Badland or mtn tops

[Shepardg]

So I was able to pick up a OTC deer tag for Idaho this spring. But today I just drew a North Dakota deer tag. The plan is Mule deer but now I’m not sure what state.. any info from last experience wound be great having never been ether place I’m truly up in the air. Also the thing about ND is my buddy also got a tag. What do you guys think we should do ? And both is unfortunately not a option

 

[bergie]

Draw odds on the ND tag? If it is a really hard to draw tag I think I'd jump at that opportunity.

Solo in Idaho or with a buddy in ND is an individual preference, I could make an argument for either one.

 

[Shepardg]

Draw odds on the ND tag? If it is a really hard to draw tag I think I'd jump at that opportunity.

Solo in Idaho or with a buddy in ND is an individual preference, I could make an argument for either one.

this was our second year applying from what I’ve been seeing it’s normally a 3 year tag. Crazy tho cause they only gave out 300 NR. So I guess a lot of guys don’t want to go.

 

[sodaksooner]

Personally I love hunting badlands. but that is just me. We did an early season High altitude hunt in CO in 2023 and it was fun, but we spent 75% of the time on glass. After two weeks of that I was about done. Hunting badlands to me is a lot more spot and stalk and checking little coulees and hiding spots. We have a ranch we hunt in SD that has a lot of that type of terrain and it's a hoot.

 

[Diewithyourbootson]

Hunting mule deer in the badlands is a good time, I may be biased though, are the NR tags unit specific?

 

[Shepardg]

Hunting mule deer in the badlands is a good time, I may be biased though, are the NR tags unit specific?

No I do not believe so. Under unit it said, bow any deer

 

[Diewithyourbootson]

Good luck, there's potential for good deer in badlands.

 

[Shepardg]

Any tips or tricks you’d be willing to share? Having never been my eyes and ears are wide open.

 

[Diewithyourbootson]

Most of my deer hunting is during rifle season, if you head this way I can tell you a good area to start looking in PM.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

Any tips or tricks you’d be willing to share? Having never been my eyes and ears are wide open.

Ever since the EHD outbreak, the harsh winter, and the devastating drought of 2020–21, mule deer numbers and age class have taken a serious hit. There are still good deer out there, but they’re few and far between, and the western half of the state sees heavy resident hunting pressure during archery season since rifle tags are so limited.
This year, mule deer tags were cut by another 14% due to continued declines in population. I’m not trying to discourage you from going—just setting realistic expectations. It’s breathtaking country, and if you’ve never been, you might still have an incredible time.

 

[Shepardg]

Guess if it gets to bad we can always change gears head east and chase whitetails for a few days ? not ideal but try to make the best out of it!

 

[dirtytough]

Depending what you would be happy with ND will have opportunities for stalks. Overall I would expect a higher chance at a big buck in Idaho.

The badlands are cool country but they aren’t mountains. It’s not easy to get away from other hunters. Pretty easy to get around since there are a lot of roads.

If your Idaho tag is for a unit with high country the scenery in Idaho is probably better.

Depending on the size of buck I wanted to hunt I would hunt the closest state. If only looking for 170+ I would head to Idaho.

 

[Shepardg]

Depending what you would be happy with ND will have opportunities for stalks. Overall I would expect a higher chance at a big buck in Idaho.

The badlands are cool country but they aren’t mountains. It’s not easy to get away from other hunters. Pretty easy to get around since there are a lot of roads.

If your Idaho tag is for a unit with high country the scenery in Idaho is probably better.

Depending on the size of buck I wanted to hunt I would hunt the closest state. If only looking for 170+ I would head to Idaho.

Thanks for the info that’s what I’ve been gathering. I’d really like to get to Idaho as I’ve been planing it for a few months now but I have a good amount of guilt passing the ND opportunity with my brother in law since we have tags together! And I know if I was in hi shoes going with me to Idaho I’d be a little salty not having a tag myself and letting one go. Guess I should have skipped the year for ND. All we wanted was another point but that wasn’t an option. Ended up with tags instead. Kinda a funny thing to be upset about! But gunna try to make the best of it!

 

[Andrew12gauge]

I’d go hunt North Dakota with your brother in law, Idaho tags can usually be had every year. I say this with the caveat that I am an Idaho resident. I’m guessing you’ll have far more opportunities in North Dakota, even a down North Dakota deer population is pretty good compared to Idaho and the thing nobody is saying is Idaho’s deer population has taken some pretty good hits in the past few winters as well depending what part of the state you’re in. Go hunt with family, never know when you might get the next chance


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