McCall Unit

[biggamehunter]

I know that its really really early but i got a little excited today when the wife told me that i could go ahead and purchase my out of state Idaho elk,deer, and wolf license and tags . I just wanted to know if anyone has ever hunted this unit? any luck? i dont expect GPS coordintes to your honey hole . just wanted some feedback on the unit. i plan on doing lots of scouting this offseason while fishing and poking around for wolves. My inlaws have a cabin in riggins that is why i chose this unit, (maybe get the grandfather in law to go out and do some hunting with me.) Im also a little extra excited cause we moved from skagit county to Ogden Utah in May and i didnt get a chance to hunt at all this year. well any input or pics of dead animals is appreciated. Thanks guys/gals 

[colockumelk]

I think one of the sponsors on here lives there. Not gonna say who but he does okay on elk 

[vandeman17]

I have hunted there for deer but not elk. There are some good bulls in the unit though that is for sure.

[biggamehunter]

I think one of the sponsors on here lives there. Not gonna say who but he does okay on elk 

whoever he is he is a lucky dog. that is an amazing area. Something to do almost year round.

[Bigshooter]

What unit number is the McCall unit?

[BULLBLASTER]

i would put in for the unit 18 deer and elk controlled hunt tags. limited entry hunt and riggins is in unit 18. cant hurt to apply for more hunts. huntnnw and i drew un it 18 mule deer tags this year and both shot 155+ bucks. there are some stud bulls there too and bigger deer. i dont know much about the mccall unit but it may have a tag quota so buy early. good luck!

[biggamehunter]

McCall is 19A,23,24,25. And thannks Bullblaster im going to have to look into the controlled hunt tags in 18. My grandfather in law lives right outside of riggins, some great looking country back up in behind his place. Thanks all for the info

[huntnnw]

id apply for 11

[Elknut1]

Is this a bow or rifle hunt?

  ElkNut1

[bearpaw]

id apply for 11

this is good advice....

[colockumelk]

Is this a bow or rifle hunt?

  ElkNut1

 

[lipripper]

I know there is a ton of elk over there. Im not sure of the units, but we hunted looking down on Riggins I think from the top of Cuddy Mountain- we went up through Council/Cambridge. When the shooting starts (modern firearm mid oct to nov 1st ish) down below the elk make their way up the hill. We were over 50% for 4 guys in 6 years. The wolves started to move in pretty heavy on our last year we did it (2008) I think. 2 of us were Washington and 2 were Oregon so when the last year was slim pickin's we opted for archery in Eastern Oregon. For the last couple years there we started to see lots of wolf tracks and the last year there was howling - so we moved on. Now that a guy can wack a wolf it might be worth heading back in there. It seemed like the unit we were in was 32a - not sure though. pm me and I'll get you on the "lucky rock" if you like. -- good luck and congrats on the go ahead from the fam

[B.G.hunter]

If you are going to be in Riggins I would look at appling for unit 14 for deer and elk is otc or unit 18 for both.  There both close and decent draw odds.  Also you can pick up the McCall area over the counter if you don't draw. This is my 

[huntnnw]

23,22 There are otc elk..it was a frickin zoo when i was up there..never saw so many trucks and horses in my life! I would gladly drive to the panhandle to never hunt in that crap

[biggamehunter]

Im gonna apply for the 18 unit but if i have no luck ill probably be part of the zoo.  im pretty sure the grandfather in law has a couple quiet honey holes in 23 so it might not be to bad, hes the kind of guy that likes to ride horses into the back country. Me, im not familiar with horses but would give it a go if it gets me away from the crazies. thanks again for all the input everyone

[huntnnw]

form my observation it was probably less crowded hunting within 200 yards of the road than 5 miles in! I saw over 40 horse trailers on the road and parking lots..it was insane

[Elknut1]

Son, that's a tough unit!! 18 would not be on my list, there's 225 rifle tags in that unit & 75 archery tags. The country is very steep & rough with lots of pressure. It was a very good unit the 1st year but it went to pot quickly! I had 4 friends draw that unit 18 last year & one elk was taken, it was a good bull but once you're in there 10-12 miles you are tied to that area & there are only a few entrances. There are HUGE draws there & once there that's what you hunt, the pressure from bow hunters pushes those elk quickly towards the bottoms. Lots of pressure & there's a guy in there guiding 12-15 hunters a year. Horses are just about a must in that unit!

