Idaho roll call

[jackelope]

We were there all last week. Around Bonners Ferry. Very little if any signs of rutting bucks where we were at. We got snow, a few inches one night and we bailed out a day early because it was snowing hard another night. We were camped at almost 4K'. 3 of us ate tag soup. Tough country to hunt with it being so thick. Had visibility issues with the snow and fog. Maybe next time we go a little later in the year so we have more reliable rut. We had a good time though. Thanks to all of those who shared advice with me.

[nalley112]

My Idaho fly in backcountry mule deer I shot

[bigjohn98591]

From unit 6. My B.I.L. and I with our bucks. (I'm the one on the left.) We arrived in St Maries on the 10th spent the night. Got up the next morning and headed out to set up camp.

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[elkhunter00]

From unit 6. My B.I.L. and I with our bucks. (I'm the one on the left.) We arrived in St Maries on the 10th spent the night. Got up the next morning and headed out to set up camp.

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Are you the guys that were cutting the trees out of the road? We were in the Titus Will truck.

[bigjohn98591]

Yup that was us.

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[elkhunter00]

Got it on Wed

[bigjohn98591]

Got it on Wed

Nice job, bout the same size as ours.

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[elkboy]

My first Idaho hunt could hardly have gone better.  It was not exactly a wilderness hunt, being in the farm and forest mix of the lowlands, but the cold temperatures, the skiff of snow in the woods, and the sunny blue skies made it a classic early winter experience.

*Short story*  After a day and a half of grunting and rattling in thick timber and brush, I set up to wait for a good meat doe on a friend's hay pasture.  After just 20 minutes, I was blessed with the appearance and quick harvest of a beautiful mature whitetail buck.

*Long write-up* On Saturday, I headed out with a friend who wanted to learn about hunting.  We did a number of ground setups with rattling and grunting, but the only deer we saw was a doe at long distance through the ponderosa pines.  We did see a lot of wildlife, though, including sharp-shinned hawks, wild turkeys (loud!), and numerous songbirds.  On Sunday, my hunting plans with friends fell through due to a small family emergency on their part.  I called another friend of mine, and he told me there were more than enough deer to go around on his property, and that I was welcome.  I help him with some farm chores until about noon, and then slip into the timber.  I set up over a brushy draw with the east wind in my face, and spend the next two hours grunting and rattling occasionally.  I call in two deer, both of which I never see.  One comes in through the brush and mature timber down the draw to my right, making noise but never stepping out.  The other came in behind me through a ten year old ponderosa plantation, and I hear footsteps turn to hoof-beats as the frosty breeze carries my scent to his infallible nose.

Half amused and half frustrated by how both the deer and I shared "success" in my calling session, I return to my friend's hay field, which he assured me brings out 2-3 does on a very regular nightly basis.  With only this weekend to dedicate to my hunt, I give up on antlers, and decide that a doe is a very good use of this particular Idaho tag.  I set up under a pine near an old hay barn, with the wind in my face.  The low November sun cast a golden shine to the larches, pines, and Douglas-fir, and the green sprouts in the hay pasture had thawed from their frost.  Looking out through the low branches, I decide that the longest shot I would have on a deer is directly south, to where a lobe of the pasture sits between a young pine plantation and a brushy patch at 200 yards distance.  I spend 2-3 minutes getting my shooting sticks and stance just right to make a shot there.  And not fifteen minutes later... it happens.  A large-bodied deer emerges at the very spot I have set up for, and I glance with the binoculars.  My jaw drops, and I do not need to count points to begin scrambling to get my rifle to my shoulder.  The buck walks fifteen yards down the field edge, neck stretched as he tests the breeze for the scent of does.  I wait, with a pounding heart, as he turns broadside.  I hold a little high on his vitals, and steady the .243 Savage on the shooting sticks.  A trigger pull, an explosion, a staggering run into the pines on the part of the deer, and a breathless 90-yard blood trailing job lead me to where this beautiful buck had fallen among the snowberry and the tall grasses of the forest edge.  A waxing moon rises as I perform the rituals: tagging, field dressing, and placing the "last bite" ('letztes Bissen'- German hunting tradition of last respects) of grasses in the mouth of the fallen champion.  I am mostly a meat hunter, generally a taker of does; but over the course of my life I do not see it as inconsistent to take the occasional trophy buck, and be grateful for the gift of both meat and the memory-keeper of antlers. 

Best of luck to all of you for the rest of this fall! And HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

[Jimmy33]

Nice deer


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[andrew_in_idaho]

Well after hunting quite a bit during late archery and knowing that I had an empty freezer and family to feed I decided it was time to shoot any deer(yearlings not included), I spotted a few does feeding on a ridge within about 1/2 mile of the road in a stalkable location. As I peeked over the rockpile I thought they would be behind I saw nothing. I noticed another rockpile about 100 yds away and thought to myself I had made a mistake and gone to the wrong rockpile. I went back and grabbed my pack which I had dropped before sneaking over the rocks. I turned and walked right back over the rocks I'd just been standing at and the deer busted from 10 yds downhill, I laid down immediately and they settled down when they got out to about 90 yards, then the biggest doe decided she needed to investigate. She kept creeping closer and when she went behind a bush at 55 yds I drew. She took a few steps into the clear and stopped and I let fly and watched my arrow sail over her back. She took off and circled around to the uphill side of me and started creeping back in still unsure of what was going on, this time she reached 70 yds and I let fly and again watched my arrow sail over her back. This time she had had enough so I went and started searching for my arrows. I planned to retrieve my arrows and head back to my truck but I found fresh deer sign all over the hillside while searching and decided I needed to investigate a little more. I headed over the next couple of little rises and found deer everywhere. I probably glassed up 100-150 deer from the spot I was sitting in but could hardly find a buck amongst the various groups. I found a decent 3 point in the one group and they were in perfect position for a stalk so I worked my way around and above them on some rimrock, but when I crept over the top the buck was nowhere to be found. There were several does still there however and meat was goal 1 so I picked a nice fat doe, ranged her at 55 yds, stepped back and drew my bow. 1 step forward to the edge again and she is turned back licking her side with her head and neck covering the vitals, I held at full draw till she turned back forward and let fly. She took off like a banshee and I thought I had missed again but she took a tumble about 20 yards out and I knew I had found my mark. I watched her lay down and expire within sight but decided a little bloodtrailing practice is never a bad idea. This is what I found
I followed it the rest of the way to my deer and got to work. Here's a photo of the deer
After I was done dressing her out I started putting things away in my pack and turned behind me to find a large group of deer had wandered into the draw I was in
No reason for that pic other than just a bunch of deer and an idea of the kind of country I was hunting. This doe is tasty(they always are)


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