Idaho Unit 29 archery advice

NORTHERNWILDTHING · Apr 15, 2007

Hello from northern minnesota.
My wife,Daughter and I Will be hunting there sept 9-15.
We will be hunting/staying the north basin/basin creek area.
We have done(survived)1 do it yourself,haul our fat flatland horses to the absorakas north of yellowstone.Fire,snow,grizzy piles as large a horsepile and scarce elk.

We are bowhunters first,horse lovers second and well...elk eaters not at all. I look foward to laughing at our folly's.
With our limeted elk savy we will be on top of the world even if we get a 3 legged calf or nothing!!!!

How do elk react to horses? When scouting on horseback will elk leave the county or stand and watch as you go by like deer do? These elk see cattle during the summer.........Should we think about riding cows?

I hope to cover lots of real estate on foot and by horse.
Cow elk look tasty are they easier or harder to call? Can they be bush wacked on ther way down to irrigated fields in the evening?

So many questions...type so slow.

Thanks folks for any knowledge you would share.

Idahoron · Apr 15, 2007

I have hunted tthe area you are speaking of. You should be able to find elk there no problem. You will see a lot of other hunters. now that you have posted this I am sure more will be looking. It has been years since I have hunted there but it should still have elk. Also check out bear cr. Ron

BrianID · Apr 15, 2007

I'm not going to claim to know much about the elk hunting in unit 29 but have spent some time in that area and know the surrounding units fairly well.

"How do elk react to horses? When scouting on horseback will elk leave the county or stand and watch as you go by like deer do? These elk see cattle during the summer.........Should we think about riding cows?"

Most elk are going to run when they see a guy on a horse. I wouldn't expect an elk to just watch you ride up to it if you are less than 100 yards away. It is going to depend on the elk but I wouldn't ride a horse in line-of-site of any elk that I planed on hunting unless they were 1/2 mile or farther away. Even at 1/2 mile the elk might still spook. There might be some elk that will watch you ride by them when they are only a couple hundred yards away but I wouldn't count on it.

"Can they be bush wacked on ther way down to irrigated fields in the evening?"

Elk often use the same trail between feeding and bedding areas. Ambushing elk does work but it isn't as easy as it looks. Other hunters will make the elk less predictable and the changing mountain winds often mess things up.

"Cow elk look tasty are they easier or harder to call?"

Loan cows are much easier to call than a herd of 20 cows. If you find a loan calf or yearling cow there is a very good chance that it will come into your call. A group of cow elk that is a couple hundred yards away will almost always show interest in your calling but I wouldn't expect any of them to come into bow range. If you have some cow elk at 60 yards there is a chance that you might call one into 30 yards but more often than not you won't end up with a shot. If you are trying to kill a cow that is in a larger herd you are generally better off not calling at all IMO. Generally a young bull is easier to call in than a cow elk but it just depends on the elk and the situation.

As you probably know the wind is one of the most important things to consider when you are hunting elk with a bow.

tlake · Apr 15, 2007

I hunted North Basin last year. We did not get there til Sept 15th. We did not hear any bugling but we had bulls come in silently to cow calls. Other hunters had heard bugling before we got there. There were lots of hunters but none with horses. Horses can help you cover alot of ground. They should help you a lot. When you get to the top just before you drop into North Basin, look to the South and West. You should be able to ride your horses toward that direction from the North basin area. Good luck.

Califelkslayer · Apr 15, 2007

I hunted the rifle season in "04" but got there on Sept. 24th to start scouting. There were more hunters archery hunting than the first day of rifle season. That said, we saw elk every day we hunted and most days we scouted. I'll send you a PM.