Are most OTC units like this?

[ranchhand02]

I hunted Colorado a couple years ago. I drew a mule deer tag but it was also an OTC elk tag unit. There were people everywhere we went. Most all of them were elk hunting. We still saw a lot of deer, but most were small bucks and does.

 

[Ahazen622]

Definitely how a majority of over the counter tags are

 

[Mtnboy]

Most OTC units in Idaho are pretty similar. Especially since more and more guys are figuring out the mapping programs.

Welcome to the new normal.....

 

[Tradchef]

You can find areas that you have little competition in. You have to explore a lot in the off season and go a little harder than most other people do and in some cases hunt less and scout more but you can do it. I’m from back east originally from SW PA. I’m grateful to not have orange behind every tree, dudes looking at you and putting a climbing stand literally right next to you, stealing trail cams and the list goes on. I don’t get the time to hunt like most everyone on here does because of restaurant life but I am able to kill between 3 and 6 animals a year between traditional and rifle. I spend a lot of my summer time hiking and scouting and sometimes a lot of my hunting time is for that as well. I am blessed to know and work with a lot of farmers so I do have some private access as well. You can find areas on your map that may be BLM or state but you need permission to cross. Ask. Tell them you want foot access and that’s it. Most will let you and you can get into some amazing stuff that way but you need to ask. Sometimes they will invite you to hunt their land as well. I killed a 5point rag horn two years ago on a state piece that literally has 20 trucks at any given time parked. It’s an easy access for any skill and fitness level hunter. I went up a steep ravine that no one had been on that evening and there were two bulls grazing. I saw 8 dudes while I was packing out and they hadn’t seen anything but used the easiest path to hike on like everyone else. Would I hunt it again......yes.....was it my ideal location.....no.....but you can do it. In those areas like back east.....let the dumbasses do the work for you. I think learning the areas out here pay off really well. Some of the main hiking trails have fantastic hunting. Everyone stays on the trailhead but rarely gets off it. You can learn that by mushroom hunting. No one goes 10 yards off trail. Same with elk and deer. You can find some sweetheart spots that way. Point being don’t get frustrated. It’s huge country. Even though you see lots of guys you might not ever see anyone on the mountain.

 

[eye_zick]

Part of the reason I moved to Idaho was to enjoy the vast public land and hunting opportunities. Rifle season turned into an absolute joke pretty quickly. Opening day sounds like a war zone and there is someone on every ridge. Campers and tents stack up like a circus. I can only imagine how pissed the born and raised locals are

I sympathize with you, and as a redneck resident, I hear you.

What do you consider normal pressure for OTC units for deer and elk? Are you hunting areas that only you are in, or do you expect to have company there? If you hike 10 miles across the mountains from the nearest access point are you surprised to find boot tracks there? Am I dreaming thinking that I should be able to do a day of hiking and no one else has been there in the last few days or week?

There is so much I want to say this, so I'll summarize. The grass is rarely greener on the other side of the fence, or in this case, another unit. The pressure is fairly consistent (hunters to bulls/bucks ratio), IDFG's liberal deer regulations make this true. People can move freely from one unit to another and any unbalance can rather quickly be exploited.

Hunters willing to put in 10 mile days are the new norm, esp in motorized hunting rule units. We used to be able to out hike, go in early and stay late and only hunt weekends to get it done. The new age of hunters, like others have mentioned, are simply able to spend more days out hunting. This equivocates to more pressure everywhere, all season long.

Here's a picture I made of one section of the unit(green boundary). The red dots and lines are just people I have seen(including myself and my route) in one single day. If that's what can be hit in one day I'm guessing that every draw has absolutely been hit and probably frequently. Is this normal? Or way too much pressure?

While it may be a bust for you, the guys that are going to continue to hunt that area may not appreciate the nod.

 

[satchamo]

Comparing hunting the West to back East whitetails?

Laughable

I agree with CNElk on this one. I’m from the Midwest and a dyed in the wool whitetail Hunter but going out west and hunting elk kicks my ass every single year. Physically AND mentally.

I then come home every fall and could shoot a pile of whitetails on my own self fulfilling prophecy to kill mature bucks. I literally sit on my ass eating gas station food, staring at the woods for movement and love every single minute of it. There isn’t much misery in whitetail hunting aside from the early, cold mornings.

So yeah comparing them is laughable.