Crowds

I have thought for a long time that there needs to be a draw on archery. Not an unlimited one either. There are so many guys and their success is getting higher all the time.
 
Where have you been too D6? I rarely see any other hunters during archery seasons, even during late archery in 39, I drive by many other hunters parked but rarely see anyone else while out hunting
 
I've been deer hunting 31 and 22 . Road hunters everywhere and lots of hunters well off the beaten path. Seems like most of them are elk hunters, calling like crazy all day
 
LAST EDITED ON Sep-04-16 AT 04:09PM (MST)[p]Gets more people towards the end when the rut fires up. Look for spots away from the crowds. You can get away from people in those units.
 
The place I have been going is crazy busy. in 6 years I have talked to two hunters while out hunting. this year in 1 morning I talked to 3? who knows maybe coincidence.
 
I made a graph of the number of hunters and success over the last 10 years on excel while bored at work. Some units have double or tripled in hunters and some have even dropped in half. So just depends where you are.
 
>I have thought for a long
>time that there needs to
>be a draw on archery.
>Not an unlimited one either.
>There are so many guys
>and their success is getting
>higher all the time.


Maybe it's getting time for, "Choose your weapon", in Idaho?
 
Welcome to unit 31 Nope gets worst like one of the guys said when the heat drops & the bulls start bugling more & more people head out. I went up Friday for an afternoon/evening hunt coming out I passed 27 rigs heading in all but 3 of them were 1A or 2C plates !! I did a quick check a few months back on unit 22 23 & 31 for # of hunters versus harvest !! Unit 31 in 2010 had 344 hunters 2015 had 560 !! I am betting this year it tops 600 hunters !!
 
They made it easier to get an archery license last year and I have noticed the number of hunters seems to have increased last year and again this year.

The last thing we needed was a bunch of people who were not into archery enough to take a class to go buy a bow and permit and think they are an archer.

Justin
 
31 is one that tripled. I'm in it now I've seen two hunters over 3 days. But I'm also 2.5 hours of hiking in just to get close to where elk are and not on roads
 
31 HAS to be one of the most crowded units in the state. Last year, a camp host told me he had 28 rigs from Homedale in his campground for the entire season. Every flat spot in that zone had a trailer parked. Guys have told me that they have had approaching elk shot out from under them. And yet, there is something like 28% success (don't remember the exact number). I do know that you can get away from guys, but then that's tough country to hunt.

Choose your weapon would certainly change the dynamics of hunting in Idaho, though I am not really for it. Residents who can take advantage of multiple seasons love no restrictions. Single weapon guys want restrictions. Doubt many residents hunt more than one season.
 
Just got to get away from the roads. I've hunted there for years and we have yet to talk to another hunter. We have seen other hunters from a distance, but normally its while we are hiking in and a mile or two before we get to our glassing point. Overall the harvest rate for archery hunters in Idaho has roughly stayed the same. Archery success is so low that it as little to no effect on the overall elk herd. Idaho has done great managing there game herds. Remember they manage for the wildlife, not the comfort of the hunter. Just be grateful you live in a state with those wildlife numbers and the opportunity to hunt every year.
 
My experience has been that most of the hunters rarely get more than a few hundred yards off the road. If you go in 1 mile you leave 90% of the hunters behind. 2 miles and you will rarely see another hunter. If you want to see elk get off the road and hunt. Hike in the dark and stay all day. There are a lot of elk in Idaho!
 
I personally don't think they should make us choose our weapon for deer, between work and family it is already tough enough to find time to make it into the woods. I like the flexibility of being able to hunt multiple seasons and honestly I rarely see other hunters other than driving to and from hunting areas. If I do see another hunter out and about I know they have just as much right and have worked just as hard to be there as I have and since most of my hunting is during archery season the people that are willing to work that hard I know are usually the kind who aren't going to put much pressure on the animals anyway
 
Hiked from 6, 000ft to 7,800, 3-4 miles in. Set up camp. Saw 1bull moose (70 yds), 2 cow elk (35 and 60 yds), 1 spike (15 yds), 1 5x5 (30 yds) and 1 6x6 twice (55yds and 90 yds) in six days.

Only saw people (3 hunters together 500+ yds) once for a few seconds.

Get far enough away and animal #s go up and people numbers go WAY DOWN. At least that's my experience.
 
I totally agree with this, hiking in a ways will reduce the number of hunters. But I take it a step further and tend to hunt the units that aren't popular too. The ID F&G posts the hunter numbers every year for every unit and every species. Its easy to see which units have lots of hunters and which have few. There are less animals in some of the units but they are still there, plus no competition from others.

>Hiked from 6, 000ft to 7,800,
>3-4 miles in. Set
>up camp. Saw 1bull moose
>(70 yds), 2 cow elk
>(35 and 60 yds), 1
>spike (15 yds), 1 5x5
>(30 yds) and 1 6x6
>twice (55yds and 90 yds)
>in six days.
>
>Only saw people (3 hunters together
>500+ yds) once for a
>few seconds.
>
>Get far enough away and animal
>#s go up and people
>numbers go WAY DOWN.
>At least that's my experience.
>
 
Very true statement !! I am guessing since the highest peak in 31 is Sturgill at 7589 your hunting & talking about a different unit . I saw a post on here about hiking a couple of miles from the road & not seeing any hunters . There are very few places in 31 that a person can hike more than a mile without crossing a road . I know of a few places but they also get more pressure !! when you look at the # of hunter I am guessing this year there are over 600 archery elk tags sold for this unit !!
 
>I personally don't think they should
>make us choose our weapon
>for deer, between work and
>family it is already tough
>enough to find time to
>make it into the woods.
>I like the flexibility of
>being able to hunt multiple
>seasons

I would also like to have my cake and eat it too.
Unfortunately I feel it's going to get to a point where choose your weapon is better than overcrowding. I feel we are very close.
Justin
 
True, I purposely picked 67 because it isn't a high percentage or super popular unit with lots of road (mostly wilderness), which helps ensure I was able to avoid "crowds".

It's also OTC and being out of state, I could plan on having a tag, without having to worry about a draw...
 
Worse thing the state could do is Choose Your Weapon. Spent 15 years in Washington State and the last 4 years in Virginia. Moving to Idaho in a couple of months. CYW pits each user group against each other, creates competition for areas and time in the field. Eventually archers lose out as they have no political clout since they are the smallest user group. Then you will get to the point where traditionalist will complain about sharing the woods with the modern compound guys and you'll have more infighting. Trust me it is a horrible idea, just look next door. Archery guys no longer hunt during any decent times and they have them all crammed into a few areas which means they are still over crowded. Horrible idea, I hope they never do it.
 
Amen. If you don't want to hunt with the crowds get a mile from your 4 wheeler or truck. I rarely see any other hunters over a mile from a road or trail
 

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