Whitetail hunting in the Idaho panhandle

[Dipsnort]

I have been invited to hunt in the vicinity of the St. Maries River in Idaho for whitetails this coming Fall where we'll have the opportunity to hunt during the rut.  I'm pretty excited since I have never hunted during the rut or in a location where whitetails are present.  But, while I've done a lot of reading over the years about whitetail habits and habitat, I have some questions that maybe you folks could help out with.

I understand that whitetails don't mind human presence too much as long as they have dense brush patches to hang out in.  And it sounds like they're more likely to hang around in river bottoms that up in the mountains (is that a true statement?).  Since we're hunting the rut I think all I need to do is find where the does hang out and the bucks should be scouting those same areas.

Although I don't rattle or use grunt calls, decoys or "doe in heat" lures for deer hunting I'm considering doing so for this particular hunt in light of the fact that whitetails are known for being more aggressive during the rut than muleys or blacktails.  I'd appreciate any advice you can offer on these tactics.  I'll be looking for something with 10 points or better.

[Slayock]

Every year that I have hunted the rut I always found the does and the bucks were there too.  I scouted for four days one year and every day I saw the same group of does and every day there was a bigger buck with them.  As far as bucks hanging out in river bottoms over being up high im not sure i agree.  I have seen deer up high in the mountains and down in the river bottoms so I think it really depends on the area and the amount of snow in the mountains.

[jackelope]

I've never been into using scents, but  love to rattle and use a grunt tube in the rut. it is great fun...try it.
in the rut if there are does around there is usually a buck on their tails...be it a little guy or a bruiser, there's usually at least one around. at least you should think there is. as far as terrain, i agree with the last post.

[wazzuhunter]

I've never hunted in that area before but I have heard there are some pig whiteys in there.  I have hunted the Palouse area during the rut and found that you see the larger bucks a lot more often than in the general season.  I would recommend sitting around and watching groups of does if you can find them and if that doesn't work try a little rattling and see if you can get a buck to come to you.  As far as scent goes, it couldn't hurt to throw a little doe estrus on, if for nothing more than covering your own human scent.  I've seen whitetails in both river bottoms and on top of ridges, I don't think whitetails are really that picky about where they live.  As far as looking for something with 10 pts or better I am assuming you are talking about Eastern count because you could be waiting a while for a 10 pointer Western count.  Good luck.

[Sneaky]

Whitetails get mighty cagey the moment they're disturbed, which makes hunting them on public land or land that gets hit hard tough, But they don't usually totally leave an area that has decent cover. Do what the other hunters don't do. I killed my whitetail this year out of a stand of trees close to the parking lot of my public land spot that 99% of the other hunters walk right on by.

If you're hunting private land or low-pressure deer, then look for concentrations of does and the bucks will be there.

[Elkstuffer]

Not to rain on your parade but they had a 75% winter kill last year and were getting hammered  again earlier this year. I've hunted over there for quite a few years (I grew up 1 hour south of there) but didn't last year. Friends of mine hunted my area for 7 days and saw very few does and no bucks.

Do yourself a huge favor and get ahold of the local biologist and talk to him before making any plans. I don't think they sold out on tags last year either. That should tell you something right there.

[Lincoln4]

Eeewww...  Using Doe Estrus as a cover scent doesn't sound like a good idea...  "Geez Joe, what happened to the seat of your new camo gear?"  "Shut up and get me to the ER..."

[Dipsnort]

Not to rain on your parade but they had a 75% winter kill last year and were getting hammered  again earlier this year. I've hunted over there for quite a few years (I grew up 1 hour south of there) but didn't last year. Friends of mine hunted my area for 7 days and saw very few does and no bucks.

Do yourself a huge favor and get ahold of the local biologist and talk to him before making any plans. I don't think they sold out on tags last year either. That should tell you something right there.

Thanks for the heads up.  I've been hearing some talk of wolves taking their toll as well, but I haven't seen any hard evidence.  Good idea on finding a wildlife biologist for the area.

[HuntingFanatic]

I saw a few wolf piles up the St. Joes valley. Spent 6 days last november there. Really slim! Talked to a biologist coming out and he checked 3 deer coming out of the valley over a 3 day weekend! It was really rough last year. I saw 6 deer in 6 days.....most of them were not as big as a german shepard! There was some really cool country to hunt....but......yeah well im going to skip Idaho this year!

[Wenatcheejay]

First time in five years I will not have an Idaho tag for deer or elk. Until I can have a wolf tag I just don't see a point. I even talked to the loggers last year down in 6 and 10A both said that deer and elk are slim. Last year even the moose were nearly non existant. In 07 the snow was really heavy.

[whacker1]

I hunted for 20 days last year in units 6, 7 & 9.  Mostly in 6.  The elk and deer are both hurting really bad due to wolves.  Normally I pass on several 100 class whitetail 3 and 4 points.  Last year I didn't see anything bigger than a forked horn.  I won't be going back to that area unless it is for black bear.  I hunted there 2005, 2006, 2008.  I think when you see the harvest reports come out, they will look off quite a bit from prior years.  Here is a thread of the wolf tracks we took in early december in the snow.  Walt took the pics as he agreed to join me for the last day's outing.

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,15840.msg178993.html#msg178993

The wolf population isn't as strong in Unit 5 - West of St. Maries and North of I-90.