The 7 Most Beautiful Hunting Destinations in the World

I’m not a young man anymore but I’m at the age where I’m still very much in the game. Two things time and experience have taught me is the company you keep in hunting camp and the places you go are as an important part of the experience as punched tags and antlers for the wall. I’m very fortunate to have gone on some great hunts in some gorgeous landscapes, and in reflection, I find my mind often drifting off to these spots with a flood of memories.

The following is a list of places I have personally been to and experienced firsthand. Some of the places offer easily obtainable hunts and also vary in cost from the basic truck camp DIY experience to others with more costs involved. You won’t find hunts like a Marco Polo ram in the Himalayas or a Cape Buffalo hunt in the Masailand of Tanzania on the list. While these locales would obviously be top tier in beauty, they are realistically unaffordable for most of the readers. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so while some find the stark landscapes of the desert more appealing, others will want to pick the fog-shrouded evergreen forest of the Pacific Northwest to be the hunt they dream of. There is no right or wrong, as opinions are like...Well, you know the rest.

The Colorado Rockies

I started with Colorado because it’s my home and the place I’m most familiar with. There’s no argument to be made for Colorado not being on the list and for many reasons. There isn’t a place in the lower 48 with as many high peaks and alpine country as Colorado, with 637 peaks over 13,000’ and 58 peaks over 14,000’. The most stunning time of year to hunt is most certainly September, during archery and muzzleloader elk and deer hunts. There is also a September bear season with easily obtainable tags and a thriving and under harvested bear population in Colorado.

The aspen trees cover the mountains with gold and oakbrush takes on beautiful shades of red and orange accentuated with backlight in the lower angle of the sun and bluebird fall days. Add in the occasional early snowstorm dusting the peaks with white and you’d be hard-pressed to find greater beauty. Colorado has new changes to license allocations, most notably the making of all archery elk licenses for non-resident draw only. A quick Google search will give you all the necessary details.

The North Country

Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories and northern British Columbia all come together in the most alluring area of North America. The remoteness and quiet of these sprawling landscapes deserve to be experienced firsthand as there is no YouTube video out there that gives you what you get in person. Crisp breezes, omnipresent moisture and a real way to test your fortitude are intangible bonuses on a hunt that everyone should aspire to once in their lives.

There are affordable options in the form of DIY caribou and black bear hunts, but in recent years, many caribou herds have been on the decline, so the hunt isn’t as prevalent or affordable as it used to be. The North Country changes people in a transformative and reflective experience only taken in with the isolation and detachment from the rest of the world.

South Africa

Sitting at the southern edge of the “Dark Continent,” South Africa has been given the nickname the “Jewel of Africa” for good reason. There is no place in Africa with more variety of landscapes or wildlife than the country of South Africa. Wildlife management is primarily a private land scenario with high fences to secure the landowner's investment in wildlife as opposed to cattle operations. The old colloquialism, “if it pays, it stays,” describes South Africa's wildlife and hunting opportunities.

This is off-putting for some hunters who have come of age under the North American model of wildlife conservation but understand that South Africa has a different history and evolution of their hunting model. Giant ranches (called farms in SA) can be teeming with an incredible variety and numbers of big game and antelope species. While some small properties might have a “curated’ feel, there are others that you can drive all day and never see a fence. Combining a SA hunt with a side trip to Kruger National Park is a relatively reasonable adventure to be had, but be careful. Africa hunting is fun and addictive and most first-time hunters are already planning their next trip on the return flight home.

Hawaii

The 50th state needs no serious introduction. One of the top vacation destinations on the planet for obvious reasons. Great beaches, volcanoes, jungle waterfalls and a climate that is balmy with relatively low humidity compared to many tropical destinations. What Hawaii offers is a safe, family-friendly vacation destination with an option for day hunting for those interested in a hunting adventure. Hawaii has no big game animals that evolved there, but most islands have wild boar brought there centuries ago by the Pacific Islanders as a source of food.

Hawaii has huntable populations of axis deer (originally from India) on many islands including the Big Island, Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The island of Lanai offers up great axis deer hunting, although the bucks don’t typically reach the size of some of the giant axis Texas bucks. Also available are mouflon sheep and feral goats with most hunting opportunities streamlined with local guides.

Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest, commonly referred to as the PNW, exists stretching from northern California to Alaska across the coast ranges of Oregon, Washington and Canada’s British Columbia. The area goes from wet to saturated the further you move north, bearing the brunt of storms crashing into the coast from the cool waters of the north Pacific. This creates a vibrant ecosystem of lush greenery and fog-shrouded mountains.

There are sunshiny days that seem to hold a magic like a gift from the creator when they occur in this landscape. Black bears and blacktail deer are found throughout with the added bonus of salmon and ocean fishing for halibut and other deepwater fish. Alaska offers the highest quality and affordability for a combination hunt and fishing vacation. It’s an area that everyone should plan on experiencing firsthand.

The Desert Southwest

From the Big Bend Country of Texas and west through New Mexico and Arizona exists the most barren, unforgiving and rugged beauty of our country. Water is life in the desert, so the spots with natural water sources and man-made guzzlers are the places wildlife thrive. The Desert Southwest is a place that can be hunted after the typical fall seasons in most states, with hunts available in the winter. Leaving cold and snowbound northern tiers and experiencing pleasant temperatures and dry ground is a luxury in the winter. Easily available hunting opportunities include Auodad sheep in Texas and New Mexico, Javelina throughout, desert mulies, and the diminutive Coues deer. Decent upland bird hunting is available in some areas to complement these other hunts.

The desert responds quickly to moisture and can experience multiple greening and drying periods throughout the year. The Sonoran desert with the giant saguaro cacti is especially beautiful, with much of it sprinkled with varieties of cacti and plants. If you're lucky enough to have rain, you will experience the captivating fragrance of the desert storms. For the very lucky, drawing a desert bighorn tag will take you to this incredible landscape on the adventure of a lifetime.

Elk Country, Period

How do you pick a single local for a destination elk hunt as being the most beautiful? Iconic elk hunting landscapes throughout the northern Rockies come to mind when thinking of this hunt. The Salmon River breaks in Idaho, the Thorofare Wilderness in Wyoming, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana immediately comes to mind and conjures up images of wall tents, horse packing into remote country, and unmolested bulls ripping bugles that echo off canyon walls and remote basins.

Yes, this is an indulgent fantasy derived in the mind and heart, but elk live and thrive in beautiful landscapes, and picking a single location to represent this bucket-list experience just isn’t fair. An elk hunt is an aspirational endeavor for many whitetail hunters and urban dwellers across our country. It might happen annually for some, and for others, it's once in a lifetime. I always say, a goal is a dream with a plan.

Dynamic Experiences

Hunting is a multifaceted experience with a different appeal for different people at different periods in their lives. What I do know is the landscape adds to the experience, sometimes with subtlety and sometimes with an exclamation point. Immersing yourself in the beauty of these places will remain with you for a lifetime of memories.

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