Bear Paw Outfitters Idaho Elk and Deer Hunt Units 77,78,79

[gjgosch]

My hunting partner and I just returned from a 2/1 guided combo elk and deer hunt in southern Idaho. The Idaho biologists stated good numbers of elk and an increase in mule deer after their winter kill in 2021. We hunted out of the Beaver Lodge facility, sleeping there and having our meals prepared there. We left the lodge @ 5:15 am and were driven in the guide's truck 30-45 minutes up forest service roads to our hunting area in units 77,78. We then hiked in the dark with headlamps 1-2 miles up the mountain, sometimes slowly hunting the terrain when it got light enough to shoot. We then sat on a saddle or other crossing point until late afternoon for the evening hunt down the mountain. During the 5 days of hunting, we saw 7 does, one small buck, and bumped a small herd of 6 cows and 1 spike twice, not getting a shot. There were 8 hunters in camp, with 3 guides. Only one 5 point bull was shot among us. The previous group of hunters also had only one bull elk shot. Dale stated a 40%-70% shot opportunity, but in our group, it was only 12.5% as well as 12.5% for the previous group. There are 400 tags allotted for the unit with 50 for non-residents. The units have adequate feed and water for the animals, however they are pounded hard by the hunters from the archery season on and the hunting areas are accessible by ATVs. In my opinion, the areas hunted had a low density of animals and is not worth the effort and dollars to hunt it. The accommodations and food were very good and the guide first rate, however not enough game to justify hunting with Bear paw Outfitters in those units. Greg Gosch

[Timberstalker]

Thanks for the report. That's how hunting goes sometimes. There are no guarantees. It looks like you had a good time overall and the items that were in Dale's control were met or exceeded.
 

[teanawayslayer]

Like said. Hunting is hunting and different from year to year. Never hunted with a guide and have been very successful for both deer and elk. Going on a moose hunt in Alberta next year for a large chunk of change and nothing is guaranteed. Hope it’s good! Glad to hear the food and guides were good.

[huntallyearlong]

I won the auction tags from the Genesisis Project that Bearpaw had donated. It was a DIY hunt for the same area. Bearpaw gave me about 20 waypoints with detailed information for each location. We only hunted 2 of the locations because we were into elk. We showed up at camp at 1:00 a.m. woke up early the next morning and hunted right out of camp. 3 hours later I had a bull at 20 yards. It was the first time hunting with my wife and we had a blast. We hunted 5 days and were into elk 4 out of the 5 days. One day we had multiple bulls in an area and a heard bull that just wouldn't come out of the thick stuff. My wife had an arrow on the rest for over a hour while the bulls were screaming. We hunted the morning hard and had lots of action. We saw a handful of bucks and lots of does. Going into the hunt I felt that an outfitter wouldn't give a DIY guy any good areas because they would save it for the guided guys. I was way wrong , Thanks Dale!! All in all I would highly recommend Bearpaw outfitters. As a true hunter I think your right ( no animals around here go away )

[JDArms1240]

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[bornhunter]

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[Dan-o]

I won the auction tags from the Genesisis Project that Bearpaw had donated. It was a DIY hunt for the same area. Bearpaw gave me about 20 waypoints with detailed information for each location. We only hunted 2 of the locations because we were into elk. We showed up at camp at 1:00 a.m. woke up early the next morning and hunted right out of camp. 3 hours later I had a bull at 20 yards. It was the first time hunting with my wife and we had a blast. We hunted 5 days and were into elk 4 out of the 5 days. One day we had multiple bulls in an area and a heard bull that just wouldn't come out of the thick stuff. My wife had an arrow on the rest for over a hour while the bulls were screaming. We hunted the morning hard and had lots of action. We saw a handful of bucks and lots of does. Going into the hunt I felt that an outfitter wouldn't give a DIY guy any good areas because they would save it for the guided guys. I was way wrong , Thanks Dale!! All in all I would highly recommend Bearpaw outfitters. As a true hunter I think your right ( no animals around here go away )

I'm super happy to hear you had a great hunt after buying the tags to support the Gensis Projeect!
That's fantastic.

[JDArms1240]

I won the auction tags from the Genesisis Project that Bearpaw had donated. It was a DIY hunt for the same area. Bearpaw gave me about 20 waypoints with detailed information for each location. We only hunted 2 of the locations because we were into elk. We showed up at camp at 1:00 a.m. woke up early the next morning and hunted right out of camp. 3 hours later I had a bull at 20 yards. It was the first time hunting with my wife and we had a blast. We hunted 5 days and were into elk 4 out of the 5 days. One day we had multiple bulls in an area and a heard bull that just wouldn't come out of the thick stuff. My wife had an arrow on the rest for over a hour while the bulls were screaming. We hunted the morning hard and had lots of action. We saw a handful of bucks and lots of does. Going into the hunt I felt that an outfitter wouldn't give a DIY guy any good areas because they would save it for the guided guys. I was way wrong , Thanks Dale!! All in all I would highly recommend Bearpaw outfitters. As a true hunter I think your right ( no animals around here go away )

I'm super happy to hear you had a great hunt after buying the tags to support the Gensis Projeect!
That's fantastic.

