Idaho Smokey Bennett Elk B tag

[RAM190Hog]

I know this a long shot, but....

The wife drew a doe tag in 45 for her first ever hunt. We successfully harvested her first deer on Tuesday evening. Well, I decided to buy her the quota'd B tag just in case we saw elk in there. We hunted up on Bennett Mountain and it was quite the shit show. Way more hunters than I have ever seen in one place...even more than 39. Granted that was opening day on a weekend...

Anyway, now I am hoping to fill her elk tag and I don't know much about 45/52. There's obviously a ton of private land around Bennett Mountain, and to be honest it doesn't seem like great elk country.

I was looking at OnX and thinking of moving east into 52 to see if there is some BLM & state land near cultivated fields, etc. where herds might be transitioning to/from to feed nightly.

Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone has hunted this tag before and had any advice. PM me if needed. Thanks in advance!

 

[HuntInWild88]

That tag is kind of an odd tag. Its incredible dependent on snow. If the mountains don't have snow then the elk numbers just aren't there. That being said there are always elk in 45 and 52.
I would say your minds in the right area with the agg fields. I would check in the northern portions of the unit.
My buddy who is first time hunter picked up the same cow tag, however I'm out of town untill the 15th to help him.

My wife has the late doe tag for 45 so we will see how that goes.

 

[RAM190Hog]

Thanks man. I was thinking the same thing...hoping the weather moving in this weekend might get some animals moving to lower ground. Been unusually warm. This was our first time hunting 45, and we didn't see a ton of deer in there quite yet. But, according to my friend who has done that before, it also sounds highly dependent on snow & migration timing. So, hopefully your timing will be good as well. Good luck.

 

[wayno945]

Do you know if there was a ton of snowfall up in 44 this past weekend? Was thinking of heading up tomorrow to fill mine.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I know pine and featherville got something like 2 feet this past week.

 

[wayno945]

I know pine and featherville got something like 2 feet this past week.

That sounds promising. Hopefully the migration is starting.

 

[HuntInWild88]

I can see bennet mnt from my living room and its lost alot snow just in the past 24hrs.

 

[wayno945]

I came home yesterday because the roads were a mess between the melted snow and rain. Maybe try again this weekend. Seen a herd of 30 in Fairfield yesterday on private.

 

[Bagel_7]

Anyone having any success with this hunt? I’ve been out a few times and have found some very good bucks, and almost more bull elk than I can count but haven’t seen a cow yet. I’d like to know some people have been successful.

 

[Ccm11]

Head over to 52. Landowners generally have trouble keeping elk out of the fields in that area.

 

[RAM190Hog]

We only went out 2 days early in season. We didn't find anything out in 52...except for deer. Doesn't seem logical that they would move across US20 into the sage hills when they could just post up on the private in the valley. Back in 45 we found a couple of small groups...all up on private. My buddy hunted 49 cow this weekend and said everything he saw there was down in the valley...big change from when that was a 200 tag hunt and now its 2500, like Smokey B tag.

Hoping to make it out after Thanksgiving for the hail mary. CCM11, are you implying that the landowners in 52 are receptive to access???

 

[HuntInWild88]

Well now that this hunt is over how did everyone do?
My buddy was on able to hunt the weekends and it was kind of a zoo...
We did jump a cow and spike at 80 yards but due to his inexperience he wasn't able to get a shot off..
Saw a one group with some 3-4 cows a couple.spikes and a small 4x4. But they were too far off to logically pursue.. we made two different moves on them and each time we would crest the next hill some one else was already there...
Did run into one guy was was successful. Said he found a group of about 300....
But my buddy struck out.

