Scouting advice for first time Idaho OTC Archery Hunt

[dgaudi]

Hello Rokslide community. This is my first post and I am going to try to break the mold of all of the first time posts I see on here that read like " I am hunting this unit at this time and would appreciate tips on how to hunt it" and of course the disclaimer "*not looking for honey holes". I hope my post triggers a different reaction. Your input is appreciated.

I am in a unique situation in that I am able to travel to Boise for work this summer (company I work for has a plant in caldwell). I would like to take advantage of this opportunity to get some boots on the ground scouting done as well as do some solo camping. I will be doing my first OTC archery elk hunt this september with a buddy. We are from Iowa and have calibrated our expectations for the trip and are well underway with our pre-trip preparation (physical fitness, gear assembly, daily rokslide forum perusing, etc.). Main objective is experience, if we come back with a full cooler then even better, but the experience is what we are after. I have not made a final decision on zone, but looking at the Pioneer A tag (plenty of opinions on this unit are in the forum so not really looking for input on my zone selection). A piece of advice I see reoccurring through out this forum is "hunt where the elk are", that advice may seem simple and be overlooked by a lot of first-time hunters, but I think it will be a critical thing to focus on as we navigate our first trip.

Regardless of what zone we purchase our OTC tags in, the input I am looking for from the community is in regard to my scouting mission. Here is a list of questions I have:

Timing of scouting mission. I have a flexible schedule and can time my visit accordingly. We are looking to travel for our hunt saturday 9/5 and head back home saturday 9/18. ~12 days of hunting 2 days of travel. Will likely use the first sunday and monday to get recovered from drive/acclimated and focus on scouting and getting through the list of areas we have pre-scouted and attempt to find spot with least amount of hunters. Knowing the amount of time we are spending on our hunt I assumed would be important for scouting strategy input.

Should I try to get my work trip scheduled as close to start as season as possible? Or should I look beginning of August?

Duration of scouting trip. What do you think would be a reasonable amount of time I should plan to scout for? I am assuming a ~5 hour drive from Boise to the Pioneer zone units if thats we decide. Have to factor that in for the return day to the airport as well. I have some vacation days, but don't want to burn too many as I am taking a large chunk for the hunt. My initial plan is to take care of work Monday-Wednesday and head for the mountains Wednesday afternoon. Scout all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and flyout of Boise Sunday. This will give me an opportunity to test my pack and gear as well.

General scouting advice for that time of year. If you were in my boots what would your days look like if you were trying to maximize the intel gathering? Should I bounce around areas not focusing on going too deep? I will have some E-Scouting completed prior to the scouting mission and can mark areas I would like to check but would appreciate the community’s input on best way to approach this trip knowing how much time I have. One of my objectives is to get familiar with the access points of the units I will be hunting and potentially find areas were we can base camp before spiking out. From the information on the forms it sounds like trail heads can get pretty congested with hunters at various times so I would like to have plan A B C D….G for different scenarios we may encounter come September.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific information that you feel would help me. I am an easy-going dude from the Midwest so if anyone from that area has any interest in meeting up while I am out I am open to that as well.

 

[idahohikker]

Thoughtful first post. You likely won’t have enough time to scout in depth like a local would. Just go for a few days and get the lay of the land and find out generally how the elk are using the landscape, which areas you see more cows, etc. A long weekend should be sufficient. Anytime after the 4th of July should work. Scouting would mostly be focusing on the high elevation summer range basins where there’s elk feed and water.

Nonresidents love the Pioneer these days, just like the Frank. Fish and game pushes it big time for whatever reason. You’ll need a plan A-Z because so many will be blown up and you won’t know where the pressure pops up year to year until your hunt. As a new guy I’d find a place a little farther off the beaten path for better chances at unpressured elk that’ll talk to you. Feel free to PM and I can make some suggestions.

Good luck.

 

[dgaudi]

Thoughtful first post. You likely won’t have enough time to scout in depth like a local would. Just go for a few days and get the lay of the land and find out generally how the elk are using the landscape, which areas you see more cows, etc. A long weekend should be sufficient. Anytime after the 4th of July should work. Scouting would mostly be focusing on the high elevation summer range basins where there’s elk feed and water.

Nonresidents love the Pioneer these days, just like the Frank. Fish and game pushes it big time for whatever reason. You’ll need a plan A-Z because so many will be blown up and you won’t know where the pressure pops up year to year until your hunt. As a new guy I’d find a place a little farther off the beaten path for better chances at unpressured elk that’ll talk to you. Feel free to PM and I can make some suggestions.

Good luck.

Idahohikker,

Apparently I need to have 10 posts and be a user for 7 days to have PM ability. I will work on that. In the meantime if you would be willing to chat on email my email is [email protected]. Would appreciate your perspective and advice. Thanks for replying to my post.

 

[Fullfan]

One thing to remember about the elk in Idaho, many zones have wolves. And just because the elk are here today, does not mean they will be tomorrow. Always have a plan B, C, D, E, F ect..

 

[GregB]

I would go as close to season as possible. There are a lot of roads that do not show on the map and a lot of ATV hunters that will drive wherever they please. So I would look for areas where the terrain will not allow access to ATVs. Elk need food water and cover so find an area that has these things and when you look at it you think "getting there is really going to suck". You don't necessarily have to go in there while scouting and burn a bunch of time but now you have a plan A and so on. A little bit of walking and elevation gain will eliminate a lot of hunters. I would get ONx as well there are a lot of pieces of private in some areas. It can also be a pain to find a camp, people pile into the turn outs and easy camping areas pretty quick. Getting eyes on will help with your plan for the hunt. Areas that look accessible or great for elk on GE may be just the opposite once you are actually there.