What was the genesis project?  I’m assuming an auction of some kind.

[WapitiTalk1]

I have “one” advertising outfitter/sponsor over on my meager elk hunting forum by design… Bear Paw. I’ve honestly been through more outfitters than you can imagine but the only one that consistently gets positive reviews is well, that one.  Sorry it didn’t work out for you this year but as others have mentioned, it’s hunting and there are no iron clad success guarantees for each endeavor.

[Dan-o]

I won the auction tags from the Genesisis Project that Bearpaw had donated. It was a DIY hunt for the same area. Bearpaw gave me about 20 waypoints with detailed information for each location. We only hunted 2 of the locations because we were into elk. We showed up at camp at 1:00 a.m. woke up early the next morning and hunted right out of camp. 3 hours later I had a bull at 20 yards. It was the first time hunting with my wife and we had a blast. We hunted 5 days and were into elk 4 out of the 5 days. One day we had multiple bulls in an area and a heard bull that just wouldn't come out of the thick stuff. My wife had an arrow on the rest for over a hour while the bulls were screaming. We hunted the morning hard and had lots of action. We saw a handful of bucks and lots of does. Going into the hunt I felt that an outfitter wouldn't give a DIY guy any good areas because they would save it for the guided guys. I was way wrong , Thanks Dale!! All in all I would highly recommend Bearpaw outfitters. As a true hunter I think your right ( no animals around here go away )

I'm super happy to hear you had a great hunt after buying the tags to support the Gensis Projeect!
That's fantastic.

What was the genesis project?  I’m assuming an auction of some kind.

@JDArms1240

See this thread.   Genesis Project helps women and girls out of prostitution and sex trafficking.
Dale/Bearpaw Outfitters donated 2 pairs of DIY Outfitter hunts to Genesis Project this year, for which I am EXTREMELY grateful.
(He also greenlighted several other auctions to be run on his website for the benefit of the Genesis Project)

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,292791.0.html

[JDArms1240]

I won the auction tags from the Genesisis Project that Bearpaw had donated. It was a DIY hunt for the same area. Bearpaw gave me about 20 waypoints with detailed information for each location. We only hunted 2 of the locations because we were into elk. We showed up at camp at 1:00 a.m. woke up early the next morning and hunted right out of camp. 3 hours later I had a bull at 20 yards. It was the first time hunting with my wife and we had a blast. We hunted 5 days and were into elk 4 out of the 5 days. One day we had multiple bulls in an area and a heard bull that just wouldn't come out of the thick stuff. My wife had an arrow on the rest for over a hour while the bulls were screaming. We hunted the morning hard and had lots of action. We saw a handful of bucks and lots of does. Going into the hunt I felt that an outfitter wouldn't give a DIY guy any good areas because they would save it for the guided guys. I was way wrong , Thanks Dale!! All in all I would highly recommend Bearpaw outfitters. As a true hunter I think your right ( no animals around here go away )

I'm super happy to hear you had a great hunt after buying the tags to support the Gensis Projeect!
That's fantastic.

What was the genesis project?  I’m assuming an auction of some kind.

@JDArms1240

See this thread.   Genesis Project helps women and girls out of prostitution and sex trafficking.
Dale/Bearpaw Outfitters donated 2 pairs of DIY Outfitter hunts to Genesis Project this year, for which I am EXTREMELY grateful.
(He also greenlighted several other auctions to be run on his website for the benefit of the Genesis Project)

https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,292791.0.html

Awesome! 

Thanks, wasn’t trying to derail the thread.   

[Pathfinder101]

Isn't this about the time some wise old-timer logs on and chimes in with a slow drawl;

"Welllll... The elk are wherever you find them..." 

[Woodchuck]

Isn't this about the time some wise old-timer logs on and chimes in with a slow drawl;

"Welllll... The elk are wherever you find them..."

Looks to me like one just did...

[big wood]

L have been on a few guided hunts. My fist one was 30 years ago with dale hound hunting bears in washington( to tell you how long it has been)  and him compared to the other ones, i can honestly say him and his crew worked there ass off for me and got me my first bear

[BeerBugler]

I don’t know what to say except this post is littered with inaccuracies. Unit 77 is in fact a general rifle unit, unit 78 is a premier draw unit, unit 79 doesn’t even exist! The major die off in SE Idaho was the winter that started in 2022 and ended in 2023. And yes, hunting is hard and not fair and especially hard in mid October. With all that being said, if you did in fact have a unit 78 rifle deer tag and paid an outfitter for a deer hunt and only saw one buck, that would be unacceptable . I don’t believe that is the case here. I believe you had a bear river general elk tag which is valid in units 75,77,78. Elk densities in these units are low (although growing) and there’s plenty of nasty country and private property for them to escape to once the shooting starts. Not to mention, there’s 500+ residents that know the country and know the elk all crammed into a 10 day season. Tough place to consistently kill bulls and even tougher place to make a living as an outfitter. Sorry you are not satisfied with the choices you made.