elk hunting

[stevie312 (guest)]

several of my friends and i are from s.e. texas and we are looking for an over the counter elk hunt in another state. we have hunting mule deer the past several years in new mexico, but the area we hunt is high-demand draw only. we are not looking for record class animals, just decent bulls. any info. you may have will be greatly appreciated. either post here or e-mail me at [email protected]

 

[crazy4muleys (Guest)]

Stevie,

Utah has over the counter elk tags. You can purchase spike only or any bull tags for many regions in the state. I have heard good things about the Uintah's hunting unit and also good things about the West Desert unit. Personally I enjoy the spike elk hunt while my bonus points add up. On the archery spike hunt in Utah, you can take your choice of a spike or cow elk. Hope this helps a little.

Crazy

 

[whtailtaker (Guest)]

look up this web site -

http://www.huntinfo.org/websites.html

WHEN YOU HAVE MET YOUR MATCH!
IT IS KILL OR BE KILLED-PURE ADRENOLINE RUSH

 

[Wapiti (Guest)]

What is your weapon of choice? That can help determine what state to hunt.

Utah is fast becoming one of the top elk states; however, these areas are Limited Entry type units.
In my opinion, if I were looking for a state to hunt over the counter I'm not sure Utah would be me first choice. Utah does have great elk hunting, but like I stated before the best areas are for L.E. units. There are good spike only areas but it's just that, spike only. OTC anybull areas are somewhat limiting, they are as follows:
Box Elder: Low elk numbers, Mostly Private lands
Ogden: Low elk numbers, Mostly Private lands
Morgan South Rich: Good elk numbers, Mostly Private lands.
East Canyon: Low Elk numbers, Mostly Private lands
Chalk Creek: High Elk numbers, Mostly Private Lands
North Slope Uintas: Good Elk numbers, Mostly Public Lands, high hunting pressure near roads.
South Slope Uintas: High Elk numbers, Mostly Public Lands, high hunting pressure near roads.
Nine-Mile Ranch Creek North: Fair Elk numbers, Mostly Private Lands.
San Rafael North: Very low elk numbers, Mostly Public Lands.
West Desert East: Very low elk numbers, not sure about private land most bulls killed last year. Land owners want elk gone so F&G opened it up to anybull general season.
Filmore Oak Creek North: Very low elk numbers, not sure about private land, most bulls killed last year. Land owners want elk gone so F&G opened it up to anybull general season.
Henrys Mountains: Very low elk numbers, not sure about private land
Zion: Low elk numbers, most good areas on Private Land

Top choice for a chance at a branched antlered bull would be the Uintas range. The terrain does vary but is mostly steep rugged rocky thick pines with deep canyons and High Mountain peeks. There are thousands of small lakes, streams, and ponds. There are some areas with open parks. Elk numbers are good all throughout the Uintas, but tend to be concentrated in certain areas more than others. The area is difficult to hunt. Not many areas where you can glass. Best bet would be to get away from the roads.

Personally I'd look at Colorado first and Idaho second. In my opinion they have better OTC hunting areas. Some of their OTC seasons correspond with the rut depending on weapon choice. All of Utah?s OTC seasons are just before and after the peak rutting period.

Good Luck,
Wapiti

 

[Jake_Sorensen]

I agree with Wapiti, I hunt the Uinta's every year and like he said it is high hunting pressure more around the roads, however the use of quads is making it so the pressure moves off road more. So you would need to plan on hiking, horse riding clear of the road to get away from all those lazy bastages, it is rugged country and the Elk populations vary widly and like Wapiti said the elk are more concentrated in some areas more than others, but there have been several years we have scouted all spring, and summer and have seen a couple dozen elk and then got up there for the elk hunt a couple days before and not seen any elk anywere and not seen an elk during the whole hunt. I have not hunted in Colorado or Idaho yet but my family has been talking about switching to one of those states, due to the increase of private lands and the increase of switching the any bull areas to spike only areas and the increase of LE Units. privat message me if you have any questions.

Jake

 

[BigShow]

If you are thinking about Colorado I'd look up Deerking from this site. Fulla good info, real good guy.

 

[stevie312 (Guest)]

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES. WE PLAN ON RIFLE HUNTING ONE OF THE SEASONS. I HAVE PROCLAMATIONS COMING IN FROM IDAHO, COLORADO AND UTAH. IF ANY IDEA'S ON WHAT UNITS TO LOOK AT IN IDAHO OR COLORADO, JUST LET ME KNOW. WE PERFER PUBLIC ACCESS AREAS. WE HAVE CAUGHT A LOT OF GREIF IN THE NEW MEXICO AREA FOR BEING OUT-OF-STATE HUNTERS. THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY FURTHER HELP. STEVE