Idaho Help??????

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BuckGrunt

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Me and some buddies are thinking about an Idaho hunt in 07 during the rifle season can anyone help steer us in the right direction? anything on the Frank Creek wilderness?this will be our 1st year.......THANKS
 
I just checked the regs, and units 26,27 offer unlimited number of tags during the rut, Nov. 1st-18th. I have never hunted those units but I can tell you they are true wilderness hunts. I have no idea about buck numbers or scores. There are several outfitters who would gladly take you out for a true wilderness hunt.
 
I hunted up near loon creek pass unit27 and 36 last 3 years and have seen very few deer up there. Was once the place to go for the locals to get a decent buck. This year I spent a day in fresh snow and didn't see a track. There was a big fire near there this summer so I don't know how that might have affected the deer. It's very rough hiking back in there and probably lots of wolves. You can drive in during October but after November 1st all bets are off. It's not known for monster bucks but if you get in a ways you'll have some woods to yourself and find a decent 4x4.
 
Thanks guys!
Im also hearing from some friends about getting flown in to the back country.My buddies and I are interested in a serious DIY hunt.Any suggestions,links to web sites,contacts or any other helpful informaton would be greatly appreciated.I know im asking alot.And definatly not looking for anyones honey hole,just trying to start off on the right foot.The post about the washington trophy is one of my buddies that wants to go........
 
buckgrunt, I can get you in touch with a guy who owns wescout4u. He knows alot of that country and can give you guys lots of ideas for very low prices. It will save you tons of money and time, but none of the experience. Man, it sounds like I am a marketing pro!jk not trying to throw any plugs,just think he can help you get the full experience out of a diy hunt like this.
pm me or whatever.
Dan
 
Friends of mine get flown into the middlefork every year in november. normallly they get a few decent four points. problem can be if there is no snow up high deer or elk do not come down and when you get flown in you are on foot, and those mountains are steep and tall.
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-21-06 AT 10:25AM (MST)[p]One thing about Idaho is there is something for everyone. There are plenty of "wild" areas that are not "wilderness" areas.
Before you have someone fly you into the Frank Church area do a reality check on yourself. Can you physically handle near verticle slopes for a week? Can you pack out the critter once its down? Remember, when you fly into the area, you will not be alone! There is only 1 or 2 main runways in there, everyone else gets dropped off at the same area. You may have to hike 2-4 miles from the drop off just to get to the hunting and then everything you kill will have to be backpacked to the runway. If it were me I would assess my hunting and physical capabilities and try to match a unit/hunt to them.

I am pretty familiar with the southern/eastern parts of Idaho. Feel free to PM me with specific questions.
Lance
 
Pretty sure there is no such thing as Frank Creek Wilderness...
I work in a pretty big chunk of the Frank Church Wilderness, Gospel Hump Wilderness, and the Selway Bitteroot Wilderness. There is a reason why the Fish and Game allows over the counter mule deer hunts during November in these areas... The country will take care of most of the people and thus reduce the harvest.

Are you looking for a Guide? Do you have access and know how use stock? (that has experience in steep country)
Yes there are big bucks here. There are not very many. This being your first time, I assume you mean your first time to Idaho, You will not be prepared for the size and steepness of this country. If this is also you first time Muley hunting, the deck is stacked more against you. Both of those point to getting a guide.. Or having realistic expectations. Realisticlally it will take you several trips to get to know the area you are hunting in, provided you are in good enough shape to hike it. or have horses to ride it....

Reading back it might appear that I am being a bit hard on you. Well what ever.
after all that I can show a buck that came from the Frank Church on a non guided, road access hunt and the guys had absolutly no idea what they were in for they had not scouted, nor even been there before.... go to the 2006 big buck and bull page in the photo gallery. look for "Idaho trophy Buck for Josh"
Trust me if they can do it so can you.

Side note, Josh did not kill that Buck. the founder of this site messed up on the story with it.
 
I would concur with what springbear said; if you have never been in this country before, the steepness and size are simply incredible. springbear hit the nail on the head, the access is so limited, and the country so steep, that there tends to be a large concentration of hunters around the fly in areas, and the few roads that make there way into these areas. we did a drop camp in one of these areas, and at the trailhead, there were over 100 guys camped in walltents; at most these guys would get a mile or two in, so any area within a mile of an access area gets hammered. Just to get away from the crowds, you are looking at a 3 to 4 mile hike each day, in probably the steepest country you have ever been in.

in the area we were in, there were good numbers of whitetails lower down, so that is what most guys ended up shooting. The mule deer were also only in certain areas, other areas had almost no mule deer. I think if you have your own horses/mules, and talked to a biologist, you could get yourself into a decent area. Or, if you did a drop camp, that works well also. It is a pretty good hunt, IF, you can get to where the deer are and away from others. Unfortunately, that is usually 10 miles up at the head end of a drainage.

But, just showing up, and relying on your legs to get you where you need to be, I think you will be dissapointed.
 
Idhunters,
been trying to get in touch with you, but something wrong with your E-mail, or mine. is the e-mail address on this site correct?

NVMDF
 
LAST EDITED ON Dec-21-06 AT 05:02PM (MST)[p]NVMDF check your inbox I sent you a PM.

My default e-mail address on this site was wrong it should be fixed now. Thanks!
 
