Why the huge increase in Idaho NR hunters?

[338maker]

I believe that it eventually go beyond rate increases. I am believing that a draw system for NR hunters is inevitable.

GOD I FREAKING HOPE SO!!!!

 

[87TT]

You already have a draw now. When you log in to buy a tag, they assign you a "RANDOM" number and you go in the waiting room. Idaho's draws are all random for control hunts.

 

[Chucklehead]

You already have a draw now. When you log in to buy a tag, they assign you a "RANDOM" number and you go in the waiting room. Idaho's draws are all random for control hunts.

Yep. The only difference is people can't apply as a group/party. I hope they make that change in the future.

 

[sneaky]

Controlled hunts are still out there....

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[87TT]

Don't forget returned tags.

 

[Rob5589]

Controlled hunts are still out there....

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OTC tags available as well

 

[sneaky]

OTC tags available as well

I was referring to the guys saying their group can't hunt together. They can still give controlled hunts a shot.

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[Rob5589]

I was referring to the guys saying their group can't hunt together. They can still give controlled hunts a shot.

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Gotcha. Plenty of otc tags for groups as well, if they're still interested.

 

[Faith48512]

Tags sold out in 2 days in the unit I usually hunt. Now I'm scrambling to find a new place to hunt. Possibly Colorado, maybe Utah.

 

[sneaky]

Tags sold out in 2 days in the unit I usually hunt. Now I'm scrambling to find a new place to hunt. Possibly Colorado, maybe Utah.

Utah raised their prices as well, something to keep in mind. Utah is far better for LE hunts than their any bull hunts. Those any bull OTC units get pounded with pressure. You gotta find 19 friends to go with you if you decide on Utah. I think that's about the minimum required for spotters and camp hangers around.

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[Huntnnw]

also in August leftover outfitter tags go on sale .. I find that whole deal a little weird as I know for damn sure some units did not have 300 plus guided hunters in it or even close.

 

[*Mountainhunter]

I have whitetail hunted as a non resident in Idaho since the mid 1990’s. I have hunted in the same two units. I am seeing less hunters in the last few years then in the hey days of many years ago.

 

[Ralphie]

Haven’t hunted Idaho since the 90s, it was good.

How do guys like gohunt, newberg and elk101 say there are not more nonresidents hunting Idaho? Yes the tags are capped but they didn’t used to sell out to nonresidents. And they even talk about how it used to be so easy for a resident to get two and even multiple tags. Sounds like more non residents to me. What am I missing?

That gohunt video was pathetic. If you are building a business on getting more people to hunt and then whine like that on a YouTube video... I wouldn’t spend a penny with them based on that attitude alone.

 

[Customweld]

Haven’t hunted Idaho since the 90s, it was good.

How do guys like gohunt, newberg and elk101 say there are not more nonresidents hunting Idaho? Yes the tags are capped but they didn’t used to sell out to nonresidents. And they even talk about how it used to be so easy for a resident to get two and even multiple tags. Sounds like more non residents to me. What am I missing?

That gohunt video was pathetic. If you are building a business on getting more people to hunt and then whine like that on a YouTube video... I wouldn’t spend a penny with them based on that attitude alone.

You are exactly right. The NR tags have been capped for years, it's only been the last couple of years that they have sold out before residents had a chance at the left overs.

 

[bluetick78]

I feel like there's more to the nonresident overcrowding than what's obvious to resident hunters. In 2020 there were thousands of people from "Left Coast" states that became "Covid Refuges". These folks rolled into Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana in force beginning in May. Campgrounds were full, dry camping spots were overrun, and it continued through summer into fall. There was tons of trash left behind, private land trespassed on, atv rules largely ignored, and so on. Throughout archery season the crowding continued. Nonresident hunters that normally would have stayed 5-10 days ended up staying the entire season, contributing to the crowding and angering residents. Forest Service enforcement struggled to keep up with people staying longer than the camping limits as usual, but in 2020 it was rampant everywhere and made residents feel helpless. Luckily, with colder weather, a large portion of these refugees grudgingly went home to their broken liberal crapholes, leaving residents of ID, Mt, and WY wondering what the hell just happened. Residents were already edgy about the nonresident hunting situation, and 2020 pushed them over the edge. Idaho saw the sad reality of what a mess this situation could become, and decided to act. The small reduction in tags and having nonresident's choose a unit are fairly mild changes compared to what could have happened.
The reality of the situations is; there is not a mature mule deer buck available for each human in the U.S. that would like to shoot one, nor is there an elk for everyone that would also like to shoot one. Our big game animals have intense predation, winter and summer range encroachment, disease, and very heavy hunting pressure to deal with. The animals are a very finite resource with a seemingly infinite lust from people wanting to kill one. To protect the resource for those who reside in the states where these animals live, the initial mitigation will always be to exclude more and more people from killing them. These excluded will typically be people that do not reside in said states.
As the popularity and social media exposure continues to increase, the number of nonresident tags will dwindle and the cost will rise. It's a cannibalistic activity, and each of us is to blame. But in the end, most states will choose residents over nonresident's. If you can't deal with that, it's probably time to take up golf.

 

[Next Ridge]

I know I am in the minority but I give it another 2-3 years of increase and popularity and then the hunting trend will start to decrease. Partly generational, partly economic, partly the industry is nearing the end of juice to squeeze and find ways to make it attractive and exciting. Partly people just lose interest, there at least 6 people I know that thought it was awesome for two years then just quit.

2020 was an outlier and I’m not putting much stock in anything that happened in 2020 from a trend perspective. (Edit) In Colorado 2019 actually saw a decrease in total elk hunters from 2018, first time in 5 years a decrease of more than 500. I’ll throw 2020 data out and wait for 2021 data.

 

[4g0t3n1]

What is elk hunting like on the west side of ID?

 

[Customweld]

What is elk hunting like on the west side of ID?

The west side of Idaho is huge! The general hunts are busy, the controlled hunts are hard to draw.