 

[RAM190Hog]

We didn't hunt too many days. Wife wanted to get out one more time, so last Sat I went out to do some looking. Pulled off 20 on the W side of Bennett mountain. Found a herd of 200+ sitting on the private. Seems to me like this 2500 tag systems just caused so much pressure they all congregated on big private land. Anyway, went in there the next morning....herd was still there, had a small group on the South edge which we initiated a stalk on -- hoping to find one leaving or off the private property. While doing so, witnessed 2 guys enter the private and start moving toward the main herd. Then, a calf comes trotting out of a drainage towards the private, and the 2 trespassers. I am trying to get my wife up to prepare for a shot if the calf reverses course...but the dudes drop to seated and both start shooting. They and the calf are on private when they kill it; I watch them pick up their casings and drag the calf off to the South before starting to dress her. After we walk out, made some calls to Elmore Co sheriff and F&G, but it looks like they got away with the illegal take. We did some more walking, but our hunt was essentially over after that. Talking with the wife later she asked if I had seen the black animal pursuing the calf...I had not. Based on her description we think a wolf was pushing that calf. Wish I would have seen that...

 

[HuntInWild88]

I'm familiar with that herd. It hang around Bennett. If the snow gets bad enough they normally hang out just west of 20 down on the flats.
But I think that's the same herd he said was 300. As he was just south of Bennett.
It's pretty sad what people will for just after meat. Seeing the wolf would have been cool.

 

[Idaho_Potato]

We didn't hunt too many days. Wife wanted to get out one more time, so last Sat I went out to do some looking. Pulled off 20 on the W side of Bennett mountain. Found a herd of 200+ sitting on the private. Seems to me like this 2500 tag systems just caused so much pressure they all congregated on big private land. Anyway, went in there the next morning....herd was still there, had a small group on the South edge which we initiated a stalk on -- hoping to find one leaving or off the private property. While doing so, witnessed 2 guys enter the private and start moving toward the main herd. Then, a calf comes trotting out of a drainage towards the private, and the 2 trespassers. I am trying to get my wife up to prepare for a shot if the calf reverses course...but the dudes drop to seated and both start shooting. They and the calf are on private when they kill it; I watch them pick up their casings and drag the calf off to the South before starting to dress her. After we walk out, made some calls to Elmore Co sheriff and F&G, but it looks like they got away with the illegal take. We did some more walking, but our hunt was essentially over after that. Talking with the wife later she asked if I had seen the black animal pursuing the calf...I had not. Based on her description we think a wolf was pushing that calf. Wish I would have seen that...

Why would you automatically assume someone you don't know is trespassing and call authorities? A lot of the private in that area is owned by ranch LLC's. They could easily have been an employee, a family member, a friend, etc. Dragging to public if you can to leave the mess there is not suspicious, and most everyone I know reloads so picking up empties is normal. Kind of a dick move to call the police because you are watching someone harvest an elk you don't have permission for.

 

[HuntInWild88]

Why would you automatically assume someone you don't know is trespassing and call authorities? A lot of the private in that area is owned by ranch LLC's. They could easily have been an employee, a family member, a friend, etc. Dragging to public if you can to leave the mess there is not suspicious, and most everyone I know reloads so picking up empties is normal. Kind of a dick move to call the police because you are watching someone harvest an elk you don't have permission for.

To me if they accessed private from public and drug their animal to public then its a little suspicious and I'll let the authorities investigate it. If there's no wrong doing then there's no wrong doing and they are free to carry on. No harm no fowl.
But if we as hunters and conservationists don't report suspicious activity and they were indeed trespassing then they will continue to do so untill they are caught.

 

[RAM190Hog]

Why would you automatically assume someone you don't know is trespassing and call authorities? A lot of the private in that area is owned by ranch LLC's. They could easily have been an employee, a family member, a friend, etc. Dragging to public if you can to leave the mess there is not suspicious, and most everyone I know reloads so picking up empties is normal. Kind of a dick move to call the police because you are watching someone harvest an elk you don't have permission for.

I didn’t assume anything. I made
A judgement call based on what I observed, and figured someone else can make the actual determination. I have hunted private land before as well. Without too many details, I believed they were trespassing based on where they parked their vehicle, how they approached and initially entered the private, etc. I also saw local sheriff come out after the event. I followed up with a phone call just to see what came of it. The dispatcher informed me that the 2 individuals claimed they shot the cow on public, and it ran into private land before expiring; and that they entered the private land to retrieve it. Not at all what I witnessed. So also kind of a “dick move” to assume I just got pissed off and called the cops for no reason. Turns out they were trespassing and it was an illegal take, but they will get away with it. I like
to follow the rules and expect my fellow outdoorsman to do the same.