Idaho otc regular deer tag

[Mike 338]

I personally think it has to do with all I mentioned, what you added and the simple fact that hunting pressure has simply increased over the years. More people are pushing farther in and hunting harder, which is great! That's why a guy needs a draw hunt I guess to have an opportunity at a good buck.

I wouldn't say folks are pushing farther in. More out of stater's maybe but the last couple years, I spiked way in (9 days and 5 days) and never saw a buck even though I hunted hard. Hardly saw another person either. I'm sure if I put more pre-season effort into it, things would be better but they're definitely not just standing there waiting for me to put them out of their misery.

 

[bgbuck153]

.....More out of staters, Maybe you should see if trump will build a "WALL" around your beloved hunting grounds. Unreal

 

[hunter67wa]

A lot of pressure in the Bighorns as well and yes the animals move to private. I seen three 200" plus deer not in the Bighorns but on large ranches when the rut was on. When the out of staters leave and the pressure falls then the locals go hunting many dont want to take a chance on the weather and will hunt early. Now I dont have a problem with OOS I have met some great folks, until they start doing stupid things like driving there ATV wherever they please and trespassing on ranches and saying oh I didn't know 5 miles onto a ranch!

 

[Mike 338]

.....More out of staters, Maybe you should see if trump will build a "WALL" around your beloved hunting grounds. Unreal

Uhhh, I sense some disapproval.

That statement wasn't an indictment of any type but rather an observation. By my count, about 40% of the vehicles I see driving past my camp in the wilderness area are from out of state. I'd say that qualifies as a layman's survey. Don't get your panties in a bind. Out of stater's are as welcome as me so long as we all follow the rules.

 

[Tuffcountry]

From my state or outside my state, those who are welcome are true sportsman. Ones who not only follow and obey the laws but go beyond that with courtesy and respect for there fellow hunters. To me it has nothing to do with what state your from! I have meet people in the field who are from my state, who have no right or business being there. I have meet people from out of state that I now call true friends. I hold little value as to what state you hail from, but more of your character.

 

[26Reload]

A situation that happens in idaho is the overlap of deer season and first season rifle elk.....
First couple days of deer season I saw only a few people in a particular area(just an area near end of road..which there are roads allover this particular area)....but mid week before elk season these same areas have become the cruising area for the scouting vehicles...be lucky to not hear them from down inside the encircled timber and brush piles....while inside the timber areas stalking/hunting whatever i might find I always find time to adjust movement to the roar of the trucks exhaust to help cover noise...
Works for me....just never seems to be the critter i hoped to find...but I had hopes of the monster being there...andi know some still elude me....
But yes....out of staters are plentiful in that area....and others areas I have talked with locals that say the same....
It is life and times......JUST ENJOY WHAT THERE IS REMAINING...
next presidency may end all hunting.....

 

[Battering Ram]

Idaho is a terriable state and that should be enough to say "don't come hunt here"! Utah is was better! the deer are here, but you just have to look for the units that people don't hunt in very much to find some good bucks in. It's getting harder, but they are there. On X maps is a god send because to many land owners around here like to claim they own a road or some property that they really don't. I guess if we as land owners and we as hunters all did the right thing every time then we wouldn't need a mapping system like On X. Personally I love that system, because it does help me skirt some sketchy stuff. I don't mind all the out of staters coming in to much, because most of them do t get off their ATV's and hike. Occasionally though one or two will be in a spot to mess up a plan I've had, but then there is always tomorrow.

 

[bgbuck153]

My panties aren't in a bunch I'm just making fun of the locals that are blaming us for they're issues. I've hunted Idaho for several years now and I've meet locals breaking the law and the locals helping us however they can. Us outsiders aren't complaining about the locals that road hunt because they don't like the adventure of hunting outside the burn of the road. I've helped locals as well. I've feed an entire restaurant staff backstraps of my elk that I killed just because I'm that kind of guy. Might be Going out on a limb here but I'd guess some of the local complainers have traveled outside of they're state to hunt or fish on that states locals hunting/fishing grounds. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. If you feel they'res too much hunting pressure by out of staters then find another spot as it should be easier since your a LOCAL.