 

[7Bartman]

I'd go as close to the season as possible and place some trail cameras in some likely spots. You can check the cams when you come back for a hunt, it might help rule in/out some places.

 

[Trbrincefield]

I did my first Idaho elk hunt last year, and it was awesome!! There are a lot of areas not far from boise and Caldwell that have elk, if you need plan b, and since you are working in the area don't be afraid to frequent the pro shops around and ask questions. Idaho hunters got a bad rap somehow with out of state hunters. All the ones I encountered were nothing but friendly, and I'm from california.

 

[String&stick]

Should of asked for honey holes. . . Never know when the 10,000th time might be the charm!!!

Good first post and I will fill in a little from my Idaho experience. . . In the pioneer zone.

1. Google Earth will not prepare you for the steepness of Idaho. I live in Nebraska and ran stairs, used the stairmaster, and hiked some canyons I have access to and when we arrived I was blown away by the steepness! It's awesome, and beautiful, but steep and rugged.

2. There will be people everywhere in the pioneer zone. . . If you pick that zone just set the expectation that you won't be alone. I'm talking campers/tents at every trail, ATVs where allowed, dirt bikes where allowed, and where those aren't allowed. . . Piles of horse trailers and guys hiking in. We had 9 guys come up one drainage in 2 days before we abandoned it and it looked "out of the way".

3. Decide what you want. Will you trade a few less people for less bugling? If so earlier may be the best option. If you need to hear bugling and will fight the crowd, go later.

4. Literally have 10-12 back up plans, and be ready to stay mobile. Wilderness isn't all. It's cracked up to be and in my experience I've seen more people headed into wilderness areas than a lot of areas outside of it.

5. Just have fun. No mater where you wind up enjoy it for what it is. Elk hunting is hard, and much harder once something is on the ground. But it's a blast being out in those mountains. If you do wind up in pioneer, it is in a dark sky preserve and you will have an opportunity to see more stars than you've probably seen in your life. (Most of the mountains are like this)

Shoot me a p.m. when you have a full access and I'll help where I can. Idahohikker is also a good guy, take him up on his offer to p.m.

 

[Jim Carr]

Id try to scout in July sometime when the elk are out in full force. I often find them very near where they are going to be this time of the summer yet more visiable than when it gets real hot .Just allowing you too look at country quickly and more productive where as you come late August when its hot its possible that you may be looking in the right places but not seeing them. FYI the Pioneer zone is very popular and fish and game talks it up quite a bit. However you may find a spot in there only to go back in the season and have 8 -10 vehicles parked where you plan on heading in . Its way overpressured in my opinion.

 

[87TT]

I like to do my scouting during or just before the season. As soon as people start setting up camps and running around, the elk are going to change their habits and hideouts.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

I’ll echo what the others said in that the elk are going to be doing one thing in July or August, and something totally different when September rolls around. I’d e-scout as much as possible, pick a specific area, then pick a specific back-up area. Show up a couple days early, check out your plan A. If it looks like a total bust, move to plan B.

 

[Marble]

I’ll echo what the others said in that the elk are going to be doing one thing in July or August, and something totally different when September rolls around. I’d e-scout as much as possible, pick a specific area, then pick a specific back-up area. Show up a couple days early, check out your plan A. If it looks like a total bust, move to plan B.

This can be true, but not always. Scouting in July and the hunting in sept will yell you know. In CO where I hunt, snow prevents them from being in certain spots in July. But where I'm at in ID, seems they get back in there. I found sheds etc.

Guess my point is its area specific.

I know where I hunt in Idaho, I see elk sign that is several months to fresh all on the same ridge.

I like scouting ahead of time just to figure out camping, trails, time and distance, water sources.

 

[dgaudi]

Appreciate all of the input guys! Still dialing in the details of the trip, I think the navigational/logistical knowledge gained in the scouting trip will be a huge benefit and is one of the main goals of the scouting mission.

 

[North Idaho Stickbow]

This can be true, but not always. Scouting in July and the hunting in sept will yell you know. In CO where I hunt, snow prevents them from being in certain spots in July. But where I'm at in ID, seems they get back in there. I found sheds etc.

Guess my point is its area specific.

I know where I hunt in Idaho, I see elk sign that is several months to fresh all on the same ridge.

I like scouting ahead of time just to figure out camping, trails, time and distance, water sources.

I suppose if there were an “always” in hunting somewhere , I’d have several freezers full and my own TV show lol.

 

[sneaky]

Good that you are getting after it this year, once they start putting caps on all the zones for NR it's going to change a lot of people's plans starting in 2021. It's nothing against NR, no matter how people view it, it will just keep certain units from absorbing a lot of the pressure. Unfortunately Pioneer zone is one such zone. If they would let 5k NR buy tags in Diamond Creek I could assure you they would sell them all. There are still places in Pioneer you can escape pressure, it just takes more work.

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[kvw4x4]

My advice would be when scouting don’t be looking for bulls. You wanna find the cows. During the rut the bulls will come find those cows. And also gohunt. Good luck

 

[ndbuck09]

ya man, think a lot about looking for cow groups

 

[ElkChappo]

Idahohikker,

Apparently I need to have 10 posts and be a user for 7 days to have PM ability. I will work on that. In the meantime if you would be willing to chat on email my email is [email protected]. Would appreciate your perspective and advice. Thanks for replying to my post.

I am in the same boat with the 10 post 7 day lag. It sucks

 

[87TT]

patience grasshopper

 

[jscheil]

As a first timers in Idaho last year, My group from Iowa learned it took many miles of hiking off the beaten path to find relatively untouched areas - and then we found out why we had limited success to go along with our limited contact with others. We’re heading back next year with several options and a better gameplan.


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