Idaho 2021 season

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Jul 28, 2019
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As an idaho resident I’ve been curious to see if hunters experienced less hunting pressure from fellow hunters in this past season? With the new reduced non-resident tags I would assume we had less out of state guys. I also know idaho is blowing up and there are new residents in the field. As a self-employed flooring contractor I deal with many new idaho residents. Not trying to start beef. I’m honestly curious what guys have experienced last season compared to previous years. I hunted a new unit/zone last year so I don’t know how my usual areas were last season. Most of my buddies claimed to have similar hunting encounters with other hunters as in years past. Thanks for the input if you have the desire to post. Like I said, not trying to stir up conflict here. Just interested in feedback. 👍🏻
 

Fullfan

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I will chime in. Been hunting Idaho as a non resident for 30+ years. Zone we archery hunted last fall has very few nonresident tags available.

We ran into more hunters and saw more camps last Sept then we ever have. And they were not nonresidents..
 

IdahoElk

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I saw way more resident hunters last year and fewer non res. Currently Idaho's population is exploding.
This is the Pioneer and smoky Bennett zones where I live.
 

mtnwrunner

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Yup, lots more hunters afield. I didn't take a survey if they were residents or non res. Don't matter to me, pressure is pressure and numbers are numbers.

Randy
 

Super tag

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The number of non res tags wasn’t reduced, they were allocated as a percentage to each unit. I am pretty sure Idaho has had the same number of available non resident tags for many years.

We did notice a lot less pressure in our favorite hunting areas. A lot less, very noticeable.

“in the past there was no way to manage nonresident participation in each game unit or elk zone, resulting in disproportionally high numbers of nonresident hunters in some areas”

The changes were much needed.
 

TheTone

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Resident pressure where I elk hunt has been going up for years. Many new residents or at least new to archery. Personally I’d rather deal with non residents as they seem to give each other more space, be more respectful and act less entitled. I’m getting a bit tired of all the new residents that act like they are the voice of reason moving here to have their utopia
 

Will_m

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Doesn’t matter the state. Big game hunter numbers are up everywhere. All that stuff about it dying is a crock.

The clock is ticking.
 

Super tag

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I find it interesting, a lot of people have mentioned they felt pressure was higher where they hunt, is this due to the way the allocated non res tags were spread out, or were there more residnet hunters in certain areas?

Here are the real Statistics

There were nearly 10% fewer hunters last season for both deer and elk according to this article from the fish and game.

“For the eighth year in a row, Idaho elk harvests came in at over 20,000. Elk hunters took home 20,396 total elk in 2021, roughly a 10 percent decrease in animals harvested compared to 2020. But if it seemed like there was less blaze orange and boot tracks in the mountains this year (depending on who you ask), then your gut feeling was right. Just over 89,000 elk hunters— a 9.8 percentage drop from 2020 — took to the mountains in 2021 in search of elk, with 22.9 percent of those individuals successfully harvesting an elk. The last four years have averaged 22.8 percent success rates by comparison.

Idaho mule deer hunters had the biggest year of anyone. A total of 79,825 mule deer hunters got after it in 2021, with 26,086 of those successfully packing out a mule deer. That 36 percent success rate was the third highest in the last 11 years, and is even more impressive when you consider that there were 9.9 percent fewer mule deer hunters in 2021 than 2020.“
 

rclouse79

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I am guessing a major factor for many moving here is the outdoor opportunities. I got a new bow last week and they were late in getting it set up. The guy said they are selling more bows than they can keep up with, and this is the middle of the off-season. I am expecting to deal with increased pressure every year. Luckily many still are not willing to stray too far from the road.
 

sneaky

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As an idaho resident I’ve been curious to see if hunters experienced less hunting pressure from fellow hunters in this past season? With the new reduced non-resident tags I would assume we had less out of state guys. I also know idaho is blowing up and there are new residents in the field. As a self-employed flooring contractor I deal with many new idaho residents. Not trying to start beef. I’m honestly curious what guys have experienced last season compared to previous years. I hunted a new unit/zone last year so I don’t know how my usual areas were last season. Most of my buddies claimed to have similar hunting encounters with other hunters as in years past. Thanks for the input if you have the desire to post. Like I said, not trying to stir up conflict here. Just interested in feedback.
They didn't reduce the number of tags, they just capped every zone. The tag number is what it is in total.

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sneaky

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I never see a lot of hunters when I'm out, and I've hunted several zones over the years. Driving in and out of units I see a ton of road hunters, and this always baffles me, especially in archery season. They plan on drawing out the truck window or what?

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N.ID7803

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Same here, I saw more resident hunters then non-res. I try not to let the non res hunters bother me. Most cases when you talk to them they have seen very little game and have no interest in coming back or the "hills" are taller than they were anticipating.
 
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