Idaho Unit 11 Antlered... Oct 25-Nov24

[Elkstuffer]

SCREW SCHOOL!!!! You have an awesome elk tag. Too good to just hunt the weekends. I grew up in Lewiston and used to spend all my free time up there. Quite a few 300 class bulls with the potential for a 350+ with some hard work. Definatly head for the breaks and hunt the Eagle creek and China creek areas. There will be a handful of guys hunting it from the river so keep an eye out below. Good luck and have fun.

[MichaelJ]

ElkStuffer,

I've actually contemplated that very thing... lol with a friends E. WA rifle rut tag, and getting my bro a buck in WA, and getting a buck in ID and my elk tag I've actually though of taking school off... lol

However I'm pretty sure the more I realize the logistics of this hunt, that I'm going to head in on a wednesday evening, hunt thursday, friday, saturday and sunday atleast one weekend...  We'll see what happens! lol

MuleySniper, that would be great if he had some info!

I talked to the biologist today and he seemed sorta closed mouth.  He didn't mention any areas to check out, especially once I mentioned Eagle Creak and China Garden/China Creek areas... he said that by my hunt the elk are still herded up and have been pushed into the breaks between the top and the snake/salmon rivers.

He said that last winter they saw more elk than they've ever seen and thats the reason for the increased tags.  A bull to cow ratio of 33 to 100 cows seems pretty great with 26 of those 33 being branched bulls!

I'm working on getting maps and getting in shape right now.  Will begin scouting when I get back to school in late august!  Can't wait!!!

Michael

[Elkstuffer]

33 bulls to 100 cows is Arizona ratios there. If that gives you any indication of the hunt you're going on. Granted they are not a bunch of 400 class bulls running around but you get my drift. Good luck.

[UncleBuck]

Pm Sent

[MichaelJ]

Pm Returned UncleBuck!  Thanks...

Elkstuffer,  yeah it should be a good hunt.  But with 80 rifle tags in there for ten days before me, and 71 other guys in the unit I'm not gonna be holding out for a 360 bull... lol

Pretty sure that the first weekend its gonna be 330" goal than after than 300"...  We'll see how my scouting trips go and how lenient my teachers are when I tell them I'll be taking off for awhile... lol

A question for you guys that know the unit.  I'll probably be scouting in September and will be getting a good idea of the quality/class of bulls in the areas I'm hunting.  Can I expect the elk to be in different areas come the 25th of October?  What about from 10-25 to 11-24?  Do they have a predominantly  different summer range and winter range that I should know about?  Thanks guys... 

Michael

[HUNT]

Just heard back from my buddy that hunted there a few years ago.  He also drew the tag this year.  He will be trying to take one with his bow.

[agchawk]

Who ever told you that unit 11 is not as good as it used to be is smoking crack.  I spend countless days in unit 11.  Huge bulls that no one hunts.  Most guys hunt the easy areas.  I would hunt the breaks between Eagle creek and the Salmon river.  This is steep nasty country which keeps out the rift raft.  The 2nd area which I would recommend is China Garden creek.  You can access this area through the nature conservatory.  This is the area that burned a couple of years back.  I would do a back pack overnight hunt down on the breaks.  It is a good half day hike to climb down.  Getting back up is a different thing.  Get your self a good spotting scope and you will see hundreds of elk on the breaks. I bait bears in the fall and see huge bulls in the 350 plus range.  Every year I will talk to some *censored* who tells me they can't find any elk and complaining that the area is too steep and has no roads.  If you got a good set of legs and don't mind hunting you will get a chance at some big elk.  good luck.

MJ, I hunted Unit 11 last season (Drew a Mule deer tag). We hunted the Eagle Creek area along the Salmon River and had an AWESOME time. We were the only folks hunting the unit in that area so we had the entire area to ourselves (There were others camping in there but they were taking boats across the Salmon and hunting Unit 13).

We saw countless deer every day we were in there but only saw one bull during that three day weekend. However, that one bull was BIG and we sat no further than 200 yards from him for over an hour watching him round his harem up. Of course, as I stated before, we were hunting Mule deer so we were not actively seeking the elk out. Just thought I would throw some info your way. The post I quoted above says it all IMO...they are in there! If you need anything, or have questions about access, gear, terrain, etc feel free to contact me and I'll fill you in via PM.

Good luck bud! Hopefully Eagle Creek road is in better shape than last year....cracked my front right wheel assembly driving that damned thing last year! Also put a nice gouge in my passenger side door panel and screwed my tube steps....but it was well worth it!

[MichaelJ]

HUNT:
Tell your buddy good luck!  Maybe I'll see him up there...

AGchawk, PM sent your way buddy...  Thanks for the advice every tid bit helps!

Michael

[MichaelJ]

Well its official!  Got my elk tag in the mail today!!!   

Michael

[jjhunter]

Congrats!  Got my 45 tags in the mail last week.....that's right, Idaho sent me two 45 tags   Looking forward to hearing about your hunt!

[MichaelJ]

Awesome man congrats!  You get a bull tag too?

Michael

[Branden]

Well its official!  Got my elk tag in the mail today!!!   

Michael

Sweet.