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Big Game Hunting => Out Of State Hunting => Topic started by: Machias on January 05, 2023, 12:20:43 PM


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Title: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Machias on January 05, 2023, 12:20:43 PM
From IDFG:

Nonresident "regular" deer tags sold out for 2023, but 1,500 nonresident white-tailed deer-only tags will go on sale on January 12, at 10 a.m. MST.
A limited number of tags will be available for each hunting unit.
Hunters planning to buy a tag online should follow the instructions in the press release below.
We recognize that many hunters experienced frustration during the December 1 nonresident deer and elk tag sale. Staff has been working diligently to improve the online sales system and expect this sale to be more timely and efficient.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 05, 2023, 06:29:10 PM
Only one tag can be bought for each log in, so with limited tags per unit, your partners may not get a tag for the unit you all plan to hunt in. Man, I went from loving Idaho to hating it! How are you supposed to plan a hunt?!!
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: actionshooter on January 05, 2023, 06:32:57 PM
Only one tag can be bought for each log in, so with limited tags per unit, your partners may not get a tag for the unit you all plan to hunt in. Man, I went from loving Idaho to hating it! How are you supposed to plan a hunt?!!

Exactly.... it bothers me big time that parents can't even plan a trip with the kids....
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 05, 2023, 06:36:08 PM
And NO refunds…. Wth
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: highside74 on January 05, 2023, 06:44:26 PM
Only one tag can be bought for each log in, so with limited tags per unit, your partners may not get a tag for the unit you all plan to hunt in. Man, I went from loving Idaho to hating it! How are you supposed to plan a hunt?!!

Exactly.... it bothers me big time that parents can't even plan a trip with the kids....

If you get a tag you can buy a youth tag even if the 1500 tags are sold out. Youth tags don't count towards any limited tags.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: outdooraddict on January 06, 2023, 10:57:07 AM
dont be getting to excited now....Idaho strikes again, i just called the state to discuss "are these statewide tags or unit specific" the answer is.... unit specific and there is not 1500 tags, there is really only 771. I asked why they sent out an email that said 1500 when in reality there is not even half of those available, and it was a generic response that basically sounded like "its a auto generated email for the past years when they really did sell 1500 surplus". so click the link below if you want to see if your unit even has an available tag ( i know mine doesnt)

https://idfg.idaho.gov/tag/quotas/nonresident/wtd
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 06, 2023, 12:14:54 PM
Man, what a joke.  Tough to start a hunting tradition with my new son in law when it's like this, can we go back 10 years in time.  Hate this
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Ryan P on January 06, 2023, 02:24:53 PM
I thought that the deer tag numbers were reflective of deer populations in each unit that's why they made tags unit specific...  Funny how they just came up with another 1500 tags because everyone got pissed at how pathetic there system worked. Who could have seen that coming...(anyone that's bought a tag in the last two years). Trust the science!!

Bad enough the rifle season is 5-6 weeks long, then add that almost all WT tags are any deer. Increase NR tag counts. No cap on resident tags. Add wolves. Stir in some CWD and if I didn't know any better I'd think that IDFG has an ax to grind with whitetails.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 06, 2023, 02:35:57 PM
Idaho has always had a separate stash of 1500 +- whitetail only tags....it's nothing new. You used to be able to buy them at your leisure then they started holding them till general sold out...

The only thing new is selling out general tags in one day.
Plenty of tags becoming available. If you want one go online or call on the 12th... :dunno: seems straight forward

And we saw more whitetails this last season in 5 days than the previous two years combined....
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Ryan P on January 06, 2023, 02:44:38 PM
They've always had 1500 WT ONLY tags which have different season dates than the general tag. Then they split it up and broke those 1500 tags down by units, supposedly based on populations. This way it would limit "opportunity" kills. Meaning you are hunting elk in 10a and happen to see a nice buck and you kill it when typically you hunt whitetails in say unit 9.

They didn't just sell out of general tags they sold almost every tag for mule deer, whitetail and elk in the 1st day. Then they added an ADDITIONAL 1500 tags because I guess they felt bad...
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 06, 2023, 03:01:14 PM
They didn't add any.
They've always had a reserve of whitetail only tags.
Been in the que since Dec 1. They just hadn't decided how to divy them up yet because they had no idea all the general ( mule deer, any deer, whitetail only) would sell out so quickly....

