Finally an Idaho Unit 45 hunt...

[Smitty19]

I have been putting in for this hunt for about 10 years now and I finally drew. I was born and raised here in Idaho but don't know too much about the area. I am looking for some tips and hins to get ready for this once in a lifetime hunt

 

[Moosie]

Someone flip that guy the bird.......

Kudos man !!!! Rumor has it there might be a buck in Unit 45. I don't hunt the unit either, something about being hard to draw or something. So I won't be much help.

 

[AKBound]

I have numerous friends that have drawn. Which one did you get. Muzzeloader or rifle? Dates? Above the powerline? This is a golden opportunity to bash on the guy responsible for wrecking it but I won't. Let me just say; It isn't what it used to be but if you are patient you can find a good buck.

 

[Smitty19]

I drew for the rifle hunt from Oct 15- Nov 5. I am still trying to figure out the actual area that I can hunt.

 

[AKBound]

If you can only take a few days off, I would take the end of the season for sure. I drew a buck for last year for a hunt that ran through Nov. 5. I saw more deer every day. New bucks just appeared every day til the end.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Good luck to you. You noticed that the late season tags are gone. The indians are starting to pound the bucks there in December. Since the population can't stand that much harvest we are seeing our tags go out the window. The size of the bucks are getting smaller. Again it is due to the over harvest of mature bucks by regular hunters and the indians. If the Indian harvest keeps up at the rate it is at we will see more cuts. Ron

 

[Bambi_fan]

AKBound

You mention a guy that wrecked the unit. How does one guy do that? As far as I've know it's been a controlled hunt for many years now and it's been the toughest to draw in the state for the last 20 years with the odds fluctuating ever so slightly every year. With out bashing anybody, could you please tell me how one person can ruin a hunt?

Bambi fan

 

[AKBound]

Let me video, write articles, and tell everyone about where you hunt and see if the quality of hunting goes down.

 

[Bambi_fan]

AKBound

O.K. I think I know who you are talking about. But how has his video ruined the unit, he doesn't talk about the unit anywhere in the videos and to my knowledge he has never said anything about where he is hunting in his articles.

It's a controlled hunt and has been that way for many years, only a certain amount of people can hunt it every year. I've also checked the draw odds for the unit in question along with the release dates of some of his videos and the odds changed by less then 2% and one year they even dropped below where they were two years earlier. If you could show me something on the videos or in his articles where he mentions unit 45 then maybe we can say he changed the draw odds by less then 2%, but ruining a unit i don't think so.

Ruining a general hunt maybe, but a controlled hunt, you can only point the finger at the people setting the dates and the number of tags they give out. Unless this guy is shooting all the deer himself?

Give me some facts or look somewhere else to put the blame!

Bambi fan

 

[BUGLELK]

AK Bound,

Yep, there are articles and videos (good ones too) from unit 45, but in all honesty, I don't think they have even attributed in the slightest to the issues that Bennett Mtn is facing. Look at all the videos and articles from unit 9 and 10 in Arizona...somehow they are able to still find big animals. Like Bambi fan mentioned, the number of bucks killed there every year has been about the same, from pre-Steve until now, so I don't think blaming one person for the lack of quality bucks is a very solid arguement. Blaming him for the low draw odds...maybe. But not for the decline in quality. Idaho Ron hit it on the head with his post...you can't have the Indians driving around there in the month of December shooting up to 3 bucks each and expect there to be much left for quality. That has to stop. In addition, 700-1000 doe tags during the last 2 weeks of November is not a good idea. Poaching is still a big issue down there as well, as the unit is huge and enforcement consists of one or two guys driving the main roads. While we're on a roll, let's throw in rampant abuse by ATV's, and I think we can start to see where all the big bucks have went. I hiked in about 4 miles to the place I shot my buck in 2001...two years later there was a wall tent and two 4 wheelers sitting on the same flat...finding a good area away from the "roads" is becoming very difficult to do.

I saw fewer quality bucks this winter down there than I have ever seen since 1998. Up until 2004, I could always manage to find a few "great" bucks down there. Coincidently, the winter of 2004-2005 was the first year that the Indians really started hitting the prime wintering grounds down there...last year was a fiasco. They didn't single-handedly do it, but I think they were the final straw.

On a positive note...Smitty, you have a great tag. If you have the rifle tag that runs until Nov. 5, you can hunt the west side of the unit, west of the Bliss-Hill City Road. I've always felt the biggest bucks were most visible Nov. 1 - 10, so extending the season until Nov. 5 certainly is a big benefit for you! Like has been mentioned already, hunt the later part of the season, and you will see plenty of deer, and new deer will be moving in every day. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions, [email protected].

Thanks,
Corey

 

[Moosie]

AKbound, I hope that "one guy" that ruined the unit single handidly, never Screws my wife. If he does, that "one guy" will expose how good she is and I'll never get a Tag to have her "limited entry tag" again.

One guy, never mentioning a Unit is blamed for destroying it.
One guy devistating Awesome Deer populations in an entire section or Idaho...Yet, it is in a Controlled "SET TAG" unit.
One guy doing the exact same thing as thousands of other people are doing yet is the only one blamed because he's on of the best.
One guy that puts more money and time back into wildlife then probably half this board combined but doesn't get that credit.

One guy with this much power.... should not be able to live !!!!

