Idaho Hunters

N

NDBOWHUNTER

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As an avid hunter, I work very hard to fill my tag. Whether it is elk season or deer, I walk many miles in some steep and rugged country. Up to this year, my hard work has paid off. My buddy and I walked twelve miles on the opening day of deer season only to see four does. We glassed, pushed through brush, put forth all the effort we had, but came out with little success. I know I am not the only one in this position, so what has everyone else been running in to? Are you running into them up high or what? Let me know about some of your hunting stories this year...I am hoping other people have been luckier than myself.
 
I agree with you. Although this is my first year here, I have hunted my butt off! I've hiked three miles back in and seen 1 buck but haven't been able to get it done. Time to switch areas I guess.
 
My kids drew a youth tag in south central Idaho, we saw less deer than usual and only a few bucks, my daughter took one of them. I hunted general season for 5 days archery and 1 day rifle and saw several bucks, took a decent 3 point with the rifle.
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7mmgilbert
Congratulations. Glad to hear you had a good year.
Did you notice less deer this year or average numbers?
 
It is disconcerting that such a prolific number of hunters who toil so arduously in the pursuit of Idaho's prized big game animals have nothing but a sore back and a portly gas bill to show for it. I live in Boise, and hunt avidly. I stop by this website everyday, if not twice a day. The advice so graciously given on this site has helped a great many of us, including myself. For thee past eight years I have been a regular viewer of the the message boards, particularly the mule deer board and also the moderately epigrammatic Idaho forum. I thoroughly enjoy visiting the website and viewing the pictures of a hunters' hard work paid off. I enjoy the harmless fun and banter that is enveloped in the forums as well, life should be made fun and cannot be taken too seriously. Anyways, on to my issue of focus...

It seems as though every year come October, whining and grumbling augment significantly. I whole heartedly believe that if a man is willing to work hard and believes in himself that he will have a successful hunting venture. Of course, success is in the eye of the beholder. The kill is a integral piece of hunting, but we must remeber it is called "hunting" for a reason.

In my humble opinion Idaho holds the greatest hunting opportunities in the nation. I can drive thirty minutes out of Boise and find myself surrouded with superb elk and deer habitat. I have yet to be so lucky as to draw a controlled hunt permit in my ten years of residing in this great state and am now content hunting in the general season. Yes it is true that the general season can be a downright circus , but instead of throwing darts we are throwing bullets.

The most common complaint elicited by hunters is that there are too many people out there. That is a true statement. There are great amount of people that hunt in these times, some for the right reason, others for reasons that I do not care to discover. The people are not difficult to evade, you simply must be willing to put your boots to work and keep a lucid mind. It is true that you will have a more physically demanding hunt, but you are also improving your chances of a successful harvest, and earning the respect of yourself and others who are lucky enough to be apart of the hunt.

The truth is that there is indeed some poor management practices employed by the Idaho Department of Fish&Game. But that fact is true for every state wildlife agency. Hunters can complain all they please, but unless we take it upon ourselves as a unified group of concerned individuals and make our thoughts and beliefs heard there will inevitably be no action taken. The saying "strength in numbers" did not materialize because it is a false statement.

Hunting can be an exeptionally demanding undertaking. We are attempting to outwit a physically dominant creature in its own domain. One cannot expect every hunting excursion to end in a kill. Idaho is a beautiful, and sometimes unforgiving lanscape. Our big game animals can be found from the desert to the highest peaks of the Sawtooths. The struggle lies in finding the animals and then playing the game that has been alive since only God knows when. Sometimes the hunter wins but more often than not the hunted comes out victorious.

I hunt. And when I hunt I push myself the limit. In the end, if I am so fortunate as to take an animals life, I know that I earned it. I am not always successful, not in a long shot. But on occassion I am able to harvest one of the animals I so love to hunt. Hunting is about the earth, and the creatures that inhabit it. Survival of the fittest. I am going to cherish this liberty while I have it. I am grateful I have the right to bear arms, and in turn the ability to use those arms to pursue wild animals on their terms. I am grateful to be a hunter, and even more grateful a Idaho Hunter.
 