And they used to be State wide. The unit specific has only been the last couple years. 

Man I wish it was 1998 again...there was no pressure and plenty of extra tags... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 06, 2023, 03:11:59 PM
To confirm, if you already have a general deer tag can you buy a wt only tag as a second tag?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Ryan P on January 06, 2023, 03:15:02 PM
Yeah but you have to wait until August I believe.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: idaho guy on January 06, 2023, 03:39:27 PM
They didn't add any.
They've always had a reserve of whitetail only tags.
Been in the que since Dec 1. They just hadn't decided how to divy them up yet because they had no idea all the general ( mule deer, any deer, whitetail only) would sell out so quickly....

And they used to be State wide. The unit specific has only been the last couple years. 

Man I wish it was 1998 again...there was no pressure and plenty of extra tags... :chuckle:
   

 :yeah: worth repeating, i guess, whitetail only are NOT new. Unit specific was introduced a few years ago to spread out non resident pressure and crowding. (the bigger problem is new resident pressure -as in tons of new residents that just moved here recently) the unit numbers are based on 10 percent of the prior hunters in the unit. The unit numbers are not based on deer population within the unit. This is a first stab by idfg to limit pressure and crowding during hunting seasons. I think it was appropriate that they tried to spread out non resident pressure first but they will eventually have to deal with the crowding due to new people recently moving here.     
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: outdooraddict on January 06, 2023, 03:40:04 PM
and second tags are all at non resident prices if i understand correctly, thats the case for residents too. I also believe they didnt magically find 1500 surplus tags, they are the same 1500 they always had in surplus and they decided how to divide them between units. what i do find interesting is that they say 1500 tags, but after dividing into the unit, only 771 are actually available. so what happened to the other 729 tags?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: idaho guy on January 06, 2023, 04:08:10 PM
and second tags are all at non resident prices if i understand correctly, thats the case for residents too. I also believe they didnt magically find 1500 surplus tags, they are the same 1500 they always had in surplus and they decided how to divide them between units. what i do find interesting is that they say 1500 tags, but after dividing into the unit, only 771 are actually available. so what happened to the other 729 tags?


I think the same thing happened last year not enough quota  in each unit so the excess tags were still available to residents at the non res price. Residents can use them anywhere(not unit specific) so they were still available and sold. I thought they would adjust it this year but kinda glad they didn't :chuckle: I never did any real research but that is what I think has happened and we had similar situation last year. 
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 06, 2023, 05:58:24 PM
Idaho has always had a separate stash of 1500 +- whitetail only tags....it's nothing new. You used to be able to buy them at your leisure then they started holding them till general sold out...

The only thing new is selling out general tags in one day.
Plenty of tags becoming available. If you want one go online or call on the 12th... :dunno: seems straight forward

And we saw more whitetails this last season in 5 days than the previous two years combined....
did you see outdooraddicts link? There isn’t 1,500 tags, and only certain units have tags which are very limited. Plus some are already sold out, like 10a. So no, it’s not as easy as signing on and buying tags.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 06, 2023, 06:13:47 PM
Idaho has always had a separate stash of 1500 +- whitetail only tags....it's nothing new. You used to be able to buy them at your leisure then they started holding them till general sold out...

The only thing new is selling out general tags in one day.
Plenty of tags becoming available. If you want one go online or call on the 12th... :dunno: seems straight forward

And we saw more whitetails this last season in 5 days than the previous two years combined....
did you see outdooraddicts link? There isn’t 1,500 tags, and only certain units have tags which are very limited. Plus some are already sold out, like 10a. So no, it’s not as easy as signing on and buying tags.

Ya I saw the link
Idaho doesn't guarantee 1500 extra tags.  They give what harvest stats and pressure allow them to give.
Sold out? 10a is a train wreck...you couldn't pay me to hunt there...
, Reserve whitetail tags aren't even available yet. Sold out means general tags for that unit are sold out and no reserve whitetail tags are available.
Pick a unit with a bunch of reserve tags listed and go hunting....learn a new area and have fun...or just complain about it and don't.... :chuckle:

See. I have no sympathy for you because you keep drawing moose tags..so.... :chuckle:
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Shooter4 on January 06, 2023, 06:33:04 PM
Idaho has always had a separate stash of 1500 +- whitetail only tags....it's nothing new. You used to be able to buy them at your leisure then they started holding them till general sold out...