Now, Although I'm defending him (Only because I'm tough enough to kick his A$$ ) I'm not one of his "Suck TIT" Groupies either. Sounds like Bambi Fan And BUGLELK are though

 

[Idaho Ron]

I personally know the man (lets call him fat man) that took the Indians into the unit a few years back. His friend (lets call him mullet head half breed) was part Indian and asked him to take his "family" up hunting. Last year I heard that they were coming with up to 10 people, each had 5 deer tags to fill. Friends of mine in the F&G were there to watch. The Indians that day shot 3 Bull elk. The third bull was hit bad but not dead. They left him and went on to another. The F&G approached them about it and told them to go get it. They said they would look for the lost bull the next day. They came back to the area the next day and had a 29" muledeer in the back of the truck. F&G was there to watch them "look" for the lost bull.
These guys were reported to the Indian game department but were never cited or even warned. They were pissed as hell for the Idaho F&G even talking to them about the bull. When I talked to the fat man he said that mullet head half breed, had told him that they were going to bring a raiding party into unit 45 and wipe out the deer. Fat man blames Chukar hunters for the loss of deer because they run away from the chukar hunters. He thinks that if chukar hunting was closed then the deer would make a comeback. I asked him what affect his hunting with the Indians had on the population. He said they had almost no affect. But next year (2006) they would have a BIG impact with their raiding party. He is planning on filming the Indians shooting a BUNCH of animals. The plan is to show the Idaho F&G they can't stop Indians from doing what ever they want. They also are planning to show the hunters who is the best at finding the big deer and elk.
Fat man and mullet head half breed will go down in history as the two men that had the biggest affect on unit 45. I hope they burn in Muledeer hell. Ron

 

[T Bone]

Ron,

That's a bad situation. Hopefully it will be idle words only and the raiding party will find a distraction. (Maybe F&G could bait the native hunters with free drink and smokes?).

Chukar hunters are decimating the mule deer! Ha. thats rich. What a self serving ignoramus.

I've no connection to the Steve guy mentioned but the draw odds show facts. His publications havn't made it any more difficult to draw the area.

The one claim that may have validity is that it draws more trophy hunters to it. They are more disciplined than the average Boise valley fella who sees a 22" 4x4, plants it, and is 100% thrilled with the entire experience. Trophy hunters wait and watch for the big mature deer.

Legal responsible use of ATV's has minimal impact IMO. The problem is that most ATVers break the law.

 

[HONDO]

I think that BUGLELK hit the nail on the head. There are multiple factors to be attributed to the decline of trophy animals in this unit.

Smitty, like BUGLELK said you have a great tag. If you hunt hard you will find a good buck.

As far as Steve Alderman is concerned, I don't know him. I don't think it possible he contributed to the diminishing trophy quality of this unit, unless his videos and articles inspired the native americans to go to that unit because of the deer he was showcasing, even then you can't really blame the guy for trying to make a buck at something he loves to do.

I would never judge anyone because of rumors I had heard about them. There are some not so good rumors I have heard about Alderman, but I have not seen or heard of any proof to back up these rumors.

 

[sreekers]

Has there been a recorded increase in the amount of human traffic in the area due to these videos? Have more people found out about the area and traveled in because they saw good footage? If there has that could be a legitimate claim. If there hasn't then even with the conversation with the guy who is destroying the area they are not legitimate facts. Legitimate facts are things that are proven over time, sure this guy and the amount of game that is being killed there may have an impact. The reality is that it is only part of the overall bigger picture.

 

[Bambi_fan]

Papa Moose

The rumors are that Steve has had your wife and the odds of drawing a tag are going up. On the good side there is always that governors tag she was talking about. You know the highest priced bidder! If i knew how to put one of those smilie faces in, this would be the spot.

Im starting to realize that there are some pretty good people on these forums! Steve if your listening thanks for the vids of the awesome bucks and the picture of papa moose's better half.

Bambi fan

 

[Moosie]

I personally know the man (lets call him fat man)

OHHHH I thought you were talking about the "ONE MAN" HAHA !!

Bambi Fan, Steve was out at the Mule Deer banquet this weekend raising money for the Deer heards so I know he wasn't Tagging my Wife this last weekend. I was at a Fathers SON Campout so I'm not 100% sure though DHI even commited to match funds with his organization to help deer heards. I'm gonig to have to Direct him to this site so he can read some of the posts. He might get a Kick out of it. Although, I did Say I could kick his Butt so Maybe I won't

 

[BUGLELK]

Yep, Mooise, you got me figured out...a Groupie for anyone famous...

Heck, in a few more years, it might just be your front porch I'm camped out on...

Corey

 

[JoseCuervo]

I think it is hilarious that someone blames some Videos for letting out the "secret" that 45 puts out some nice bucks. That "secret" has been pretty well known for decades, long before the video camera was invented.

That place is a about as "secret" as the South Hills, the Owyhees, and Soda.

 

[Moosie]

Soda is Ruined now.... Thanx Jose. GOSH!!!!!

Heck, in a few more years, it might just be your front porch I'm camped out on...

Why wait, I'm famous now !!! Jsut ask me ! I'm da man It's not me that thought you were the Groupie, Idaho Bugler said you were... OHHH wait, You almost have his Name... IdahoBugler, BUGLelk.... Gesh, Let it go man, quit stalking people (J/K... On what I'm not sure yet though...)