Non-resident Idaho DIY Elk 2022

[Jmaberry11]

Hey everyone, I am also new to rokslide and I figured I would post in this thread due to it's relevance for me. I am doing my first elk hunt in 2022 (rifle October) in the selway region. There will be 4 of us, each with military backgrounds. We have pretty extensive experience in mountainous terrain, however, not in Idaho. I'm looking for any advice y'all can give. I understand the terrain will push us quite a bit, which is kind of what has drawn us to it. But with that, we obviously want to stay safe. Looking forward to hearing some thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Josh

 

[JREG19]

Hey everyone, I am also new to rokslide and I figured I would post in this thread due to it's relevance for me. I am doing my first elk hunt in 2022 (rifle October) in the selway region. There will be 4 of us, each with military backgrounds. We have pretty extensive experience in mountainous terrain, however, not in Idaho. I'm looking for any advice y'all can give. I understand the terrain will push us quite a bit, which is kind of what has drawn us to it. But with that, we obviously want to stay safe. Looking forward to hearing some thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Josh

When I'm looking at a new area to hunt, I do a lot of escouting. I look for areas with a lot of fingers, I'll glass a finger a lot and if I don't see anything I move to the next and glass the next finger and so on. The fingers that I pick tend to have patches of timber, I don't hunt any super thick stuff because it's easy to hide in there and if I can't see it I can't shoot it. This is my style of hunting, if you're having success other areas I would just keep doing what you're doing. Also try different elevations, everybody always wants to go as high as they can but I've had a lot of success upper middle mountain.

Good skill!

Jacoby

 

[JesseBYOE]

I went to Idaho the last two years 2019 and 2020. Wasn't able to go this year. I was in the Lemhi zone. From what I found NRs would backpack hunt and go in deep 4+ miles. Locals day hunted and stayed within a couple miles of the trailhead. IMO stay mobile and day hunt.

Locals might be on to something…

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

Hey everyone, I am also new to rokslide and I figured I would post in this thread due to it's relevance for me. I am doing my first elk hunt in 2022 (rifle October) in the selway region. There will be 4 of us, each with military backgrounds. We have pretty extensive experience in mountainous terrain, however, not in Idaho. I'm looking for any advice y'all can give. I understand the terrain will push us quite a bit, which is kind of what has drawn us to it. But with that, we obviously want to stay safe. Looking forward to hearing some thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Josh

First elk hunt ever in the Selway? Hell yeah. When you get there, go to the Fenn Ranger Station. Ask for the FMO. Tell him you guys have significantly more balls than brains. Ask him where he would go to find a bull and that you don’t give a F-ck where it is. He may just tell you guys about an absolute shit hole where you can find a bull. That’s the beauty of flying low and slow all summer. Learn to bugle and hopefully you are set up to shoot long.

 

[InkedElkSlayer]

OP… You want to hunt ID and get away from people? Get on the IDFG website and see what tags are still available OTC… as of right now tonight.
Lolo Zone baby.
I Gar-Own-Fck-N-Tee you that if you want to get away from people, go to ID Unit 10/12.

 

[Jmaberry11]

For those that responded to my post, thank you! Unfortunately I didn't have great connectivity where I was working so this has been super delayed. Getting pretty close to our selway trip in October and now I'm hammering down trying to prep gear and e scout.

I started digging into more forum posts about the region and it's generally pretty negative. Either way, we're pumped to go see this part of the country and just maybe get on some elk.

 

[Jmaberry11]

Anyone interested, here’s a short run down of our recent DIY elk hunt in Idaho. Spoiler alert, we did not get an animal.

Selway A Tag. Last week of October.

First stop was the Fish and Game office in Salmon, ID. They were super helpful and there isn’t much more to say.

