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The Idaho Fish and Game Commission approved the new Whitetail Deer Management Plan for 2005-2014 this past January, and last month they approved changes in Idaho deer hunting seasons for 2005. There are a number of changes that may affect your hunting opportunities this fall.
First of all, the opening dates for nearly ALL deer seasons have been set back, from October 5 to October 10. This season opener includes all of the mule deer seasons as well, including those coveted permits for the big buck areas in the southeastern corner of the state. If you have already booked your hunt, contact your outfitter immediately to see if your hunt dates are effected. Most of the seasons run longer to accommodate hunters, and many outfitters will try to accommodate hunters faced with these unexpected changes. If you cannot change your dates, you should contact the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (208-334-3700) about license and tag refunds. The upside to the later hunt dates is that the cooler weather and increased chance of storms before or during your hunt may push the deer down from their summer high country.
In addition to date changes, the tag structure has changed as well. The special tag for the Clearwater Region is gone. It has been replaced by a Regular Deer Tag and a Whitetail Deer Tag. If you purchased a Clearwater Region tag, contact Idaho Fish and Game (208-334-3717) about exchanging it for a Regular or Whitetail tag. Like the Clearwater tag, both of these can be purchased across the counter by residents and nonresidents alike.
The “Regular Deer Tag” will allow hunters to hunt during any general, any-weapon season for either mule deer or whitetail deer. Most of these hunts will run from October 10-31. In northern Idaho, where whitetail deer are most abundant, the season for hunters with a Regular Deer Tag may be restricted to the harvest of whitetail deer only in some units, and in others the season will run later, allowing hunters also the opportunity at mule deer bucks during November. In backcountry units (primarily units comprised largely of designated wilderness) the season opens earlier (September 15) to match the elk season opening date, and runs later (until November 18) in some units (16A, 17, 19 and 20). The effect is to allow rifle hunters to hunt both mule deer and whitetail deer and to harvest a deer during the elk season in most hunt areas.
The “Regular Deer Tag” also allows archers an early general season hunt opportunity (most archery hunts are open August 30 through September 30), and a late general season opportunity in some units. In most Panhandle units (1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 5, 6, 7 and 9) the late archery season extends from December 10-23; in unit 28, it encompasses the entire month of December, and in eastern Idaho units (60, 60A, 62, 63A, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69) late season archers can hunt for whitetail deer only from November 1 to December 19. Regular deer tag holders can also enjoy an early general muzzle-loader season near Boise (unit 39) for antlerless deer from September 8-30, and a late general season for either sex deer in units 4 and 7 from November 10 through December 1.
That’s a lot of opportunity. So, what is the incentive for hunters who select the “Whitetail Deer Tag” instead? While this tag restricts the hunter to harvesting a whitetail deer only, they generally have longer (and later) seasons, which in many cases extend into the rut.
Like the holder of the “Regular Deer Tag,” holders of the “Whitetail Deer Tag” will have seasons that open October 10 (or September 15 in backcountry units). However, “Whitetail Deer Tags” allow hunters to pursue their quarry with any weapon through October 31 in all general season units and continue hunting after the mule deer season closes. In units with high numbers of whitetail deer, hunters can continue to hunt until November 9 (in units 4, 7, 9), November 18 (backcountry units), November 20 (unit 10, 10A, 11, 11A, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18) or even December 1 (units 1, 2, 3, 4A, 5, 6, 8, 8A). In selected units with lower numbers of whitetail deer, hunters with the “Whitetail Deer Tag” can also pursue their quarry during a late season from November 10 through December 9. This is a new opportunity in units 21, 21A, 28, 29, 30, 30A, 36A, 36B, 37, 37A, 50, 51, 58, 59, 59A, 61, and 62A — one that may result in an opportunity to harvest some outstanding bucks in many of the southern units where whitetail deer are less abundant but have rarely been hunted this late in the fall.
General season archers will have seasons that match those of “Regular Deer Tag” hunters, from August 30 through September 30, for either-sex whitetail deer, and late season opportunity from December 10-23 in most units. Late general muzzleloader seasons for either sex whitetail deer will extend from November 10 to December 1 in units 4 and 7, and from November 21 through December 9 in unit 16. Additional opportunities for harvest of antlerless white-tailed deer occur in unit 8A (December 2-14) and 10A (November 21-December 9).
Controlled hunts for deer, including controlled either-sex, archery, muzzleloader and youth-only hunts, are nearly unchanged from previous years.
In conclusion, the new plan will result in more hunt opportunity for most hunters, and will provide serious whitetail deer hunters additional opportunity to seek out big bucks later in the fall. It also allows general season hunters who select the Regular Deer Tag an opportunity to hunt deer, both mule deer and whitetail deer, pretty much statewide during October, and allows most elk hunters, with either deer tag, to hunt deer during at least a portion of the elk season. Of course, there is some risk that the new-found flexibility will result in hunter congestion in some popular areas, such as the Clearwater Region, but it seems more likely that hunters will quickly sort themselves out.
The goal of the Whitetail Deer Plan is to provide 35,000 hunters with the opportunity to harvest over 8,700 whitetail deer bucks each year, and to ensure that a minimum 15 percent of the deer harvested have at least five points. That’s a pretty lofty goal; one that will ensure that there are plenty of bigger bucks available. But it is actually lower than present averages in most of Idaho’s whitetail deer management areas.
Basically, whitetail deer occur in huntable numbers only in the northern half of Idaho; success rates in more southern units are five percent or lower. An examination of hunter and harvest data presented in the plan (averaged over the past three years) reveals that whitetail deer are only lightly hunted in much of the state, and that the success rates on bucks is high, with nearly one of every four deer harvested having five or more points on at least one antler. (See chart below.) With numbers like these, it is easy to see why hunters want to protect what they have.
Harvest Statistics For Whitetail Deer Hunters
|
Area |
Hunt Units |
Hunters Per Square
Mile |
Harvest Per Square
Mile |
Success Rate |
Hunter Days to Harvest |
Bucks with 5 pts. or more |
|
Northern Forest |
1, 2, 3, 4, 4A, 6 |
3.2 |
0.08 |
26% |
23 |
24% |
|
Central Forest |
7. 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 23, 24 |
1.6 |
0.04 |
24% |
20 |
17% |
|
Northern Agriculture |
5, 8, 8A, 10A, 11, 11A, 13 |
3.4 |
1.50 |
44% |
13 |
25% |
Over the last three years, almost 25 percent of all harvested whitetails have been bucks with five or more points on at least one antler.
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