Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Idaho Unit 50 Elk, Dec. Muzzleloader

Got lucky this year with an elk either sex tag. Have not been in unit 50 for years. Any of you guys been in there recently?
Just wondering what to expect for bull numbers. I’ve heard wolves have been a problem in there.
How about snow during 2nd week of Dec.? I’ll be trying to get around on a trailbike (Yamaha Big Wheel).
Thanks for any input.
Fenton

There's elk around. In Dec. They will probably all be down low on or close to private land.

The bulls will separate from the cows after the rut. You might see herds of dozens without any bulls. By Dec they may or may not be rejoining the cows. The last week of Nov. I got a cow out of a herd of 80 to 100 cows. I didn't see a single bull. They probably weren't far away, though.

Thanks for your responses guys. I live in northern Idaho, but sometimes hunt in southern Idaho which I enjoy. I’ve killed a couple antelope (one made Boone & Crockett) in unit 50 in the valley below Mt. Borah, but that was years ago and in Sept. I’m looking forward to this Dec. hunt, but too much snow preventing me from using my trail-bike would present a problem.
I know each year can be different, but I’m curious about how much snow that area generally has the second week of Dec.? If I remember correctly, that valley floor is around 8,000 feet in elevation.

I just took a look at the weather records for Mackay. On the average, the months of Nov and Dec get about 1.5" of water. It can be more in the mountains either east or west of there. Convert that to snow and it can easily be enough to stop a trail bike. What often happens is we'll have pretty good fall weather but when it changes, it changes fast. 2 years ago in unit 48, we had great weather, in the 60's, until the 1st week of Nov, then we about got snowed out. We drove for miles up Hwy 75. They'd plowed the road and we couldn't get over the snow berms to find a place to camp. We finally camped in a snowmobile parking lot. We hunted in about a foot of snow.

Thanks again Rock Chuck. I’m planning on putting some snow chains on my Big Wheel, hoping that helps some. More than a couple inches will probably be to much, but I’m gonna give it a try. I actually ended up with 2 controlled hunts this year. In addition to this elk hunt, I also have a mule deer buck muzzleloader hunt in unit 29 the week before the elk hunt.
Two weeks together in southern Idaho hunting late with a TC Renegade .54 caliber should be a great adventure, but too much snow could sure ruin it.

The last couple of days we were in unit 50 4-wheeling. Here are a few pics to get you worked up. We didn't see any elk but that will change in the fall. The land hasn't flattened out any. It's still vertical. We camped along Antelope Creek, west of Arco, and spent most of our time higher than you will likely be able to go in Dec.

Rock Chuck,
Thanks for your reply and photos. I ended up buying a Yamaha Grizzly to get around better in the snow. Four-wheel drive will help and I’ve thought about owning a four-wheeler a few times in the past. These hunts help justify that decision and it will be fun to use in years to come. Feel free to add any other comments about elk in that unit during my late hunt. I’ll be in there hunting alone and appreciate any added info about finding bulls there in December.
Best Regards,
Fenton

There are very few places in there where a 4 wheeler can't go anywhere a bike can go. Most of it is too steep to get off road with any vehicle and going cross country is HIGHLY frowned on.

Check out this thread that I posted last night. We were on a scout llama pack trip this weekend to one of the high mountain lakes in unit 50. We were on a ridge and could see 2 deer, 2 elk, 2 moose, and a goat all at the same time. It was wild. This was in the Iron Bog Creek drainage. 4 SPECIES They won't be there in December of course. It was too high up.