Idaho unit 40 and 42

bornhunter

Member
Messages
27
No tag, no license just want to see the country I have heard so much about and maybe spot a nice muley or bull elk. Will be driving through the area tomorrow but have no idea where to go. Anybody have any tips on general areas to go. I think I will start out near riddle and head towards silver city then north along the oregon border. But I dont even know what roads to take. Any guidence would be helpful. I have a BKM map but it doesnt help much. Thanks.
 
You can't go wrong for scenery taking the Mud Flat road from Grandview to Jordan Valley. From JV you could do an out and back to silver City.

Powder
 
Well drove almost all the way to jorden valley. Neat country but are there any animals around. I was thinking about putting in for a deer and/or elk tag next year but we didn't see nutin today. I was told there were some deer on this area and some were big bucks and bulls. I did a lot of glassing too. Maybe I am going blind.
 
Did I not go far enough? All I saw was high desert with juniper or cedars. I missed any quakey draws if there are any. Is there any good timber areas to hunt in 40/42? And in what part of the unit do you see elk? Should I start from the jordan valley side. Any input would be appreciated.
 
If you drove the Mud Flat Road/Juniper Mountain road from Bruneau/Grandview all the way to Jordan Valley, then you drove through some beautiful country, and even right along the edge of some wilderness, but if you were to pull out a map, you would realize that there are backroads that literally go 40-50 miles of off-road 4x4 roads, through multiple wilderness areas, huge deep canyonlands toward the rivers to the south, long stretches of high dessert in the Battle Creek area to the south, Antelelope Ridge/Triangle to the North, thick juniper forests and mountain areas around Juniper Mountain, aspen groves and high country timber around South Mountain etc.

I can tell you that you will find deer where you wouldn't think you would find deer, and certainly you see elk everywhere even when you think it's not 'elk country'. I've seen huge bulls rutting right off the mud flat road near Deep Creek.

Keep in mind the mud flat road in the main artery. If you think about it for a second, why would any nice animals be living right next to the road, when they have been experiences hunting pressure since mid August (archery antelope, archery deer, bird seasons, early elk, etc). Although, I will tell you around Juniper Mountain you can sometimes see deer right off the mud flat road.

ALl of this is to tell you that people like me have spent months of time in this area, but you have to get onto the 4x4 roads to explore and find the honey holes.
 
Well thank you sir. I knew it had to be me not working at it hard enough. If a person draws one of those November buck tags, is it best to plan on 4x4 off main road travel and stay high like off mud flat or do those bucks migrate down lower. Seems a bit early for a true migration unless extreme weather were to hit. Also looks like an RV would be the way to go. Thanks again for the info. The country is really great and I look forward to seeing it again.
 
I wish I had ten left. No, my sun is starting to set. Its a good place to be. Put me into country where the racks grow big is all I need. Taking an animal every time is off my bucket list. Just want to be able to see a few now and then.
 

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos
Back
Top Bottom