Idaho Elk Hunting

[MWElk hunter]

I have a general question. Last year I took my son (17) and my daughter (15) to Montana to hunt elk. We had a blast even though we came home empty. My son got a shot with the bow but misjudged the distance, in another instance we had the wind shift on final approach, and we had another stalk blown by other hunters in the area. Still we saw plenty of elk, had answered bugles and cow calls, and even saw some bears - both grizzly and black. It was amazing. This year I wanted to go back but due to the Coronavirus we didn't apply as i was unsure of what my income would look like, so now that we are going we have to try somewhere we can still get a tag. We have decided on Idaho (best deal on a youth tag) as the income won't be as good. I do art shows and a number have cancelled as I live in MN and we are slow to open.
Anyway, I'm confused. I have spoken to people in the Idaho Fish and Game Department. read countless posts, and looked at the regs. I am not looking for GPS coordinates but I am trying to narrow down my options. We don't need monster bulls although that's always nice. I mainly want to get a solid opportunity at an elk before my son moves out, which will be next year. We will do anything. We put on over 100 miles on foot in Montana, we got up before sunrise and used a locator bugle and hunted till dark, we camped in the mountains, and hiked any terrain. I am looking to not be on top of other hunters and have decent elk density. I obviously have to learn an entirely new area, which is both good and bad because I love to explore but we really felt good about the knowledge base we had developed in MT. If anyone has some advice I would appreciate it. I was looking at Salmon, Beaverhead, and Lemhi due to travel times but I am open to other options. Beaverhead looks like success rates are good but hunter density is high.

 

[idahohikker]

You can learn about Idaho elk populations from doing some research with bios and the fish and game website. In general, I think if you stay out of the Frank, Selway, Lolo that elk populations will be at least decent in most units. You can obviously look at hunter numbers as you have. Idaho isn’t easy but you can find elk, especially if your putting on that kind of mileage.

 

[Akwoodchuck]

Looks like nonresident capped tags are sold out except for Lolo and Selway....I was playing with the harvest statistics tool the other day, the search parameters were:

General season elk, Any Weapon
Highest % of 6-points
Hunter #s below 600
Success rates above 20%

....going back 5 years, unit 17 beat all others...although I would say the Sawtooth zone is still the most desirable tag...

 

[MWElk hunter]

I forgot to mention that we will be bow hunting as we love to be up close and personal.

 

[MWElk hunter]

Looks like nonresident capped tags are sold out except for Lolo and Selway....I was playing with the harvest statistics tool the other day, the search parameters were:

General season elk, Any Weapon
Highest % of 6-points
Hunter #s below 600
Success rates above 20%

....going back 5 years, unit 17 beat all others...although I would say the Sawtooth zone is still the most desirable tag...

Thank you for the info.

 

[MWElk hunter]

You can learn about Idaho elk populations from doing some research with bios and the fish and game website. In general, I think if you stay out of the Frank, Selway, Lolo that elk populations will be at least decent in most units. You can obviously look at hunter numbers as you have. Idaho isn’t easy but you can find elk, especially if your putting on that kind of mileage.

That Lolo sure looks like pretty country though.

 

[theleo91386]

That Lolo sure looks like pretty country though.

Take away your criteria for a solid chance at an elk and it'd be great for you.

In all seriousness, avoid the Wilderness areas. The Frank, Lolo, Selway... Wilderness areas were special places to hunt 30+ years ago, now they're shadows of what they use to be. Your best chances for elk will be the units with higher elk populations, the downside is those are ones that get the most pressure. In your boots, I'd probably rule out the Salmon zone.

 

[idahohikker]

That Lolo sure looks like pretty country though.

Yes, pretty and also mostly empty of life.

 

[MWElk hunter]

Take away your criteria for a solid chance at an elk and it'd be great for you.

In all seriousness, avoid the Wilderness areas. The Frank, Lolo, Selway... Wilderness areas were special places to hunt 30+ years ago, now they're shadows of what they use to be. Your best chances for elk will be the units with higher elk populations, the downside is those are ones that get the most pressure. In your boots, I'd probably rule out the Salmon zone.

Wow. The legends have faded. If ruling out the Salmon would you be inclined to look at the Beaverhead or Selway?

 

[idahohikker]

Wow. The legends have faded. If ruling out the Salmon would you be inclined to look at the Beaverhead or Selway?

Hahaha Selway. Just do your research and you'll see for yourself. The biologists are the best source of info, much better than the talking heads here, especially me.

