2018 Idaho elk hunt

Hello Folks,

after an unsuccessful and frustrating archery season in our home state of Utah, my brother and I decided that it is time for a change of scenery and possibly success rates as Utah's general season elk hunting feels lacking to say the least. We are looking to go up to Idaho next year as the archery season dates are amazing compared to Utah's and it's not too far from home to be able to do scouting and multiple trips during the hunt. We don't have much interest in hunting where grizzly bears are present, wolves won't phase us. After researching like crazy we thought we had it narrowed down to the pioneer zone and my wife and I went and explored it this last weekend and boy is it steep! we went due east of sun valley and went down some spur roads that were off of the main road. So this leads me to my questions, are we way in over our heads to hunt this area? We are more than happy to hike whatever it takes to get into the elk or bivy camp but I sure saw a lot of horse trailers parked at trail heads. It seems like odd country over there as there aren't as many trees as we are used to and is quite open. The other area we are looking at is the diamond creek zone, I've read that the pressure over there is terrible but I haven't heard anything as far as pressure goes for the pioneer zone. The diamond creek area seems a lot more like the type of country we are used to so it feels more "elky" but according to the Idaho management report, the herd is far far larger in pioneer. I'm not looking for honey holes by any means just some tips or pointers on elk hunting in Idaho and if we are on the right track or if we should looks elsewhere as far as zones go. While a trophy bull is always the goal, we are more than happy to even just get into the elk and be able to chase them around.

I would recommend the Clearwater zone

As a good old Idaho boy, I'm obligated to tell you that southeast Idaho is terrible for hunting, fishing, camping, ATV riding, etc., especially if you're from Utah, so you should probably stay in Utah with your weak beer. On the other hand, I can't blame you for using public lands and I don't like being ignorant with decent people; most of my extended family is in Utah, but I have to harass them some. I spend a lot of time in the Diamond Creek zone for both hunting and fly fishing. I was deer hunting in Unit 76 this past weekend, and while I saw some deer (nothing to shoot unfortunately), I saw more elk. When my cow hunt starts later this month, it will be the opposite situation, I'm sure. You're sure to get mean-mugged by some of the locals (yet they'd give you the shirt of their back if you needed it), but you can certainly get into some animals. The Diamond Creek elk zone is a relatively big one, so there is plenty of land to hunt. There are lots of roads and trails, and a fair amount of private land, which can be a good and bad thing. Yes, there is a lot of pressure (all you damn Utahns, ha ha), but you can use it to your advantage.

I concur on the Pioneer zone, that is steep country, and definitely not my style; I struggle enough with Caribou County...I always am hiking my tail off looking for something with antlers and thinking I should be fishing or tying flies and drinking whiskey. I hear there are lots of elk around Sun Valley in the Pioneers, but I've never hunted there. More food for thought: lots of elk up around Mackay and Challis, though that's a long haul from Utah. Some of that gets pretty steep too. Whatever you decide, best of luck.