Idaho

[Duck-Slayer]

you don't see alot of deer cuz there all got killed by other hunters before you got there..... Idaho F&G have too sell all these freak'n license's..... need too back up on some of the license's and we would have plenty of game even with the wolve's..... but I am buying too wolf tags.... and I hope they shoot all those f#cking mangy over grown coyotes that don't stop eating.....
Matt

 

[2pointslayr]

Like I stated before I seen nothing but joy riders have never seen another hunter and usually see deer was put to bed both nights by wolves and was followed up the trail by joy riding freaks wearing bright suits

 

[6speed]

I hunt mostly restricted motorized areas so all I see are other hunters. I'm headed in a little further on Friday to try a new spot. I saw a nice 4x4 in the back of a pickup coming out of 43/44 yesterday so there are some around. It seems like you just have to find the hole that doesn't have someone else in it and there will be deer there. The hard part is finding that hole.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Don't get me Wrong I am not saying that all of the deer are dead I am only saying that we had a very tuff winter and it took a toll on Idahos deer. It is not in f&g best interest to publicize how bad the winter kill was.

 

[fowladdict]

I talked to F&G during my early season Archery hunt in the Owyhees and he said that the collared survival rate was 10% in the Weiser zone and 100% in the Owyhee area. Such a huge difference in a fairly short distance.

 

[skooter1329]

elk magnet I believe you are right.....I hunted hard for a solid week in an area that held loads of deer in the past....but must have found at least 15 carcasses from winter kills....got a buddy of mine his first buck a 2 point and to other small three points....but the deer numbers looked to be way down....what few does we did see at least most of them had two fawns....but there were elk everywhere.....

 

[WildThang]

Sacrifice Quality for quantity

Hunted hard for 8 straight days for deer and elk, not road hunting. Based on the last 6 years that I'v hunted this unit in Idaho, this year was down right tough. Scouted the area months before and found plenty of Elk no big bulls but its a general area. Killed my small bull the 3 day and held out for a big buck. In the past no problems seeing small bucks and lots of does, average of 4 bucks a day and 30 does. This year 1 buck a day and 15 does this is glassing hard 4-5 hours a day. My over all opinion is Fish and Game has its work cut out for them in Idaho. I hunted one day with an old buddy that hunted the same unit in the early 80, and the hunting in this unit was a A+ now he would give it a D-. I know we have good potential in this state, I actually saw one of the biggest bucks I'v ever seen this year. I would have no problem sacrificing killing a smaller buck every year for killing a big one every third or fourth year. I am completly convinced Fish and Game knows what they have to do but it might mean less tags sold or less fundage for them.

 

[Doug in Idaho]

The last several winters have been hard on the deer with the most recent really taking its toll on the herds. Reading online forums and talking to people about hunting it seems that the wave of "we need to have everything as a controlled hunt" is growing like crazy. I think we all need to relax a little bit and hope for a few good winters. I've passed up 14 bucks so far this year, with 2 on this past Saturday that I figured would go between 150-160. Still wondering if I should have pulled the trigger on 1 of them but i'm fine eating my tag i guess if I have to. I'm hunting on weekends in massively road hunted general tag areas. In the past 6 years I haven't seen 1 person other than my cousins who I hunt with on a mountain. This is a pretty typical year as far as how many bucks we've been seeing in the areas that we hunt.

I'm not sure what the answer is and I know that the deer numbers are down and hunting is hard but talk to way too many people who have been riding their 4-wheeler all day long without seeing anything crying for controlled hunts and preference points. I would like to see some of the access restricted because the amount of roads and trails open to motorized travel is enormous. We have quit hunting some areas because there new trails on every ridge and literally nowhere that the deer can go to hide without running into another road. I'm hopeful that we have an easy winter for the animals because i'd sure like to see the deer herds recover. I have been seeing more elk everywhere I go. Anyway, not aimed at anybody just wanted to throw in my 2 cents.