Unit 28 Idaho Late Archery

[Holt45]

Hi, new to rokslide as a member but have done a lot of reading through these forums. Wondering if anyone had any tips for the unit 28 late archery deer and elk hunt. Was planning to be back in november for my local unit general hunt but the military wont let me have my fun this year. Only option is mid to late December which pretty much leaves me late archery OTC hunts. Dont know much of unit 28 but have friends in the area and will hopefully be able to come back to scout for a long weekend at best. Mostly will be going off word of mouth from friends and whoever wants to point us in a general direction. Would love to hear anything, not looking for specifics. Just want more awareness of what were getting into. We are well aware of the terrain and weather and the general difficulty of this hunt also, so no need for lectures on that. We will be well prepared and do not expect to pack out a trophy. Worst that can come of it is the experience and well be down 30$ for our tags. Thank you in advance for anything that you may be able to help us with, if possible I will return the favor as best I can.

 

[idahohikker]

To me it’s a rough hunt not because it’s hard to find animals but the difficulty of getting in bow range. Do a bunch of stalks so the odds tilt in your favor for one to work out. Ignore the animals in unstalkable locations.

The biologists and your local buddies should be able to help with describing the winter range there. To oversimplify it is the lower elevation areas throughout the unit.

 

[BeaverHunter]

Hi, new to rokslide as a member but have done a lot of reading through these forums. Wondering if anyone had any tips for the unit 28 late archery deer and elk hunt. Was planning to be back in november for my local unit general hunt but the military wont let me have my fun this year. Only option is mid to late December which pretty much leaves me late archery OTC hunts. Dont know much of unit 28 but have friends in the area and will hopefully be able to come back to scout for a long weekend at best. Mostly will be going off word of mouth from friends and whoever wants to point us in a general direction. Would love to hear anything, not looking for specifics. Just want more awareness of what were getting into. We are well aware of the terrain and weather and the general difficulty of this hunt also, so no need for lectures on that. We will be well prepared and do not expect to pack out a trophy. Worst that can come of it is the experience and well be down 30$ for our tags. Thank you in advance for anything that you may be able to help us with, if possible I will return the favor as best I can.

I hunted it once a few years back. One thing that caught me off guard was how even though I could see elk, with the ground frozen and covered in snow and it being very steep, we literally couldn’t hike to get to them. Even with spikes. There was a couple times I questioned my sanity because if I slipped, I would have been a goner. Trying to do that with a load of elk meat on my back would have been a great way to die.

Trying to find the mature bulls that time of year seems to be damn near impossible in that unit that as they seem to be held up in the backcountry still even with a lot of snow. Would be tough to get in bow range of them in my opinion. Might be an ok hunt if you could hunt near some ag fields or get permission from a rancher who has property they are coming in and out of around Salmon. Good luck.

 

[Holt45]

I hunted it once a few years back. One thing that caught me off guard was how even though I could see elk, with the ground frozen and covered in snow and it being very steep, we literally couldn’t hike to get to them. Even with spikes. There was a couple times I questioned my sanity because if I slipped, I would have been a goner. Trying to do that with a load of elk meat on my back would have been a great way to die.

Trying to find the mature bulls that time of year seems to be damn near impossible in that unit that as they seem to be held up in the backcountry still even with a lot of snow. Would be tough to get in bow range of them in my opinion. Might be an ok hunt if you could hunt near some ag fields or get permission from a rancher who has property they are coming in and out of around Salmon. Good luck.

Sounds pretty rough but a good story atleast, thank you. Just an idea for now but hopefully we can find a way to atleast get out there and look around

 

[Eastman528]

I hunted it in 2017 mostly for mule deer but I also had an elk tag in my pocket and saw elk but was focused on mule deer. I am considering hunting it this year as well since I wasnt able to archery hunt in September. The biggest challenge for me was the snow conditions and it being difficult for a successful stalk. This was particularly hard with mule deer. The bucks I was finding were up pretty high still (same with the bulls I glassed up) not down in the sagebrush foothills like I had expected and I went the day after christmas. The first couple days I was there the snow was fresh and quite but then it warmed up and became loud and crunchy making it basically impossible to stalk into bow range of deer. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk in more detail.

 

[sneaky]

Hi, new to rokslide as a member but have done a lot of reading through these forums. Wondering if anyone had any tips for the unit 28 late archery deer and elk hunt. Was planning to be back in november for my local unit general hunt but the military wont let me have my fun this year. Only option is mid to late December which pretty much leaves me late archery OTC hunts. Dont know much of unit 28 but have friends in the area and will hopefully be able to come back to scout for a long weekend at best. Mostly will be going off word of mouth from friends and whoever wants to point us in a general direction. Would love to hear anything, not looking for specifics. Just want more awareness of what were getting into. We are well aware of the terrain and weather and the general difficulty of this hunt also, so no need for lectures on that. We will be well prepared and do not expect to pack out a trophy. Worst that can come of it is the experience and well be down 30$ for our tags. Thank you in advance for anything that you may be able to help us with, if possible I will return the favor as best I can.

Are you a resident or nonresident? If you don't already have a tag that knocks you out already from a NR perspective. The weather can definitely be brutal, but when that's pretty much your only option you gotta do what you gotta do. It's no different than the late hunt in 55. Sure, you can see a ton of deer, but getting close to them is a different thing altogether.

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[Holt45]

Are you a resident or nonresident? If you don't already have a tag that knocks you out already from a NR perspective. The weather can definitely be brutal, but when that's pretty much your only option you gotta do what you gotta do. It's no different than the late hunt in 55. Sure, you can see a ton of deer, but getting close to them is a different thing altogether.

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I'm a resident still just stationed away from home. Thanks

 

[sneaky]

I'm a resident still just stationed away from home. Thanks

How's your ability to string together sentences composed of mostly 4 letter words? After some stalks in that crunchy snow you'll be well versed lol

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[MTHunter20]

I didn’t tag out in September and am thinking about going back down in December. Thought I’d bring this thread back up and see if anyone has any other advice for elk in December here. I’d be more than happy with any legal elk. Would just like to get some meat. Do they hang out in the BLM or do I need to get back in the National Forest?