We decided to go hunt a day earlier than we planned which was good for getting oriented to the area. Took the Macgruder Corridor from Darby, MT. I will say that nothing online quite did this road justice. We were in a 4x4 pickup and it did fine, however, there are some super sketchy areas on the road with big drop offs and narrow corners. We started getting snow dumped on us immediately and kept pushing all the way to Salmon Mountain, then an hour later we got back in the truck and headed out. If there is snow on the ground, this road can be TOUGH. Based on that we only felt comfortable hunting Unit 17 for the rest of the week.

Overall the unit is absolutely beautiful terrain. It is extremely rugged, like everyone said. If you’re going on foot, just be prepared to get a good leg pump. Definitely not impossible terrain if you’re in good shape and have some experience in the mountains. One thing to note is that relying on water filtration from streams, creeks, etc. will add some significant climbs and descents to your adventure.

We saw some does in the area but never did get eyes on elk within unit 17 (there were plenty of elk just east of the unit in MT). It was super tough to glass because of the snow storms. Visibility was limited throughout our hunt.

All in all, if it were between this unit and not hunting I would definitely go back. Really wish I could’ve made it to a couple spots in Units 19 and 20, but it wasn’t in the cards. Again, the country was beautiful. But with that comes some intense hiking. Pretty standard rule of thumb I suppose.

If anyone has specific questions about our hunt or Unit 17, shoot me a message. I am a new hunter in general so I don’t have the best insight, but if I can help at all I will!

Joshua

 

[Jmaberry11]

Oh yeah, it is always a good idea to grab a map and bring a compass. You NEVER know when your electronics will fail. But they usually never fail at a convenient time.

 

[BigNate]

Glad you enjoyed your adventure!
Elk hunting Northern Idaho is usually tough. It's all up or down, you're never in good enough shape to ignore the exertion.

 

[molliesmaster]

Pat McManus tried to warn everyone about the roads being bad a while ago.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Coppertopr]

Do you see any grizzly in these units? Wolves and Black Bears for sure, but how many grizzly bears have you seen.

 

[oldhornhunter]

Hi everyone, I’m new to Rokslide but I usually look at everyone’s posts for information for my hunts and some pointers.

Anyways, I am a younger bow Hunter from New Mexico and am looking for ways to hunt elk . I generally have success and can usually get on bulls fairly easy. However, getting tags here can be a pain sometimes and they just don’t seem to be bugling good until the last couple days of archery season. I have been looking at out of state opportunities in multiple states and I like what Idaho has to offer.

I have heard really good things about OTC elk hunting in Idaho and would love to try it out next year. I am not asking for areas to hunt, but would just like to know what it’s like to hunt there and what dates would be best (I’m guessing the end of September).

This past September I hunted the 1st through 14th and my buddy hunted the 15th through the 24th. I walked 120 miles in good areas that I scouted and had from years past. I heard a total of about 10 bugles on my hunt. On my buddies hunt, they were bugling better, but nothing like what I see in other states with better elk hunting. I just got back from a youth muzzleloader hunt and the elk were finally rutting in the middle of October, which sucks because I’d like to experience that in an archery hunt.

New Mexico has been good to me, this past September really put this state in perspective for me though. There are too many tags in these small areas and not enough big bulls to get on. I hunted wilderness for 14 days and ran into hunters wether I was 3 miles in, or 15 miles in. I also have only been drawing early September hunts (1st-14th) and I’d like to have more options for the dates which is something I like about Idaho.

I do not mind hunting the backcountry, wilderness, high elevation, or flat lands. I have the gear and equipment to do it all. I just want to know if it’s worth it to buy an OTC tag! Any and all information would be greatly appreciated!

Idaho's elk & deer herds have been in the toilet for the last few years !! Do not believe Idaho F&G they are keyboard & paper data controlled !! Their info is based solely on what they think is correct . Idaho has some decent units for elk but IF your gonna spend that kind of $$ go to WY or MT where they have a butt load of elk !!

 

[Bigborealaska]

I went to Idaho the last two years 2019 and 2020. Wasn't able to go this year. I was in the Lemhi zone. From what I found NRs would backpack hunt and go in deep 4+ miles. Locals day hunted and stayed within a couple miles of the trailhead. IMO stay mobile and day hunt.

