66a/76 from the road

[fishbio]

I am the farthest thing from a road hunter, but I drew the early rifle tag in this area and have been considering a change for this year....
My oldest son has been confined to a wheelchair his whole life and has been battling illness the whole time. I have never really had a chance to take him elk hunting and wonder if this may be my best opportunity. I have hunted this unit before off of the horse, but know that a lot of it is roaded and would let me get around pretty easy. Any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks, DR

 

[HKShooter]

Hunted 66a a few times. It isn't very road friendly. I'd stick to 76 from what I hear. Do some searching for handicap hunts and talk to some ranchers in those areas. I'm gunna bet you'll find a nice rancher that will allow some access for you and your son.

Good Luck.

HK

 

[Texcrantler]

pm sent

 

[manny53]

way to go Dad...best wish's on his hunt

 

[OregonDan]

I've hunted 76 a number of times for deer although no longer as the deer hunting in this unit is in my opinion horrible. The last time I hunted this unit 2 years ago we saw no deer but quite a few elk. The roads do cover quite a bit of the unit but they are primarily the main roads and there is a lot of area in between. The elk we see are usually quite a distance from any roads. I don't know what time of year you will be hunting but if it's late enough for the snow to move the elk down there are more roads down near the reservoir out of Montpelier.

There are access roads from Sodas Springs and Georgetown. The road that circles through the moutains between these two towns can get quite a bit of snow in November. Be careful on the road from the top down to Georgetown if the weather sets in. It can be a little dicey with a lot of ice and snow.There are certainly a lot of elk on the ridges to the west of this road but they are usually in the forested pockets in the sides of the steep canyons.

BEST OF LUCK.

 

[BPKHunter]

I certainly believe that a true handicapped person should have the benefits of the use of assisted travel and quads sure can get around better than trucks, unless the snow is over about 6" deep. The state has diff rules for vehicles including quads for handicapped, might that help?

Normally I don't advocate motorized use off-road, but this is the true exception.

As mentioned above, ask around for landowners. If you don't know any, often area fish and game or taxidermists will know who they are and likely if they are kid friendly. The fish and game guys very likely will have landowner contact info. Our guy here in SW Idaho has all the landowners names and numbers.

 

[fishbio]

thanks for the advice fellas!

 

[REDDOG]

you will run into a decent bull on accident just driving around on the early hunt, in either unit...

 

[huntin100]

The early hunt is Oct 1-14. Elk should be talking some the first part of the hunt. Try Diamond creek roads area. Locate some elk at night if needed.

My uncle ownes a ranch in Slug creek. Some times you can see elk coming from the hay fields up to Good heart springs area. I will be helping my cuz on a hunt during the same season. The quality isn't as good as it used to be. Try to find something the night before the opener. And be ready at day light. Good luck.

PM me if you need more info.