I have hunted S. Idaho 12 days this season. We passed a crawdad 4x4, and some 2x2's but that is it. Last year we passed 24" 4x4's every day out.

IDFG ruined the Southeast Idaho unit when they opened it up to General Deer hunters. My wife and I will keep our $520.00 next year.

Grizzly
 
I don't know exactly what to say about the mule deer season in Idaho there are alot of factors involved. When the mule deer hunting is bad the fish and game in Idaho famous answer is "their up high". I reply, "Yea way up high, in heaven". Last year the deer hunting was actually pretty good, this year, while elk hunting I have not seen near the mule deer numbers. I'm guessing the winter may have taken more of a toll than before thought and in areas where wolves are found, thats not helping either.
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-26-08 AT 02:06PM (MST)[p]Grizzly,
Check your facts on SE Idaho being "opened" to general deer. If you're talking about units 75/76/78/75, it was always open to general deer but had a cap on Nonresident tags. The only thing that changed was the cap on NR became irrelevant because NR hunters weren't buying the tags and the cap was not being filled, so F&G dropped it because it was pointless. NR weren't buying the tags because that area was slipping in hunt quality each year. In the early 2000's, the fawn doe ratio was about the lowest in the state. No or few fawns equal fewer bucks.

If you're talking about unit 56 going from a controlled to a general hunt in 2004, it was a general hunt up until 1991 when F&G responded to the public wanting more controlled hunts. In short, it didn't work. There were huge bucks in 56 but the controlled rifle rut hunt Nov 10-24th was very hard on those bucks and every few years F&G would have to cut permits.
When it got down to 75 permits, it hardly seemed worth taking keeping an entire unit from the general hunters for 75 permits so they opened it back up which helped the entire region south of the Interstate because it spread the hunters out.

Now that F&G has limited unit 78, you might start seeing more big bucks there, but in several years you will see draw odds below 10% because that is what always happens when we lose a general hunt to a controlled hunt.

Forgive me if I have misunderstood you, but it has always been a general hunt for residents and that is where the bulk of the pressure comes from.


The Christian
 
Christian,

I am referring to the cap on Non-Residents, which was removed. It was capped at 1200 for the 4 units. The southeast region has sold out the last couple of years by late summer, now all 12,000 non-residents can theoretically hunt the three remaining units, as they have made 78 a controlled hunt. It sure seems like there are at least that many people now.

In the last 2 years, we saw a total of 5 groups of hunters in the area we frequent. This year I have seen no less than 100 hunters, including 3 groups that have knowingly started spotting within 50 yards of our location. Any deer would've resulted in a shootout. I don't know if they are residents or non-residents.

Possibly the good weather has kept people in the field longer, or maybe there really is a huge influx of hunters, nobody knows yet.

You probably don't fit this criteria, but when I talk to landowners, they all say that most residents didn't think deer are worth the effort of hiking, so they stay on roads or in fields. We had alot of success by getting into deep areas. Now we are seeing multiple packtrains, large groups of hunters, ATV's and campers all over Southeast Idaho.

I won't be sending my $1000.00 (mine and my wife's tag/license) to Idaho next year. The SE Idaho hunt is no different than Northern Utah now.

