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Idaho Mule Deer Hunt 2018

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JesseHTX

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I am going to be hunting Idaho for mule deer in my first out of state hunt next year. are there any tips you guys can give me on locating animals and being successful i have good glass and gear so im not worried about that just the methods of hunting them in general.


Thanks in advance.
 
Totally depends on where you are planning to hunt, and what part of the season. We hunted general season along the rivers and pines for my brother, then hunted the desert in the late season for my draw tag.

Where are you planning to get into?
 
You may be picking a rough time to come to Idaho to hunt mule deer. The winter last year killed deer. The extent varies by region. I know guys who saw good numbers in some units but most reports reflect a downturn. I’ll be interested to review success rates by unit once released. I’d hate to see you spend money to hunt during a downturn in numbers. Others states (not WY) didn’t experience the rough winter.

Elk, however, are doing great in Idaho. Come shoot one of them.
 
Probably over by the Idaho Montana border up by Missoula, i obviously want to harvest but im 21 and in college just trying to get out there an learn. Aug 15- 24th is the dates we are going.
 
im going to apply in utah as well first and use idaho as my back up most likely but want to make the trip if possible. thanks for the info though i appreciate that !!!
 
I'm not sure there are any hunts for mule deer open in that country on those dates. That said the country you are looking at is some really tough country to find mule deer in even when the season is open.
 
TheTone said:
I'm not sure there are any hunts for mule deer open in that country on those dates. That said the country you are looking at is some really tough country to find mule deer in even when the season is open.
Click to expand...

according to go hunt 36A and that area is open during that time

idaho mule deer draw odds.jpg
 
Good luck. That’s a draw tag with one tag available for NRs. You could just plan on hunting the August 30 opener...
 
I guess I didn't consider any of those being close to Missoula. Good luck with whatever you decide to try for
 
Any area towards the eastern side of the state south of the main salmon WILL be tough, we had a record winter in 2016-2017 which really trimmed the herds back. Success rates for all seasons were low, like way less than 20% overall in some areas, which historically were in the 35% plus success rate. Obviously some great bucks were taken, but it is going to take a few years for it to recover to the quality it was in the fall of 2016. I saw 5 bucks while actively hunting this past season and I took the 5th and best buck I saw in 8 days of hunting. In 2016 I missed a 200 plus inch typical on the second morning of season, and passed an additional 10 respectable bucks (130ish to 160ish), and too many little bucks to count trying to find him again. Bear in mind I hunt in the mule deer strong hold in the south east corner of the state. It was a sobering realization of just how hard the winter was. I do not want you to think that I am trying to scare you off from coming to our great state, in fact I applaud you going out to different areas to experience hunting and fulfilling your dreams and goals, but it isn't what it was a year ago and it will be a bit until it returns. That being said if you hunt smart and hard you will have a crack at something, may not be a true monster, but for myself I often find the experience is the true trophy.
 
Last edited:
gus_270 said:
Any area towards the eastern side of the state south of the main salmon WILL be tough, we had a record winter in 2016-2017 which really trimmed the herds back. Success rates for all seasons were low, like way less than 20% overall in some areas, which historically were in the 35% plus success rate. Obviously some great bucks were taken, but it is going to take a few years for it to recover to the quality it was in the fall of 2016. I saw 5 bucks while actively hunting this past season and I took the 5th and best buck I saw in 8 days of hunting. In 2016 I missed a 200 plus inch typical on the second morning of season, and passed an additional 10 respectable bucks (130ish to 160ish), and too many little bucks to count trying to find him again. Bear in mind I hunt in the mule deer strong hold in the south east corner of the state. It was a sobering realization of just how hard the winter was. I do not want you to think that I am trying to scare you off from coming to our great state, in fact I applaud you going out to different areas to experience hunting and fulfilling your dreams and goals, but it isn't what it was a year ago and it will be a bit until it returns. That being said if you hunt smart and hard you will have a crack at something, may not be a true monster, but for myself I often find the experience is the true trophy.
Click to expand...

Sad but true
 
Fall of 2016 was great. Fall 2017 was the polar opposite. I hunted hard for 10 days this year and I was only able to turn up 8 bucks, when in years past ide see 5 bucks on a bad day. I ate both of my tags. It'll be a decade before its back to what it was in 2016. That goes for SE region, South Central and Weiser region. There were a couple bright spots (bright when comparing it to the rest of the state) around, but it would take a lot of scouting and research to find an area with some decent deer numbers. I never found an area with decent hunting. Do yourself a favor and focus on Elk.
 
No, I am friends with and have worked with our regions population biologist. He and I talked about it a few weeks ago.
 
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