Middle Fork - Airstrips?

[reebok]

Does anyone have some insight as to which air strip in 20A would be the best strip to get dropped into for the September elk season? Cold Meadows? Chamberlain Basin? Soldier Bar?? We are going to get dropped off, hike and set camp..

How busy are these strips for hunters??

McCall Avaiation seems to be helpful.

Is this a bad idea? Any help would greatly be appreciated!!

Thank you in advance for your input.

Reebok

 

[BigHornRam]

Reebok,

What kind of elk hunt are you looking for? What happened to the horse idea?

I've only been to Soldier Bar. It is low elevation and you will have to climb to hunt elk from there. At least if you get an elk the pack will be mostly down hill. I met a few elk hunters in there, and they all covered a lot of miles to get an elk. One got a bull and the others took cows. You also have to cross Big Creek right off the bat. No bridge and waist deep.

 

[reebok]

BHR,
Thanks for the reply:

We are not looking for a guided elk hunt. The horse idea?? Well, McCall Aviation gave me the idea of a flyin to Chamberlain Basin Airstrip. He said that the folks that came out of there last year were about 100% with filling their tags. That is why I posted the questions here, is to find out.. I don't want to hunt where there are going to be a lot of people.... Chamberlain airstrip is at 5700 ft. and Cold Meadows is at 7000 ft. I heard that Cold Meadows is a burn area.. I thought that might be a good area to hunt??? Between Colod Meadows and Chamberlain is Root Ranch. I heard that the hunting at Root Ranch is really good. Cold Meadows is not too far from Root Ranch.

The horses, well we didn't know about packing in and if there was enough feed forage for them. We set up portable electric fences for them. I guess McCall Aviation kind of sold us on the idea of flying into Chamberlain Airstrip.

We are planning on having them fly us into there this summer to scout things out. Any help on this area would greatly be appreciated. I just don't want to fly-in, get dropped off in September and have it be a bad area, then not being mobile enough to get into the elk on foot.

 

[BigHornRam]

Any of these areas you mention you will have competion from outfitters. They take a lot of hunters in these areas and move around with horses from there. It is big country however, and the rougher the terrain the less the competion. You are right about available horse feed being a problem. Most people pack in feed...messing with horses is a lot of work and limits you in some ways as well. If you got one guy that likes to mess with horses and be a full time wrangler, then that would be differnt. I'd rather hunt then mess with horses myself, but if you get an elk down in that country, they are worth their weight in gold.

I was also curious as to what kind of hunt you expect. Is a cow ok? Bulls are harder to come by if your hunting near an outfitted area since they get alot of pressure all season long. A couple racks I saw at the Challis airport that came out of Chamberlain were both 6 point and about the size of an average mule deer rack. They were small and were taken with an outfitter.

 

[reebok]

BHR,

Thanks for the info! What are a lot of hunters. It is big country! We are strictly horn hunting. They do not have to be monsters, but we do want to be in elk!!!!!!! If we hunt all week and don't see anything, that would be bad..... "I know the feeling". I would probably not shoot an elk with a mule deer rack, unless it was on the last day... Is that expecting too much. Just would like the chance to hunt hard and have an opportunity at a decent bull.... (between a mule deer rack and a 300 pt bull.

 

[bulldown]

Reebok,
I flew into the Root Ranch in 2003. Our hunt was from October 1-5. I had already taken a bull with my bow but joined family and friends on the "back country" hunt for the experience. It was a great experience but the elk were far from plentiful. Each morning we woke up at 4:00am. Made a sack lunch, ate breakfast and took off on "at least" a 3 hour horseback ride. I invisioned elk being all around the ranch but that was just a fantasy. We did get into a few elk and killed one cow but out of 7 hunters, only one flash of a bull was spotted in the timber. That is 5 days of covering a lot of country in the rut.

Not to open a can of worms but this area does have a wolf problem. In fact a wolf was spotted on the runway while we were there. Another 3 were spotted the week before chasing two 5 point bulls across a side hill and they ended up taking down one of them.

This was my first time hunting in the Frank Church Wilderness area so I am no expert on how the elk react to the wolves. But, I didn't hear a single bugle while I was there. 20-30 miles south where I was archery hunting, the elk were bugling like crazy and yes, there are wolves there too.

A few more statistics; The group of 5 guys who were there the week before us only saw 4 elk in their 5 days. The two bulls getting chased down by the wolves and two cows.