Grizzly
 
I just spent 6 days hunting central Idaho for deer and managed to see 1 buck each day and lots of does all on different hillsides. The bucks looked to be 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 year old deer and hung at the ridgetops a few hundred feet above the does and wouldn't leave the trees and rocks and would only be seen by careful glassing. My guess is any thing bigger stayed farther in the edges. Tough to get past the does and hard to find when you finally got up to them. Passed on a 3 point on monday only to take him friday after circling around 6 does and coming up the backside of a ridge and spotting his legs under a tree at 50 yrds. On the other hand saw a picture from a local hunter that shot a 28in 4 point near the road down low where he took a 5 point last year. Also sat up the hill and watched four wheeler after four wheeler go through a dirt crossroad that needed a traffic light or a cop only to see a forkie come out one side of a little patch of timber 50 feet away and start eating 5 minutes later. Next some cows and a good six point bull came out the other side in sight of the road and graze off into the timber. I guess having on camo when you ride your camo wheeler is the way to go cause those animals never knew they were there. yea right!
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-26-08 AT 04:45PM (MST)[p]wsmhunter, I agree with you on every point you made. I understand I can't go out on any given day and bring home a quality deer. I can say, however, I have worked harder this year to try and harvest a deer than I have ever had to before and have yet to see the numbers. I have spent numerous days in the field, (Unit 39), 5-10 miles away from anything resembling a road. For whatever reason, it seems the further away I get, the less deer I see. Maybe it's just my luck, but somethings telling me it's more than that. It is obvious there are fewer numbers of deer this year, but yes I know they are out there somewhere. It is just tough for me to have the drive to continue to put forth as much effort as I have without seeing many deer. Anyways, I am going out wednesday for one last hunt and am going to walk as far as I need to. Hopefully I will have some luck on my side, not necessarily to harvest a deer, but to at least see some bucks so I know they are out there. I am looking forward to late archery season so I am going to be pretty selective because there is nothing better than a late archery hunt with snow on the ground - hopefully we will get some soon.
 
I saw less deer this year in unit 50, 56 and 57 probably due to the poor fawn survival rate and long winter taking a toll on the older deer. I spent a couple of days archery elk hunting in the teton zone and never saw anything but a grizzly, I am going back for the rifle cow elk hunt in a couple weeks and will see if they were just up high on the Wyoming side in Sept.
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Grizzly,
I understand what you mean now. Yes, there is nothing stopping all 12,000 NR deer hunters from hunting the SE region, unless they wisen up like you have.
I agree the hunting is in the tank down there, I just thought you meant it hadn't been a general season before. Good luck in your search. Scouting will show you there are other areas in Idaho that have good bucks outside of the SE.


The Christian
 
Here is something to think about. Idaho had a wet spring and if you watched the seeps up in the mountains they had water in ones that have been dried up for years now had water. So it made the deer be able to stay up high. Yes they where up high. I glassed them up high. They where staying bedded up till 30 mins before dark and not very long after daybreak.
 
Heres somethin I have observed this season on my hunt(45 Bull) My wife and I would be up on the ridge glassing at first possible light, a few times we were looking down at the roads or could see the road at some point in the distance. The main armada of vehicles/atv's would start riding the roads 10-15 minutes before shooting light, and we have yet to run into anybody that had to hike off a trail to get in, they used atv's, I am sure there are people out there hunting hard, and thats why I don't see them, because they're glassin up some place where theres no people which is what we try to do. I know the numbers suck this year, because of the winter for deer, but seeing the activity of the animals with the warmer days, they just are not in place in time. The elk have been goin in the trees within 10-15 minutes of first light when I have seen them except today, I saw a herd which I'm sure was startin to migrate. The bucks have been doin the same, but the does have been stayin out till 0930 or so. If you really wanna watch a road huntin cluster f$^% go relax at the fall creek lodge on Anderson Res. drink some beer and watch all the boners in action. Its very comical
 
Other than the opening weekend its been 70 degrees during the day and sunny.

Not exactly big buck weather.

Combined with higher moisture from the spring which helps water sources and lots of cover from the winter moisture making bucks really really tough to find.
 
NDBOWHUNTER,
What unit do you hunt during the late-season archery hunt? If you don't mind telling, I too hunt the late season, and am looking forward to the hunt due to an unsuccessful general season rifle hunt. I hunt the general season in units 48,49, and 50 and have seen a big decrease in the number of deer.
 
Spent two days in 66 and 66a didnt see a deer. There shooting the crap out of the elk to help the deer but it's going to take a while. PS I wasnt road hunting.
 
How is the hunting over there? I have heard the hunting is good, but have never made it to that unit to hunt myself. I hunt unit 53 during the late season, and have yet to fill a tag there but am hoping it will come together this year. Theres a nice low 180s high 170s buck that I had watched on a weekly basis last year, and am hoping he survived the winter, and the remainder of the hunt. I am a little nervous though, if its anything like the hunting I've experienced in other units I may be having tag soup again this winter.
 
