Where are SW Idaho bucks hanging out early season?

Joined
Feb 12, 2018
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I'm in my 3rd year of big game hunting so still a rookie. I'm also still trying to piece it all together.

Year 1 I sat above a saddle and a buck wandered by 3 hours into my first day of hunting. Success. Actually dumb luck.

Year 2 I woke up in the hospital and while still there found out i had drawn a buck tag. Got released after 5 weeks, got strong enough and went out Thanksgiving week. Scouted on day 1. On day 2 while almost to where I wanted to start, I found a buck and sealed the deal.

My point is, I've been lucky.

This year, I'm hunting back in unit 39.

I took my son out today and we saw a couple does, but no bucks. It's too early for them to herd up, so where are the bucks hanging out in early October with mild temps and no significant weather?

I'm not asking for a location, but rather a terrain type. I know 39 gets huge pressure, but day hunts are what I am limited to right now. We were hunting at 5500 feet so maybe we are too low?

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silverbullet555
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Feb 12, 2018
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In this pic, the ridge lines are about 5500 feet. Forget the road for a minute. The yellow line is due north to the top.

Where would you be looking for mule deer bucks?
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sagebuster

Lil-Rokslider
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Interesting question. My September elk hunting honey hole is in unit 35, on the very edge of unit 39's upper limits. I consistently saw bucks in pairs or three or even four together in late September, hard-horned, at the 6 to 7,000 ft level, always on secondary ridges. Cover, water, feed, lack of pressure. I think that's where they hang until late October. The 5,500 ft level you are at is really the upper limits of Winter range for unit 39. Get a bit higher, work the secondary ridges off the main spines that start at the 8-9,000 ft level, be patient and, most of all, persist. You'll get lucky...again.
 
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silverbullet555
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Interesting question. My September elk hunting honey hole is in unit 35, on the very edge of unit 39's upper limits. I consistently saw bucks in pairs or three or even four together in late September, hard-horned, at the 6 to 7,000 ft level, always on secondary ridges. Cover, water, feed, lack of pressure. I think that's where they hang until late October. The 5,500 ft level you are at is really the upper limits of Winter range for unit 39. Get a bit higher, work the secondary ridges off the main spines that start at the 8-9,000 ft level, be patient and, most of all, persist. You'll get lucky...again.
Did you see them in timber, open sage, etc.?

I think without cold weather they are still higher than I was as you said.

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Yeah, think higher. They'll be in timber and sage. Look for sage with some nearby cover.

I'd love to hear how you do. Later in the season is normally better. PM me and I can share some thoughts if you like. The main issue though is escaping pressure and it's hard in 39 and constantly evolving.
 

HookUp

WKR
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The deer in 39 move a lot. They start high and end up low and it takes a fair amount of luck even if you are in a in-between place and know what you are doing.
 

sagebuster

Lil-Rokslider
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Open sage on the hillsides with a few aspens here and there and sparse timber on the ridge tops. Because I can only hunt unit 35 for elk and deer, I like to sit in the early mornings and glass the saddles, or crossover points, between units 39 and unit 35. 6,500 to 7,000 foot level. About two miles in from the nearest road, in an old burn area. A perfect little two-mile square micro-habitat. Feed, water, cover, lack of pressure. Caught three bucks at first light on a magic morning, one a 180+ class 4x4 who should have known better than to be out when it was light. Chased him all day, but he was smarter than me. I saw 9 bucks in 7 days in September, all at the 6-7,000 ft level. I think that's where they hang until late October around Halloween, when the first big storm usually hits the high country and they start feeling the rut.
 
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silverbullet555
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Well, they weren't up high today. Trudged 6 miles through 3-6 inches of snow at times. I might have bumped them as it was noisy walking through the crusty snow. Lots of hoof prints in the snow, but the snow is a week old.

Had a hard time finding a good glassing place, but eventually did. By that point, if there were any deer there I probably blew then out.

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ndbuck09

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My wife and I spent some time at the 5500 point in 39 last weekend too and only saw a doe and some cow elk. I too think we were too low for the weather and the lack of big storms thus far in the fall. We're going to be hanging out at 8000 this weekend so we'll see how it goes. Trying to get her first big game animal. But I don't have a ton of experience/time in october rifle hunting so it's a fun challenge to learn for me. It's supposed to be excellent backpacking weather this weekend all across idaho but it might be too nice for deer.
 
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Well, they weren't up high today. Trudged 6 miles through 3-6 inches of snow at times. I might have bumped them as it was noisy walking through the crusty snow. Lots of hoof prints in the snow, but the snow is a week old.

