I'm goin to Idaho next year!?!

[King Fisher]

I hear all these stories about the Elk hunting in Idaho. If I don't get my preference next year, I'm huntin in Idaho. We saw a couple 6X6's in our unit this year, but it was on a spike hunt. What is the best way to get connected out there without paying for a guided trip. Does anyone hunt out there and need an extra person.I just want to get my first elk and not worry about how many points to watch for.

[id. painter]

King fisher ,, I hunt here.
My first advice would be to put in for a draw hunt . There are many that would be good to get .
If you dont get drawn , then you go to general hunts. the general hunts are set up so that the wilderness areas that are very tough to get to have long liberal seasons .ie, start in mid Sept and run thru the mid. or end of November.
The other hunts are the units with road access , these hunts are in mid October and run for a couple weeks. The units in north Idaho are very thick brush even in a clear cut because of the Alder brush. But there are more elk than the southern units and you can very easily get away from the crowds by hunting the timber.Not the clear cuts.
For years my brother and friends killed elk in North Idaho , lots of them.
Personally I prefer the hunts in South Idaho, you get the spot and stalk . Or better yet you get to see the views that the high country has to offer. You are young and climbing to 10,000 ft . wont hurt you like it does me now. I would put in for unit 50,58,36, 36-A, 59. bull tag and if you get a tag call me and Ill point you in the right direction.If you dont get drawn start thinking about a hunt around Moscow , Elk city , Grangeville , there are some good hunts around Salmon also. Just trying to help. id. painter

[Bait O' Eggs]

I tried a week long elk hunt near salmon a few years ago. Got a tag and went blind (short of looking at topo maps) The ground didnt look like I thought it would, We couldnt find open enough ground as we ended up in a lot of timber for the most part. We were slightly south and west of Salmon for the most part. It took a couple days to find some ground we liked the looks of. We didnt talk to a single hunter who had seen an elk, and they were all blaming the wolves

We finally found a few small groups of cows, and near the last day we found a nice big 6x6 that disappeared like a ghost in the forest :depressed: before we could get to him.

It was a lot of fun and my first out of state hunt. I learned plenty about hunting new ground sight unseen.

We finally found some nice bucks to chase North of Salmon, after giving up on elk, but got a little concerned when we walked into a camp that I am sure was part of some clan of hillbillies living in the woods. These people had gotten these school buses back up this draw somehow and were living out of them. From the looks of the place they had been there a few years. We were walking down a creek trying to find a road after a long hunt, these people asked if we had any alchohol on us as we walked by, when we said no, they got on foot and started to follow us for about 100 yards. :shocked: They could have been protecting a plantation for all I know, but I was a bit wierded out having visions of a skinhead militia group, and we all worked out bolts on our guns when these people started to follow us down the trail. :shocked: It was just way to wierd of a situation to be in.

I saw lots of goats, probably 3 or 4 a day which was a new experience and a lot of fun to watch these patches of snow move around the high rocks.

We should have done more legwork before we went, but we didnt know anybody who had been there in the past for a reference. My buddie talked to a goverment official and they directed us to this drainage which was a bust for the most part. We did stop at a bar one night and bought a few beers for some locals and asked a lot of questions, it was the next day we started to find some elk I remember a taxidermied moose head in that bar with large elk antlers mounted on the head, one of those things you double take when you see it.

Good luck.

[Hanapa'a Time]

id.

Got a couple of questions.
My Dad and I are planning on elk hunting with his friend, who grew up in Challis, and hunts a day horse pack in from there. From the maps it looks like units 36 or 36B are the ones??
Are these general or draw units??
What are the season dates??

Might have more questions later.

Thanks in advance, Kurt

[The Overfishin Condition]

A couple years ago we hunted around Elk City, we did a scouting trip before, and didn't see too much, just country that didn't look quite the way we expected. I think we were somewhat nailed down to that general area by the tag we had. Didn't see too much, on the first day of the season my uncle realized he'd left his tag at home, couldn't hunt that day, had to spend a couple days tracking down a gamie, and the day they replaced his tag he shot a spike out of a small herd. Dad and I never saw an elk, and though we were planning to spend a week there, five days through the trip snow started piling up high enough that we drove out early, not wanting to spend the winter there. In the fresh snow dad and I didn't cut any tracks, but my uncle said he saw a big set of bull tracks walking right in ours! He must've only been 20 minutes behind us. Lots of HUGE sign there, just didn't see many elk. I would suggest buying a deer tag too, saw some dandy bucks, and lots more deer than elk.

[shawn2010]

You should look into idaho, but if you go one state farther you have montana, and wyoming is pretty close also, I am putting in for elk in Arizona unit 1 or 3c, and Montana for deer area #500, just a thought. My friends dad hunts idaho every year for whitetail. he gets one every year but known size to them, probably where he is hunting is the reason for that.

[Beer Waggin]

From what I've heard, the gamies over there are full of info. When my buddy moved over there several years ago, he got hooked up the first year. He gets an elk every year (if he wishes) and bucks too.
He packs in for his hunts, so he's about a days hike from the nearest trail head. (Actually he doesn't use the trail head, he figures it's faster to just go in a straight line)
He also spends multiple weekends scouting, so he does his homework. He has tents, sleeping bags and therm-a-rests that prove he sleeps with bears.

[Grip It-N-Rip It]

o.k. here is what you do. Look on your internet and find ID fish and Game in Boise. They will help you with the units and hunt days. Then you figure what unit you want to hunt and they will give you the phone number for the area office. They will give you general information. It is not there job to pin point animals for you. They will help you with herd numbers and what kind of animals you can find. Next you can call the forrestry dept in the area and they ususally have good maps of travel areas. You cant go just anywhere you want on quads or rigs. IDFandG has maps also.
If you need further help get a hold of me I have the number somewhere and I am sure I still have this years synopsis I would be glad to help with what I can.