The only thing new is selling out general tags in one day.
Plenty of tags becoming available. If you want one go online or call on the 12th... :dunno: seems straight forward

And we saw more whitetails this last season in 5 days than the previous two years combined....

Panhandle unit?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 06, 2023, 06:53:26 PM
Idaho has always had a separate stash of 1500 +- whitetail only tags....it's nothing new. You used to be able to buy them at your leisure then they started holding them till general sold out...

The only thing new is selling out general tags in one day.
Plenty of tags becoming available. If you want one go online or call on the 12th... :dunno: seems straight forward

And we saw more whitetails this last season in 5 days than the previous two years combined....
did you see outdooraddicts link? There isn’t 1,500 tags, and only certain units have tags which are very limited. Plus some are already sold out, like 10a. So no, it’s not as easy as signing on and buying tags.

Ya I saw the link
Idaho doesn't guarantee 1500 extra tags.  They give what harvest stats and pressure allow them to give.
Sold out? 10a is a train wreck...you couldn't pay me to hunt there...
, Reserve whitetail tags aren't even available yet. Sold out means general tags for that unit are sold out and no reserve whitetail tags are available.
Pick a unit with a bunch of reserve tags listed and go hunting....learn a new area and have fun...or just complain about it and don't.... :chuckle:

See. I have no sympathy for you because you keep drawing moose tags..so.... :chuckle:
lol, sheep tag this year!!  My gripe is, I can’t rely on planning a hunt with my son in law or buddies, can’t be sure we get tags.   If you have an area that is good for late whitetail and has plenty of tags, PM me and I’ll talk to shanequa about getting you a moose tag!! 😁
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Limhangerslayer on January 06, 2023, 07:25:50 PM
They didn't add any.
They've always had a reserve of whitetail only tags.
Been in the que since Dec 1. They just hadn't decided how to divy them up yet because they had no idea all the general ( mule deer, any deer, whitetail only) would sell out so quickly....

And they used to be State wide. The unit specific has only been the last couple years. 

Man I wish it was 1998 again...there was no pressure and plenty of extra tags... :chuckle:
how about when your second tag only cost you 186 bucks!!  Those were the good ole days!
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: SpicyTacos on January 06, 2023, 08:01:40 PM
I'm being lazy as I could check myself.

Does Idaho offer elk tag surplus  :chuckle: or that hunters give back which in turn nonresidents can purchase?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: dilleytech on January 07, 2023, 01:47:25 PM
Interesting I guess I’m still in the game. When I asked about the later sale for whitetail only tags people on this site insured me they all went on sale at the same time. It’s nice when people are wrong in your favor.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: CarbonHunter on January 07, 2023, 02:21:12 PM
The only thing Idaho has changed is making you choose a deer unit. The reason it is so hard to get a tag is because hunters changed their approach. No one used to buy an Idaho non resident tag until later in the year. If you want it to go back to the good old days stop lining up when the tags go on sale.

I know of several people who bought tags early last year for Idaho who did not even hunt in Idaho because they drew other tags or had other situations that prevented them from hunting. If everyone just said no to buying the junk tags there would be no issue getting tags in Idaho.

I guarantee there will be lots of disappointed hunters come November this year after they travel to Idaho to hunt the tags they got. Most units in Idaho and Montana are not worth the price to hunt them if you are a nonresident.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: High Climber on January 07, 2023, 03:34:40 PM
The only thing Idaho has changed is making you choose a deer unit. The reason it is so hard to get a tag is because hunters changed their approach. No one used to buy an Idaho non resident tag until later in the year. If you want it to go back to the good old days stop lining up when the tags go on sale.

I know of several people who bought tags early last year for Idaho who did not even hunt in Idaho because they drew other tags or had other situations that prevented them from hunting. If everyone just said no to buying the junk tags there would be no issue getting tags in Idaho.

