Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 67

Hunting Idaho’s Frank
Church Wilderness
Mule Deer
On this trip to the Middle
Fork of the Salmon we were
scheduled to fly on November
1, which was opening day as
two large groups had already
reserved the day before. After
checking weather reports a
storm was supposed to move
in on our fly day so we opted
to fly in on October 30, two
days before our original plan.
This allowed us to make sure
we made it into hunting camp
and a bonus day of fly fishing.
When purchasing an Idaho
non-resident hunting license,
you are given a three-day fish-
ing license.
Now the pilot was telling
us it was time to end our hunt
two days early or be stuck un-
til the storm passes. The next
morning Kyle joined me on my
hunt to help pack my deer. We
headed out three hours before
first light to make it past the
rock outcropping and climb
the open slope of the mountain
that towered above the Salmon
River. Hiking into a large ba-
sin as the sun poked over the
mountains it didn’t take long to
find a four-point. He was chas-
ing a doe into a small cut and
the decision was easy. Resting
the rifle across my camera tri-
pod the shot caused the buck to
instantly drop, above the trail.
The next morning clouds
were making their way across
the peaks. As the plane landed;
our tent and gear were packed
ready to be loaded. Before this
trip it had been several years
since I had last looked at the
Native American paintings. The
plane made it off of the ground
and banked steep in the river
canyon walls flying upriver and
past the rock outcropping with
the map of my hunt. I know that
it won’t be long before I head
back into Frank Church’s River
of No Return. WHJ
SPECIES Mule Deer, though there are some
Whitetail that are on the fringe of the wil-
derness.
Backcountry mule deer in Idaho took
a hit in the winter of 2016-17 with most of
the mortality coming from fawns and year-
lings. Mature bucks also had a higher than
average mortality since they have low fat
reserves going into winter after the rut;
however thanks to the large amount of open
lowlands and south facing slopes that have
early green-up the deer populations tend to
bounce back quickly.
SEASONS There are three units that take
up most of the Frank Church wilderness;
20A, 26, and 27. The general season for
these units is Sept. 15 through Oct. 31
and the d