Unit 45 Idaho mule deer muzzleloader tag

Iowahhunter · Jul 13, 2024

Flatlander from Iowa here drew a mule deer tag for Idaho muzzleloader unit 45. Any info would be appreciated. Only 1 outfitter I could find in the unit and safe to say out of my budget. Yes I know new member asking for info bad but I was in Idaho already this spring for a bear hunt and given work life etc probably don’t have the luxury of a scouting trip just arrive few days before season and wing it.

huntnphool · Jul 18, 2024

Congrats, good luck.

EVILNR2.0 · Jul 18, 2024

I'll be "wingin it" with my TC Hawken in a unit next to yours.
Good Luck!!

idahohillboy · Jul 19, 2024

Shoot me a pm I can drop a few onyx pins foor ya

crimson702 · Sep 8, 2024

Hi all, I also drew the muzzleloader deer tag. I spent all weekend in the unit scouting and didn't see a single animal (deer or elk) in the high country to the west, or the central BLM ground. I had a few questions for anyone familiar with the unit: 1) Is the deer population/density really this low this early in the season, or are most of the deer in the north/lowlands/private farmland until the migration hits 2) Do deer start migrating in before/during the muzzleloader hunt (oct 1-14) or should I plan on trying to find resident deer and changing the places I am focusing on 3) What are the deer densities/numbers this early in the season? How many deer (roughly) should I be seeing in a "decent" spot during this time? I greatly appreciate any help people are able to provide, and would be happy to update the group after the season with my experiences, and help anyone who draws the tag in the future. Thanks again!

Iowahhunter · Sep 9, 2024

crimson702 said:
Hi all, I also drew the muzzleloader deer tag. I spent all weekend in the unit scouting and didn't see a single animal (deer or elk) in the high country to the west, or the central BLM ground. I had a few questions for anyone familiar with the unit: 1) Is the deer population/density really this low this early in the season, or are most of the deer in the north/lowlands/private farmland until the migration hits 2) Do deer start migrating in before/during the muzzleloader hunt (oct 1-14) or should I plan on trying to find resident deer and changing the places I am focusing on 3) What are the deer densities/numbers this early in the season? How many deer (roughly) should I be seeing in a "decent" spot during this time? I greatly appreciate any help people are able to provide, and would be happy to update the group after the season with my experiences, and help anyone who draws the tag in the future. Thanks

crimson702 said:
Hi all, I also drew the muzzleloader deer tag. I spent all weekend in the unit scouting and didn't see a single animal (deer or elk) in the high country to the west, or the central BLM ground. I had a few questions for anyone familiar with the unit: 1) Is the deer population/density really this low this early in the season, or are most of the deer in the north/lowlands/private farmland until the migration hits 2) Do deer start migrating in before/during the muzzleloader hunt (oct 1-14) or should I plan on trying to find resident deer and changing the places I am focusing on 3) What are the deer densities/numbers this early in the season? How many deer (roughly) should I be seeing in a "decent" spot during this time? I greatly appreciate any help people are able to provide, and would be happy to update the group after the season with my experiences, and help anyone who draws the tag in the future. Thanks again!

Dang man hijack my post but I can’t even get a DM saying hi! Take me to dinner first damn hahahah

crimson702 · Sep 9, 2024

Haha sorry about that man, I am not really aware of forum etiquette, this is one of my first posts. Figured we could both benefit from any answers! Happy to share what I find scouting since it sounds like you’ll not be getting out here until the season.

opensage · Sep 15, 2024

The big bucks in that unit are normally in the sagebrush

sparky34 · Sep 20, 2024

Does anyone have a unit 1 deer tag they would like to exchange for a unit 50 tag?

opensage · Sep 20, 2024

Deer out in big sage country can be hard to spot. They can be anywhere. Get in a spot where you can see a lot of country, and glass with the highest quality binos you can get on a good tripod. Keep doing it.

crimson702 · Sep 23, 2024

Thanks for the advice opensage, I appreciate it! Have a great hunting season.

Grnhedz · Sep 23, 2024

idahohillboy said:
Shoot me a pm I can drop a few onyx pins foor ya

Iowahhunter · Sep 28, 2024

crimson702 said:
Haha sorry about that man, I am not really aware of forum etiquette, this is one of my first posts. Figured we could both benefit from any answers! Happy to share what I find scouting since it sounds like you’ll not be getting out here until the season.

Just giving you crap man! All in good fun! Haven’t been able to be out there but made some great connections on here so I am hopeful I’m on the right page when we arrive. We roll out of Iowa this evening hoping to be in the unit Monday mid day and get ready for Tuesday.

idahoBGhunter45 · Oct 2, 2024

Have you found anything yet?

crimson702 · Oct 2, 2024

Sorry guys, for whatever reason it stopped sending me notifications of posts.

Good luck Iowahhunter, let us know how it goes. So far, any mature deer I’ve seen have been on private. Public has been pretty sparse of deer. I’ve seen more elk, pronghorn, and 2 bears on public vs 0 mature bucks.

Iowahhunter · Oct 3, 2024

So far about the same. No deer seen first day a lot of deer seen second day but no shooters. All small bucks with groups of does. Also mainly on private! Yet to see anything else besides pronghorn and some upland bird species. Hopefully today is the day for one of us. Good luck crimson702

ProAlpine · Oct 4, 2024

Idaho boy here with the same tag and much of the same results the first few days of the opener... no deer. Spotted a nice bull elk, a bear and somehow more moose than you could imagine! I inadvertently got in the mix of a good sized bull moose's mating game and the cow he was courting. At 50 yards on foot, when they started my way at a trot I was thinking oh great, here's my once in a lifetime Idaho moose opportunity and I'm not going to be able to take him home!

