Frank Church

[10thmountainarcher]

A couple buddies and I are wanting to plan a combo elk/mule deer hunt in the Frank Church. We plan on using an outfitter, so I’m wondering if anyone has one they recommend. We aren’t slouches when it comes to physical fitness and are looking for a good hard back country hunt. Thanks in advance.

[vandeman17]

We did a drop camp with wild Idaho outfitters a few years back and killed one bull and one buck. The buck in my avatar was killed there

[bugs n bones]

Travis bullock mile high outfitters

[WapitiTalk1]

Ugh. If you’re paying for a hunt, the Church and Selway Bitteroot is the last place you should consider, seriously.

[10thmountainarcher]

If anyone has a better suggestion on where to go for a solid combo hunt, I am all ears. We are just starting to plan, the only requirement is it be a back country hunt.

[lewy]

Ugh. If you’re paying for a hunt, the Church and Selway Bitteroot is the last place you should consider, seriously.

 

Beautiful rugged country but elk numbers are low now days, we seen more wolves than elk on a recent trip into the frank

[10thmountainarcher]

What about the Bob?

[X-Force]

Don’t get disheartened by low elk numbers. Good guides will still get you into bulls. Do the dream hunt and enjoy the country!

[buckfvr]

Ive heard it referred to  as "the big empty".

[huntnnw]

Well someone is killing 205 bulls last year. If it’s a area you wanna hunt for the experience of hunting the frank church then do the research on outfitters and do it. Those harvest stats are skewed to the outfitters as they are far more successful versus than diy guys and lotta guys hunt those units cause it’s the “ church” and get in way over their head. Some of those harvest stats are better than WA! Some make it out to be completely void of elk. Hell I’d rather be there than hunting some BS spike unit in WA or any general unit in WA.

[Karl Blanchard]

I was in there last year and I couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a bull. By no means were they everywhere but pretty much every big drainage had a bull or two bugling in the bottom of it towards dark. Any reputable outfitter is gonna be able to plop some hard chargers on some bulls. I'd be more concerned with the lack of quality bulls than I would be of filling a tag on a legal bull. Im so desperate for tags this year I picked up a returned B tag so I'll be back in there this September again but for stupid elk and no deer tag 

[fishngamereaper]

I've self guided in the church a bunch...

It's not lacking animals...but the only thing I would pay for in there is a plane ride... outfitters I've crossed paths with where less than welcoming. So I have no recommendations on guides...

Tags are harder to come by now with the reduced deer permits. Try for a couple deer tags ..get an elk tag, maybe two...not everyone needs one..give it a whirl self guided..

If I was paying for a hunt I would lean towards Wyoming.

[Bob33]

Some interesting history.

Frank Church was born and raised in Boise, Idaho. After high school, he entered Stanford law school, but he soon enlisted in the service. After his military service during World War II, he returned to Stanford. He married Bethine Clark in 1947 and that fall he started law school at Harvard, but he transferred back to Stanford where he received his law degree in 1950 despite his bout with cancer. The Churches returned to Boise where Frank started a private law practice, and he became active politically. He successfully ran for the senate in 1956. During his career as a Senator (1957-1980), Frank Church served on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, and the Special Committee on Premier Wilderness Champion Aging.

Frank Church had a record as a strong liberal and favored legislation in areas of environmental protection. As floor manager, he played a major role in passage of legislation creating the National Wilderness System in 1964, and in the creation of the River of No Return Wilderness in 1980. 

“Through knowing it (River of No Return Wilderness Bill) jeopardized his re-election (in 1980) Church never wavered in his support for protecting the area” according to Representative John Seiberling (D-Ohio) who at the time chaired the Interior subcommittee on public lands. Seiberling also called Church one of the “premier wilderness champions.” 

In introducing the legislation naming the largest wilderness in the contiguous United States after Frank Church, Senator James McClure (R-Idaho) said, “I recognize that Frank Church performed with sincerity and skill the very difficult task of getting the River of No Return Wilderness, as well as other wilderness legislation passed through Congress.” 

President Reagan signed the legislation in March 1984. In a statement released shortly after, Frank Church said, “In signing the act adding my name to the River of No Return Wilderness, President Reagan does me and my family a great honor. Honored, as I am, the real meaning for me today is to reaffirm our magnificent heritage in preserving some 2.2 million acres of Idaho wilderness for ourselves, and our children, and our children’s children. For this I am eternally grateful…. For the countless thousands who will enter and enjoy the River of No Return Wilderness, it will open their eyes like an Idaho sunrise on a summer morning.”

Frank Church died of cancer April 7, 1984, a few weeks after congress officially changed the name of the Wilderness.

[WAcoyotehunter]

Don’t get disheartened by low elk numbers. Good guides will still get you into bulls. Do the dream hunt and enjoy the country!

Yes- go hunting.  The Frank Church is HARD, but there are elk there and a good guide will know how to hunt them.  I have hunted it three times since 2014 and killed a bull each time.  Find a guide with good stock and prepare for a physically demanding hunt. 

[Brushbuster]

I would check out the Shepp Ranch. It is located on the Salmon in the Gospel Hump. (Next to Frank Church). They take you upstream by jet boat to base camp. Then by horseback up the hills into spike camps, they hunt out of. I would go in November to catch the elk/deer migrating out of the hills to winter on the slopes along the Salmon. My guess is they are spendy but have great accommodations. I have hunted in the general area in the past & done very well. Good luck with whatever you decide.

https://www.sheppranch.com/rates/