The group of 8 that were there on September 15 found a nice herd and killed 4 bulls and 3 cows out of the same herd. Probably a big reason why we didn't see anything

That's my two cents worth. But hey, the country is beautiful. I just wouldn't recommend the Root Ranch area.

Good luck
bulldown

 

[reebok]

Bulldown,
Thank you for the information.... That does not sound good! I've heard about the wolves. Your archery tag - what unit (if you want to share)? I assume it was earlier when you were archery hunting, that could explain a little, but the later seasons from Root Ranch don't sound good. What about bear? Did you see many bear? Was thinking about getting a bear tag also.......
Thanks for your time!!!!

 

[BigHornRam]

Here's a story I heard from an outfitter in that country that happened a few years ago. He had to put a horse down and didn't have time to get it away from the trail. He came back a couple days later to finish the job, and found a bear and wolf side by side feeding on the carcuss. That would have been something to see! Reebok, maybe you can get a bear tag and a wolf tag!

 

[bulldown]

I archery hunt the McCall zone which covers a lot of area. I think that year I was corned closer to the S. Fork of the Salmon in unit 19a which is just south of 20a about 20-30 miles as a crow flies.

I have had a lot of luck with active elk in this zone over opening weekend and even more luck over the 3rd weekend in September. The last two bulls I took were on September 19th.

As far as bears and wolves..... Definitely buy a bear tag. We did take a bear while I was at the RR. And there are plenty of bears in the McCall Zone. I think I saw 6 or 7 last year in September.

No wolf tag needed in Idaho...Just follow the three basic rules

Shoot
Shovel
and
Shutup! J/J but not really.....

bulldown

 

[Moosie]

but not really ....

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

I was corned closer to the S. Fork of the Salmon in unit 19a which is just south of 20a about 20-30 miles as a crow flies. Bulldown, was Moosie on this hunt?

 

[bulldown]

Ha ha. Where's the proof read button on this thread???

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

bulldown, You must be a Good Sportsman!!!!

 

[BrianID]

If you want to hunt bears I would recomend buying a deer tag instead of a bear tag. A nonresident deer tag is good for bears, lions or deer as long as there is an open season for deer and the species on the dates you plan on hunting. If you are going to be there during the rut hunt for elk this would be a good idea. You might want to read about the details on this yourself. Here's a link to the 2004 regs. http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/hunt/rules/bg/deergen.pdf
Look at the bottom right hand corner of page 18 for info about using the deer tag as a bear/lion tag. The 2005 regs should be online in mid or late April. There is not quota for nonresident deer tags in that area so I wouldn't rush into buying one.

 

[YourRoyalHighness]

Reebok,

Here is a picture of Soldier Bar... Gives you an idea of the surrounding country.

There is also a short video of a "bumpy" landing into Soldier
http://www.flyidaho.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=SoldierBar

Good luck.

 

[reebok]

YourRoyalHighness:

Thanks for the pic of Soldier Bar.. I have seen that video of the landing....

 

[reebok]

BrianID:

Good idea! That would be a great way to go. I will check into the deer tag..
Thanks!

 

[reebok]

Bulldown:
Good information. That is what I wanted to hear. I have a lot to learn about Idaho hunting. Looking forward to it. The people on this site are quite helpful!!! This site is a great resource! My appreciation to "Hunttalk"!!!

reebok

 

[reebok]

BHR:

Interesting? I don't know what I would do if I were put in that situation??

Here's a story I heard from an outfitter in that country that happened a few years ago. He had to put a horse down and didn't have time to get it away from the trail. He came back a couple days later to finish the job, and found a bear and wolf side by side feeding on the carcuss. That would have been something to see! Reebok, maybe you can get a bear tag and a wolf tag!

 

[reebok]

Soaking up and researching information, I would like to know what you all think of flying in vs. jetboating in? Bear in mind that we are going to set a base camp, then spke out from there. And we are going in September to either 20a or 26.
Flying:
Pros:
- you are already higher and don't have to climb as much.
Cons:
- maybe more crowded at the airstrips
Jetboat:
Pros:
- less crowded in the area that would be hunted?????
- Packing animals from spike camp to base camp would be downhill mostly
Cons:
- Base camp would be low and would have to climb up all the time

We are trying to get in shape as much as possible. We don't mind working hard. I just wonder what would be your thougts on flying (Cold Meadows or Cabin Creek) vs. jetboating into 20a or 26...........

Saying from the movie "Short Circuit". "More input"

thanks

Reebok from South Dakota.