Anyways, sounds like the areas bordering private ag land and the sage country is where I'll be looking next...

I'd love to hear how you others are doing. Keep us posted. That makes 3 out of 40 tags on this thread.

Iowahhunter · Oct 6, 2024

Anyone ever end up having any success we have today and tomorrow so really coming down to the wire. Heard a lot about some good ones being taken last couple days in the area!

crimson702 · Oct 6, 2024

I had to take the last few days off to finish some work in Boise. Going back out there today through the end of the season. Have you seen any of the bucks killed, or just heard about them?

ProAlpine · Oct 6, 2024

I'm curious if they were taken in the sage country or higher up in the treed country. I was obviously looking in the wrong places during the opener...

crimson702 · Oct 6, 2024

I would guess sage country. I’ve hunted trees 3-4 separate mornings and saw 0 deer. Now, this was a while ago so maybe the bucks move up from ag/sage to trees to stage, but all the deer I’ve seen have been in the sage/ag land.

JPickett · Oct 6, 2024

Really tuff tag. Buddy who grew up out there had it a few years ago and ate it. He has unit knowledge and access to some private ground. Early October with a muzzy is just hard in there

idahoBGhunter45 · Thursday at 1:07 PM

Anyone get one yet?

crimson702 · Thursday at 1:09 PM

Seeing more bucks/activity over the last day, including a giant and a large bachelor group. All the mature bucks I’ve seen haven’t left private, however.

Bookhead · Thursday at 1:12 PM

JPickett said:
Really tuff tag. Buddy who grew up out there had it a few years ago and ate it. He has unit knowledge and access to some private ground. Early October with a muzzy is just hard in there

Yep houndsmen probably ruined it

BackSlider · Friday at 4:14 PM

I dang near clipped a big one crossing the highway from 44 into 45 mid September in the middle of the day. Definitely be looking in the sage brush. Almost got another in the dark in the same area on the way home a few days later.

crimson702 · Monday at 1:25 PM

Hi all, I know the season isn't over but I ended up shooting a buck on Saturday and wanted to give a quick recap for anyone following the thread or who draws the tag in the future.

In general, this unit seems to be in decline, and this year especially was difficult because of the dry, hot conditions. Almost all the deer I saw were on or around ag land and on private. Some deer moved to sagebrush areas for bedding, or were living in the sage brush areas right outside of the ag land, but not many traveled to public. Most stayed on private the entire time, and Idaho's vague and ambiguous trespassing/posting law makes hunting these deer quite the challenge. I only saw 2-3 true mature, giant deer on this hunt, and they were firmly on private that is apparently leased by an outfitter in the area. I ended up harvesting the only semi-mature mule deer I saw on public. I am not going to post any specific areas on here since I know certain people/forums frown upon that, but I am happy to share areas/waypoints with anyone who wants to DM me.

My hunt ended when I hiked on some public just south of where I was seeing some deer on private/ag land. I spotted the deer at 230 yards bedded, backed out, and went around through a saddle above him. I thought this would put me about 100-150 yards above him, and where he would feed out. Around 15 minutes before sunset, I still wasn't able to relocate the deer, and he never stood up/fed out of his bed, so I started to think he was spooked. I got up with my muzzy on a tripod about to stalk around the next ridge, thinking maybe I got his location wrong. Right when I stood up, he stood up 40 yards below me. One shot with a Thor 250g, and a blood trail a blind man could follow, my hunt was over. This deer was my first solo quartering/pack out job, and I ended up getting the last load to the truck around 2am.

Thank you all again for all of your help and advice for this hunt! I hope the other hunters that had this tag share their stories as well. I am curious if anyone else had a better experience than me. I hope everyone has a great hunting season!

Blindnonresident · Monday at 1:41 PM

Congrats

Outdoordan · Monday at 3:50 PM

Nice! Congrats!

vaquero · Monday at 4:33 PM

nice buck

They are just now starting to move, this weather in the coming week will have them pouring into 44 and then across the highway into 45

ProAlpine · Monday at 6:04 PM

Well done Crimson! That's a great buck, especially considering this years conditions and lack of critters. I hunted 7 of the 14 days and couldn't quite connect - from not seeing any deer in the beginning to missed shots in the end. It's a tuff hunt! Not a lot of real estate holding deer this year in these conditions and then you cut that at least in half with the private... I missed a shot on a spike this morning, last day, eating the tag for dinner now. I saw bigger bucks, but not many opportunities. Kinda wish I traded for an OTC tag and my hunt was just starting...

JPickett · Monday at 7:40 PM

Shot at a spike? Why even apply for the tag if a spikes gunna do it for you? Definitely not a meat hunt there….

crimson702 · Monday at 10:16 PM

Vaquero, I agree this weather is definitely going to help the rifle hunters. Us muzzy hunters got pretty much the worst conditions you could see in the 2 weeks we had.

ProAlpine, thanks man! Sorry to hear you weren't able to connect. It was definitely the most difficult western big game hunt I have had out of the roughly 15 hunts I have done. I strongly considered eating my tag with the quality of animals I was seeing (and where I was seeing them), but this buck felt like it did the hunt justice.