Idaho Unit 49

locofife · Nov 2, 2006

Howdy all,
I was lucky enough to draw a late deer hunt in Unit 49 in Idaho this year and can't wait to go. Two more weeks! Anyways, I was wondering how the general season there went? I had a brother that went there but he didn't see much and I'm hoping that the deer just hadn't moved into the area he was hunting yet. Also, I won't get to hunt until November 18th. Will the rut still be in full swing at that time, or will it be pretty much over? Will the bucks still be hanging out with the does? I've never hunted late before so I don't have much experience there. Any information or tips on hunting the rut will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

bowhunt · Nov 2, 2006

The rut will be in full swing on Nov 18th.

Outdoordan · Nov 2, 2006

I know somebody who shot a big 5X4, I haven't seen it yet but he is having it mounted, so it should be pretty nice as he wouldn't mount it unless it was big. I took a 12 year old on his first hunt last weekend, got him a doe, only saw small bucks for me, so didn't shoot anything. Let the small ones grow!

leereddish · Nov 5, 2006

locofife,

My son and I have that same tag. We spoke with a good friend who lives in Carey, who hunted deer and elk in that unit all of October. During October they had the general deer season going, 400 doe tags, and a youth hunt(either sex)going on. There is also a spike elk hunt going on until Nov. 7th. Needless to say, the deer have been worked pretty hard. He spent this last weekend on horseback getting cattle out of the canyons outside of Carey, and he said he saw quite a few does with just a few small bucks hanging around. Nothing bigger than a very small four point.

We're supposed to get some snow this week, so hopefully things will look up. We going out this weekend, so I'll post any helpful information. Good luck.

locofife · Nov 6, 2006

Thanks for the info leereddish. Doesn't sound good, but hopefully the rut and some snow will turn things around. I don't have my heart set on shooting a giant (though that would be nice), a nice 4 point with a 24" spread or bigger would be great. Keep me posted on how you do and good luck! I won't be there hunting until the 18th so if you haven't got some deer by then maybe we'll see each other on the mountain. Thanks!

locofife · Nov 13, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-06 AT 09:54AM (MST)[p]Hey Leereddish,
How did it go?! Did you see or shoot anything? Can't wait to hear how it went.

leereddish · Nov 13, 2006

Locofife,

We went out Friday afternoon, and all day Saturday. Didn't see squat. Friday we hunted up Muldoon canyon out of Bellevue, way up high. Saturday we started the morning up corral creek just up from Sun Valley. There was 3 inches of new snow, and I just knew we were going to see some good deer. Nothing. We crossed a lot of elk tracks, but no deer sign. Possibly seen a wolf. I've never seen a black coyote, but it looked a little small. Figured they must be headed south, so did we. Hunted the afternoon by Carey, just to the west of Fish Creek Res. Frustrated by that time, we pulled out the four wheeler and looked for any sign of deer in the snow. Nothing again. We hiked and rode a lot of miles and drew a blank.

Making a lot of phone calls, looking for any help. I'm going back up Friday. Sorry for the encouraging news. Maybe with the moisture this week, we'll start to see a few deer?

locofife · Nov 14, 2006

Darnit! That doesn't sound good. Thanks for the info though. I hunted the area during the general season in 2004 and saw a good number of deer, but my brother and stepdad hunted it this year and didn't see much. It's a bit surprising that you didn't see anything, they've got to be in there somewhere. If the population was in that bad of shape you'd think the F&G would let us know. Hopefully they haven't moved south of the highway. Are you planning on hunting during Thanksgiving week? If I don't get one on Saturday I'll be there Monday through Wednesday and back again on Friday if I still haven't connected. Good luck! I'll let you know how it goes for me. Thanks Again

locofife · Nov 21, 2006

Leereddish,
Have you got anything yet? I was able to connect on a buck today. He is only a 2x3 but he has a really big body. He was hanging out with a bunch of does and was the only buck with them. If you want some information about where we found the deer, drop me an email.
Brandon

leereddish · Nov 22, 2006

Brandon-

Congratulations on the deer. We hunted last Friday and Saturday. We passed on a 3 point on Friday that may have been 22" and a 4 point on Sat. that was about the same. One was seen off the N. Picabo Rd. access, and the other was seen off the Fish Creek Res. Rd. The 4 point had 3 does with him and the 3 pointer was alone. I think we may eat this tag. Just didn't see the number of animals we were hoping for. I would be interested in hearing about what you saw and where. Not sure if it would be worth another trip over from Pocatello.