ID December Cow Hunt

[Aginor]

Hey guys,

I'm hoping to draw a tag (odds look pretty good). I live in Idaho and will be scouting most of the summer and fall, but seeing as how this hunt is in December and most of the unit is over 5,000' I'm wondering what access looks like at that time? Basically, do I need a snowmobile?

Thanks for any info

 

[IDLassie]

Depends on the weather. Mostly they'll be in the hay fields with no permission allowed.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

*note* i edited the thread because it was reported as "unit" specific, it now contains no unit specific info etc.

 

[Wrench]

A few days can make a big difference in December at 5k in my area. Tuesday you might have 4" of snow.....Wednesday could be 3 feet.

 

[Aginor]

@Glendon Mullins was I not supposed to include the specific unit?

 

[farmermail]

December cow elk hunts are almost always winter range hunts. Nothing like "normal" September/October hunts for elk. Most are dependent on snow (more snow generally is better), cows will be in larger herds (not uncommon to see a herd of 100+). Scouting now won't be overly helpful, doubtful there will be many elk in/around the area. I suspect that you will be able to glass elk (at a distance, think 2-4 miles) from a truck, then have to sort out how to get to them. Good news, generally winter elk will give you about a 300 to 350 yard bubble before leaving the area. Bad news, most likely having to walk a ways over crusty snow.

 

[Aginor]

Yep, that's pretty much what I'm prepared for. Some additional context, wife decided to have our new baby in September, so I just needed a later meat hunt this season since scout time is gonna be limited. I'm more or less trying to figure out how good the road access is in 37 during the winter. For instance, will I even be able to get into the unit at all with my truck in December? (Ran into that issue last year with a deer tag in 20 ). If I can get into some roads inside the unit, am I pretty much going to need a snowmobile to get anywhere useful?

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Its all weather dependent. We applied for a similar hunt this year. We will decide what vehicles we need closer to the opener when the weather forecast will be more accurate.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

@Glendon Mullins was I not supposed to include the specific unit?

yes, it's a new rule, your all good, everyone makes mistakes and i fixed it so you could hopefully still get some much needed info

 

[Aginor]

Ok, thanks and sorry for that