I figured something out this year, I have been hunting deer and elk in unit 39 pretty much exclusively since moving to Idaho, this year I hunted 2 different units, 1 is a very middle of the road controlled hunt unit and the other is open for whitetails but controlled hunt only for mule deer. All that being said I found it amazing how the deer in those units act like deer, they aren’t constantly on high alert, they don’t spot you from 2 miles away and bolt. Bucks actually rutting does, not group after group of does without bucks in sight come November. I have had some great experiences hunting unit 39, I found ways to get away from the crowds and learned a lot that I can put to use in other units. That being said I will not be hunting unit 39 anymore, I figured out that if I am willing to drive 100 extra miles and an extra hour or so from Boise that the experience is that much more fulfilling. Another reason I won’t be hunting 39 anymore is I don’t think it can sustain the hunter numbers anymore, in the 10 years since I’ve moved to Idaho hunter numbers in unit 39 have doubled, success rates on a percentage basis have stayed the same, that means we are taking twice as many bucks as 10 years ago and there is no end in sight.
So yea 39 is the most pressured unit in the west no questions asked and yes in a lot of cases hunting high pressured units in other states are still better hunting than Washington.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
