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Isn't this kind of like asking where's your " POT OF GOLD"!!! I just want a little bit!!!
The best kept secerts of the Idaho woods, where's the Elk, Deer, Huckleberries & Mushrooms. If you find a person willing to tell you their spot, it's probably not there spot!!!
46 miles up boise river middle fork road on the left will be a campsite up the little hill there and 2 ridges to the right are great spots. only tell cause I moved and can't use it anymore. Filled my elk and deer tag there 5 years in a row
Actually in all fairness unless you are willing to kill someone over your hunting spot, there is no "Your hunting spot". When all the outfitters came over to my hunting spot from Montana and used the trails I cut in for me and my horses, I really could not do a thing about it. I have been pushed out of almost every hunting spot I have ever hunted. I can't count all the camps that I got together only to show up and see a trailer parked or a tent put up. I used to spend a lot of time hunting now I don't, I am afraid of getting shot by all the people I see running around now that don't have a clue... Come on up and enjoy the party. Everyone else did...
The mountains are tough up North and Central (unit 11/Riggins and McCall areas). If you want to shoot a trophy animal, you better put in your time anywhere in Idaho, but especially up North. My hunting partner started running half marathons to train for the fall hunting season. This is tough country. Bring good glass, and be able to shoot off hand in tough spots. Out of state tags aren't cheap either. You'd be hard pressed to find a tree stand as well. If you want to shoot the "big one" you'll have to strap on your pack and lace up your boots. You can get lucky, but that's exactly what it is... luck. Texas hunters get crushed up here with the stamina needed. I won't tell anyone where to hunt, but I will tell you how to hunt... your butt off. Good luck all.
What he said!!!
There is good hunting all over the state, it depends on what you want to focus on. Elk populations are down in many areas due to wolf reintroduction (and behavior has been changed), but they are still around. As another poster said, N. Id is steep and heavily timbered. Those archery videos you see, with open stands of birch and nice rolling meadows? They weren't filmed here.
The northernmost part of the state (say Sandpoint and North) probably doesn't have quite the elk population of areas in the CDA ranger district, the St. Joe or the Clearwater. We do have moose coming out the ying-yang, we run into them pretty much every day elk hunting, as well as at home. They're cool animals, but almost a nuisance. Northernmost ID has good whitetail and decent mule deer numbers.
My understanding is like others have posted, that central and southern ID are more open. South and southeast ID are where you'll find proghorn.
For birds, we have a lot of waterfowl, grouse and turkey in N. ID. I think central and southern areas will have more pheasant.
BTW, elk HUNTING isn't he tough part, it's packing the SOB uphill through brush for a few miles that gets tough. Toughest work I've ever done. We've gotten into many places where we retreated from due to the difficulty of retrieving game. I ain't as young as I used to be.
I was drawn for a moose tag this year in unit 12-6. I am trying to find out any information anyone has on the area before I start my scouting trips. Has anyone here been in the area? Thanks for any help!
While it seems like Idaho and Montana have much larger range and many more corridors for wildlife, looks like an awful-lot of restrictions. Here in Florida they don't seem to be as stringent on harvest numbers as they do there- but then again maybe I need to read this season's regulations. Any insight? Anyone there have trouble keeping their freezers full?
Idaho has so much wildlife that it's regulations may look strange to folks from other places. An example in S. Idaho is the attempt to re-establish the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, a native species. They are not extinct or protected, but they lost ground steadily for over 100 years to the non-native rainbow trout, which was introduced. Rainbow restrictions were lifted a few years ago, and they became an all you can catch year-round game fish. (I don't know if they still are, but haven't heard anything about changing this.)
There are places where hunting and fishing are much more restricted than others, due to similar considerations, and places where game populations are so high that regulations are relaxed to thin down the herds. It all depends on the fish, game, and the hunting districts.
The distances out here are vast, so hunting can be a more expensive proposition than in Florida, and the big game hunts are becoming more unpredictable due to environmental factors- dry vs. wet years, lack or wealth of high browse, and many others. Even so, most avid outdoor sportsmen don't have any problem bringing home game and fish. Non-game hunts for bear, lion, bighorns, etc. are more restricted than the game species.
The type of weapons selected for hunting also has differing regulations. We have black-powder hunters, bow hunters, and falconers here, and they all have different regulations and seasons.
The mountains are tough up North and Central (unit 11/Riggins and McCall areas). If you want to shoot a trophy animal, you better put in your time anywhere in Idaho, but especially up North. My hunting partner started running half marathons to train for the fall hunting season. This is tough country. Bring good glass, and be able to shoot off hand in tough spots. Out of state tags aren't cheap either. You'd be hard pressed to find a tree stand as well. If you want to shoot the "big one" you'll have to strap on your pack and lace up your boots. You can get lucky, but that's exactly what it is... luck. Texas hunters get crushed up here with the stamina needed. I won't tell anyone where to hunt, but I will tell you how to hunt... your butt off. Good luck all.
The same is true with the South. While there is more open space down here, the mountainous terrain is as steep and rugged as it is in Central Idaho- there just isn't as much of it.
Working out beforehand is a very wise suggestion. There are always a batch of old fat guys who have heart attacks in the middle of nowhere out here every year during hunting season.
what towns in southern Idaho would be good to retire for good bird hunting re. sharp-tail grouse, pheasant, quail, ducks ?
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Moose Hunting