I'm a resident hunt the same zone and I go 4+ miles on day 1 of my hunts. I like to get away from people and go where others won't. This is sound advice because alot of people don't go too far to hunt.

 

[Ry_Harr_81]

Idaho's elk & deer herds have been in the toilet for the last few years !! Do not believe Idaho F&G they are keyboard & paper data controlled !! Their info is based solely on what they think is correct . Idaho has some decent units for elk but IF your gonna spend that kind of $$ go to WY or MT where they have a butt load of elk !!

Montana and Wyoming arent OTC tho.....Colorado no longer will be beginning 2025. I also dont get discouraged when i hear about hunting pressure or low density. you guys should try hunting public land in the massive state of Delaware then tell me about pressure and density lol.

 

[oldhornhunter]

Montana and Wyoming arent OTC tho.....Colorado no longer will be beginning 2025. I also dont get discouraged when i hear about hunting pressure or low density. you guys should try hunting public land in the massive state of Delaware then tell me about pressure and density lol.

2024 is the Last year for OTC NR tags !! Idaho bill 587 was sent to the legislation to end OTC NR tags .. Starting Jan 1st 2025 ALL NR tags will be in applied for in a drawing just like we have for residents

 

[Ry_Harr_81]

If I read correctly though, non residents can buy OTC tags in Idaho as early as 12/1 for the following / next season. So wouldn't that mean that the bill wouldn't affect non resident license purchases until 12/1/2025? Not 12/1/2024 for the 24/25 season? 'This act shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1st 2025.'

 

[oldhornhunter]

If I read correctly though, non residents can buy OTC tags in Idaho as early as 12/1 for the following / next season. So wouldn't that mean that the bill wouldn't affect non resident license purchases until 12/1/2025? Not 12/1/2024 for the 24/25 season? 'This act shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1st 2025.'

Not sure of that , usually if a bill affecting F&G issues passes in Idaho it goes into effect almost immediately !! Prime example was their stupid Ass shed antler closure talked about it in Nov Dec went into law almost as soon as they shut the lights off after the meeting !! It needs to happen NOW the system IF&G has is a F ing Joke !!

 

[Customweld]

HB 587 Was held in committee.

 

[Ry_Harr_81]

Not sure of that , usually if a bill affecting F&G issues passes in Idaho it goes into effect almost immediately !! Prime example was their stupid Ass shed antler closure talked about it in Nov Dec went into law almost as soon as they shut the lights off after the meeting !! It needs to happen NOW the system IF&G has is a F ing Joke !!

I just called the Idaho House of Representatives. Basically, two things, if the bill did get past and put into effect January 1st 2025, yes that still means I technically could have slid under the bar and bought over-the-counter tags December 1st 2024 for the 2025 season. However, she mentioned that the 'bill died in committee' and won't have a chance to be voted on. If it gets voted on, it would have to get reintroduced under a new bill number and basically that may not happen until 2025, with a passing date of an even later date (for example 1/1/2026). Going to call Idaho FNG to confirm. Yes, with this bill passing it would help with the hunting pressure, but my buddy has a conspiracy theory that they are doing this so non-residents are forced to basically go through outfitters, and the public land therefore is reaped by residents mainly only. Which is crazy because the western states dwarf other states in public land comparison, and elk only can be hunted in a small percentage of states...that game should be open to all to hunt imo. If you want less hunting pressure, just do even more limited tags but still keep it OTC on a resident / non resident ratio.

 

[Ry_Harr_81]

Just spoke with Idaho Fish and Game. They confirmed it 'died in committee', they also said that even if it were passed, there was no way that they could switch their system over on time by the enforcement date. What was also interesting, is that they said that the bill wasn't introduced through Fish and Game. Some Senator that has nothing to do with fish and game is the one that introduced that. My guess is some fat cat that either has hunting property was tired of running into hunters, or he's got a lot of friends that hunt that support his campaigns lol.