I guarantee there will be lots of disappointed hunters come November this year after they travel to Idaho to hunt the tags they got. Most units in Idaho and Montana are not worth the price to hunt them if you are a nonresident.
Lots of truth in this  :yeah:
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: meatwhack on January 07, 2023, 05:19:02 PM
Tags will continue selling out extremely fast until the economy crashes and people don’t have any extra money for things like that.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 08, 2023, 10:15:38 AM
do you guys think these wt tags will sell out with a few minutes given there are only 700 and something?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 08, 2023, 11:18:21 AM
I would think so, I won’t be in the mess, just not worth the risk of one of us not getting a tag for the same area. Not playing raindeer games anymore.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 08, 2023, 11:40:39 AM
I would think so, I won’t be in the mess, just not worth the risk of one of us not getting a tag for the same area. Not playing raindeer games anymore.

Ya my issue/concern is that I wouldn't be able to get a tag for both my old man and myself in the same unit before they sold out.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: trophyhunt on January 08, 2023, 12:37:30 PM
I would think so, I won’t be in the mess, just not worth the risk of one of us not getting a tag for the same area. Not playing raindeer games anymore.

Ya my issue/concern is that I wouldn't be able to get a tag for both my old man and myself in the same unit before they sold out.
exactly, and if you look at the number of tags in each unit, seems even tougher. 
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: andrew_in_idaho on January 08, 2023, 08:37:19 PM
do you guys think these wt tags will sell out with a few minutes given there are only 700 and something?
No, the demand for whitetail deer is not nearly as extreme as mule deer and elk. I would guess there will be tags available still at 5 pm MT. That has been my experience in the august return tag sales anyway. Heck you could still buy a 2nd elk tag in November this past year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 12, 2023, 08:40:17 AM
anyone else in the waiting room or am I the only one dumb/naive enough to be in here?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Buckhunter24 on January 12, 2023, 09:02:18 AM
We got lucky dec 1 and got the tags we wanted but am curious to hear how quick these ones go. What number are you?
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: 2MANY on January 12, 2023, 09:02:25 AM
V17
No clue, but good luck.
I hope you get a tag.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: Bigtine96 on January 12, 2023, 09:07:45 AM
I'm not playing this game anymore, when I could hunt and purchase a tag when the weather opportunity was there this was my favorite hunt. But I am no longer going to wait in line a year before the season and hope I get good weather and hope I can get a tag.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 12, 2023, 09:16:14 AM
I guess I read it all wrong and thought I could still buy a tag but it looks like I couldn't but my old man could since he doesn't have a general tag yet which I do. I ended up not buying anything. Oh well
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 12, 2023, 09:28:24 AM
I guess I read it all wrong and thought I could still buy a tag but it looks like I couldn't but my old man could since he doesn't have a general tag yet which I do. I ended up not buying anything. Oh well

So you where trying to buy it as a second tag?

Everyone I know that logged in this morning got tags...but they missed the general tag sale.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 12, 2023, 09:33:31 AM
I guess I read it all wrong and thought I could still buy a tag but it looks like I couldn't but my old man could since he doesn't have a general tag yet which I do. I ended up not buying anything. Oh well

So you where trying to buy it as a second tag?

Everyone I know that logged in this morning got tags...but they missed the general tag sale.

Yes I thought I read/heard you could purchase as a second tag. I was incorrect
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: duckman18 on January 12, 2023, 09:35:13 AM
I forgot didn’t sign in till 907 didn’t get one of the four units I wanted. You can sign in right now and get some of the units that are less popular.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: luvmystang67 on January 12, 2023, 10:15:47 AM
The fun part about this that has kind of been uncovered is that the sum of the units allocations doesn't reach the total allocation, at least for elk.

The legal limit for NR tags is over the sum of the units.  Every year on August 1st there's this lovely little special pot of NR elk tags that were never actually offered to NR, but are available exclusively as 2nd elk tags for residents.  Last several years I've bought a second elk tag at the NR price (old price, $416) in mid Sept.

Residents were complaining, so I credit IDFG with listening, but the truth is 10 years ago they sold more NR tags AND the resident population was smaller.  Now the resident population is larger and they're actually selling fewer NR tags because they're not hitting their NR max numbers due to the zone-based 10-15% approach they've taken. 

