Please review my plan for a DIY Mule Deer Hunt

[tomengineer]

I’m planning a 2020 Mule Deer rifle hunt with OTC General Tags in Idaho. I have reviewed success rates for various units. I have looked at MT, WY and CO regulations/seasons as well. I’m liking Idaho for its lower cost, cooler landscape and the OTC option. We currently have 2 deer points in Wyoming so if anyone thinks I should consider a Wyoming hunt instead please let me know. Ok the general plan is as follows:

1. We are going to fly into Salt Lake City and rent a vehicle. That puts us 4.5 hours south of our hunting area.

2. We plan to hunt the last week of the season October 24-31.

3. We plan to truck camp or get an AirBnb or a combination of the two. The hunting plan would consist solely of day excursions into US Forest service lands.

5. My understanding is Idaho deer tags can also be used for black bear or mountain lion. Please let me know if that’s not the case.

Not looking to be spoon fed information as I’m happy to do my own research. I have dug through the hunt talk forums on this and of course advice is all over the board. If you have any advice or recommendations on any of the above I would appreciate it.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

 

[LCH]

It sounds to me like you've done your research and have a good plan. One thing you might look into is if there are any FS cabins for rent near where you're going to be. Could make a fun camp.

 

[tomengineer]

It sounds to me like you've done your research and have a good plan. One thing you might look into is if there are any FS cabins for rent near where you're going to be. Could make a fun camp.

Ok thanks for the tip I’ll definitely look into that.

 

[tomengineer]

View attachment 125176

Thanks for this.

 

[J_Poiencot]

I have been doing alot of the same research bud and have ALOT of the same questions. How are yall planning on getting the deer, bear or lions home after the hunt?

 

[Pucky Freak]

Sounds like a fun time - enjoy!

 

[tomengineer]

I have been doing alot of the same research bud and have ALOT of the same questions. How are yall planning on getting the deer, bear or lions home after the hunt?

We are trying to figure that one out. As of now I plan to fly back with a cooler of hard frozen meat. Delta will let us fly with racks and skulls. Another $150 for that though. We are looking at freight quotes but then the issue is shipping speed and will it make it back in time and still be edible and without damage to the antlers. We thought about getting elk tags but not until we can drive out there!

 

[LCH]

When I brought my bear back from Alaska this spring, I used collapsible coolers like these:

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

I took the foam out of my rifle case and used these for padding for the flight out there. I filled them with frozen meat and packed my dirty laundry into my rifle case for the flight home. You ought to be able to get a processed deer into two of them pretty easily, they'll hold around 50 lbs apiece.

 

[brymoore]

A couple thoughts.

Fly into Boise. Don’t give Utah any more money than necessary. (Half joke)

Are you ready to hike Idaho’s pretty scenery? If you’ve never hiked steep mountains, you’re in for a surprise.

Otherwise, good luck!

 

[tomengineer]

A couple thoughts.

Fly into Boise. Don’t give Utah any more money than necessary. (Half joke)

Are you ready to hike Idaho’s pretty scenery? If you’ve never hiked steep mountains, you’re in for a surprise.

Otherwise, good luck!

Yeah this is a reservation for me but I'm not sure if I can identify a rolling part of the state that has decent mule deer. I'm sure they are there. The SE part has been suggested but it is also very heavily hunted. We are ready to hike and definitely excited to see the scenery. Although halfway up the mountain I might regret saying that

 

[tomengineer]

When I brought my bear back from Alaska this spring, I used collapsible coolers like these:

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

I took the foam out of my rifle case and used these for padding for the flight out there. I filled them with frozen meat and packed my dirty laundry into my rifle case for the flight home. You ought to be able to get a processed deer into two of them pretty easily, they'll hold around 50 lbs apiece.

Wow great idea, thanks for the input. I'll definitely look into that.

 

[tomengineer]

It sounds to me like you've done your research and have a good plan. One thing you might look into is if there are any FS cabins for rent near where you're going to be. Could make a fun camp.

Follow up. I looked and they are either booked or don't rent during this time of the season unless I'm missing something. Thanks either way for the suggestion.