I gotta agree with these guys too. I hunt the high country every year. It is extremely steep. The altitude really takes a toll on you fast. I can usually go all out for about 3 days then I am completely drained, mentally and physically. It takes a few days to recover.

But on the other hand...I do it because I love it. So if you dream of this kind of a hunt GO FOR IT! But be prepared mentally and physically for some of the toughest hunting on the planet. No matter how you feel at the end of the day there still may be a buck or bull that needs to be packed back to camp out of some hellishly steep country.

Mike Henne
 
I know what you mean. I have had horses for the past three years but before that everything was on my back. This year I still had to pack both of my animals over 3/4 of a mile just to get them to my horses. I noticed this year for the first time that if I sit in say....a movie theatre or back seat of a car, my knees really start to burn. I am only 37 and I am really concerned about this. I still have alot of hunting to do.

Mike Henne

But again, I love the high country and would not trade it for anything. It is not for everyone though.
 
The Frank church wilderness is pretty awsome place to see. The overall size of it will blow your mind. Three years ago my dad and I were on a 9000+ foot peak and I told dad the awsome thing about the view was that as far asyou can see is our unit to hunt. and you can through all 500 people with tags in it and never see a soul. The others are right around all trailheads and airstrips 95% of the people will be. get 8+ miles in and you will not see very many people. The fires really screwed us this past fall so we had to go a different place and the 18 miles that the road went into our unit we counted 20 camps. Another great thing about the frank church is you will meet people from all over the country. we have met guys form texas, cali, indian, and arkys.
 
thanks guys.....I appreicate all your responses.I am looking for a enjoyable back country hunt.not a hunt that is going to kick my $ss everyday im there,and really have no interest in running into all these other hunters.....Don't we all want the samething,Lots of deer and solitude!!!lol

Thanks again
John
 
IF YOUR GOING TO BE A BEAR BE A GRIZZLY BEAR! Have you considered going to southeastern Idaho. There are still places you can kill monster bucks if you get back in some of those hidden canyons. Larry Cross.
 
Those warnings about the weather and magnitude of the country are CORRECT. (Remember the experienced mountain climbers on Mt. Hood the last two weeks.) The high country is great; I, too, love it. The last few years, I've started using llamas, but it's more than physical; it's experience in bad weather and being absolutely on your own. Don't go to the central wilderness areas for your first time. Try unit 39 (same physicality, more deer and not so far from civilization) or try the area immediately south of Palisades resivoir. There are several areas where you can get 3 to 5 miles from the trailhead, which is away from everyone else and find game. There is no place with a B&C monster on every ridge, but 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 year old deer can be found. The Frank Church Wilderness is not the best place to look and it's dangerous, if you're not truly ready for it. That doesn't mean weather, bears, mtn. lions & rugged mountains aren't in lots of other places, too. It's just that it's 10 miles from one side of the "wilderness" to the other, rather than 150 miles. If you want to discuss, call me at 208-233-4150. Grant
 
Josh is right, the area is pretty big and brutal. However, to say those guys had never been there or seen the country was a bit of a slight. I too work for the same place Josh does and had indeed hunted there just a couple of weeks before (elk), I knew exactly what we were getting into. That's how I knew of the place. The guy in the picture is a very experienced hunter, he knew what he was doing. Appartently, Josh doesn't think to highly of me, however. Thanks Josh. Come on over. Apparently if I can do it, so can you.
 
Not sure why so many guys tried to scare you off of the Frank Church Wilderness. Ya is it nasty and what not...sure but its worth the experience. Be careful hunt with some buddies, carry enough water, etc etc and you should be fine.
 
Hey Jeff, Should just go down stairs and say hi...
Think you miss understood me. First, the area is steep, and most of my post was to make sure they understood it...
I shoud have said the guys that killed those bucks did not grow up hunting the area or born and raised here or worked in the area for several years.... Didn't mean to slight your deer or your hunting... Point being even-though it is nasty country, a buck like yours can be had from a drive in access point(within a few hours hiking)without tons of time in the area or pack stock, OR a guide pointing the deer out. Simply it can be done.
 
Everyone who is telling you the Frank Church is rugged is understating it if you asked me. I flew into it from Salmon
and there were quite a few people hunting right near the
airstrip. We had an outfitter with horses who packed us in
18 miles. Toughest hunt I was ever on. Didn't see much game.
Wished we had had a chute plane :)Dont want to go back.
 
I flew in to Indian Creek in "93" (After the big winter killed everything) Floated down to the Thompson Creek? airstrip. We stopped along the way and hunted the side canyons/mountains off of the middle fork. Went early (Sept 15) for elk. Got into elk but that country can kill you. Was only 33 then and i hiked with a backpack on for months before the hunt plus just got back from a Montana bow hunt. I'm not easily discourages but with my dad along to help, I actually passed on several bulls cause I didn't have any idea how to get them out. Figured a 10 hour day hiking and packing would get 1 quarter out to the river.

The country below Thompson Creek? is more like mule deer country. We hunted timber and burns with dead, standing timber. Only saw 3 deer in 10 days but saw hundreds of carcasses from the winterkill that previous year. Good luck on whatever you decide.
 
That country is bigger and steeper than it looks. When I took this photo I was by no means standing on top of a mountain and the bottom of the canyon can't be seen...over 3200 feet below. If you are not in TRULY awesome physical shape, forget about this area and look elsewhere. If you are, enjoy...there's plenty of room to roam and some decent animals to be had.

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