I do expect this secret pot of NR tags to erode when they reevaluate their deer and elk zones to find that more residents means more resident hunters and that 10-15% figure will increase NR tags per zone.  But until then, I'll rest easy knowing I have a 2nd permit always available to me until mid season. 

Sidenote: I don't really understand how idaho whitetail tags, or general tags in whitetail prominent areas, are still so popular.  Its the only game animal found in nearly every state in the country and while Idaho has some big ones, they're IMO not any better than other states.  Maybe I'm the one missing the point.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on January 12, 2023, 10:26:49 AM
The fun part about this that has kind of been uncovered is that the sum of the units allocations doesn't reach the total allocation, at least for elk.

The legal limit for NR tags is over the sum of the units.  Every year on August 1st there's this lovely little special pot of NR elk tags that were never actually offered to NR, but are available exclusively as 2nd elk tags for residents.  Last several years I've bought a second elk tag at the NR price (old price, $416) in mid Sept.

Residents were complaining, so I credit IDFG with listening, but the truth is 10 years ago they sold more NR tags AND the resident population was smaller.  Now the resident population is larger and they're actually selling fewer NR tags because they're not hitting their NR max numbers due to the zone-based 10-15% approach they've taken. 

I do expect this secret pot of NR tags to erode when they reevaluate their deer and elk zones to find that more residents means more resident hunters and that 10-15% figure will increase NR tags per zone.  But until then, I'll rest easy knowing I have a 2nd permit always available to me until mid season. 

Sidenote: I don't really understand how idaho whitetail tags, or general tags in whitetail prominent areas, are still so popular.  Its the only game animal found in nearly every state in the country and while Idaho has some big ones, they're IMO not any better than other states.  Maybe I'm the one missing the point.

In WA, you can't hunt whitetails, for the most part, during their rut with a rifle without a special permit. Other states have tags to hunt them with a rifle during the rut on general season.  :twocents:
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: dilleytech on January 12, 2023, 10:32:19 AM
I was in waiting for 10 minutes before it started. Idk how the numbering works but I was number 1009 in line once the tag sale began. I was trying for a 8A tag but there was only 6 available. Of course sold out by my turn as I excepted. It’s like a lottery system.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: luvmystang67 on January 12, 2023, 10:56:05 AM
The fun part about this that has kind of been uncovered is that the sum of the units allocations doesn't reach the total allocation, at least for elk.

The legal limit for NR tags is over the sum of the units.  Every year on August 1st there's this lovely little special pot of NR elk tags that were never actually offered to NR, but are available exclusively as 2nd elk tags for residents.  Last several years I've bought a second elk tag at the NR price (old price, $416) in mid Sept.

Residents were complaining, so I credit IDFG with listening, but the truth is 10 years ago they sold more NR tags AND the resident population was smaller.  Now the resident population is larger and they're actually selling fewer NR tags because they're not hitting their NR max numbers due to the zone-based 10-15% approach they've taken. 

I do expect this secret pot of NR tags to erode when they reevaluate their deer and elk zones to find that more residents means more resident hunters and that 10-15% figure will increase NR tags per zone.  But until then, I'll rest easy knowing I have a 2nd permit always available to me until mid season. 

Sidenote: I don't really understand how idaho whitetail tags, or general tags in whitetail prominent areas, are still so popular.  Its the only game animal found in nearly every state in the country and while Idaho has some big ones, they're IMO not any better than other states.  Maybe I'm the one missing the point.

In WA, you can't hunt whitetails, for the most part, during their rut with a rifle without a special permit. Other states have tags to hunt them with a rifle during the rut on general season.  :twocents:

Fair point!
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: fishngamereaper on January 12, 2023, 04:42:46 PM
Still lots of good tags left.. surprising considering the free for all Dec 1...
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: idaho guy on February 12, 2023, 08:50:05 PM
The fun part about this that has kind of been uncovered is that the sum of the units allocations doesn't reach the total allocation, at least for elk.

The legal limit for NR tags is over the sum of the units.  Every year on August 1st there's this lovely little special pot of NR elk tags that were never actually offered to NR, but are available exclusively as 2nd elk tags for residents.  Last several years I've bought a second elk tag at the NR price (old price, $416) in mid Sept.

