Idaho Whitetails

jbloom17 · Jun 7, 2010

Hey Guys,

I am looking to do a whitetail hunt this fall with my dad and have been doing some reseach and am thinking about hunting around Grangeville. I have never been there and only have looked at maps and google earth so I was hoping some of you might be able to give me a little insight on what to expect. Are there any deer in the forest around there and did they experiance a lot of winter kill the pass few years? I dont need to shoot the buck of a lifetime,(but it would be nice) just want to shoot a whitetail and spend some time with my dad.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

OLDHORNHUNTER · Jun 8, 2010

lots & lots of private property around Grangeville..a friend of mine drew a moose tag for that area last year & hunted over a month all together he never did see a bull moose saw a few cow moose & elk & a couple of dinker bulls & a few whitey does he did say the wolves & tracks were everywhere !!! big surprise there

springbear · Jun 8, 2010

There is lots of Private Property to the North and west of G-vill... Almost NO private property to the south and east..
If you get far enough to the north you get down on the clearwater river area (Orofino, Kooskia) and that has millions of acres of public land as well.

There are lots of Whittails in the forest (state, USFS and BLM). Not as easy to hunt (see) as the ones on the farm ground. I would come up for the last week of the season. You will run into lots of other hunters, but should be able to find some ridges or closed roads to hike out easy enough. As long as you know going into it that you are not hunting Kansas, and will not likely see booner bucks then you will be fine. It would not suprise me a bit for you and your dad to both kill very nice 4 points or better in a week of hunting.

Look into booking a Steelhead Trip on the Clearwater or Salmon Rivers while you are here as well. Break up the hunting, the fish will be hitting hard by mid November.

jbloom17 · Jun 8, 2010

Thanks Springbear. Thats what I was looking for. From the maps the forest looks dense with some clear cuts and open ridges. Do you know if a lot of the roads are blocked or gated? I have hunted blacktails a lot in western washington and figured it would be a lot like that.
I appreciate the help!

springbear · Jun 9, 2010

yes there are many roads that are blocked or gated. Bring a MT. bike and or a game cart. Even a whole Big Whitetail is easy to handle on a game cart, at least compared to an elk.

There are also lots of open roads to ATVs and a few dirt bike trails. Especially on State lands.

Get a Forest Map and Travel Plan from the USFS and you should be able to figure it out pretty easy. Most, but not all of the roads are clearly marked open or closed.

The Forested areas can be thick and jungle like, however this is some steep country, so "cross canyon" shooting is not out of the question. Set up in an area where you can watch several openings or cuts across the draws or canyons and do not forget your bino's and spotting scopes. You WILL use them!

If you get a bunch of snow, go HIGH and look for major crossings. The whitetails in this neck of the woods(especially the high country) migrate, and it can be like caribou hunting if you find the crossings. It does not often happen during the gun season, but it can if we get serious snow fall.

good luck.

springbear · Jun 9, 2010

few Idaho bucks.

idahodreamin · Jun 9, 2010

WOW those are some nice bucks!! Do you hunt mulies also or just buy the white tail tag for the longer season?

jbloom17 · Jun 9, 2010

Dang! thanks for the advise. I also sent you a PM

Kamo · Jun 9, 2010

Hey springbear, how did the deer do in your area after the winters of '07 & '08? I have been hunting a waaaays North of you and the deer got hit really hard. The locals there thought they lost almost 70%.

springbear · Jun 10, 2010

It was a bad winter, some winter kill for sure, but I don't think we lost 70%.. I think we have a touch better winter range than the North Idaho areas do.

I do hunt Mulies as well, but usually only if I draw a permit. There are a few around that you can hunt on the regular tag, But I prefer to bow hunt the late season for whitetails.

Kamo · Jun 10, 2010

Looks like you got yourself a bit of a honey hole there. It's hard to tell but it looks like buck 1 and 5 were taken in the same spot. Regardless, nice deer!

Muleyfanatic · Jun 10, 2010

Bucks 1, 4, and 5 all look like they are from the same spot. Looks like you know where the big bucks are

springbear · Jun 11, 2010

Actually, they were all killed in different spots, but the pictures were all from the same spot. Just a good back ground and the hill was just right to get a good angle for the photos..
couple of them we had to haul a ways out...