Ok, I'm new here, and I always feel kind of jerky when I jump onto a forum and start asking questions without any contribution, but here goes anyways...
Currently I am holding 3 Idaho hunt tags; a cow elk tag for unit 39-2 (Hunt 2101), a general deer tag, and a beer tag. Hadn't really ever considered bear, but a friend of mine mentioned that I should get one just in case I saw one. He said that he had tried the meat and it was actually pretty good. I had always heard that bear meat was not good and so I never would have considered it. He said that he had heard the same but tried some and it was pretty good, so I got a tag, just in case I saw one.
So my cow elk hunt started on Oct. 5th. I went camping up past Placerville for 3 days. We hiked, drove, sat and tried to spot something, but my friend that got the same tag with me, and I, had absolutely no luck. There were tracks everywhere up there, So I have no doubt that they were around.
Then, once deer season had started, I drove up to the top past Hulls Gulch and hike around in there in search of game to take. I swear I walked real slow and quiet as can be. No luck.
Yesterday I got up real early and drove up through Idaho City and took the road that goes to New Centerville quite a few miles in, until I found some ATV trails, and hiked them until about noon, it was a little foggy at some points, but I saw nothing there. Then I jumped back into the truck, drove over to Blacks Creek and hiked up and over the motorcycle trail hill that starts at that parking area that has the toilet/outhouse, on the north side of the peak. I realize that they were probably bedded down by the time I got to BC.
Anyhow, I have been hunting for 5 years now, and have only taken a single deer, out towards Mountain Home area.
I will admit, I wasn't out there opening day and haven't done any scouting. This may very well be the cause of my disappointment. But I am not sure.
My friend that told me about the bear has been telling me that I need to go beyond the first mountain, and to climb a second one, beyond where most people would go, and that is where I will find game to take. To me that means 4-5 hours of hiking, and I don't have horses or an ATV, so then getting the game out would be horrendous.
Is that what I am missing with this deal? Do I need to hike 3K-5K ft. up and down mountains in order to really find game to take? I am really at a loss. Any suggestions will be totally appreciated.
BTW: I am just an average-Joe and have a family and whatnot, and thus don't have an ATV, nor do I have a spotting scope. I do have a Winchester Model 70, 30-06, from the 1970's. It shoots great, and I have a Vortex CrossFire II 6-18x44 on it. I have a pair of Vortex Talon HD 10x42 Binoculars. I just bought a Bushnell The Truth Rangefinder, seems pretty low end for rifle hunting, but seems to do OK. Sometimes I wear camo, sometimes I wear a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. I have a backpack that I carry with a fairly extensive first-aid/survival kit (Just in case sh..).
I would really like to be a successful hunter, what am I not doing? Or, what am I doing wrong? At this point I feel like I am really sucking at this. Please help!
Currently I am holding 3 Idaho hunt tags; a cow elk tag for unit 39-2 (Hunt 2101), a general deer tag, and a beer tag. Hadn't really ever considered bear, but a friend of mine mentioned that I should get one just in case I saw one. He said that he had tried the meat and it was actually pretty good. I had always heard that bear meat was not good and so I never would have considered it. He said that he had heard the same but tried some and it was pretty good, so I got a tag, just in case I saw one.
So my cow elk hunt started on Oct. 5th. I went camping up past Placerville for 3 days. We hiked, drove, sat and tried to spot something, but my friend that got the same tag with me, and I, had absolutely no luck. There were tracks everywhere up there, So I have no doubt that they were around.
Then, once deer season had started, I drove up to the top past Hulls Gulch and hike around in there in search of game to take. I swear I walked real slow and quiet as can be. No luck.
Yesterday I got up real early and drove up through Idaho City and took the road that goes to New Centerville quite a few miles in, until I found some ATV trails, and hiked them until about noon, it was a little foggy at some points, but I saw nothing there. Then I jumped back into the truck, drove over to Blacks Creek and hiked up and over the motorcycle trail hill that starts at that parking area that has the toilet/outhouse, on the north side of the peak. I realize that they were probably bedded down by the time I got to BC.
Anyhow, I have been hunting for 5 years now, and have only taken a single deer, out towards Mountain Home area.
I will admit, I wasn't out there opening day and haven't done any scouting. This may very well be the cause of my disappointment. But I am not sure.
My friend that told me about the bear has been telling me that I need to go beyond the first mountain, and to climb a second one, beyond where most people would go, and that is where I will find game to take. To me that means 4-5 hours of hiking, and I don't have horses or an ATV, so then getting the game out would be horrendous.
Is that what I am missing with this deal? Do I need to hike 3K-5K ft. up and down mountains in order to really find game to take? I am really at a loss. Any suggestions will be totally appreciated.
BTW: I am just an average-Joe and have a family and whatnot, and thus don't have an ATV, nor do I have a spotting scope. I do have a Winchester Model 70, 30-06, from the 1970's. It shoots great, and I have a Vortex CrossFire II 6-18x44 on it. I have a pair of Vortex Talon HD 10x42 Binoculars. I just bought a Bushnell The Truth Rangefinder, seems pretty low end for rifle hunting, but seems to do OK. Sometimes I wear camo, sometimes I wear a pair of jeans and a tee-shirt. I have a backpack that I carry with a fairly extensive first-aid/survival kit (Just in case sh..).
I would really like to be a successful hunter, what am I not doing? Or, what am I doing wrong? At this point I feel like I am really sucking at this. Please help!