IDspud
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2021
- Messages
- 187
Part of the reason I moved to Idaho was to enjoy the vast public land and hunting opportunities. Rifle season turned into an absolute joke pretty quickly. Opening day sounds like a war zone and there is someone on every ridge. Campers and tents stack up like a circus. I can only imagine how pissed the born and raised locals are.
Archery was way better for a minute, but this year it seems like it’s turned into the same thing. It feels more like groups of hunters flushing game back and forth until someone gets lucky. Now that I've really gotten to know the unit(s) I hunt it seems like there is virtually no ground that isn't hit. I've hiked ridge to ridge over some really rough terrain and still find boot tracks in the middle between access points.
I cannot stand feeling like I'm hunting for a spot to myself more than hunting for actual game. Is this pretty typical or do I need to start figuring out another unit much further away? If I finally tag a bull the fact that 15 other hunters have been chasing him back and forth until I got the lucky chance shot kind of takes away from the experience of "hunting." I definitely don't want it to be easy and handed to me, but this seems more like luck than skill.
What do you consider normal pressure for OTC units for deer and elk? Are you hunting areas that only you are in, or do you expect to have company there? If you hike 10 miles across the mountains from the nearest access point are you surprised to find boot tracks there? Am I dreaming thinking that I should be able to do a day of hiking and no one else has been there in the last few days or week?
Here's a picture I made of one section of the unit(green boundary). The red dots and lines are just people I have seen(including myself and my route) in one single day. If that's what can be hit in one day I'm guessing that every draw has absolutely been hit and probably frequently. Is this normal? Or way too much pressure?
Archery was way better for a minute, but this year it seems like it’s turned into the same thing. It feels more like groups of hunters flushing game back and forth until someone gets lucky. Now that I've really gotten to know the unit(s) I hunt it seems like there is virtually no ground that isn't hit. I've hiked ridge to ridge over some really rough terrain and still find boot tracks in the middle between access points.
I cannot stand feeling like I'm hunting for a spot to myself more than hunting for actual game. Is this pretty typical or do I need to start figuring out another unit much further away? If I finally tag a bull the fact that 15 other hunters have been chasing him back and forth until I got the lucky chance shot kind of takes away from the experience of "hunting." I definitely don't want it to be easy and handed to me, but this seems more like luck than skill.
What do you consider normal pressure for OTC units for deer and elk? Are you hunting areas that only you are in, or do you expect to have company there? If you hike 10 miles across the mountains from the nearest access point are you surprised to find boot tracks there? Am I dreaming thinking that I should be able to do a day of hiking and no one else has been there in the last few days or week?
Here's a picture I made of one section of the unit(green boundary). The red dots and lines are just people I have seen(including myself and my route) in one single day. If that's what can be hit in one day I'm guessing that every draw has absolutely been hit and probably frequently. Is this normal? Or way too much pressure?