 

[bird_nerd_60]

It's definitely true that the trade off you will find in general is that more elk means more people. That said, with your choice to do an archery hunt and willingness to hike and appreciate cool country you will likely be OK wherever you go, as long as you steer away from the wilderness areas. There are still pockets of elk in there but it's hard to explain how inaccessible some of that country is if you don't have stock or an airplane or a combination of the two. Good luck.

 

[MWElk hunter]

How easy is it to get away from people in 36 & 36A?

 

[theleo91386]

Wow. The legends have faded. If ruling out the Salmon would you be inclined to look at the Beaverhead or Selway?

Here's my views on the Selway:
1) I wouldn't hunt the Selway without stock.
2) I have access to stock that I can take out for a week+ without any problems and I won't even consider spending money for a tag in there. I'd go in there fishing, but not hunting.

 

[npm352]

Multiple people have stressed in the thread the fruitlessness of hunting the wilderness areas (Selway, Frank, Lolo). This happens twice a week on RS. You seem set on it despite people offering good advice to stay away if you want to get into elk. Idaho guys are being pretty generous offering help by starting with what to rule out...but that is where you want to go. So go have at it. Take on the Selway or Lolo. You'll have a beautiful hike and may see some bighorns.

 

[87TT]

Or starving wolves as they have eaten all the elk.

 

[nphunter]

Not to be a downer but the odds of you going somewhere you’ve never been and getting your kids an elk with a bow are slim to none. Personally I would rifle hunt and you will have about a 5 times better chance.

If you really are interested in having your kids kill an elk as your top priority OR just created an OTC antlerless hunt that goes from Aug 1st until Nov 31st. It’s a private land tag, including thousands of acres of access and habitat public access timberland, it’s also any weapon tag. You could forgo your tag and buy your kids a tag and hunt on that tag, come mid August and you’ll see a pile of elk and if you can’t kill one with a bow you can always shoot one with a rifle toward the end of the hunt. If you see tons of elk and decide you want to cough up a little more dough then you could buy yourself a general archery tag which starts the last weekend in Aug and is bull only in most units.

IMO buying 3 out of state elk tags is a waste of money, skip your tag and buy both your kids one. Your odds of killing 3 elk with a bow are pretty much zero and that’s a pile of meat to have to care for too.

 

[MWElk hunter]

Not to be a downer but the odds of you going somewhere you’ve never been and getting your kids an elk with a bow are slim to none. Personally I would rifle hunt and you will have about a 5 times better chance.

If you really are interested in having your kids kill an elk as your top priority OR just created an OTC antlerless hunt that goes from Aug 1st until Nov 31st. It’s a private land tag, including thousands of acres of access and habitat public access timberland, it’s also any weapon tag. You could forgo your tag and buy your kids a tag and hunt on that tag, come mid August and you’ll see a pile of elk and if you can’t kill one with a bow you can always shoot one with a rifle toward the end of the hunt. If you see tons of elk and decide you want to cough up a little more dough then you could buy yourself a general archery tag which starts the last weekend in Aug and is bull only in most units.

IMO buying 3 out of state elk tags is a waste of money, skip your tag and buy both your kids one. Your odds of killing 3 elk with a bow are pretty much zero and that’s a pile of meat to have to care for too.

I would only be buying two tags. I have spoken with numerous people and received a ton of info and I thank everyone for their input on this thread. I actually had a PM and got some great information on a couple opportunities that I am going to pursue. Bow hunting is tough but we love it, especially my son. Last year in MT was our first year but we got on elk - even worked the calls and got responses. We just couldn't close the deal - close but not quite. So, with two tags we'll be happy if we get one but you never know. We may be fortunate. I have noticed many times on threads that people downplay every area. I'm sure some don't want people going in to an area they hunt and I get that, but according to most threads I read no where is good, so you just go hunt. Where we went in MT last year I read was terrible, crowded, etc. from all the threads. Yes, we had a stalk get blown by other hunters once but on a whole we never saw as many people as I was expecting from the forums.

 

[MWElk hunter]

OK. I have one other question. In the Beaverhead region you can shoot a cow with any weapon by farmland if you are striking out with a bow, which is kind of attractive. Are 30 and 30a good options? OtherwiseI have another spot that looks promising. It just doesn't give me the same flexibility.

 

[sneaky]

That Lolo sure looks like pretty country though.

Wasting your time in that unit. Advice given above applies to capped zones. For archery none of the zones are capped that you mentioned. 17 gets skewed tremendously by outfitter success rates.

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[sneaky]

How easy is it to get away from people in 36 & 36A?

Sawtooth tag is almost impossible to get, and just look at hunter numbers in 36A and you'll have your answer

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