There is a thread on this topic in the IDAHO area which has some additional comments regarding this topic.

I for one, base my observations relative to this year on the general areas I have hunted over the past 20 years. Arguably the number of hunters has increased as has the "access" by motorized ATV's etc. The fact is (in my case), I have hunted many openers on October 5th in 70+ degrees and have seen some good bucks. This year, with snow on the ground and conditions prime for spotting, I saw nothing I cared to even pursue, let alone shoot. I have hunted 3 "go to" spots at different elevations and in different units which all have different influences on their herds (predation, winter kill etc.). My observations this year have been the worst I have seen in the past 10 years---no doubt. I have seen more people going deeper and farther than ever before because they aren't finding deer either.

Perhaps the deer are "up high" or are in the "dark timber" and haven't moved yet. That could be valid, but generally towards the end of the season, at least a few of these bucks get INTERESTED in the does, and begin to move around, only to give the hunters a chance. I have not seen any mature bucks with does and out of our hunting group, only 1 of 6 has taken a deer of any size. This is extrememly abnormal in my opinion.

This is simply an observation from my point of view, but in 3 visits to the local checkstation, the largest deer 2 of the 3 weekends was a 24 inch 4 point. 2-3 of these came out opening weekend out of 700 hunters. Don't know about you, but success at 10% with a mature buck ratio of 3/700, Vegas has better odds.

I do hunt hard, generally atop the ridges well above the pressure at first light or I backpack in to hidey holes. I do the same thing I have done for years because it has normally worked well for me. This year, not so well. The part missing is the mature bucks.

I can't wait to see the season end statistics. I also, hope that anyone who is frustrated at this scenario (those of you who honestly believe there is a problem), attend their local Fish and Game meetings this winter to voice your opinions. In a year when there were articles in the newspaper by a local F&G Biologist stating that "HUNTERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO MAKE SOME TOUGH CHOICES", we saw LONGER seasons in the RUT hunts in the OWYHEES and NOTHING to speak of which would have cut tags or opportunities for 99% of the hunters. It doesn't make sense to me, if the deer didn't winter that well. Maybe there should have been some additional restrictions.

If you have time and care to, please read the posts in the Idaho Forum on this topic. There are more hard hunting mule deer hunters out there who had an overly negative experience this year than those who saw "SH!TL0@d$" of 24+ inch 4 points this year.

I think the trend is apparrent, with the only potential explanation of "they're still out there" coming in the next few weeks as the deer begin to rut and move to their winter grounds.

I say "NOT", but that's my opinion.

Muleybucks
[email protected]
 
muleybucks, if you don't mind me asking, what units have you been hunting this year?
 
It all depends on the weather. Obviously this year is not looking so good, but only time will tell - WE NEED SNOW!!! and Fish and Game to take some initiative about the low numbers of deer. In the past I have seen good numbers, but I niether have taken a deer during archery season. I will keep you posted on how the late season goes for me.
 
The CO I talked to to in 66 is trying to make 66 and 66a controlled to help the herd come back. Nothing like having a 1000 cow elk hunters with a buck tag in there pocket just in case.
 
"The CO I talked to to in 66 is trying to make 66 and 66a controlled to help the herd come back"

Which means that the 1000 hunters who used to hunt 66 and 66a will move to whatever unit is open next door.

Same crap with unit 70 south of Pocatello. Cut tags to 170 and send all the hunters into the neigboring units.

We don't need that kind of management. We need real management based on real numbers. F&G has no idea how many people will hunt an open unit until after their harvest reports are in, and these reports are only as accurate as the guy filling them out.

Trying to manage unit "A" at the expense of unit "B" is a mistake.
 
Just spoke with a biologist with fish and game. She said mule deer numbers are "stable"... What the hell does 'stable' mean?
 
Suspected Definition of STABLE thru IDFG:

Deer herds are not "expanding" due to increased hunting pressure and predation. Deer herds are not "decreasing" in size due to the lack of harvest coming through the checkstations.

Therefore, through the statistical process of deduction, a herd which is neither increasing in size or decreasing in size is apparently considered "STABLE".


muleybucks
 

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