Idaho Mule/Whitetail Fall Gun, First Time

[ColtDaMan]

Hi yall' just recently made a thread asking for elk hunting direction but I realized I am super late to the draw of June 5th and the units I was planning on are already sold. This is kind of spur of the moment so I am switching the harvest of my first out-west trip to be either whitetail or mule deer. I am from Wisconsin and have hunted most of my life (22yrs old) shooting whitetail and want to be challenged with a change of hunt and scenery. I am in decent physical shape for the hunt with a bit more tuning before I leave.

I am just looking for a little guidance or a push in the right direction of what units would be the best, I have been looking at the Salmon Zones 21, 28, 29, 30, 36, but feel like if I am going for either(whitetail or mule) to try bit further north based on density maps I have been looking at. I have been looking at maps either on Idaho's Website zoning map they have, and using onX hunt/google earth to get a judge on the terrain.
I think for my first time I should probably find a hotel close and hike in, wouldn't turn down backpacking either.

I have been googling and reading so much info in the last couple days and just want to talk to some real people on what would be the best course of action.

Thanks!

 

[Pucky Freak]

I am just looking for a little guidance or a push in the right direction of what units would be the best

I have been googling and reading so much info in the last couple days and just want to talk to some real people on what would be the best course of action.

You'll notice that virtually all units in Western states have hunters. This means that someone, somewhere out there, thinks that the unit they picked to hunt was the "best." The beauty of this is, there are more amazing public land hunting opportunities in ID than you will have time to hunt in your entire lifetime. The best advice I can give you is come up with 6-8 criteria of what you'd like in a hunt, and then make a short list of units that match up with those criteria. Pick one and go. The worst possible outcome is that you have an expensive camping or hiking trip in some amazing scenery.

 

[JLS]

If you’re after whitetail, go north of the Lochsa.

Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. It might take you a trip where you just go and wing it and learn what you don’t know.

Edit: I would pick one species and focus on that. Also, if you stay at a hotel I think you’ll find you spend way too much time driving. I’d truck camp if I were you.

 

[Sawtooth]

Get in great shape. Idaho mountains are for real and a lot of great hunters from the east miss out on opportunities in the Mountain west because after a day of hiking the "hills" they need two days to recover. If conditioning is a problem, whitetail up north might be a better first hunt experience. If you do chose to chase some muleys, forget about the hotel and truck camp like JLS suggests and be ready to hike in a mile or two off the road each day to increase your chance of success.

 

[JLS]

Get in great shape. Idaho mountains are for real.

Truer words were never spoken.

 

[ignorethefringes]

I agree to pick either mule deer or whitetail and focus on that species. Your tag is still good for either if you run across one. Focus on enjoying the scenery and getting up away from the roads, but not necessarily miles and miles back in there. A lot of guys will just ride the roads hoping to spot a buck. There are a lot of deer to be had in many areas of the state, just set realistic expectations about what you're willing to shoot and have a good time. Spend enough time up there and you'll get a chance at a deer.

 

[marshman]

Narrow down an area, I would suggest perhaps North of Whitebird - Grainger do your e scouting and contact the area game biologist, The folks at IDFG have been quite helpful to me.

 

[elkrchr]

Wherever you decide to go in Idaho, please buy a wolf tag and remember you can use your deer tag on a cougar or bear. Idaho is a great state with lots of opportunity, just pick a spot and use this initial trip as a learning experience. I highly recommend either truck or tent camping to eliminate all the driving. Be prepared for any kind of weather, from sunny and hot to cold and snowy (sometimes lots of snow).

 

[Scarey]

Wherever you decide to go in Idaho, please buy a wolf tag and remember you can use your deer tag on a cougar or bear. Idaho is a great state with lots of opportunity, just pick a spot and use this initial trip as a learning experience. I highly recommend either truck or tent camping to eliminate all the driving. Be prepared for any kind of weather, from sunny and hot to cold and snowy (sometimes lots of snow).

In order to take a bear or cougar the season must be open for that animal. Deer season runs later than most other hunts here, pick and choose when you want to hunt. If you are just after deer you might want to either show up early before they have been pushed hard, Ooorrr you can come later in the season and hunt the rut. I always tended to like hunting the rut, but bear season was closed last time I got my Non res tags. Other than that I think the rest of the group has told you everything you need to know.

 

[bobbydean]

Impressed with the advice. Probably the most friendly and helpful advice thread to a new member. Thanks guys, I like these kind of posts.

