In late September in Central Idaho, the fall colors begin to work their magic in the mountains, the air is crisp in the morning and if you’re lucky, you might see a Rocky Mountain bull elk bugling in the middle of a mountain meadow. The prospect of bagging a majestic elk is something that a big-game hunter looks forward to the entire year.
Big-game hunting is a big part of the cultural fabric of the Payette River Mountains region. It’s a time when many locals take time off of work and head into the woods to their favorite camping spot to pursue animals such as mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, mountain lions and black bear.
Central Idaho is a popular place for big-game hunting because the populations animals are healthy, and they can be pursued in a variety of settings — roaded forests close to home, wilderness hunts in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness and in primitive areas on the fringe of “the Frank.” A variety of hunting seasons are available in these areas, including combination elk and deer hunts.
Folks who are interested in tapping into a big-game hunt should check into a guided hunting experience. Outfitters know how to hunt for them, how to find them, how to care for the meat, and they typically have horses and mules that can haul out the meat.
Outfitters provide a key advantage — they receive a quota of hunting tags early in the year for valuable things like being able to hunt elk with a rifle during the rutting season in wilderness units.
Bird hunting is another popular pastime in Central Idaho. Folks can pursue forest grouse, chukar partridge in the Salmon River and Hells Canyon areas, wild turkeys in the national forest, waterfowl around ponds and lakes, and pheasants in the farm country near Council and Cambridge.
