Idaho Unit 52 Primitive Muzzleloader Hunt

[idahobowhunter]

I just spent some time hunting Idaho's unit 52 primitive muzzleloader hunt and was wondering if any of you had done the same and what you thought of the hunt. I felt there were too many permits for the area ( over 300 in about 250 square miles ) and the hunters were concentrated in mostly one area which bordered on private ground with little or no access, which seemed to just force the deer onto ground that was not accessable. The landowners became quite frustrated with the intrusion and the hunters were frustrated with the density of hunters in the area. I personally excused myself from the concentration of hunters on the Picabo range and sought less conspicuous terrain. I ended up shooting a buck on the last day but it was not the buck I hoped I would take. I guess I just hoped for more of a "Quality" hunt and not the crowded scenario that played out. I still had fun but I think it could have been a truly wonderful hunt with opportunitys to be more choosy if a cap on hunters had been placed. ( It was an unlimited quota draw ). Let me know what you thought if you hunted there.
Idahobowhunter

 

[fairchase]

LAST EDITED ON Nov-13-04 AT 10:49PM (MST)[p]idahobowhunter,
When IDFG took away the only unlimited muzzleloader Mule Deer hunt in Idaho, lots of muzzleloading hunters were quite upset and rightly so. Yes, the old hunting area was getting more crowded every year and decent bucks were becoming just a dream, so some changes were indeed needed. When F&G asked for impute from muzzleloader hunters and nobody showed up but the good old boys from the traditional longrifle club, so the replacement hunt was deemed as a traditional only hunt. Regardless of your personal weapon preference, the inline guys have no organization or voice in this state and because of that they lost big time?enough said.

Next, F&G told anyone who would listen about this great new late unlimited muzzleloader hunt in unit 52. 52 is a real trophy unit with no general season and a controlled rifle hunt that is highly prized and extremely tough to draw with some real bruisers taken over the years. After hearing that news, guys were really getting excited, buying roundball rifles and scouting the unit.
Then the 2004 regulations came out and the chit really hit the fan because without telling anybody F&G set this hunt up to include only a very small portion of unit 52. First, they created a big buzz about it only to stick everybody in the worst part of the unit. Not to mention the new hunt area is no bigger than the old, overcrowded area and it has even worse trophy potential,in my opinion. To make this long story a little shorter IDF&G screwed all muzzleloading hunters, inline and traditional guys alike.
About this time myself and everybody I know were really pissed. We'd call the Magic Valley F&G office and the local biologists and CO?s would tell us that it's gonna be a high quality hunt with good potential, so we put in for the tag and start spending gas money scouting. Well, after a few trips and hundreds of dollars down the gas tank it became very clear that F&G was not telling the truth, again! Like you mentioned this is a small area with lots of private property and one of the areas wintering hotspots was burnt to the ground in August of 03? and hasn't been used by deer since. Also, a landowner in the center of this area was really mad about this hunt taking place in his neck of the woods and he started trying to close the public road that runs into his ranch. Saying that all the people are going to bother his horses.
Now it's like September, and when we'd call the Magic Valley office and tell them the facts about their hunt their story would start to break down a little, heck my buddy pressed the issues about this crappy hunt and in response the C.O. just laughed. He finally said "We just need some deer taken out of this area and the traditional hunters are the most likely to shoot the first deer they can, regardless of size or sex." So now we finally have the motive behind all the half-truths, exaggerations and outright lies. They want a depredation hunt, and behind all the B.S. that's all they gave us.

I never did buy this tag because of this whole experience. I sure hope I am wrong about this hunt, but besides your report I haven't heard anything. My friends and I all choose to hunt elsewhere. Congratulations on your deer. I am glad you made the best of your time afield.

Greg

 

[idahobowhunter]

Thank You for your input, Greg. I am interested in hearing from anyone else that has any experience with this particular hunt, or any suggestions on what should be done to make it work. The IDFG says that this will be a "rotating hunt" with the hunt taking place in a different unit each year for 3 years, ending up again in unit 52 in 2007. Talk of unit 53 next year or unit 47, then unit 45 again and just keep rotating if the plan works. I think we can expect quite a bit of input from the landowners in unit 52 and the IDFG might just bag the hunt if it seems like too much trouble.
Let me know what You think.......

 

[Lowlandmulies]

Greg
Sounds like you hit the nail on the head. They took the the only decent hunt for muzzleloaders and turned it into a land owner hate hunters ordeal. As far as the F&G wanting input, myself and a few others did protest this going to a traditional hunt, to no avail. The Fish and Game does not listen to the public, they have their minds made up before the public even gets to here about the issues. It was the region supervisor David Parish, We met with him and even gave him literature on tradition vs. modern muzzleloaders. He had his mind made up! No facts, just his personal beliefs. This is the kind of stuff that happens when you put a fish guy in charge of wildlife.

As far as the people that i know that hunted down their most of them where trophy hunting. They did hunt the same place that everyone else was concentrated. They did come out with some decent bucks. one thirty incher, one 180 class buck, and a few others in the 170 range. There is some talk of a couple of bucks that were harvested in the 210 to 215 range, but their is know proof of this yet.

Robert, Congrats on your buck! As far as a rotating hunt, can you imagine how many hunters will put in for a November hunt in unit 45. I imagine there will to be anywhere from 800 to 1000 hunters put in for it. Talk about a mess the Fish and Game is going to have on their hands then. I can't see them bringing an unlimited hunt back into 45 that goes until the 9th of Nov. It would defeat the whole purpose for taking it out of 45 in the first place. Just my ten cents worth.

Steve