Idaho Weiser River Archery

nphunter

WKR
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
1,754
Location
Oregon
I was curious if anyone would be willing to share a little info about the Weiser river unit. I'm kind of hoping since most of Weiser river is pretty mellow country that most of the people will be in the easier stuff. I will be archery hunting, and know finding elk in crowded units typically means nasty country which is OK with me. I will be on solo and am most likely going to be hunting and camping off my back since I could easily end up somewhere very quickly that I don't want to hike back out of in the dark.

I know a lot of guys talk about the unit being overcrowded but honestly, after doing the math there are way fewer people per acre than in the area I hunt here at home. I archery hunt a unit that has over double the number of archery hunters and is about 15% smaller than any of the units in Weiser River.

Any info or advice on elevation and what types of terrain elk tend to be found in or even not hanging in would be helpful, places that are crowded would be helpful so I could do everyone a favor and avoid those spots. Also, I am curious how many people actually use motorcycles to hunt, I've hunted several units in ID with my bow and most have single tracks and I cannot remember seeing a motorcycle with a bow onboard one time. I know a lot of people hunt off of ATV's and UTV's but I'm hoping the open motorcycle trails are just used by enduro guys out of a joy ride.

I plan to make several trips over prior to the season but that's a long way away and I will be doing a lot of map scouting until then. I will also most likely drive down and see what's wintering up off of the river to get a good idea of what kind of bulls I should expect. I'm planning on hunting in ID for about 18 days total and can hunt longer if that's what it takes. I'm also not planning on putting an arrow into anything except a mature bull so the likely hood of me eating the tag is high.

Thanks in advance for any info,
PM's Prefered
 

woz18

FNG
Joined
Mar 7, 2023
Messages
9
I am heading to Weiser this year - Be curious to hear how your experience was. Thankfully i have a bear tag as well, as i hear there are a lot of bears.
 
OP
nphunter

nphunter

WKR
Joined
Jul 27, 2016
Messages
1,754
Location
Oregon
I am heading to Weiser this year - Be curious to hear how your experience was. Thankfully i have a bear tag as well, as i hear there are a lot of bears.
I haven’t hunted it yet. I have the tag for this fall as well. If you have the rifle tag feel free to get ahold of me after the archery season is over. I’m not going to put as much time into the hunt as I planned, my hunting partner will have a OIL archery tag this fall and I’ll be calling for him, which I didn’t plan on.
 

Colterw

FNG
Joined
Sep 24, 2020
Messages
92
My experience in it was there are plenty of moo cows, THICK brush (like coastal oregon thick) and lots of hound hunters. We got into elk in one drainage three times, then a pack of hounds ran a bear through it and blew the elk out.

Plenty of area to hunt, plenty of roads for access. There are elk there, that's for sure. At no point were we able to get more than two miles from a road or trail.
 

KCL27

FNG
Joined
Jan 19, 2022
Messages
10
I live not to far and am familiar with the area. Lots of easy country and a network of closed logging roads make for a lot of hunters but fair number of elk too. I wouldn’t hold out for a mature bull. I would either focus on some deep and steep country or try and work around the private ranch fringe and public land pockets
 

whoami-72

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 13, 2021
Messages
230
Good luck. If you're from out of state you will be hated.

I only know one guy who hunts that area. Last year he literally pulled out his bow 3 day before the hunt and could barely hit the target at 20 yards and was asking me to help him fix it. I ended up running into him a few months later and he was successful. So, I guess blind squirrels do find nuts every once in a while and there is a chance of harvesting.
 

Kyle C

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
May 28, 2017
Messages
209
Location
Puyallup WA
Good luck. If you're from out of state you will be hated.

I only know one guy who hunts that area. Last year he literally pulled out his bow 3 day before the hunt and could barely hit the target at 20 yards and was asking me to help him fix it. I ended up running into him a few months later and he was successful. So, I guess blind squirrels do find nuts every once in a while and there is a chance of harvesting.
That is no joke. Had someone loosen our diff cover and we got lucky and noticed a bunch if gear oil on the front of the trailer one year in the pioneer zone. Picked me up some dummy plates for a few states to blend in now, and havnt had another issue and always get more waves now.
 

Sharpio

FNG
Joined
Aug 11, 2021
Messages
16
Always a fun area to hunt, dont hold out for a mature bull though. I would take the first small 5 or 6 point you see. We have hunted all over 32A and seem to find elk everywhere and lots of hunters...
 
Joined
Jul 8, 2019
Messages
11
Location
Idaho
Lots of logging going on in 32A and it will be a while before elk come back in numbers.

They had good cover and now have 300 to 400 yards of visibility.
 

woz18

FNG
Joined
Mar 7, 2023
Messages
9
I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure how to PM… 🫣

I hear the out of state part- fairly used to that, 8th time heading out was as a Michigander - comes with the territory. we are flying in so we will have Idaho plates thankfully.

I will certainly reach back out after my hunt.

I’m used to going deep but there’s no where to go. Going to try to do as much discovery first two days via glass and roads. Key in on less populated areas.

Got 10 days!

Thanks all!
 

woz18

FNG
Joined
Mar 7, 2023
Messages
9
Hunted Weiser for 10 days.. Idaho is an ass kicker!

We honestly had an awesome hunt.. I was playing Guide/ Caller for my Dad and a good friend who just got into bow hunting. We were on elk every day except two, and those two days were only because we decided to go check out cascade area.. LOT OF PEOPLE and ORV's in the area.

If a more experience person was on the bow we should of harvested 4 bulls..

Where we found elk was near private, steep to the point you couldn't walk up it, and the thickest country I've seen.

IDAHO ppl are great, and honestly put it second on my out of state hunts behind Wyoming, because WYOMING - if you know you know.. Sure beat the hell out of CO OTC, and Montana general though!

Will be back!
 
Joined
Oct 16, 2020
Messages
2
I have a OTC archery elk tag this year for the Weiser unit and I am looking forward to learning a new unit in ID. I am a solo hunter and plan to learn the unit this spring/summer. I live in WA now, but a transplant from NM.
 
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