Share your out of state experience

[Alan K]

Public is over hunted and over-poached in areas that aren't gated.  Tribal folks also have extended seasons and gate keys to otherwise walk-in areas for quite a bit of public land. 

For blacktail, I wouldn't worry too much about other people at gates since the deer hide so well. A hunter ahead of you can very easily glass right over an animal and move on down the road.  Also, a walk-in area with 5 rigs at it still has less pressure than areas that are not gated.

The 3x2 blacktail I harvested yesterday morning at about 9:30 was bedded in a young (2-3 y/o) clearcut with several sets of that morning's pickup tracks driving by around the rim above. I guess my point with that is traffic isn't always as much pressure as perceived. 

[ljsommer]

Public is over hunted and over-poached in areas that aren't gated.  Tribal folks also have extended seasons and gate keys to otherwise walk-in areas for quite a bit of public land. 

For blacktail, I wouldn't worry too much about other people at gates since the deer hide so well. A hunter ahead of you can very easily glass right over an animal and move on down the road.  Also, a walk-in area with 5 rigs at it still has less pressure than areas that are not gated.

The 3x2 blacktail I harvested yesterday morning at about 9:30 was bedded in a young (2-3 y/o) clearcut with several sets of that morning's pickup tracks driving by around the rim above. I guess my point with that is traffic isn't always as much pressure as perceived. 

Thats a good point, thank you!

[Alan K]

You bet.  Hang in there, it'll happen for you! Just stay positive. Some years it's a grind. 

And as far as out of state goes. Absolutely start building points. It can get expensive but if you're passionate about hunting you'll be happy you did.

[andrew_in_idaho]

That’s your problem. Your spending more time driving then hunting. Camp in an area for 4-5 days where you want to hunt. No different than out of state. I personally don’t pay access fees because there’s millions of acres that are free to hunt and hold animals too.

I must not be driving far enough away to public, because the public land blocks I've found that are within a 2 hour drive are very heavily hunted. My most recent public land excursions in Aberdeen were always very populated and the locals were always upset to see someone hunting "their spot".

Understand I am in Idaho but also a very urban portion of Idaho. My max that I will drive for a day hunt is pretty much 2 hrs, anymore than that and I’m there for at least the weekend with camp or sometimes just sleeping in the bed of my truck. Maybe the trick for you is to find someplace east of the cascades, take a couple days off work around your weekend, go hunt hard for a couple of days from a base camp, I’m guessing your success rate will improve. Also do you have any hunting partners to tag along with?


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[Pathfinder101]

2016 Alaska Caribou.  PathfinderJR's graduation gift.  Had an bushplane drop us off for a week in the interior. 

[Pathfinder101]

2020 Wyoming Antelope hunt.  Easy draw unit, but couldn't find a goat on public land.  Little Pathfinder talked us onto an old fella's ranch.  He insisted on stalking the goats with us (probably afraid we'd shoot a hole in his water tanks)    Said it was the fastest he'd ever seen two antelope die.  About 2 seconds apart, both dropped in their tracks. 

[Pathfinder101]

Montana buck shot in a -20 degree snowstorm in 2010.  Bipod legs froze in the up position and I had to shoot him offhand.
Idaho buck that CoryTDF had to talk me into shooting because I thought he was a dink    Then he found it, processed it, and packed half of it out for me while I was chasing an elk that bugled at us when I shot the deer. 

[Pathfinder101]

Colorado Bull from the Lizard Peak Wilderness.  The outfitter that dropped us off took his pack string over a maze of downed trees the diameter of washing machines to pack this bull out. 

[Pathfinder101]

Little Pathfinder's graduation gift trip to Alaska.  Midnight sunset packout.

[pianoman9701]

Hawkeye is taking them down!