Hunting Northern Idaho for Big Trophy Whitetails!
Hunting Northern Idaho can be one of the most rewarding and greatest adventures you can undertake. You will see and experience some of the most beautiful country you can imagine. If you enjoy the outdoors you’ll find Idaho is pretty much heaven on earth.
Reasons to consider Hunting Idaho!
- Variety of game species to hunt and view, including Trophy Whitetail.
- The natural scenic Beauty.
- The adventure.
- Amount of access to Quality hunting ground.
- The history of the area.
- The overall variety of outdoor activity’s to experience .
Each year my good friend Cpt. Rick and I would journey from Central Florida to Northern Idaho to hunt with our good friends Jim and Brady Jones. We had some tremendous adventures hunting this rugged country and saw a variety of other big game species including, elk, mule deer, moose and bear. We never got to see a cougar but we did cut a few tracks here and there.
What is the Best Method for seeing the Most Trophy Deer?
When hunting these big woods the name of the game is to cover as much ground as possible. There are no mast crops and the deer are basically limited to browse. This presents a difficult problem to overcome as there is little to nothing to concentrate the deer.
On the plus side, the deer can be a little more visible as they have to spend more time on their feet feeding. We would hunt all day, daylight to dark and we found the deer would move throughout the day especially when it was overcast. However, clear, sunny sky’s will slow deer movement to a trickle and you will be in for a tough hunt. This is really big country and a typical canyon is so wide you can’t shoot across it. It can be a little difficult to find places with good visibility that you
can actually shoot. I fell into a pattern of still hunting and walking, jump shooting the deer like quail. You will see plenty of deer at long range but using the technique, most will be inside 100 yds.
Other Places to find Big Trophy Bucks!
There were a number of other situations and patterns we found that could be exploited. There are a lot of meadows to be found in this country and this can be a great place to take up a stand and spend some time. They tend to be long and not so wide but you can really stretch your barrel on many of them. Others include areas that were being actively logged that made the freshly cut tops with moss and other plants available to the deer. Young clear cuts were another deer magnet and can be hunted by still hunting from the road system. Many times a small spot of flat ground can be a magnet for deer in steep country.
The Ever Present Danger Factor!
One of the most exciting and intriguing aspects of hunting in Idaho was the danger factor. It was always in the back of your mind that in the blink of an eye, any given situation could rapidly deteriorate into a life threatening situation and I can tell you we had our share of close calls, and then some. Every day was an adventure and you never knew what you were going to get yourself into. We found ourselves in several situations that we wondered if we were going to make it out of in one piece.
We had situations were we were lost, overturned 4 wheelers on steep slopes, mechanical breakdowns, black ice, white outs, slid the truck off the road into ditches, nearly got our boat trapped in a frozen reservoir, almost rolled the truck off a skidder road with a 1500’ drop, etc, etc.. When I think of the tights we got our self into I just shake my head.
We have been in the back country with 15-20” of snow on the ground in places so remote no one else had even dared to break trail. You had to have chains on the truck and the 4wheelers! Talk about fun….get your truck stuck in 16” of mud and snow in the hairpin of a narrow logging road that is pitched to the down hill slope and you have to lift your rig with a farm jack to put on the chains….and it 26 deg.!
Items you need to Include in your Pack!
Your day pack needs to include all the standard emergency items including, communications, emergency food, compass (with backup), lighter & fire starter kit, emergency space blanket, saw, rope, map, etc.. You have to be prepared in this country.
Is Idaho for the Do-It-Yourselfer?
You can hunt Idaho, do-it-yourself style but I would recommend going with an outfitter to get familiar with what you are in for, at least for your first trip, if you are not experienced with this type of hunting. If you are looking for an adventure you will never forget, unbelievable scenery and some great hunting then Idaho might be just what you are looking for.
Good hunting!
Larry Stephens
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