Idaho elk: the NR draw

[Beendare]

Lots of reporting going on this time of year


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You think that 46,600 number includes hunt reports from last year and not just applicants?

I like the idea of that logger.......

 

[blacktail434]

I got in line just a handful of times and haven’t even purchased yet

 

[WRO]

You think that 46,600 number includes hunt reports from last year and not just applicants?

I like the idea of that logger.......

Im guessing so, I’ve been wrong once a bunch of times to be fair.

 

[MuleyFever]

Is that logins? I logged in probably at least 5 different times.

 

[Glory]

I am still on the fence for paying $200 for the opportunity to invade the great state of Idaho. . Lord knows enough of them come up to my neck of the woods.

 

[oldhornhunter]

There’s a recurring theme with Hunter observations about elk and deer numbers. It usually goes like this : “ I’ve been hunting this specific area for decades and the animals have disappeared “. Then they blame it on wolves, NR hunters, F&G mismanagement, etc, etc

What they fail to consider is that animals change their patterns and behaviors due to a myriad of factors including changes in habitat ( fires, invasive species, grazing practices), trends in hunter pressure to name a few.

I kill an elk almost every year in Idaho, some years 2, but I’ve had to change zones many times over the last 20 years. I’ve hunted zones that were “over objective” and the hunting was fantastic . Elk are thriving in Idaho in all but a handful of zones. If we weren’t killing off so many cows to appease private landowners the numbers would be even higher. I acknowledge that my subjective experience is not the whole story but it aligns with what IDFG is saying about elk numbers.

That is always going to be the case with hunter reports, the majority are road hunters or not willing to walk more than 1/2 to 3/4 mile away from their rig or the road. I have hunted or been on hunts in most of the units across the SW side of Idaho, and from my observation as well as many others I hunt with. The units we hunt are Not anywhere close to the so-called herd counts F&G have posted, the major pattern we are seeing across these units is the majority of elk are staying on Private !! I have spoken with the F&G Bio a couple of times over the past 5 years and his spring & fall #s are SO far off it's not even close. I to kill elk almost every year with my bow, but I have also hunted the same area for since 1978 & I know where the elk go.. But that still does not change the picture I & my buddies are seeing. Everyone has their own opinion mine is F&G is catering to landowners & ranchers who claim to have depredation issues & want F&G to kill as many elk as they can... I trap & yote hunt several of these large tracts of land from Nov thru March & F&G & these landowners are full of SHIT !! I have in the past 8 years Never seen an animal any where near their fields !!

 

[HunterGatherer]

That is always going to be the case with hunter reports, the majority are road hunters or not willing to walk more than 1/2 to 3/4 mile away from their rig or the road. I have hunted or been on hunts in most of the units across the SW side of Idaho, and from my observation as well as many others I hunt with. The units we hunt are Not anywhere close to the so-called herd counts F&G have posted, the major pattern we are seeing across these units is the majority of elk are staying on Private !! I have spoken with the F&G Bio a couple of times over the past 5 years and his spring & fall #s are SO far off it's not even close. I to kill elk almost every year with my bow, but I have also hunted the same area for since 1978 & I know where the elk go.. But that still does not change the picture I & my buddies are seeing. Everyone has their own opinion mine is F&G is catering to landowners & ranchers who claim to have depredation issues & want F&G to kill as many elk as they can... I trap & yote hunt several of these large tracts of land from Nov thru March & F&G & these landowners are full of SHIT !! I have in the past 8 years Never seen an animal any where near their fields !!

I agree with a lot of what you’re saying but I have a hard time believing that IDFG is intentionally inflating herd counts to trick people into buying tags.

As far as the “catering to landowners “ I completely agree. Look what they did to the Pioneer herd for example. 2500 cow tags a year, crushing the herd, just to appease the ranchers that are planting elk food on the winter range with no fences or low fences. Unfortunately F&G is mandated to reduce the impact of game on private land. Large landowners are abusing the hell out of these landowner and depredation tags. I’m with you there.

Just want to reiterate my point that the elk are not in the same places they have been historically for various reasons- look at how big fires have changed habitat in the S Idaho units that you and I both hunt. The Bennetts all burned up in the last decade or so. So did 39, 32, 32A, 45, 43, etc etc. This is going to change where the elk are. Hunter and predator pressure has also increased in those areas…

BUT we still have a lot of elk - more than when I was a kid bow hunting in the early 90’s. At least in my own subjective experience.