Idaho 36A mule deer

[mtnstag]

Howdy,
Was interested on opinions, feedback from previous experience in the unit, and any positive insight you could lend to a fellow hunter and steward. I am asking for a hand and not a hand out, as I am doing my own diligence with escouting and trying to "circle the wagons" so to speak in some pockets of good looking country.

Thanks ya'll

 

[Rob5589]

Haven't been but, welcome to the forum!

 

[mtnstag]

Thank you sir

 

[GregB]

You can look at the stats on the IDFG website, welcome to the forum.

 

[mtnstag]

Thanks Greg. I have studied that webpage and gohunt.com. There are some nuanced things like weather. Etc. That aren't necessarily exposed on those research sites. Thank you for the forum hospitality!

 

[GregB]

Archery or rifle.

 

[mtnstag]

Rifle (oct10th-24th) I have a week to grind it out. Not sure if the first week will have less spooked deer, or second week may have some prerut behavior going on. What say ye Greg? Can I potentially send you a private pm stating what Im thinking of doing?

 

[HuntWyld]

Lots of people hunt that unit during that season. The Salmon turns into a city of trailers and side by sides.

 

[mtnstag]

I appreciate that insight. There something to be said for the intimacy of info with boots on the ground

 

[GregB]

The weather can be all over the place. Last year on opening day there was a cold snap and it was down in the single digits. I would be prepared for anything from sunny and warm to freezing and snowing. you'll probably get a little of everything in between. Roads can get pretty sketchy, bring snow chains and recovery gear. You can't PM until you have 10 posts and are a member for 7 days.

 

[mtnstag]

Thank you for the weather tips! I will try and reach out after those parameters are met on the forum.

 

[pingpong7]

Unit 36A, rough winters year over year. Deer herd is down and has been. Elk #'s are up and are eating all the deer feed. There are better general units further south. Good luck to you sir

 

[mtnstag]

yeah i noticed the harvest statistics dramatically fell off after 2016

 

[sneaky]

You'll have to burn a ton of boot leather to turn up a good buck in that unit. This winter wasn't bad but they still haven't recovered.

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[mtnstag]

Thank you for the tip. I plan on it

 

[sneaky]

Thank you for the tip. I plan on it

It's not a tip, it's reality. I live between 36A and 36B, I didn't see a single buck last year that I would have put a tag on in 36A, and I was hiking and scouting 4 days a week all summer. If you want to actually see bucks, I would pick a different unit.

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[mtnstag]

Thank you for the reality

 

[idahohikker]

Yeah so the unit does have low deer densities. If you’re new to mule deer hunting you may or may not want to hunt with more deer on the hill.

Join the forum conversations, do your research, and come back in awhile and revive the thread or PM the people who responded. I think you’re on the right track.

 

[mtnstag]

Just new to Idaho, not mule deer hunting in the west. Not not overly concerned about the saturation of deer, just the chance to work extremely hard, have a little luck, and harvest a mature buck. Buddy killed a nice buck just north of highway 75 in 36b in 2018

 

[Justin_Tree]

My Pop’s hunted it in 2018 and had the same experience as others have mentioned... a tough hunt and not a lot of deer seen. He ended up getting a mature buck in a neighboring unit. Since it’s a general tag I wouldn’t get too set on one particular unit. Good luck!