My 63 year old father and I are going to archery hunt elk the last two weeks of September in Idaho.

We have never hunted elk before so therefore I have been researching and studying all the information I can obtain on the subject. I figured I would post on here because I am sure there must be a tremendous amount of knowledge out there from fellow hunters.

We are not concerned with taking a trophy bull (though we wouldn't pass one up) and would be happy to harvest a cow or spike.

I know many people enjoy hunting the roads and trails but we would like to get off the beaten path. Wondering how many miles we would have to go from the road to find elk that haven't been spooked or called to death?

Looking at units 12 and 8A in the Clearwater region, any info good or bad on these zones? Any others in this region better?


Units 4 or 6 in the Panhandle region. Same questions as above.


Unit 39, 35 or 34 in the Soutwest Region.



Unit 48 in the Magic Valley region



Unit 76 or 66A in the Southeast Region




Unit 29 in the Salmon Region




Any specific areas in the above units you would focus on or any other units you might recommend that are better would be appreciated along with any advice on elk hunting in general. Tactics, calling, etc.

Do many private landowners allow archery hunters on their property without a fee?

I want to make this hunt a success for my dad. Not sure how many more years those old bones of his have left.

Thanks for all your help.

I have hunted twice with an outfitter in that area (8A, 10 and 12). The hunters in camp, both times archery, have mostly seen and had shots at elk. there are lots of wolves around as well. Trophy size I don't think is big in that area, but where we hunt the population seems decent though I have little to compare it to.