Where would You Go & Why ?

[1100 Remington Man]

Just heard from a friend he's up for any thing this Fall for Big Game. The bad news is we are past most application deadlines, this late where would you Go & Why ? Also we prefer DIY hunts, My friend and I like the feeling of doing all the work ourselves. We also have all the gear, so might as well use it. So this late where would you go & for what & where ? I'm not asking for any honey holes, just States & Species but a National Forest would not hurt or BLM Grassland. Thanks & Good Hunting to you All.

 

[Vince]

Still have time to enter the deer and sheep hunts in Arizona.

www.azgfd.gov

You can enter online. Lots of good deer hunting. Also, if not confined to the west, you could do a hunt in one of the more eastern states for deer, turkey, and various other game. I hear Arkansas is good.

Vince

 

[SJB358]

I would look at Idaho for elk and deer, you'll have to do a little research, but tags are OTC in alot of units. Wyoming usually has some left over cow tags as well.

 

[salmonchaser]

Last day to apply in Oregon is today, on line by fax. You will have to buy an Oregon hunting license to apply, which is non-refundable.

 

[salmonchaser]

I keep forgetting western Oregon. There are numerous OTC tags for Roosevelt Elk and blacktail deer west of the cascade mountains. I hunted the west side a bunch growing up, took several nice bucks and one Roosevelt Elk. The last time was 1982 the year my son was born, so there are much better sources of info on this site.

 

[salmonchaser]

If you are fit, really fit, put in for the snake river unit. There are only 70 applicants for 330 tags, it's a spike only hunt and you'll see elk. This hunt is in the Hells Canyon wilderness. Access is good, there is one road through the middle of the unit, from there it is all down hill, your GP will show you're a quarter mile from the truck, and 2000 feet below. No road on the bottom. Lots of elk, the only place I've let one go. I was just too far down, the bull was another 1000 feet below and I wasn't going to get out before dark anyway.
Magnificent country but I don't have the legs or lungs for it any more. It's been 20 years since I hunted it but it's worth doing, if you're fit.
Otherwise Heppner number 2, or Wenaha no.1. Again spike only hunts that are under subscribe but decent hunts.

 

[SJB358]

Nice. Might have to bank those for the future.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

It's funny you mention the Salmon river. Last year hunted north of Salmon ID & yes it's rugged country. That was a long drive. I really think the key to success there is being able to be there when the weather pushes them out of Montana & horses would be great. I have no idea if I'm what you call fit but I did put in 10 miles one day according to my GPS. I was sweating so bad my friend would not let me ride in his truck till he put a garbage bag over the seat, something about I might stink it up. What's a guy to do ?

 

[salmonchaser]

Some friends, what's a guy to do with them

 

[salmonchaser]

I would hunt the Hells Canyon (snake river) unit again if I could find a time machine. I remember working my way back out of the canyon one afternoon, my youngest brother had taken a break from cross country training to hunt the weekend. ( he was fast enough to place in the NCAA national meet) I met up with him on a ridge , he looked at me and said "this is nuts, glad I didn't shoot anything.
There are some horse trails that can help you get out, and if you have your own pack animals it can be a great hunt.
Scotty, if you ever decide to try it you're in for a great hunt. According to the state there are still plenty of elk, lots of open country and long shooting. If you do, get in touch and I'll get you dialed in on my favorite areas.

 

[wildgene]

...most states list their hunter success rates by units, probably the "biggest question" right now is what is available over the counter or for leftover tags. Personally, as I get older I appreciate "stoopid elk" more...

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=27604

 

[DrMike]

Yup! "Stoopid elk" taste every bit as good as "smart elk."

 

[SJB358]

I would hunt the Hells Canyon (snake river) unit again if I could find a time machine. I remember working my way back out of the canyon one afternoon, my youngest brother had taken a break from cross country training to hunt the weekend. ( he was fast enough to place in the NCAA national meet) I met up with him on a ridge , he looked at me and said "this is nuts, glad I didn't shoot anything.
There are some horse trails that can help you get out, and if you have your own pack animals it can be a great hunt.
Scotty, if you ever decide to try it you're in for a great hunt. According to the state there are still plenty of elk, lots of open country and long shooting. If you do, get in touch and I'll get you dialed in on my favorite areas.

Sounds like a great unit SC. I'll check it out. Especially with good draw odds like that.

 

[wildgene]

Yup! "Stoopid elk" taste every bit as good as "smart elk."

...I like to tell myself it's because of the bears, there's more of 'em, & they're getting "smarter" & more aggressive each year, you hardly dare to leave quarters overnite. You hate to admit to yourself yer getting older, slower, sorer, tireder, & you certainly don't want to consider you might be getting a little spoiled & lazy, but relatively speaking, elk hunting here around Cody is pretty damn easy compared to North Idaho...

 

[DrMike]

I always thought the area around Cody was some of the most beautiful country in the USA. Having travelled through there last year, I haven't changed my mind. As for growing older, slower, sorer and tireder, there is a lot of that going around.

 

[Darkhorse]

Being from the other corner of North America I'd look at Colorado due to OTC tags and vast amounts of both BLM and National Forest. I found a spot 20+ miles from the pavement on BLM land that I've wanted to go back to. Even bought the camping gear but a couple of injuries prevented that.
We came in from land locked access on horseback and I got a nice Bull and saw a lot of good bulls. Better than what I'd seen in Chama, NM a couple of years before. We were sitting up there glassing and the guide just told me all about the road they cut in that now allowed anybody access. I listened then came home and ordered the maps.
But if this new knee is all the doc said then just maybe I can visit that spot one time before I pass on...
Both Co. and NM private land tags can be bought but their mostly not cheap but can provide good hunting.
Those 2 states are the ones I've really looked at, due mostly to driving distance and familiarity. Point is; There are still some good options out there even at this date.

 

[maverick2]

I would hunt the Hells Canyon (snake river) unit again if I could find a time machine. I remember working my way back out of the canyon one afternoon, my youngest brother had taken a break from cross country training to hunt the weekend. ( he was fast enough to place in the NCAA national meet) I met up with him on a ridge , he looked at me and said "this is nuts, glad I didn't shoot anything.
There are some horse trails that can help you get out, and if you have your own pack animals it can be a great hunt.
Scotty, if you ever decide to try it you're in for a great hunt. According to the state there are still plenty of elk, lots of open country and long shooting. If you do, get in touch and I'll get you dialed in on my favorite areas.

Sounds like a great unit SC. I'll check it out. Especially with good draw odds like that.

Only caution I'd give if you come to Idaho is that our wolf population (now pretty strong) has a tendency to change big game populations very dramatically in an area from year to year. Good elk numbers in an area last year no longer indicate decent numbers the following year, and vice versa, as animal movement is increasing greatly. The Salmon country has been playing the see-saw game with game numbers for quite a while now, and the wolf population is on the increase in Hell's Canyon. (As an aside, last Sunday night while catching our horses for an early Monday morning departure for a cattle roundup, we ran across a wolf in our pasture. The SOB's are all over here...)

 

[Elkman]

WYOMING , left over tags available starting the first week of July!

 

[Guy Miner]

Washington.

Over the counter tags for two species of elk, three species of deer, and black bear...

Our non-resident fees are ridiculously high, but there's no draw to worry about for those three species. Just come on out, buy your license & tags and hunt.

Guy