Idaho unit 1

[leonpeon2]

I am hunting Unit 1 this year since we did not get the controlled hunt that we usually get.

Hunting Deer. whitetail and Mulley's.

I plan to get over to idaho in aug-sept time depending on work and time off. Im hoping to put out a few trail cameras. Is there any specific areas to look further into and or stay away? I have onX and have been looking into that as well.
I originally have taken Oct 7-18th off but may change it since we are not hunting the controlled unit. I know that time its strictly whitetail. might push it back to the nov rut time to be able to hunt both species.

any help would be much appreciated.

[redi]

Definitely go in Mid November

[deerhuntr4885]

Definitely go in Mia November

I’m not sure about going Mia November. If it were me, I’d go in mid-November.

[Caveman123]

Never hunted it before but will be going this year, planning on a few long weekends. Best of luck!

[addicted]

plenty of woods up there. Hound hunters got chased out by wolves one day a few years ago.

[idaho guy]

Unit 1 is pretty big and a lot of it is very similar. so no real pockets that are way better or worse. Mid October would be my last choice to hunt deer up there for either whitetail or mulies. I would change your dates

[tlake]

I have hunted the Priest river since the mid 1990's. I never saw a mule deer. I did meet one hunting for mule deer in  by walking(back packing) the high ridges to east of Priest Lake in September.  We normally hunted the last 3 weeks of November  in the river bottoms.

[Jimmy33]

I’ve hunted that unit most of my life. There are deer, both Whitetail and mule deer, spread throughout the entire unit. You really need to get over there and get a look at it. It’s very unique, in that it is steep, thick, nasty country. There are plenty of whitetails down in the valleys, and then up to around 5500 feet. Anything after that you’ll mainly be hunting mule deer. Good luck. it is my favorite place in the whole world.


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[buglebrush]

Forget the Mule Deer in unit 1.  I'd focus on the end of November whitetails.   

[Jimmy33]

Forget the Mule Deer in unit 1.  I'd focus on the end of November whitetails.   

Good advice there


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[Shooter4]

Big bucks mid November

[leonpeon2]

Thank you all for the input. Very much appreciated. Been looking all over onx to see what’s the best options. Still hopi be for a trip next month to scout it out and see. Hopefully places few trail cams as well.
I’ll talk to my friends who are joining me and see about moving it into November timeframe.

Leon.
Thank you again

[fishngamereaper]

In my experience with North Idaho,  scouting doesn't get you much besides road knowledge...

Those dang mountain whitetail come out of nowhere when the rut starts. And once in a while a 170 mule deer shows up....

Also be wary....lots of cats...lots of wolfe..and once in a while...you may find a griz that hasn't gone to sleep yet ... don't ask...it's a long story 

[leonpeon2]

I do have a wolf tag. get one every year for idaho and yet to see one. people in my party have seen a few in the south.
sounds like ill be trying to change my vacation dates into November.

thank you all again.

[actionshooter]

In my experience with North Idaho,  scouting doesn't get you much besides road knowledge...

Those dang mountain whitetail come out of nowhere when the rut starts. And once in a while a 170 mule deer shows up....

Also be wary....lots of cats...lots of wolfe..and once in a while...you may find a griz that hasn't gone to sleep yet ... don't ask...it's a long story 

Yep.... on one trip, I found a wolf kill (moose) and the next day took a great MD buck at 20yds that was fighting a HUGE whitetail over 5-6 MD doe... that was a very cool trip... but in my experience, there aren't deer everywhere but they are in certain pockets.

Good luck on you trip!

[snit]

All the prior info is spot-on regarding hunting in mid-to-late November, from my experience:tup:

I hunted whities around Bonners for multiple years from 2007-2019. What really changed the last couple of times (where I was hunting, anyhow) was the seasonal closing of the FS roads so the bears (grizzlies) could go nite-nite . Not sure if this is still in effect, but if I were you, I'd definitely research what seasonal closures will/may affect the area you're planning on accessing. Then if an area will close to vehicle travel, I'd suggest getting into it to scout prior to the closure to verify if it's a location that you actually want to (potentially) commit to and try to gauge what the population density is.

I noticed a significant drop in deer/moose populations during the time I was hunting in the area I knew. Of course, only hunting the area every few years, I can't precisely know the reason(s) for the decline in the number of critters I was encountering....but I have a hunch. As another member mentioned, N. Idaho has some fantastic country and I've had a tremendous amount of fun hunts there. Good luck

[grade-creek-rd]

Snit...the reason for the decline in moose (and deer...but especially Moose) is due to an outbreak of tick infestation...the bios have been keeping good tabs on the moose and the ticks have really taken their toll. Two years ago my son shot a WT doe and it was completely covered in ticks, from head to toe...of course we didn't know this until he decided to tan the hide himself and put it in our garage, and oh boy, did we all of a sudden have ticks! I took it out and sprayed the hide with permathin, and thousands of ticks fell off, and even then once he had the hide fleshed out and we held it up in the sunlight you could still see hundreds (if not thousands) of more ticks still stuck in the hide! the moose get them real bad for some reason, so for anyone hunting in Unit 1, be sure to treat your clothes before going! and even though everyone up there hates turkeys, they at least do their part on eating ticks!

Grade

[Shooter4]

Snit...the reason for the decline in moose (and deer...but especially Moose) is due to an outbreak of tick infestation...the bios have been keeping good tabs on the moose and the ticks have really taken their toll. Two years ago my son shot a WT doe and it was completely covered in ticks, from head to toe...of course we didn't know this until he decided to tan the hide himself and put it in our garage, and oh boy, did we all of a sudden have ticks! I took it out and sprayed the hide with permathin, and thousands of ticks fell off, and even then once he had the hide fleshed out and we held it up in the sunlight you could still see hundreds (if not thousands) of more ticks still stuck in the hide! the moose get them real bad for some reason, so for anyone hunting in Unit 1, be sure to treat your clothes before going! and even though everyone up there hates turkeys, they at least do their part on eating ticks!

Grade

This is why I do all my quartering in the field now