 

[Dell]

This last year I hunted Idaho regular season for Muleys. Granted I basically shot from the hip so we packed in a fashion that we could move quickly from area to area. I figured it would be fairly tuff going in blind but that was an understatement!! We hunted 5 different units and covered great country and came up with all young bucks in 12 days. Is this state going down hill too? Are the Mule deer initiatives not working? Is it a case of too many predators? I was disappointed to say the least and left with my tag.

Any thoughts?

 

[TheLongRanger83702]

I haven't wasted my time hunting public land since 2006. Unit 36 was dynamite back in the 90's. The reintroduction of wolves "fixed" that. I heard the same thing happened in many other parts of Idaho. Stupid a55 environmentalists.

 

[Mike 338]

My panties aren't in a bunch I'm just making fun of the locals that are blaming us for they're issues. I've hunted Idaho for several years now and I've meet locals breaking the law and the locals helping us however they can. Us outsiders aren't complaining about the locals that road hunt because they don't like the adventure of hunting outside the burn of the road. I've helped locals as well. I've feed an entire restaurant staff backstraps of my elk that I killed just because I'm that kind of guy. Might be Going out on a limb here but I'd guess some of the local complainers have traveled outside of they're state to hunt or fish on that states locals hunting/fishing grounds. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. If you feel they'res too much hunting pressure by out of staters then find another spot as it should be easier since your a LOCAL.

Odd... sounded like your comment was directed towards me. If you read the interplay between me and the OP, you may note my post was specifying "who" was in the woods yet it didn't seem like more people. Just different people. Additionally, I also noted that where I was, there was hardly anybody. It's a bit of a reach to interpret that as me (a local) complaining. What's "unreal" is a guy besmirching a local, whom by all appearances, you regard as ignorant, because he made a simple observation and that observation somehow triggered some repressed insecurity. Couldn't help but notice you found a way to make it political. Might give that a rest too.

It's unnecessary to "make fun of the locals". Commenting on tourists is a local right and pastime anyplace you travel. I get it the moment I leave my own county but I'm a little less thin-skinned about it. Thanks for the backstraps. That and $15 worth of trinkets will buy you Manhattan.

 

[Bdog35]

This last year I hunted Idaho regular season for Muleys. Granted I basically shot from the hip so we packed in a fashion that we could move quickly from area to area. I figured it would be fairly tuff going in blind but that was an understatement!! We hunted 5 different units and covered great country and came up with all young bucks in 12 days. Is this state going down hill too? Are the Mule deer initiatives not working? Is it a case of too many predators? I was disappointed to say the least and left with my tag.

Any thoughts?

Welcome to the club, it's tough going up there the hard winters don't help, I've hunted it twice in the last 5 years and it's getting worse.

 

[Dell]

Really, really, bad winter a couple years ago. Idaho F&G had posted numbers on projected winter kill and survival rates and they were not good. I'm not sure what units you were hunting but it was pretty bad all over. The last I heard it may take 3-5 years for recovery IF the winters are normal ones. Hang in there. The deer numbers will be back. I've hunted Idaho for the past 8 years and have taken some nice deer. Good on you for taking the chance on a new place! I bet you saw some awesome country and have an idea where to go if you try Idaho again. This buck was taken in Idaho the season after the bad winter. Overall deer numbers were way down but there were a few big ones that survived the prior winter.

 

[FIGJAM]

Welcome to the club, it's tough going up there the hard winters don't help, I've hunted it twice in the last 5 years and it's getting worse.

I am a local and it is getting worse - like it or not, pressure from significantly more out of staters is partially to blame. Every other truck I see out in the field has out of state tags. Between them and the wolves it has been harder to find the big ones, or even let them grow to be big. I know a lot of locals who will pass on a young buck and let him mature. I see more out of staters with young 2 and 3 points in the back of the truck, probably that they shot off the side of the road - I am guessing they just want to shoot something for all of the expense they have into the hunts...with tough winters and hunters willing to shoot young bucks, its tough to find a big one...