DIY Idaho mule deer hunt | Unit 39 - 2023

Oct. 29, 2023. My first edited upload on YouTube. I pieced this video together with a few clips I took from my last day trying to fill this tag. I had the either sex mule deer draw in Unit 39 so I could take any mule deer, which was my intention this day; if it moved it was getting packed out. My goal was to get in, get the first mule deer I saw, and get out as this was my last chance to get venison for the season. In my quest to hunt a steep and rugged, roadless & trailless area in one of the top 3 most heavily hunted units in Idaho on public land, I set out on foot across the river before sunrise on a chilly 23°F October morning. I had been to this area 2 times before, once to scout in September, and once hunting the weekend before this day (which was much warmer). I had seen a decent doe this previous day early in the morning, but I opted to let it go and saw nothing the rest of that day. In the video you will see that I did not capture any shots on camera. When I first saw a pair of deer, they were about 420 yards away, and I set up with my rifle ready to take the shot, but they only ever had their rear to me until they disappeared into the trees. I then pursued them and ended up running into them again at about 60 yards.