Idaho Elk help

LAST EDITED ON Nov-29-18 AT 12:04PM (MST)[p]Hate to start another one of these...but I am going to swallow my pride...

I have spent my life hunting elk and blacktail in Oregon but need help with a first time Idaho hunt....been combing through stats and articles from just about every source trying to find a place to start...tough deciding between muley or elk hunt and a unit...

Not looking for a trophy hunt or secrets.... just Looking for a general OTC tag with decent opportunity at success. Any suggestions? Looking to set up a base camp for dad to hunt around and go on some two or three day over nighters for me. we are honest ethical people just need some help in a general direction.... can trade help for Oregon or Alaska advice....

I had three buddies do a first time Idaho archery trip last year. They joined go hunt and found an OTC area that had a pretty good success odds. After they selected the area they called the local biologist and said they were thinking about hunting in a particular area. The biologist gave them quite a bit of feed back, including the elk are typically at x elevation and to pack into the area from the other side since several outfitters hunt the area and they all come in the way my friends had originally planned. In the end they all had opportunities and had a great time. Sorry I don't feel comfortable sharing "their" spot, but wanted to add some encouragement that it can be done

Thank you! that is very encouraging and I respect your post. I appreciate it! This in itself if good feedback.

Good comments about the outfitters. Find out where they base camp. The sweet spot between pack trails, ATV hunters and the backcountry is where you want to be. I hunt Idaho as a NR and actually look for and find their wall tents on Google Earth.

Another thing to look for is the damn sheep up there! Scouting is useless if the mountain maggots move into the area the day before the hunt.

Be advised, since your a non-resident, expect to get some flack from others here and on forums like Rokslide. Many folks have a genuine disdaine for NR?s and will be abrasive behind a keyboard and not give you the time of day on the mountain. It's just the way it is.

See ya in OTC Idaho! I'll have a Utah plate and be wearing a Green Bay Packer hat.

My suggestion is to look at success rates and bulls to cow ratio's. It will be hard to get people to get very specific on area's with general tags. However I've done quite a few NR hunts "I'm from Oregon also" in many Western states, the biggest thing is to hunt fast until you find them. Last year I was archery elk in a two point unit in Wyoming. The first 3 days didn't even see an elk but we kept driving to different area's sometime up to 10 to 15 miles from camp. We finally found were they were and took two out of three bulls and should have gotten all three. Jump in and just do it.