Idaho whitetail in October

[viva_che1363]

I have a question on  people's opinions for whitetails in early October. Rifle hunt. Does it seem more effective to find a decent spot( clear cut, trail, etc) and sit and wait, or try and cover more area and move around to find animals. Im mainly in unit 3 and most places are pretty thick, so I tend to stay put once I find what looks like a promising area, but it seems once rifle season starts the deer hole up. maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

[meatwhack]

October is probably the toughest time to kill a mature whitetail. Sitting and watching clearcuts or natural openings will be your best bet.

[Rutnbuxnbulls]

Personally I like to watch clearcuts early and late and still hunt the mid day. I can’t sit all day on a dead spot, gotta move. Even if you bump them out of beds at least you know where they tend to bed down. Use any info you gain this hunt for the next hunt. Early October is a tough time to hunt. Period.

[Naches Sportsman]

I spent a lot of time this late summer and early fall patterning bucks and found that in my honey hole logging units they were moving from 7-10 in the morning and switching beds in the afternoon most of the late summer. This past Friday and Saturday, I had zero luck sitting on cleacuts and instead found sitting/walking in between clear cuts and bedding areas was by far more effective. I saw 4 bucks this weekend but no shot opportunity. I filled my tag on a doe due to limited hunting time, but if I was still hunting this fall, I'd watch the wind and sit where I was at Saturday morning right on a heavily used game trail.

I've heard from people who hunt near you and surrounding units tell me walking through the thick stuff will produce bucks this time of year. They will hole up as soon as people bother them. They aren't dumb.

[Jimmer]

I’ve shot numerous quality white tail bucks in the last 30 years. 99% of them have been early archery when they are still bachelored up and easy to pattern or late Nov. when they are stupid. This time of year I still get out in the mountains and scout, but I know unless I get lucky,  I won’t see a 4 1/2 year old buck.

[Jimmy33]

I hunt just north of you...This last week I saw 2 pretty nice bucks. I always hunt the first week of the season and usually shoot a decent buck on that first trip. I still hunt through the thick timber where I think they bed. This is just an enjoyable, and frustrating, way to hunt. October is tough due to the foliage on the trees but find some big mountain ridge lines, get the wind in your favor, and move slowly. Late season is better for bigger bucks, but there are opportunities in the early season. One of the biggest takeaways covering ground in the early season is finding out where does like to bed...this is invaluable info come rut time.


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[Jonathan_S]

I've heard from people who hunt near you and surrounding units tell me walking through the thick stuff will produce bucks this time of year. They will hole up as soon as people bother them. They aren't dumb.

Any whitetail buck older than 1.5 will pretty much let you walk by unless you actually step in his bed 

[boneaddict]

Anything with size is almost 100 percent nocturnal.   If you are going to sit and watch you might see doe or young ones.    You need to,go to them and see them before they bolt.   
Seriously it’s like the ground opens up and the big ones come out during November.  If it wasn’t for trailcams, there are whities that will never be seen by man.

[nwwanderer]

If you saw him last august he is still there.  Bucks especially stay home except the rut.  Look close in spots, wrinkles, crevices, weed patches and brambles you would never expect to find him.  Be ready it will not last long.

[Jonathan_S]

If you saw him last august he is still there.  Bucks especially stay home except the rut.  Look close in spots, wrinkles, crevices, weed patches and brambles you would never expect to find him.  Be ready it will not last long.

I think generally this is true and he'll be "in the area" but in that 3.5-4.5-5.5 time frame, it seems that more often than not buck will adjust their home range. 

Example:  I've hunted three bucks for the past 3 years.  One is 6.5-7.5 this year and his home range is just a little different each year.  Another is 5.5-6.5 and he also lives on the same hill but his "center" is different every year.

[viva_che1363]

Well went out today and still didn't see anything, I'm pretty sure i jumped a doe at one point but wasnt able to get a visual,  tall brush and Im a short guy.

Bone, any pointers on what areas to focus on? It seems you have things pretty well figured out. Im trying to make that shift from randomly finding animals, to learning the why of their behavior.

Jimmy, thank you for that advise I'll try that out, how do you determine what area of timber you'll check out, or is it just trial and error?

 In any case,  I just read 3nails tread on rattling, and found some nice sheds over the winter, so if nothing else november I'll be trying that out.

[Jonathan_S]

Well went out today and still didn't see anything, I'm pretty sure i jumped a doe at one point but wasnt able to get a visual,  tall brush and Im a short guy.

Bone, any pointers on what areas to focus on? It seems you have things pretty well figured out. Im trying to make that shift from randomly finding animals, to learning the why of their behavior.

Jimmy, thank you for that advise I'll try that out, how do you determine what area of timber you'll check out, or is it just trial and error?

 In any case,  I just read 3nails tread on rattling, and found some nice sheds over the winter, so if nothing else november I'll be trying that out.

If you're scouting places for November in North Idaho, I'd recommend finding not just a Plan B but Plans C-Z if possible.  Not trying to be negative about it, it's just that the general areas get hit hard.

[huntnnw]

I wouldnt even bother hunting mature whitetails till November. October is about the worst time to find them, one positive and lots of luck is just the amount of people in the woods may spook a buck to where you may see it and get a shot.  The other is to hunt areas bucks havent been bothered by people at all, which usually means getting miles into places. I have watched some mature whitetails in October before out feeding in some remote areas.

[bornhunter]

I screwed up and didnt get my WT tag bought for Idaho and they sold out. So I will be the only guy in camp with no tag huntin 10A. Are there many grouse in this unit does anyone know?

[Naches Sportsman]

I screwed up and didnt get my WT tag bought for Idaho and they sold out. So I will be the only guy in camp with no tag huntin 10A. Are there many grouse in this unit does anyone know?

Bring a shotgun as theres a few and a rifle for the wolf tag you should buy if you haven't bought one.