 

[deer_shooter]

Not sure if your situation but driving takes care of some of your logistics

 

[tomengineer]

Not sure if your situation but driving takes care of some of your logistics

Yes I would love to but I’m in upstate NY so it’s a 28 hour drive. I drove 24 to Wyoming last year and decided this year we’d try flying. If I had two weeks vacation I’d drive so we’ll see.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I have been doing alot of the same research bud and have ALOT of the same questions. How are yall planning on getting the deer, bear or lions home after the hunt?

On my last two trips to AK I have just flown with meat in my carry on. You can get ~ 80lbs of meat on the plan as carryon. Over that volume becomes an issue and then you need to fill a container and check it. If you have a direct flight and access to a freezer a plastic tote is the way to go. Longer flight and no freezer I would go with a cooler and dry ice. You can fly with 5 lbs of dry ice total.

Also flew with a turkey on Southwest from OKC to Denver, that one was stupid easy, ziplock in my rolling bag.

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www.hunttalk.com

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Congrats again @wllm1313 !

www.hunttalk.com

 

[Mainer207]

Yes I would love to but I’m in upstate NY so it’s a 28 hour drive. I drove 24 to Wyoming last year and decided this year we’d try flying. If I had two weeks vacation I’d drive so we’ll see.

What part of upstate? A buddy and I are working on a western hunt plan for 2020 or 2021. Curious to see how your hunt goes and how the logistics play out!

 

[tomengineer]

On my last two trips to AK I have just flown with meat in my carry on. You can get ~ 80lbs of meat on the plan as carryon. Over that volume becomes an issue and then you need to fill a container and check it. If you have a direct flight and access to a freezer a plastic tote is the way to go. Longer flight and no freezer I would go with a cooler and dry ice. You can fly with 5 lbs of dry ice total.

Also flew with a turkey on Southwest from OKC to Denver, that one was stupid easy, ziplock in my rolling bag.

...

.

www.hunttalk.com

...

Congrats again @wllm1313 !

www.hunttalk.com

Ok awesome. I’ll review these are

What part of upstate? A buddy and I are working on a western hunt plan for 2020 or 2021. Curious to see how your hunt goes and how the logistics play out!

I'm down near Binghamton and my buddy is up near Massena. We are both from St. Lawrence County originally. We hunted Wyoming Pronghorn last year. Not sure if you've gone out west before but it was a good place to start. Check out my post here: https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/th...irst-timers-hunting-wyoming-pronghorn.294637/

We'll see how this year goes, research always takes the longest. For Mule Deer it seems Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado are all good choices. We are feeling out logistics now. If we don't fill our tag logistics should be nice and easy lol.

 

[tomengineer]

On my last two trips to AK I have just flown with meat in my carry on. You can get ~ 80lbs of meat on the plan as carryon. Over that volume becomes an issue and then you need to fill a container and check it. If you have a direct flight and access to a freezer a plastic tote is the way to go. Longer flight and no freezer I would go with a cooler and dry ice. You can fly with 5 lbs of dry ice total.

Also flew with a turkey on Southwest from OKC to Denver, that one was stupid easy, ziplock in my rolling bag.

...

.

www.hunttalk.com

...

Congrats again @wllm1313 !

www.hunttalk.com

Awesome thanks for this tip. I just got into work but I'll check out the posts you sent as soon as possible. Any tips on flying with rifles? I've read airline policy but I've also read TSA is notoriously inconsistent in terms of rules.

 

[Dougfirtree]

When I brought my bear back from Alaska this spring, I used collapsible coolers like these:

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Red Suricata Collapsible Cooler Bag - Large Insulated Soft Cooler Bag for 50 Cans - Keeps Cool for 6 Hours - 30L Portable Cooler Bags Insulated – Soft Sided Travel Cooler (Heathered Navy Blue/Grey) : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

I took the foam out of my rifle case and used these for padding for the flight out there. I filled them with frozen meat and packed my dirty laundry into my rifle case for the flight home. You ought to be able to get a processed deer into two of them pretty easily, they'll hold around 50 lbs apiece.

That's funny. Did you get any funny looks when you had to open your rifle case at the airport?