Idaho otc regular deer tag

[Dell]

Sorry guys, I screwed up the picture of the buck taken in Idaho the year after the way bad winter. Deer numbers were way down. I mean like way down. Idaho F&G estimated a 90% fawn and yearling winter kill rate in the unit we were hunting. My partner shot this buck after several dry days and many miles of humping. No road hunting on this deal. Tuff way to go but if you put in the hump miles and mix in a little luck you can find em.

 

[Damien75]

As an Idaho resident there have been many factors to the decrease in large mile deer bucks. The first one is predation. The reintroduction of the the wolves, the growing number of cats and black bears. The second is no restrictions on the size of bucks taken. It seems as if every kid's first deer is a spike or forky buck. Now, I'm not saying it's just the kids doing that because many men/women take them too. I have no problems with the kids taking small bucks but older hunters that should know better just dont care. These buck simply don't have a chance to get mature and be the bucks all of us would dream of taking. I've been lucky and have taken a few but have stopped hunting them because of these reasons. I can honestly say that the last big buck I've seen was the last one I shot and that was over 12 years ago. Idaho F&G have terrible management practices in my opinion but what do I know...i only spend 200 days in the woods a year.

 

[broomd]

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

What an outrageous, ignorant posting. Good lord.

 

[broomd]

Sorry guys, I screwed up the picture of the buck taken in Idaho the year after the way bad winter. Deer numbers were way down. I mean like way down. Idaho F&G estimated a 90% fawn and yearling winter kill rate in the unit we were hunting. My partner shot this buck after several dry days and many miles of humping. No road hunting on this deal. Tuff way to go but if you put in the hump miles and mix in a little luck you can find em.

That'll help things...lol.

 

[Elkhunter007]

Where there are little one's there are big one's. Fact. Yes there is a decline in numbers, it just means hunt smarter not harder.

 

[IDn8tiv]

I've lived and hunted in Idaho my entire life. I used to see big deer and elk everywhere I went, but that has changed. The wolves and recent weather have definitely been a huge driving factor in game populations as all reports will tell you. The biggest problem I have seen the past few years is accessible public land drying up. 10 years ago I could talk to any property owner and gain permission to "pass through" private ground to access the public. Now, good luck getting permission to retrieve game on private ground. We in Idaho lost approximately 40,000 acres of accessible land in two different units due to the sale of private property to out of state developers. Just last season I talked to more than 30 people in my normal hunt area alone that have been cutoff from their usual spots. I've spoken with BLM, NFS, as well as F&G. They all report that that the previously accessible land lockup as well as increased pressure in most other areas have been the cause of low harvest numbers lately. The winter of 2016/2017 showed huge numbers of winter kill and changes in migration patterns. Quite simply, the game have adapted to the environment and moved on to less stressful habitat. If you hunt within 5 miles of a road, good luck seeing anything that falls into the "shooter" category. I now spend a full day packing in just to be secluded. The old "jump in the car and drive to your spot" days are long gone. As with any area, do your homework, scout preseason, and take advantage of the resources available. It takes a lot more work to be successful now than in the past. Just my 2 cents.

 

[thomasbangs]

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?

 

[Mike 338]

Where there are little one's there are big one's. Fact. Yes there is a decline in numbers, it just means hunt smarter not harder.

Well, that's probably good advice because because the alternative is... well, nothing.

 

[26Reload]

"Where there are little one's there are big one's. Fact. Yes there is a decline in numbers, it just means hunt smarter not harder".....

Elkhunter007....i can't quite agree with your words of wisdom here....it has been found with elk that if the older bulls are killed off or moved from area that the younger bulls will step in to try to take care of the situation...as I have seen a lot of this in young bulls and young bucks chasing does, I bet many of you have seen the same....
Just because breeding is taking place doesn't mean that 'older mature buck's are present'....
I know as well....i chased tail many years as a youngster............lol...

 

[thomasbangs]

If you think the Mule Deer hunting has went down hill, elk and moose is even worse. I live in the Panhandle so I primarily hunt Whitetails and elk. Hunting pressure has probably doubled or maybe even tripled in the last 10 years not to mention the predators, wolves, cougars, and bears. My oldest son and one of his buddies came out to archery hunt elk the last 10 days of September this past year although I had done extensive scouting throughout the summer we weren't prepared for all the pressure even though we also had the wolves to contend with. This was in Unit 4. Another son that lives in Boise told me that the IDF&G has said that Unit 39 north of Boise is the most heavily hunted unit in the state, that would be Mule Deer country. While there are pockets and areas that probably still have fairly good hunting , if I were a non resident looking for a quality DIY hunt for the animals mentioned, Idaho would be pretty far down on my list.

 

[Elk Hunter 338]

Well, that's probably good advice because because the alternative is... well, nothing.

The post saying this actually makes me laugh "where there's little ones there's big ones" this is hilarious!!!

 

[FIGJAM]

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.

You sound like you might be a better fit for utah or colorado...or wyoming or montana or new mexico

 

[Wyomingmike]

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

There really isn't any more pressure from non residents, I don't think Idaho sells out on their deer tags

 

[Racemike]

I started hunting Idaho in 1992 used to go to montana more, and I didn't Hunt last 2 years but did notice a change in amount of game you see in the last 10 years. I had mule deer tag and in area I was in saw a lot of whitetail even up to 4500 ft did get a decent muley and my son did also. I noticed that since wolf's have been introduced and have been building numbers game in montana up by the divide on boarder of Idaho seemed less especially deer more then elk. I remember seeing there tracks following the elk in the snow and hearing them in 1991 and thought wow how cool, now it's like you see them and hear them all the time. I think idaho has been found out as a great place to hunt, and live there which is sad in a way because it used to get passed on for Montana, Wyoming, Colorado. I know last time I hunted outside of salmon went to end of trail head and it was like a parking lot and at least 10 camps, never went back changed areas I hunt.