Idaho 36-B

[hawker]

I just purchased otc elk and deer tags for 36B in Idaho. I?m seeking info on if grizzlies are a problem or concern from people with firsthand experience in the unit. Also if the elk are silent in the rut due to wolves. Any advice is appreciated as this will be the first time in this unit.
Thanks

 

[elk sicario]

ive never set foot in 36b. i can tell you that i have seen zero grizzly sign in 36a. one of the packers said that he "wasnt foolin around this year"(2018) and brought his long gun for wolves. elk were hard to find until the magical day they all piped a bugle, and then the next day they were quiet again. I havent been back there for several years, but im probably going to this year and have purchased a wolf tag with plans to fill it. My take on it is if you are used to hunting washington odds, it doesnt matter if you pick the worst or the best unit in all of idaho, you are going to have a good hunt. one of the biologists told us a unit we considered deer hunting had low numbers of deer...he said you might only see 30 deer in a day. I need not go down the rabbit hole of poor game managment in washington, but suffice it to say that i might see 30 deer in 10 days if i count several of the same deer twice. I say it doesnt matter what is in 36b...anything is better than washington.

 

[hawker]

Thank you for the info on bears and wolves. I don?t know how you got the idea that I hunted or was from Washington. I?m from central California and I normally hunt Colorado and Utah.
As much as I would love to hunt a wolf, I just don?t see myself packing a long gun for the archery season. :tease:

 

[beerfarmer]

I usually archery hunt 36B, and I like to backpack up in that unit. I have never seen a griz, but I have seen black bear. I have seen a few cougar tracks, and a few wolf tracks. I have never heard the wolves, but they are there. Lastly, I usually only have time to hunt the first week opener of Archery and the elk aren't very vocal yet.

 

[hawker]

Thanks for the reply and info. From a recently retired beef farmer to another, it is much appreciated. We will have a trailer in a campground but will hunt the backcountry 3 or 4 days at a time. Ill need to resupply and rest for a day by then anyway.
Good luck on the opener! Maybe we?ll run into each other.

 

[bowtuner]

A little late to this thread, but I have hunted 36-b the last 2 years and thought I'd share.


2019 we hunted opening week, it was our first time elk hunting. Found a couple of cow herds early on and finally found a bachelor group of 5 bulls on the last day. Never heard a bugle but found plenty of wolf sign including some elk remains that were old wolf kills. Saw 1 black bear and heard lots of coyotes.


2020 we hunted the week of the 12th-20th. Similar hunt, found cows but never heard or seen a bull but did see fresh rubs and scat. Not alot, but some. Heard wolves howling a couple of times, which we figured was why the bulls were silent although the cows were mewing back at our bugles so who knows. Saw a giant black bear that was 500lbs easy.


The elk are there, but so are the predators. Makes for a tough hunt.