Had a hard time finding a good glassing place, but eventually did. By that point, if there were any deer there I probably blew then out.

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Put your butt down, make a cup of coffee, and glass at pic #2 and #3. More country in #2 though.
 
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silverbullet555
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Put your butt down, make a cup of coffee, and glass at pic #2 and #3. More country in #2 though.
2 and 3 are on the same glassing point if I remember correctly. I found that point late in the day and right before I left. Should have started the day. The grouse is what it looks like on the ground when glassing from 2 and 3. I'll be there again next week. On my way to try to fill the elk tag.

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silverbullet555
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No elk over the weekend. Back out after deer tomorrow. Clueless on where to go since it is in the 70s. Everything is a guess at this point.

Thinking glass the slopes in the high country in the morning using the spotting scope then slow movement in a creek bottom or two late morning into the afternoon.

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You're still learning the country and deer behavior. Get high and get to an expansive glassing point and glass away. You'll learn where the deer hang out letting the glass do the work. It's such a temptation to walk around too much.
 
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Yup, I'm with idahohikker. I'd be glassing all over in broken country in timber pockets. It can be tedious picking at thicker country, but it can be totally worth it.
 

sagebuster

Lil-Rokslider
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70 degrees and sunny, but some rain predicted for later in the week before the season closes on the 31st. Could be snow in the higher country. Most of the older bucks have been used and abused by now, and are hunkered down in some awful tangle in the middle of nowhere. I think Muley Buck has it right...glass the broken country in transitional zones that have tight pockets of either timber or quakies. Find the pockets where nobody goes. If you see does, keep an eye out. I've already seen smaller bucks traveling with doe groups at around the 6-7,000 ft level. I've taken a few Halloween bucks. Always at the snow line or above. Keep at it. Persistence pays. Good luck...keep us all posted.
 

freebird

WKR
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SW Idaho
Ya the temps are wacky this year. Took a drive through unit 40 on Sunday and the temp in Jordan Valley was 80 degree's.
But it looks as though the weather will not cooperate during the season. I knew I should have bought a whitetail tag this year....lol
 
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silverbullet555
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Spent the day up high, glassing the face in the pics above. The only thing moving was the rain falling from the sky and the light wind blowing.

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sagebuster

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I feel for ya, silverbullet. Muley huntimg is a tough sport, and we've all had those days when our eyes turned red because we sat for too long and glassed the same spot and saw nothing. I'm an 8 year cancer survivor. There was a time when I took being able to sit on a ridge and glass for deer while a nice rain was falling and a breeze was blowing for granted. Now I know that its enough just to be able to do that.

Tomorrow and Friday I will be on my favorite ridge in unit 39. I'll be there before first light. I'll glass in the mornings, and if I get lucky and see movement, then I'll take it from there. If a light rain is falling...well, it will make the walking quieter. I'll keep that breeze in my face and maybe I'll check that next ridge over there. North side, at snowline, looking for big pockets of quakies or thick stands of timber. I might head up the snowline from there...looking for tracks. If I find the level where the deer are, I'll hunt it hard.


Persistence. You have to be patient while at the same time relentless. You've been lucky more than once. You just need to find where the deer are.
 
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silverbullet555
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Sage, I know I've been lucky, on a couple of occasions. This year has taught me just how lucky I was. I almost died last summer and came out of the hospital with a walker. I managed to get out in the fall. I try to start off my prayer before I leave with just being happy being out in the splendor of nature, followed by safety, fun, seeing animals and lastly success.

I too prefer rain or fresh snow to wind or dry. Saw a fair number of fresh tracks today which is a good sign. They may be does, but something is better than nothing.

Also learned a few lessons, I think.

1. Quit being book smart. Reading will tell you that you should look on south facing slopes. In most of the areas I hunt, it seems the south slopes have only dry grass. The deer traverse those, but not when you are sitting on the hill they want to feed on. East and west facing slopes seem to have a lot more in the way of shrubs and bushes on them.

1a. If you are sitting in their food chest, they probably won't come back to it while you are there.

1b. Get good at identifying the plants and which ones deer and elk like and when.

2. Don't park as close as you can. Some of the areas I hunt have roads that aren't too far. Even if the road goes close by, park further away and hike in. It doesn't keep someone else from doing the same, but it is better than parking too close and then spooking them before you ever get on the mountain.

3. Learn from the sign quicker. If you are seeing fresh tracks around you, you probably bumped them off. Get out of that area and find a place to watch from the side or go to another similar drainage.

4. Take your pto the last few days of the season to improve the chances of cool weather pushing deer down.

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