Idaho McCall Zone Archery Elk

[mkelley12]

A buddy and I are looking to possible hunt the McCall Zone in Idaho for Archery Elk in 2019. We have Hunted Colorado wilderness a few times now and are looking for something different. Just seeing who else has hunted this area and what they thought. We are coming from Michigan so a scouting trip probably wont happen.

How is the terrain and is there decent elk herds? Seems to be way more open that the area we hunted in the past. Glassing has never been an option for our area.

Also i did some research and sound like there are no grizzly's, is that true? We like to backpack hunt and wold like to be prepared.
Thanks

 

[Traindriver]

I'm from Michigan and I've been looking at the same zone or Middlefork zone. Are you guys looking for a hunting partner?

 

[dreamingbig]

No grizzlies. A lot of wolves! A lot of burned area too. It can be really tough or it can be quite good. I have experienced more tough than good. Hunted it twice for 3 weeks total.


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[idahohikker]

Insanely low success rates are frequent in units in the zone for archery and rifle. Never really got to the bottom of it. It's not like you should expect to see less people there than in Colorado. Don't discount staying where you've hunted and put in the time to learn. I jump around too much myself and it bites me.

Maybe you could just hunt around Corey Jacobsen's house in the zone and hope he calls one in for you with a practice bugle or video editing.

 

[OG DramaLlama]

Big zone you are asking about here. May want to narrow it down to what type of hunting you want to do and a specific unit. Offers good access, in general. You’ll want to make sure you have a good idea of private land borders. Varied terrain is conducive to different styles of hunting. Some parts of the different units have pretty heavy cover.

I stick to Unit 23 it offers more open terrain for spot and stalk situations. Decent elk numbers. Lots of pressure. The unit offer easy access from Boise/Oregon/Washington hunters. I have hunted almost all times of September. Prefer the first weeks. Elk are not as pumped up, but pressure is much lower.

Lots of recreational folks in the zone as well. Hikers, Bikers, UTV’s, you name it. Popular part if Idaho.

I wouldn’t put the zone close to the top of the list for trophy elk, bit I have seen some decent bulls

No grizzlies, but you have wolves to complete with.


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[mkelley12]

We are looking into first or middle of September. We prefer to backpack in for several days at a time. This will be our first Archery elk hunt so still figuring out the exact style we will hunt. I think we were looking mostly at 25 and 19A but that is just from the the little research we have done on that area so far.

 

[KurtR]

Rifle hunted 3 years now and have not killed yet. It is big steep and thick country. Life goal is to kill an elk there but dont know if i am going back next year yet.

 

[dreamingbig]

We are looking into first or middle of September. We prefer to backpack in for several days at a time. This will be our first Archery elk hunt so still figuring out the exact style we will hunt. I think we were looking mostly at 25 and 19A but that is just from the the little research we have done on that area so far.

You could do that (backpack in) but if you pick wrong you might waste have your trip learning a bad spot. I would day hunt until you find elk.

This coming from a guy who likes nothing more than backpacking in and being gone for 9-10 days.


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[Lowke01]

You could do that (backpack in) but if you pick wrong you might waste have your trip learning a bad spot. I would day hunt until you find elk.

This coming from a guy who likes nothing more than backpacking in and being gone for 9-10 days.


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Yes to this. We hunted 25 last September and planned to pack in but never identified a spot worth dedicating that much time to. Took us nine days of hard hunting to SEE our first elk. Not much sign either. I would label the huntable parts of 25 as low density elk, high density people.

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[KurtR]

You could do that (backpack in) but if you pick wrong you might waste have your trip learning a bad spot. I would day hunt until you find elk.

This coming from a guy who likes nothing more than backpacking in and being gone for 9-10 days.


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after 3 years this is the exact way i would go about it to

 

[jetsled]

Good size zone, lots of room to move around. Decent elk numbers, all sorts of terrain. Should be a good time. Go deep.

 

[ohhiitznik]

I hunted the unit for 3 years. Killed 1 elk. It's very popular. Lots of hunters. Expect a lot of wolves. Big terrain as well. Honestly a better unit for rifle. If you want to bowhunt I would stick to Colorado. Especially if you want to backpack. The unit is better hunted from a base camp and driving to different trailheads.

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[ohhiitznik]

The reason why I say it's better to hunt from a truck camp, is once wolves move into a draw, the elk shut up. And you don't want to be 6 miles in, without mobility. Because it's not if wolves will move in, it's when.

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[cnelk]

Im surprised Ol Elknut hasnt chimed in on this. Its probably his area!

 

[Gobbler36]

Enjoy all your NR buddies and all your fine friends from Boise probably add a couple hundred more than last year since we’re the fasting growing Goddamn state in the country. Pretty thick timber and steep and rocky. Get in shape, and good luck

 

[Joe Schmo]

Backpacking and being prepared never hurts at all and covering ground is the way to go in my opinion. Also you can get lucky or unlucky, I tagged out in a few hours last year, this year my buddy went to the same spot and didn’t see/hear an elk in a week!!!

 

[Wolverine]

I am also from Michigan and have hunted the McCall zone 8 times over the last 15 years or so. Shoot me a pm and I'll help you out.

 

[boknows]

I keep seeing your posts here and on monster muleys. You always have something to say about SE Idaho and McCall zones but when it comes to the sawtooth zone you steer people in another direction. I doubt you have ever even set foot in the McCall zone.

 

[Lowke01]

I keep seeing your posts here and on monster muleys. You always have something to say about SE Idaho and McCall zones but when it comes to the sawtooth zone you steer people in another direction. I doubt you have ever even set foot in the McCall zone.

Who are you directing this to?

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