 

[riv3rbanks]

I went on my first mule deer hunt in central Idaho last year. I did much of my research on GoHunt, IDFG, and forums. A lot of good information out there as far as hunt success rates, estimated deer populations, etc. Pick a couple units and don't go driving all over the dang state. The roads in some of those units are extremely rough and take much longer to get where you are going if you decide to switch units midway thru a hunt. No matter how much scouting I did on OnX and Google Earth, it didn't paint an accurate picture of the steepness of those mountains. If you are doing an OTC hunt try and find a unit where the dates run later (late October - Early November) as this will likely be closer to the rut. Hunt the higher elevations as the mature deer are still up in their summer range. Most of the hunters in the units we were hunting were after Elk so don't be too discouraged if you see some trucks where you are planning on hunting. You won't have to walk in far to get away from the competition as many of the locals typically just glass from their vehicles and the road. Pay attention to trail signs and don't go down any "jeep" or "atv" trails in your car or truck lol. Most importantly, glass your ass off. It'll save ya a lot of walking in those hellish mountains.

 

[ColtDaMan]

All of you have been super helpful in giving me good info and pointers to go off of thank you guys so much. Glad to have just joined the community! Defiantly a lot of info to take it.

 

[Sawtooth]

All we ask in return is to let us know how your hunt went regardless of success. A few pictures of your trip are always appreciated. Good luck, have fun, and be safe.

 

[ColtDaMan]

Super late because I completely forgot about this post but I'll still post some stuff. Hunted mostly around the Ketchum Area, and to the South East towards the beginning of the Sawtooth. All in all that year I counted about 25ish Mule Deer Does. Wasn't even able to spot a buck. I remember hearing a lot about winter kill.

Fairly close to Ketchum and up into the mountains we probably went a little bit too high but saw a nice 5x5 Elk and about 12 cows. Elk was at about 250yards. Go figure when you don't have an elk tag.

Again near Ketchum manged to see a Black Bear about 2miles in from a camp ground close to the road. Wasn't able to close the distance in legal shooting light.

The trip was a huge eye opener about how rugged and how tough one has to be for Idaho. To any one that sees this post again there was my update. Only about 3yrs late We didn't really know what we were doing but we had fun doing it!

 

[ColtDaMan]

Will also add that since then I have not been back to Idaho. Just adding points and Whitetail hunting in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Did Nebraska Muzzleloader last 2 years just because it isnt a 21hr trip.

I am planning on a Idaho spring Bear very last minute. Since the areas I was in opened to Reduced Tags I just might make the trip back.

All of you were still extremely helpful with advice regardless of outcome and again I thank each of you.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

Super late because I completely forgot about this post but I'll still post some stuff. Hunted mostly around the Ketchum Area, and to the South East towards the beginning of the Sawtooth. All in all that year I counted about 25ish Mule Deer Does. Wasn't even able to spot a buck. I remember hearing a lot about winter kill.

Fairly close to Ketchum and up into the mountains we probably went a little bit too high but saw a nice 5x5 Elk and about 12 cows. Elk was at about 250yards. Go figure when you don't have an elk tag.

Again near Ketchum manged to see a Black Bear about 2miles in from a camp ground close to the road. Wasn't able to close the distance in legal shooting light.

The trip was a huge eye opener about how rugged and how tough one has to be for Idaho. To any one that sees this post again there was my update. Only about 3yrs late We didn't really know what we were doing but we had fun doing it!

 

[Huntin' Fool]

You camped in my backyard!

Elk numbers have been increasing as mule deer have been on a long term decline. Still some very nice bucks killed in recent years.

January - March of 2017 we had heavy snow and cold, trimmed the deer numbers back some.

Hunter harvest stats show slight drop in elk and mule deer harvested in 2021, significant drop in white-tailed deer due to disease outbreak

Despite deer and elk harvest numbers dropping across the board, numbers have shown to be relatively on track with historic 10-year averages for mule deer and elk. White-tailed deer, however, didn’t fare as well in 2021. As anticipated, the number of white-tailed deer dropped significantly, a...

idfg.idaho.gov

 

[ColtDaMan]

You camped in my backyard!

Elk numbers have been increasing as mule deer have been on a long term decline. Still some very nice bucks killed in recent years.

January - March of 2017 we had heavy snow and cold, trimmed the deer numbers back some.

Hunter harvest stats show slight drop in elk and mule deer harvested in 2021, significant drop in white-tailed deer due to disease outbreak

Despite deer and elk harvest numbers dropping across the board, numbers have shown to be relatively on track with historic 10-year averages for mule deer and elk. White-tailed deer, however, didn’t fare as well in 2021. As anticipated, the number of white-tailed deer dropped significantly, a...

idfg.idaho.gov

I actually ended up staying at the High Country Motel the last 2 nights because temps were dipping into the negatives at night and defiantly wasn't prepared for that after already getting my ass kicked all week. You are very lucky to live in such a beautiful place, I don't want to be one of those evil implants flocking to Idaho but damn does your state make it hard to not do after visiting once.

 

[Sisu64]

Those units can be tough hunts, really rugged but there are animals in there, just have to put in the miles. Also manage expectations before going. Would any buck be a trouphy or would you rather hold out for a rare bigger buck and chance going home empty and still feel happy? Neither is wrong, it’s about what you’d find most enjoyable.

 

[44hunter45]

All those Sat photos of Idaho are obviously taken from above. You need to see this country from the bottom to appreciate how steep it is.