Idaho / deer

From what I hear it’s hard to get a tag and harder to get a deer. Good luck. Those from whom I’ve heard it will be along to guide you shortly I believe.

I believe the draw deadline is 6/05.

Since Idaho doesn’t have a preference point system, your odds of drawing is as good as the person who has applied for 20’years.

Good luck!

courtgreene said:

From what I hear it’s hard to get a tag and harder to get a deer. Good luck. Those from whom I’ve heard it will be along to guide you shortly I believe.

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What courtgreene said. Except I don't know about how "hard" it is for a non-resident to get an Idaho deer tag. I've been an Idaho resident my whole life (74 years), and I simply go to the store and buy a deer tag just before the season opens.
I did hear that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is putting restrictions on the sales of non-resident deer tags nowadays though. So if you want a non-resident deer tag, you'd better buy one as soon as they become available - which I don't know when that is.
As far as how hard it is to get a deer in Idaho goes, I know a lot about that. Every year, only about 1 in 3 Idaho deer hunters even get a deer - and that includes me, even though I live in the best part of the state for mule deer hunting, and I've been hunting them my whole life. Fortunately, my wife is also an avid deer hunter, so she essentially doubles our chances of putting a venison in the freezer.
Sorry if I sound discouraging, rodex. And please don't think I'm trying to discourage you from coming to Idaho to hunt deer because I have something against out-of-state hunters - I don't. I'm just telling it the way it is - deer hunting in Idaho is poor to say the least, and non-resident tags are expensive, and I've heard they're limited nowadays.
On the other hand, almost two-thirds of Idaho is public land. That's 32 million acres, and almost all of it is accessible. So you don't have to beg a landowner, or pay for a lease to get permission to hunt here - unless you want to. My family has always hunted public land - BLM and Forest Service land. However, this year I think we'll be deer hunting over on our friend's ranch about 5 miles west of here. We've been killing ground squirrels over there for a couple of weeks now, and we're seeing a lot of deer.
Oh, just one more thing - you do know deer hunting is restricted to "antlered deer only" in almost all parts of Idaho (unless you're 16 or under) don't you? It's been like that for probably 40 years now. Our youngest grandson turned 21 recently, so it's been a while since we've seen a dead doe - except for the dozen or so we see alongside the road between here and town every week.

I’m told that Idaho has more public access hunting areas than Montana.

Tons of deer also..

South Prairie Jim said:

I’m told that Idaho has more public access hunting areas than Montana.

Tons of deer also..

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It's possible Idaho has more public access hunting areas than Montana - I wouldn't know about that.
But "tons" of deer??? Well, let's see - "tons of deer" means more than one ton of deer, so "tons of deer" means a couple of dozen deer or so. Yeah, that sounds about right.
Read my first post in this thread South Prairie Jim. Every year, only about 1 in 3 Idaho deer hunters score a deer. I didn't make that up. Deer hunting in Idaho hasn't been good in a long time.
However, if there are any non-resident hunters out there that are hankering to come to Idaho and hunt deer, please do buy one of those expensive non-resident tags and come. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game can use the money.

OK maybe not tons… but i did find this estimating 520,000 white tail
https://wildwesttrail.co/hunting-white-tailed-deer-in-idaho/

South Prairie Jim said:

OK maybe not tons… but i did find this estimating 520,000 white tail
https://wildwesttrail.co/hunting-white-tailed-deer-in-idaho/

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Yes sir, that's probably right. From what I've heard and read, the white tail deer populations in Idaho are growing fast in the some of the areas north of here - especially northern Idaho.
That's always a problem with these internet message boards, even the great THR. I'd bet good money that 9 out of 10 posters on THR mean white tail deer when they're talking about deer and deer hunting. I'm talking about mule deer when I'm talking about deer and deer hunting.
There's getting to be a few white tail deer in southern Idaho. We even saw a small herd (about a dozen) a couple of years ago when we were mule deer hunting over by Soda Springs. Mostly though, when people talk about deer in this part of Idaho, they mean mule deer. I'm not sure if it's even legal to shoot a while tail deer around here. I see in the regulations that with a white tail tag, we can shoot a white tail deer in some of the areas up north, but not around here.
Nevertheless, if I was a non-resident looking for a state in which to hunt deer of any variety, Idaho would be my last choice. And I love Idaho and venison - been "deer hunting" and eating venison my whole life, except for the 4 years (1968-1972) when Uncle Sam made me live somewhere else.

I am from up North in Idaho. I bought my deer tag in the grocery store while shopping. Mostly whitetail deer in these parts. If you have never hunted whitetails before I say good luck. Hardest deer I have ever hunted.

Western WA is lousy with Columbia Blacktail. I'm starting to get a little hacked off because they're eating my ornamental shrubs. I tried feeding them but that only made it worse. I used to see a lot of deer in the Snake River breaks in E. WA years ago while pheasant hunting. Might try WA. It isn't really known for it's deer hunting but a friend of mine hunts near Kettle Falls and fills a tag every year. Hunter success here is about 25% according to this. Not sure how that compares to ID.
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/management/game-harvest/2021/deer-statewide

My backyard this winter.

@.308 Norma what do you thinks make the success rate so low? Is it low population? Or is it a terrain, ground cover, and accessibility issue?

If you want a trophy whitetail, try Missouri and SW Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. Some have firearms restrictions but all have big deer.

WrongHanded said:

@.308 Norma what do you thinks make the success rate so low? Is it low population? Or is it a terrain, ground cover, and accessibility issue?

