I am european and would love to hunt in the states. I have allways been a Lucky guy and would like to Know if it is possible for me to go into the U.S.A DRafts for hunting. I don´t mind what. From wild pigs up to bears, sheep, etc, would be a delight. Am i allowed? how do I do it?

contact an outfitter where you would like to hunt.

Can you recommend me a serious outfitter. There are lots of people that say they are serious but after you find out the truth the worst way possible

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "Drafts", but if it is what I think you mean, then this is an attempted answer:

Hunting in the US is regulated by the states - so hunting rules and regulations are different in California from what they are in Alabama, say. To get the regulations for the states you are interested in, all (?) states have their regulations posted on the Internet. Here is an example - happens to be from Montana:

http://fwp.mt.gov/default.html

You can google up any other state you might be interested in.

Some states have no drawing for licences and permits, in those states, you can buy licences and permits (e.g. for deer, turkey - or whatever) over the counter.

Other states regulate their hunting via lotteries (or drawings) - and I guess this is what you might mean by "drafts". Most (probably all) of these states will allocate a certain (smaller) amount of the licences and tags to non-residents - which includes foreign nationals.

Regardless of how the state in question manages its licences and tags, if you legally obtain a license and a tag (either by buying over the counter or being drawn in the lottery), then, yes, you are legally allowed to hunt in that state. You'll naturally have to observe the same rules as do all other hunters of that state - e.g. hunting seasons, type and caliber of firearm, need to wear orange etc etc.

So, yes, it is possible for a foreign national to hunt in the US. You have settle on one or more states, and then figure out how the license system is organized, and if it is a drawing, then what your chances are to be drawn. A lot of states require the license applications to be submitted pretty early in the year (e.g. in the spring), so now is a good time to start thinking about applying in states with a drawing.

Hunting license in hand, you can then apply to ATF to be allowed to import your gun into the US. That application process normally takes 8-10 weeks, so don't leave it too late before you leave for the US.

- mike

P.S. Most US states require a hunter to have passed a safety course. European hunters can normally substitute their European hunting license as proof that such safety education has been taken.

My guess is that if you would give some indication of species you would like to hunt. The good folks here would give you some good information on what outfitters could help you arrange a hunt.

Here is a link to the game & fish department of my home state. About the only thing we don't have is wild pigs.

Wyoming Game & Fish

Yes you can apply via the draw. Your considered a non-resident in Wyoming.. States all vary. Depends on species and your desire. Sheep will be very difficult to draw in the states, Cananda it is dictated by your pocketbook or Alaska. Bear, black or grizzly? Black easy and inexpensive, grizzly Alaska and high dollar. Elk, deer, and antelope, depends on the state where you want to draw. Moose, hard to draw a tag like sheep.

One other thing to consider. If you are below a certain age, you will need to have completed an approved hunters safety course in every state I know of.

Hi Dwarf416,

Kudu56 answered your question. In any state in which you wish to hunt, you would be considered a non-resident. Each state has a Game and Fish Department, or Parks and Wildlife, or something similar to those. You can look up seasons and regulations on the web for whatever state(s) you might want to hunt in. Google "game and fish departments by state." HTH.

Here is a list of the game, fish, and wildlife department of each state.

http://www.fws.gov/offices/statelinks.html

I don't know about other states but on the Wyoming site there is a link to the outfitters page.

Rad

quote:

Originally posted by Grumulkin:
One other thing to consider. If you are below a certain age, you will need to have completed an approved hunters safety course in every state I know of.

interesting, i didn't know that.
do you happen to know how old?

Again, depends on each state. IIRC, hunter-ed is required if you're born AFTER 1973 here in Idaho.

Also, Idaho requires a SEPARATE hunter-ed for bowhunting.

As far as regulations, it can be quite intimidating for a foreigner to plan a hunt stateside, with all the local rules. Some states require you to buy a non-resident license before you can enter a draw. That's a racket if I've ever seen one.

In the Pacific Northwest, you can go on nice public land hunts with an "over the counter" tag, that is a tag that's available without restrictions. Usually that's for deer or cow elk. Trophy units are usually quite hard to draw a tag in.

I agree that the best thing is to pick a species, and then ask folks about that. For example, say you want to hunt white tailed deer. You could go for an expensive Montana tag, but you can buy very inexpensive non-resident tags in Wyoming in certain units, and get multiple tags to boot. Combine that with a little coyote hunting and bird hunting, and you've got a nice trip.

Finally, make sure you are aware of each state's trespass laws. Some states are very strict about access to private property, others are not. For example, last time I hunted North Dakota, all private property was considered open to hunting, unless specifically posted closed. Makes NoDak a great place for hunting. HTH, Dutch.

Hunter education in most of Europe is far beyond the two or three week class that most Americans get, some European nations require 6 months worth of hunter education or more.

I lived in Spain and the hunter education requirements were very tough.

Here in North Carolina you can walk into any Wal Mart with a copy of your foreign hunting license and walk out with a non resident hunting license in about 8 minutes. It entitles you to take 6 deer 1 bear and 1 hog......I think its about $40.

I really appreciate all the information recieved from you guys. I can see that you live in an excellent country fot hunters and anglers and as soon as i can will make a plan to visit your wonderful land. In spain there is not a chance of such an easy way to hunt, once again thanks for all the information i will work through it and make some desitions. then i will bother the A R members once again asking for some help

quote:

Hunting license in hand, you can then apply to ATF to be allowed to import your gun into the US. That application process normally takes 8-10 weeks, so don't leave it too late before you leave for the US.

Just be certain that you European legal gun is legal in the USA! Strange but true...and rifle using a military Mauser action (with the thumb cut-out in left receiver sidewall) is illegal to import into the USA. And that includes such as Holland and Holland, Rigby, etc.

The thumb cut has nothing to do with firearms import as many prewar commercial Mausers had the thumb cut and they are importable. Military firearms must be in the original military configuration for permanate import.

I have not looked into it for some time but I seem to remember the rules for temporary import as being slightly different.

Have you applied for a temp import on a H&H or Rigby and had a problem?