state by state info...too slow.
Looking for either a Map or just THE ANSWER...as in "which State has..."

Anybody know a "source" or site that shows this ? ( Western States, west of Mississippi )
Or anyone just "know" and has the data to back it up...?

thanks !

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Get a lot of hits for Indian Casinos?

Colorado is so diverse- Kansas and Switzerland jammed together. Wyoming seems to me to be the Australian outback rammed into Austria.

Look at hunting licenses in relation to population and geographic area- but hunting tourist would skew that analysis.

Interesting question.

[Honu]

deer population per sq mile ? hmmm I kinda wonder if Lanai would be near the top ? no predators and they are out of control

if you google it up kinda fun to read some 8-10k of them on Maui (Lanai is part of Maui county) some counts when I lived there put Lanai alone at 5,000-8,000 deer on a teeny island with no predators when I lived there locals could hunt as much as we wanted no limits we would go out and see so many it was insane

[ST911]

Contact the wildlife management agency in each state of interest. Those statistics are compiled and updated annually. You might also check the websites of those organizations, as many publish their big game and fisheries statistics.

[OH58D]

Here in New Mexico, estimates are about 80,000 - 90,000 Mule Deer, 12,000 White Tail and about 70,000 Elk. Numbers used to be higher but we've been in a drought over the past decade. Pronghorn Antelope are harder to estimate but estimates are in the 60,000 - 70,000 range. I saw a small group of 25 or more Pronghorn this morning with my first cup of coffee.

[brickboy240]

We have some long seasons and very generous bag limits on white tailed deer in many South Texas counties.

I would think Texas would rank up there, as many states will only allow you to take one deer per season and others are on some sort of lottery system to see who gets to take the one deer they might get a chance at.

[DDM4LV1]

Get a lot of hits for Indian Casinos?

Colorado is so diverse- Kansas and Switzerland jammed together. Wyoming seems to me to be the Australian outback rammed into Austria.

Look at hunting licenses in relation to population and geographic area- but hunting tourist would skew that analysis.

Interesting question.

I thought so...

...but I should clarify or expand on it.
My inquiry is twofold:
for;
1. hunting trips, yes, however...I'd still go where I or someone else wanted to hunt, regardless, as most States have areas with adequate Deer & sometimes, other Big Game pop., and it's "hunting" after all, so don't mind the work & challenge!

2a. But this, also...came up in interesting conversation...
"In a bug-out / zombie apocalypse situation, which STATE would be the BEST / most DENSE per sq. mile, for Big Game ( FOOD not Trophy anymore ) easiest to find, dress & pack-out but yielding plenty of meat, so very LARGE as in Moose / Elk, not really nessasary...DEER just fine?"

2b. Second caveat, AFTER just the shear #'s ( deer per sq. mile data )...
..."BEST deer per sq. mile population CROSS REFERENCEED with BEST State to be 'off the grid' AND have the most deer per sq. mile..."


And, in this scenerio..."TAGS" no longer relevant, needed...law has broken down, Govt. gone rogue...
( oh, wait...that's been the last 7 yrs.,lol.)

[Honu]

being from the islands its what I know the best ? I was up in the NW in school days though :)

the thing about Hawaii is folks work together are super nice give you the shirt off there back some are jerks like everywhere ! the good friends I had in the islands are the ones I would want helping me in that situation
besides deer Maui has a never ending supply of drinkable fresh water ! and insane soil that can grow anything no predator animals to worry about
so choke amounts deer and pig :) and its a island good and bad with that I guess but nobody from the mainland in that situation is just going to come over
plenty of places up country or Haiku side to live in peace

downsides its a island and most dont make it there ? so if it does not hit the fan you have to like it there and put up with the costs etc...

if things went south I would also want to be in a place where it never broke a 100 and prefer not below 60 so I don't have to worry about baking or freezing to death with no heat etc... and of course the water issue :)

[26 Inf]

I thought so...

...but I should clarify or expand on it.
My inquiry is twofold:
for;
1. hunting trips, yes, however...I'd still go where I or someone else wanted to hunt, regardless, as most States have areas with adequate Deer & sometimes, other Big Game pop., and it's "hunting" after all, so don't mind the work & challenge!

2a. But this, also...came up in interesting conversation...
"In a bug-out / zombie apocalypse situation, which STATE would be the BEST / most DENSE per sq. mile, for Big Game ( FOOD not Trophy anymore ) easiest to find, dress & pack-out but yielding plenty of meat, so very LARGE as in Moose / Elk, not really nessasary...DEER just fine?"

2b. Second caveat, AFTER just the shear #'s ( deer per sq. mile data )...
..."BEST deer per sq. mile population CROSS REFERENCEED with BEST State to be 'off the grid' AND have the most deer per sq. mile..."


And, in this scenerio..."TAGS" no longer relevant, needed...law has broken down, Govt. gone rogue...
( oh, wait...that's been the last 7 yrs.,lol.)

I'd think rather than wild game you might want to think about states that have a lot of ranching - when things break down just rustle grub. Of course, those states also have deer populations.

Look at this chart:

Animal Weight* Meat Waste %Meat
Lamb 50 40 10 80%
Hog 240 189 51 79%
Black Angus 600 438 162 73%
Holstein Steer 900 513 387 57%
Mature Buck 180 72 108 40%
Elk** 400 200 200 50%

*Carcass weight. Head, hide and intestines removed
** 31/2 to 41/2 year-old male - comprises 21% of Wyoming harvest

edited to add: table lost columns

Your deer will give you the least meat, but that also means less you'll have to process.

Become a sheepherder.

[cbx]

Well, don't know the numbers per mile, but I do know that there is a metric shit ton of them here in my corn fields in Idaho and I almost had one run over the top of me last night as I was irrigating......

Good hell that scared me. I for sure thought I was going to get eaten.

[DDM4LV1]

I'd think rather than wild game you might want to think about states that have a lot of ranching - when things break down just rustle grub. Of course, those states also have deer populations.

Look at this chart:

Animal Weight* Meat Waste %Meat
Lamb 50 40 10 80%
Hog 240 189 51 79%
Black Angus 600 438 162 73%
Holstein Steer 900 513 387 57%
Mature Buck 180 72 108 40%
Elk** 400 200 200 50%

*Carcass weight. Head, hide and intestines removed
** 31/2 to 41/2 year-old male - comprises 21% of Wyoming harvest

edited to add: table lost columns

Your deer will give you the least meat, but that also means less you'll have to process.

Become a sheepherder.

Interesting chart...cannot make heads or tails of it as displayed...
...2 or 3 headings...'animal weight...etc." and four numbers below...which is with what?

[DDM4LV1]

I was initially thinking..
....from northan AZ. eg., Flagstaff / Sedona or East in tjose Mts. where that lumberjack got snatched by a UFO, some years ago
( seems they made a movie 'bout that...lol )...
...up THRU,
Utah, Idaho, Wyoming & Montana.

Spent lots of time recently, in Bigfork, Kalispell, MT.,
..."Falthead Lake-Valley / Glacier Park area...seems way cool,
and can get way cold...
...but I like the cold.
Maybe 10 acres , place with backup wood-burning heater...water is ALL wells 'round those parts.

Wild Game everywhere...soil seems decent.
Breweries...
Livestock,
Beer
farming...
beer,
orchids...
did I say beer...lol?

But seriously, seems like gun toting, like minded...folk up there in MT. would pull together, in a Zombie-Obamie Apocalypse...
..maybe scoot up to Glacier Park and across to Canada, to hide from the hordes...