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It's sort of accessibility in the fact that a lot of good deer (again, I'm talking mule deer in this part of the state) spend their whole lives on private land, and deer season isn't very long anyway. However, beyond anything else, it's the low mule deer population that keeps Idaho deer hunter's success rate low. We had a couple of real nasty winters back in the '90s. We lost about two-thirds of our deer herd here in southern Idaho back then. And it seems like every time our deer herd starts to recover a bit, along comes another nasty winter.
I guess it's nature's way, but I don't like seeing starving and dying mule deer. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has winter feeding programs for mule deer, but they haven't worked out very well.
I don't know why the feeding programs don't work. I just know that there used to be a lot more mule deer in Idaho than there are now, and we didn't see them wandering the streets of our small towns in search of something to eat every January.

.308 Norma said:

It's sort of accessibility in the fact that a lot of good deer (again, I'm talking mule deer in this part of the state) spend their whole lives on private land, and deer season isn't very long anyway. However, beyond anything else, it's the low mule deer population that keeps Idaho deer hunter's success rate low. We had a couple of real nasty winters back in the '90s. We lost about two-thirds of our deer herd here in southern Idaho back then. And it seems like every time our deer herd starts to recover a bit, along comes another nasty winter.
I guess it's nature's way, but I don't like seeing starving and dying mule deer. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has winter feeding programs for mule deer, but they haven't worked out very well.
I don't know why the feeding programs don't work. I just know that there used to be a lot more mule deer in Idaho than there are now, and we didn't see them wandering the streets of our small towns in search of something to eat every January.

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Wow! That's sounds pretty bad. The way I've been hearing about the wolf population for years, I kind of assumed if the population was low it was due to predation. But it sounds like nature is taking its toll in other ways.

As far as it being Mule Deer you're talking about, that's typically what I mean too. There are Whitetail along the CO front range, but I've yet to see one past the foothills. The mountains seem to be muley territory.

Up in the northern region I have harvested more does than bucks. The does seem to be plentiful even in the fall. .308 Norma is right, most deer spend their time during the season on private land and golf courses. Unless you get permission from the landowner you have no way of getting to them. Up here there is a patchwork of sate land that is interspersed through private land so you really have to know the properties. There is paper company land that you can pay to hunt and it used to be reasonable but now they charge big bucks for the access permit. Deer hunting used to be great but the last several years I haven't filled a single tag. I typically hike 50 to 60 miles a season so its not a covering ground issue.

I was wondering what Wisconsin success rate was in comparison as I read this thread so I Googled it.

https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/hunting/wisconsin-deer-hunting-decline/
Per Outdoor Life 25% in Wisconsin and 42% in the Midwest.
I would like to make a trip west of the Mississippi River for a hunting trip again. It is a fun experience and if I'm lucky I may get a deer.

.308 Norma said:

It's sort of accessibility in the fact that a lot of good deer (again, I'm talking mule deer in this part of the state) spend their whole lives on private land, and deer season isn't very long anyway. However, beyond anything else, it's the low mule deer population that keeps Idaho deer hunter's success rate low. We had a couple of real nasty winters back in the '90s. We lost about two-thirds of our deer herd here in southern Idaho back then. And it seems like every time our deer herd starts to recover a bit, along comes another nasty winter.
I guess it's nature's way, but I don't like seeing starving and dying mule deer. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game has winter feeding programs for mule deer, but they haven't worked out very well.
I don't know why the feeding programs don't work. I just know that there used to be a lot more mule deer in Idaho than there are now, and we didn't see them wandering the streets of our small towns in search of something to eat every January.

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The state feeds a lot of elk here in E. WA. I suppose the deer dine at that table also. Most of that habitat is private land however. A guy I know who lives near one of those feeding stations on the Natches R. said a bull elk came into his barn to eat some hay. He said it was an exciting extraction because the elk thought it was a buffet. He started closing the barn door. They act like cattle in the winter. Not much sport hunting those unless you bow hunt, which some of my hunting acquaintances say is the only to hunt in this state.

https://wdfw.wa.gov/places-to-go/wildlife-areas/oak-creek-wildlife-area

https://idfg.idaho.gov/sites/default/files/plan-deer-mule-2020-25.pdf
I found these report for those that like to read.

One thing that makes the biggest difference in success rate is hunting pressure. If you own or hunt on private land your success increases. Now I know guys that hunt public land and fill there tag every year and guys that hunt private land and rarely fill there tag. But in general, less pressure can lead to more successful outcomes.

I've only lived and hunted in Idaho for 21 years, so take what I offer accordingly. As .308Norma says, only about 33% of hunters harvest in any given year, and the average hunter in Idaho only harvests 1 out of every 7 years. This means that some hunters get deer every year and more hunters get a deer every 10 years. I hunt mule deer in SW Idaho and have killed some nice bucks but not that many in 21 years - 4 to be exact (I have also harvested antelope, elk and moose in those 21 years). I have passed on several other deer in those years - I don't shoot yearling 2 points, so I've had tag soup a few years. Hunting mule deer in Idaho isn't any different than anywhere else - it takes homework to find a high quality place to hunt, and then effort to get into that area enough times to bag a buck. I've had better luck getting big bucks applying for controlled hunts. I had a lucky streak and drew a Unit 42 tag something like 5 out of 7 years applied. Of course, now I've not drawn that unit for sometime. When we drew the Unit 42 tags, we did pre season scouting trips and developed relationships with local ranchers, bringing them gifts, etc. We did not hunt on their land but did cross it to get to the areas we wanted to hunt.

The hunting pressure around the population centers in the state is now unbelievable due to the influx of people moving here and flooding the units around the bigger cities. I have quit hunting the local unit where I live due to the number of people in it. I used to go hunting after work, driving maybe 45-60 minutes from my office and then hunting for an hour or so, and be alone while doing it, and see a fair number of mulies. Not anymore....

But, if you get out in the country, it's still pretty darn wild. Grizzly bears on the east side and in the panhandle just add to the fun.