tempest waned I took an ATV up a nearby ridge to a secret bedding area on private property Jon and I had permission to hunt.
Thick timber, a beaver dam and an old clear-cut dominated the scene, but there were no tracks in the fresh snow. As I still-hunted along a rocky outcropping, a 130-class 8-pointer popped into view. He was on the prowl for does, and was oblivious to my presence. I could not resist the temptation to drop him, and soon found him piled up a short distance away with a shot
through both of his lungs.
In four years, Jon and I have tagged two 175-class behemoths, a 160- class 10-pointer, two smaller, but still mature, bucks and caught sight of two other bucks that would undoubtedly qualify for B&C.
Why so many trophy bucks? And why Idaho?
“There are several good reasons,” said Ed Mitchell, information supervisor for the state of Idaho.
DONALD M. JONES
Idaho offers a varied landscape that’s ideal for still-hunting — especially during the rut when bucks are cruising.
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“At one time it could be said that the Salmon River bisected the deer populations, with mule deer to the north and white-tailed deer to the south, but that scenario is no longer as true. In fact, whitetails are moving along the river corridors in the southern regions of the state as well as in the high peaks to the north, a region once held almost exclusively by trophy mule deer.”
Mitchell estimates there are now 100,000 whitetails and 200,000 mule deer roaming the state as the whitetail population continues to expand.
“We realize we have an outstanding resource, and are managing the herd by management units rather than by instituting point restrictions or by placing restrictions on the length or the timing of the deer season,” Mitchell added. “Instead, we have developed separate and intensive management plans for whitetails. Our goal is to provide good quality deer with an emphasis on maintaining large deer herds so everybody who wants to hunt a deer can do so every year.”
Over-the-counter tags are available in various deer management units to nonresidents on a first-come first-serve basis, but the number of tags is limited by law to a 10 percent quota of all tags sold. Residents can sometimes acquire a second tag or purchase leftovers on occasion, but basically residents and nonresidents are limited to one deer per year.
“Nonetheless, even though hunting pressure is considered light, at least by Eastern standards, we watch deer numbers very carefully.” Mitchell said.
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In addition to solid management, good habitat, a swelling deer herd and light hunting pressure, the rugged Idaho typography serves to protect
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