Idaho Deer Non-resident Draw Odds Question

[Len Backus]

What are the chances of a non-resident drawing a deer tag in Idaho?

Is there much good public land that is accessible without packing in for deer hunting in the state?

 

[Buffalobob]

For a nonresident there is no draw for regular deer tags nor elk tags. Idaho has two firearms seasons for deer. The first one is about Oct 8 - Oct 30 and you can kill any buck, whitetail or mule deer. The second season is whitetail only and is up in the Pahhandle. It is this season that Shawn Carlock and/or his dad normally kill a big deer. You can hunt both seasons but only take one deer.

The rut in Idaho begins about Nov 1. In other words it begins right when the first season ends and all the bad weather begins.

There are some big deer in Idaho but they are like big deer everywhere when they are up in the summer range. Hard to find and harder to kill. I have never hunted the late season for whitetails and when I go to Idaho I do not really hunt deer. I have killed enough deer in my life that I really just concentrate on elk. Because my daughter really wanted to kill a deer I forsook the elk hunting this year and we put in an effort get her a deer (that wasn't standing in the road).

There is a tremendous amount of public land in Idaho. There is so much that it is really sensory overload.

Dick also hunts deer in Idaho sometimes.

 

[Levi]

Len,

There are many oppertunities to hunt dear in my state with out having to pack in. As far as draw odds it really depends on the unit that you are looking at. Remember, Idaho does not have any prefrence pionts and the odds are truely dependent on the number of people that are applying for the specific unit. You can find draw odds on the Idaho Fish and Game website.

I hope this helps,

Levi
P.S. let me know if you need some guidence.

 

[Shawn Carlock]

Len,

If you want to hunt whitetails up in the panhandle drop me an email. You just buy a tag, go to your spot, shoot a big whitetailgun), easy right?

 

[Levi]

Shawn Carlock,

I have had nothing but problems trying to find somewhere to hunt whitetails. I have spent alot of time hunting around the riggins country and have had some succsess, but there is alot of people and not that many good deer. Last week my father and I went up around Lewiston and hunted some access yes ground and there was more boot tracks than there was deer tracks. I have taken a few trips to look arounf the orfino area but it is so brushy that you cant see fifty yards. there is also a tremendous amount of private land that limits the amount of ground that you could hunt. I am just looking for a place that is not over run with people where a guy can have a chance at killing a diecent meat buck every year.

I am not looking to hunt your honey holes I was just wondering if you could give me some giudence.

Thank you,
Levi

 

[screech]

Hey Shawn how was your year? I hunted around the Orofino, Nez perce, Waha, Peck, Weippe area and we all had a hard time finding much this year. I think out of the total week I was home for hunting we found like 9 white tail bucks and a hand full of does. Im not saying Im a proffesional hunter but normally I pass up more bucks in a day than I saw all week. How was your hunting, was your year fairly normal or was it slow?

 

[Shawn Carlock]

It was a slow year this year, not totally unsuccessful but slow. I would look at the Potlatch ground and pay the moderate trespass fee to hunt their ground. There is fair amount of BLM ground around in drainage areas bordering farm ground these areas are smokin hot most of the time. My dad spent a total of 13 minutes hunting this year before shooting his 1020 yard buck.

 

[soren]

Are wolves much of a problem in the panhandle yet?

 

[linksmechanic]

I'd have to say it's more than wolves. Hard winter, huge people pressure all combines to make a tough year.

 

[Len Backus]

We had a very hard winter last year with about 100 inches of snow...6th highest on record. And the rut timing was less helpful than normal.

As a result our whitetail kill was down 20%.

 

[soren]

Thank you for the info.

 

[royinidaho]

Len,

You can shoot something with horns, though some times very small horns, about any time you wish in idaho.


Making a long range harvest is another story. It really limits shot opportunities. Walk and stalk is more productive shot wise, but they are very long walks at times which multiplies the effort of retrieval. Which is OK but not easy.

Ambush/hide hunting is way more enjoyable. When, if ever, a shot opportunity arises the odds of success are greater.

Where opportunities are plentiful, hunting pressure is heavy.

Where the big ones are, the terrain is much more difficult thus the pressure is less.

I'd suggest getting together with a reliable local in the area you pick. Me thinks the local would be the priority then the area.

I bet if you do some sweet talkin' you could work something out with Shawn, or preferably his dad, whose hunts are way shorter.

 

[Troutslayer]

I think poor harvests this year are a result of little to no snow in most areas. I typically hunt harder as the season progresses, though in MT just across the border. In a normal year I pass on a lot of bucks hoping to see a big one. I never saw all that many this year in my honey holes and I think it's because they were up higher or relaxing in thick timber as they were not under the duress of snow. Now, driving around N. Idaho at night I have seen a few 135+ bucks after the season closed. I don't blame wolves for not getting a good buck. Saw plenty of does. The populations should be high next year assuming there isn't too much winterkill.