Residents were complaining, so I credit IDFG with listening, but the truth is 10 years ago they sold more NR tags AND the resident population was smaller.  Now the resident population is larger and they're actually selling fewer NR tags because they're not hitting their NR max numbers due to the zone-based 10-15% approach they've taken. 

I do expect this secret pot of NR tags to erode when they reevaluate their deer and elk zones to find that more residents means more resident hunters and that 10-15% figure will increase NR tags per zone.  But until then, I'll rest easy knowing I have a 2nd permit always available to me until mid season. 

Sidenote: I don't really understand how idaho whitetail tags, or general tags in whitetail prominent areas, are still so popular.  Its the only game animal found in nearly every state in the country and while Idaho has some big ones, they're IMO not any better than other states.  Maybe I'm the one missing the point.

In WA, you can't hunt whitetails, for the most part, during their rut with a rifle without a special permit. Other states have tags to hunt them with a rifle during the rut on general season.  :twocents:

Fair point!
   


It’s is a fair point and I love hunting whitetail in the rut in Idaho. The downside is it has led to a lot less older age class bucks. In my opinion after they extended rifle season to include both October and November the numbers of large bucks declined quite a bit. I love hunting whitetail in the panhandle but the opportunity to rifle hunt for 2 months and during the entire rut has resulted in less mature bucks. I agree with stang on this one. I am surprised by the excitement to grab idaho whitetail tags with the extra cost and travel etc. I actually see a lot more large whitetail in other states. It’s a fun hunt in Idaho and you can still get nice bucks and occasionally a great one but it’s definitely not a great whitetail state. The best whitetail archery hunter I know ,that lives in Idaho ,loves to hunt Washington 😂 he said it’s because Washington DOES NOT
have a rifle rut hunt so he finds more mature bucks during archery.
Title: Re: Idaho Nonresident whitetail tags-1500
Post by: vandeman17 on February 13, 2023, 09:28:33 AM
The fun part about this that has kind of been uncovered is that the sum of the units allocations doesn't reach the total allocation, at least for elk.

The legal limit for NR tags is over the sum of the units.  Every year on August 1st there's this lovely little special pot of NR elk tags that were never actually offered to NR, but are available exclusively as 2nd elk tags for residents.  Last several years I've bought a second elk tag at the NR price (old price, $416) in mid Sept.

Residents were complaining, so I credit IDFG with listening, but the truth is 10 years ago they sold more NR tags AND the resident population was smaller.  Now the resident population is larger and they're actually selling fewer NR tags because they're not hitting their NR max numbers due to the zone-based 10-15% approach they've taken. 

I do expect this secret pot of NR tags to erode when they reevaluate their deer and elk zones to find that more residents means more resident hunters and that 10-15% figure will increase NR tags per zone.  But until then, I'll rest easy knowing I have a 2nd permit always available to me until mid season. 

Sidenote: I don't really understand how idaho whitetail tags, or general tags in whitetail prominent areas, are still so popular.  Its the only game animal found in nearly every state in the country and while Idaho has some big ones, they're IMO not any better than other states.  Maybe I'm the one missing the point.

In WA, you can't hunt whitetails, for the most part, during their rut with a rifle without a special permit. Other states have tags to hunt them with a rifle during the rut on general season.  :twocents:

Fair point!
   


It’s is a fair point and I love hunting whitetail in the rut in Idaho. The downside is it has led to a lot less older age class bucks. In my opinion after they extended rifle season to include both October and November the numbers of large bucks declined quite a bit. I love hunting whitetail in the panhandle but the opportunity to rifle hunt for 2 months and during the entire rut has resulted in less mature bucks. I agree with stang on this one. I am surprised by the excitement to grab idaho whitetail tags with the extra cost and travel etc. I actually see a lot more large whitetail in other states. It’s a fun hunt in Idaho and you can still get nice bucks and occasionally a great one but it’s definitely not a great whitetail state. The best whitetail archery hunter I know ,that lives in Idaho ,loves to hunt Washington 😂 he said it’s because Washington DOES NOT
have a rifle rut hunt so he finds more mature bucks during archery.

This is also very accurate. One of those "be careful what you wish for" scenarios
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