Idaho First Time

[fuelthehunt]

Hey guys,

New member to the forum but been reading post on here for a couple years now.

So this year my brother and I decided to surprise my dad this year for his 65th b-day and take him to Idaho hunting. He's been hunting California his entire life but has never been able to afford an out of state hunt. His reaction was priceless when we told him. He always thought he'd never get the chance to so I decided to prove him wrong. Anyways, he is beyond excited.

My dad has some health issues and physical limitations is one of the biggest challenges. He has a heart problem and almost died 17 yrs ago from a heart attack. Every year I never know when it will be the last hunting with him so I hold back on hunting as hard to hunt with him and my brother. Also, my brother has never killed a deer despite hunting for years so I really want to help get him on one.

So, we are staying in Mackay and roughing it in an airbnb. We've been researching a good amount. Curious for areas that might allow so easier hunting for my dad. I can recover any animal for him.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rob5589]

Welcome! First place to look would be the IDFG website. Next, take a long, hard look at Google Earth and/or OnX for terrain features, elevation, etc. Good luck!

 

[fuelthehunt]

Welcome! First place to look would be the IDFG website. Next, take a long, hard look at Google Earth and/or OnX for terrain features, elevation, etc. Good luck!

Thanks! Those are the things I've started doing and will continue to do. Appreciate it.

 

[Pwells10]

There's a lot of good roads you can travel around there to find them. A lot of the times you cab catch them on the rolling hills. I would check out 37a and 50

 

[fuelthehunt]

There's a lot of good roads you can travel around there to find them. A lot of the times you cab catch them on the rolling hills. I would check out 37a and 50

Sweet! Will use the spotter in areas like that! Thanks for the tip.

 

[jdmaxwell]

Welcome. Good luck

 

[fuelthehunt]

Welcome. Good luck

Thank you very much!

 

[prongbuck]

Get him in a good spot 1/2 or 3/4 mile from a road or trail with good binos and a book. Fortunatley age and physical limitations usually come with wisdom and patience. If he sits at a good vantage point long enough he will most likely have an opportunity. I'm still pretty gung ho, but the older I get the more I sit.

 

[fuelthehunt]

Get him in a good spot 1/2 or 3/4 mile from a road or trail with good binos and a book. Fortunatley age and physical limitations usually come with wisdom and patience. If he sits at a good vantage point long enough he will most likely have an opportunity. I'm still pretty gung ho, but the older I get the more I sit.

Sounds good!! I got him working out and he's been losing weight as well so that should help some! I'll carry his lawn chair out for him to be comfy haha.

 

[Jake”0”]

I don’t have any advise as I’ve never hunted ID but just the thought of being able to get in some time in the field with the old man is priceless weather or not you bag game good luck and cherish the time you got with them!!!

 

[fuelthehunt]

I don’t have any advise as I’ve never hunted ID but just the thought of being able to get in some time in the field with the old man is priceless weather or not you bag game good luck and cherish the time you got with them!!!

Thanks man! That is something I remind myself of yearly. Almost lost my dad when I was 12 years old and he got me into hunting that very next year. Been hunting every year since then for the past 17 years. I never know when it will be my last season hunting with him so I do my best to cherish every moment even when I want to be out hunting much harder.

 

[fuelthehunt]

If you end up in the Arco area, Jaggles Canyon and Big Burnett Canyon are good places to look.

We won’t be to far from there. I’ll add it to the list of places to research. Thank you. Is there good areas that require minimal walking for my dad?

 

[WeiserBucks]

Not really in that area unless you can find roads that can get you some elevation, pretty steep stuff in the Unit 50 area. You can drive some of the roads in unit 52-A, lots of rock pockets for deer to hide in, but it's pretty flat. South of Craters of the Moon in the big desert I think there is an open general season deer, find the few high spots that exist in there to glass from and eventually you'll pick something up. If you walk in from Carey Lake toward the east and border the private ground to the north, lots of deer and elk go in and out of those fields and you can catch them on the move.

If you keep posting specific locations on a public forum there's going to be 5000 hunters flocking to those areas. Better to exchange some information via PM.

 

[fuelthehunt]

Not really in that area unless you can find roads that can get you some elevation, pretty steep stuff in the Unit 50 area. You can drive some of the roads in unit 52-A, lots of rock pockets for deer to hide in, but it's pretty flat. South of Craters of the Moon in the big desert I think there is an open general season deer, find the few high spots that exist in there to glass from and eventually you'll pick something up. If you walk in from Carey Lake toward the east and border the private ground to the north, lots of deer and elk go in and out of those fields and you can catch them on the move.

Thank you very much! Greatly appreciate the information.

 

[Wassid82]

I had a friend that got a doe tag there for the early hunt this year. Said they only saw two deer. Seems to me they are a bit higher right now in that area. I would work back towards copper basin if it were me

 

[fuelthehunt]

I had a friend that got a doe tag there for the early hunt this year. Said they only saw two deer. Seems to me they are a bit higher right now in that area. I would work back towards copper basin if it were me

That’s not what I want to hear haha. Thanks for the advice though.

 

[fuelthehunt]

Update on the hunt! Thanks everyone who chimed in. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful but still had a great time. As much as I wanted to get out there and hunt hard focused more on enjoying the time with my dad and brother hoping we’d get lucky and get one of them a deer. Had two close chances for my brother but both just seconds longer were needed. None the less we enjoyed the country and the beauty it had to offer. Ended up seeing more elk than deer of course. Memories that will last a long time we’re created.