Idaho OTC success(ish)

[menhaden_man]

Just spent a solid 5 days hiking/hunting many miles in central Idaho in pursuit of mule deer. Just myself and a friend I’ve hunted with for over 20 years... we had a ball but didn’t stack a mule deer.

Wound up tent camping in subzero weather, hiking through 2-foot snow drifts, and battling hordes of elk hunters on horseback once the weekend hit. Pretty sure we underestimated the weather, pressure, and now those two can affect the quality of a hunt.

We bailed and went to the panhandle to go old school... scouted an area just off I-90 on a bio recommendation and bagged a small whitetail buck within an hour of setting up. Then hit town for a few cold pints and a motel before heading back to the real world.

Many thanks to folks on here for tips and advice on the region... and also happy to say that freezing my tail off watching dozens of critters each day was one hell of a time. We’ll whack that 200” buck next time... though I’m definitely going to pay closer attention to the winter storm warning and where all those elk hunters will be crashing on opening week.

Y’all leave some for us...

 

[WhatToHunt]

What a great pic and sounds like a fun end to a rough start. Congrats on the buck.

 

[menhaden_man]

Already thinking through next year. I believe a hot tent is in order - would’ve really changed our ability to get in deeper in that weather. Will try to squeeze in a couple more days in the panhandle in hopes of filling wolf tag come November, but three kids and running a business don’t allow much wiggle room!