  Hopefully your grandfather has a special spot, talk to him first before applying there are other units to consider that are much better & lots of access! Good Luck!

  ElkNut1

[colockumelk]

Man Elknut you Idaho hunters must be spoiled.    Only 75 hunters in a draw  unit sounds like paradise to me.  Or is it a small area? 

[trophyhunt]

Son, that's a tough unit!! 18 would not be on my list, there's 225 rifle tags in that unit & 75 archery tags. The country is very steep & rough with lots of pressure. It was a very good unit the 1st year but it went to pot quickly! I had 4 friends draw that unit 18 last year & one elk was taken, it was a good bull but once you're in there 10-12 miles you are tied to that area & there are only a few entrances. There are HUGE draws there & once there that's what you hunt, the pressure from bow hunters pushes those elk quickly towards the bottoms. Lots of pressure & there's a guy in there guiding 12-15 hunters a year. Horses are just about a must in that unit!

  Hopefully your grandfather has a special spot, talk to him first before applying there are other units to consider that are much better & lots of access! Good Luck!

  ElkNut1

great info and I believe you nailed it. I was in there 4 years ago and it was pretty darn good, but since then it's getting too much pressure. And you should have horses in the backcountry, luckily I found a local to pack my elk out for me otherwise I'd still be there packin!

[biggamehunter]

Thanks a ton guys, definately taking all of this into consideration. All this info will help me make a more educated decision. This is why i love this site, you can get great advice from complete strangers and so many of you guys are very helpful. thanks again everyone

[huntnnw]

Son, that's a tough unit!! 18 would not be on my list, there's 225 rifle tags in that unit & 75 archery tags. The country is very steep & rough with lots of pressure. It was a very good unit the 1st year but it went to pot quickly! I had 4 friends draw that unit 18 last year & one elk was taken, it was a good bull but once you're in there 10-12 miles you are tied to that area & there are only a few entrances. There are HUGE draws there & once there that's what you hunt, the pressure from bow hunters pushes those elk quickly towards the bottoms. Lots of pressure & there's a guy in there guiding 12-15 hunters a year. Horses are just about a must in that unit!

  Hopefully your grandfather has a special spot, talk to him first before applying there are other units to consider that are much better & lots of access! Good Luck!

  ElkNut1

some of this is true..I want divulge into the elk tho knowing what I know now

The country is MASSIVE... shooting a elk in 99% of 18  would require horses ..the draws and canyons are so huge that its not even a option to even get to what you see.

[Bonedar208]

Hunt and horn hunt the units listed...11 is a complete joke if you are looking for a trophy unit; the bulls are completely over harvested in my opinion  . If you want a cow tag or dont mind hiking really ruff country for an average rag horn then try it out...11 is completley over ran with out of staters in hunter orange in both the early and late draw. 18 has pretty good odds of a good bull and less people if you draw the early archery tag. The late draw is also a zoo in 18. Just some things to think about!

[huntnnw]

overrun with outta staters?? ID gives a MAX of 10% of the total tag numbers to non resident hunters ... 20 non resident hunters outta 200 tags thats alot

I coulda shot bull elk from the road in 18 while I was there deer hunting it and never saw a elk hunter around me

[Bonedar208]

haha valid point, maybe it appears over run by out of staters is cause the local boys are hiding in camo and the out of staters appear abundant cause they are sticking out like sore thumbs in blaze orange  . Spent two months in unit 11 this fall helping a guy with a mule deer tag and it seemed every hundred yards down the main road was an out of state licsense plate. Got to talk to a some people as well, its crazy how far people will travel to hunt a cow! 

If you take in account that they have the mule deer tags, cow tag, bull tag, plus whitetail hunters all open at once..the access fills up pretty quick!

I didnt get down to 18 this year but had several friends with the early and late tags so Im just saying what I heard bout down there this year..Heard the late one was packed and had pickups everywhere but had a friend hunting the early tag and said it was much nicer, he even managed to drop a dandy bull.

[huntnnw]

the archery hunt would be nice..only 75 tags and thats it..no other seasons running..be quite empty

[fishngamereaper]

Dont over look the middle fork. Have spent some time in Unit 26 up around Big Creek and have had good success. Over the counter bull tags, (while they last), hunt during the rut, and not alot of pressure. Also a good mix of elk, deer and lots of bear.