Hunting · Big Game
Eight in-depth species guides covering where to hunt, how the tag actually gets in your pocket, what the hunt demands of you, and how to bring the meat home.
Big game hunting in North America is really eight or nine separate sports that share a rifle. A November whitetail sit in an Ohio fencerow and a September elk hunt at 10,000 feet have almost nothing in common except the ethics and the wind.
This hub is built to be the one place you can answer the practical questions: which states hold the animal, whether you can buy a tag or must draw one, how long that draw realistically takes, what the days look like, and what happens after the shot.
Every species page links out to the state agencies and conservation organizations that publish the current, authoritative numbers — because regulations change annually and no article should be your final source.
01
Each guide covers the same ground: where the animal lives and which states are worth your time, exactly how tags and draws work, what the hunt feels like day to day, the gear that matters, and how to get the meat home.
Mostly over-the-counterOver-the-counter tags in most states, a rut you can plan a vacation around, and the best entry point into big-game hunting in North America.
USDA photo by Scott Bauer / Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Mostly limited drawOpen-country glassing, long stalks, and the western draw system. The classic DIY public-land big-game hunt.
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
OTC in CO, ID; draw elsewhereSeptember bugles, over-the-counter Colorado tags, and the hardest, most addictive hunt on the continent.
Membeth / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Once-in-a-lifetime drawA once-in-a-lifetime draw in most states — and a logistics problem the size of a pickup truck once you succeed.
Unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
Easy draw, often 0–2 pointsThe most drawable western tag, wide-open glassing country, and the best introduction to spot-and-stalk hunting.
www.naturespicsonline.com / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
OTC in most statesTwo seasons a year, over-the-counter tags across the continent, and the most flavorful big-game meat if you handle it right.
Diginatur / CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
License only; often no tagNo season, no limit, and year-round action across the South. The most practice you can get on big game in a single year.
Valentin Panzirsch / CC BY-SA 3.0 at · Wikimedia Commons
Once-in-a-lifetime draw / raffleThe hardest tag in North America, in the steepest country, for the most storied animal in mountain hunting.
Unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons · Wikimedia Commons
OTC in AK; draw/outfitter in CanadaFly-in tundra camps, unpredictable migrations, and genuine wilderness solitude. The classic Alaska DIY adventure hunt.
John Sarvis, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Once-in-a-lifetime drawVertical rock, a once-in-a-lifetime tag in most states, and a trophy that lives in country few other animals can survive.
Darklich14 / CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
OTC or quota-limited by stateCold, deep snow, and a pack of hounds on a fresh track — the classic western winter hunt where hounds are legal.
James St. John / CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
OTC/draw, cheap & easyAffordable tags, mild winter weather, and an easy-to-learn desert spot-and-stalk hunt — a great warm-up for bigger western game.
Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE / CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Lottery draw or private herd purchaseA true lottery hunt for the biggest animal on the continent — most of the work happens after the shot.
USFWS Mountain Prairie / Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Mostly over-the-counterThick coastal timber, over-the-counter tags, and a deer that rewards quiet feet and patience more than any glassing skill.
Buiobuione / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
02
The fastest way to plan a season is to sort species by how hard the tag is to get, then work down the list from what you can hunt this fall to what you are building points toward.
| Species | Typical tag access | Realistic wait | Best beginner state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild hog | License only, no limit | None — hunt this weekend | Texas or Florida |
| Whitetail deer | Over the counter | None | Ohio, Kentucky, Wisconsin |
| Black bear | Over the counter in most states | None | Idaho, Montana, Maine |
| Pronghorn | Easy draw | 0–2 years | Wyoming or New Mexico |
| Elk | OTC in CO and ID; draw elsewhere | 0–8 years | Colorado |
| Mule deer | Mostly limited draw | 1–6 years | Idaho or Wyoming |
| Moose | Once in a lifetime draw | Decades, or book Canada | Alaska or Newfoundland |
| Bighorn sheep | Once in a lifetime draw or raffle | Lifetime lottery | New Mexico random draw |
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This sequence works whether you are chasing a whitetail forty minutes from home or building a five-state western application portfolio.
04
Species change; these five fundamentals do not. They separate hunters who fill tags most years from hunters who tell stories about the one that got away.
The whole game
Every big game animal on this page lives by its nose. Choose stands, stalks, and approach routes by the wind first and everything else second, and be willing to walk away from a perfect spot on the wrong day.
Ethics
Your ethical range is the distance at which every practice shot, from a field position, under stress, lands in a paper plate. For most bowhunters that is 30 yards; for most rifle hunters it is closer to 300 than 600.
Where you hunt
A mediocre rifle a mile from the road outperforms a custom rig at the trailhead. Distance from motorized access is the single best predictor of animal density on public land after opening weekend.
Responsibility
Heat and moisture spoil game, not time alone. Skin or use the gutless method fast, bag every piece, keep the meat in shade with airflow, and get it cold. This is the part of hunting you are legally and morally judged on.
Western hunts
Elk, mule deer, and sheep hunting are endurance events with a rifle. Loaded pack hikes, stair work, and altitude acclimation are training, not optional extras.
Pick the animals you're weighing against each other and compare how the tag actually gets in your pocket, when you have to apply, and when the hunting is worth the plane ticket. Every figure here comes from the state and provincial wildlife agencies cited under the table above — confirm against the current-year regulations before you apply.
Questions
Where every hunting guide on The Wild10 starts.
Big game, small game, upland birds, and waterfowl — habitat and season.
Turkey, pheasant, grouse, quail, ducks, geese, rabbits, squirrels and predators.
Cartridges, zero, field positions, wind, and shot placement.
Gauges, chokes, shot size, and lead for birds and slug country.
Instinctive shooting, draw weight, arrow spine, and close-range craft.
Draw length, sight and rest setup, broadhead tuning, and shot process.
Wind discipline, stand placement, blood trailing, and meat care.
Keep going
Cartridge choice, zeroing, field positions, and shot placement.
Read →Setup, tuning, and building a repeatable shot process.
Read →Wind, scent, blood trailing, and getting meat out cold.
Read →Build the logistics of a multi-day backcountry hunt.
Read →Top 10 lists
Ranked picks with real product photos, specs, and editor notes — the buying side of everything covered in these guides.
Bolt guns from budget workhorses to mountain rifles.
See the ranking →Rifled slug guns for shotgun-only whitetail country.
See the ranking →Over-unders and light autos built to carry all day.
See the ranking →3.5-inch guns that keep cycling through mud and ice.
See the ranking →Forgiving, quiet compounds that tune without a fight.
See the ranking →Hunting recurves that shoot quiet and hold up outside.
See the ranking →Also on The Wild10
Fish identification, the knots that hold, lure selection by conditions, and the habits that fill a stringer.
Open the fishing hub →
