General Any Weapon Elk: Time Versus Opportunity

[OneMile]

I have a controlled hunt for elk in Idaho and will be helping others chase critters this year. Will it be worth it to take the little time I have off to dedicate to the Utah general elk hunt, or should I just hit the utah elk hunt on the weekends and dedicate the time off to likely more productive hunts? My impression from others is that the general elk hunt isn't that great. I usually hunt in areas where I can hike in no less than a mile, but I'm not sure if that will make things much better from what I hear. Are my assumption correct? I have some places in mind, but haven't had the opportunity to check them out on foot, yet(first year in Utah). Once again, Time vs. Opportunity. I am thinking time will be better spent looking for deer here and scouting for elk and moose in Idaho this year.

 

[nochawk]

Thats a decision you have to make for yourself, do you want to be part of the 10% that kills there elk every year or the 90%that do'snt?

You get out of it what you put into it. I have elk tags in Utah and Wyoming, I have scouted Wy 4 times since May and I got lucky and drew a LE elk tag in Ut and I have been to that unit I believe it has been 6 times now and am going back at least 2 more times before Aug 16th.
And in amoungst all that I have made a trip down to Az scouting to help out a friend with his AZ elk tag.

Do I feel confident I will get my Elks? YES.

A positive attitude will get you thru the tough times and help you hike that last hill to reach your elk.

SO, I think that helping out a friend on his hunts is important in Idaho, but listening to others say that it is not worth your effort to hunt Ut elk is self defeating.

Don't set yourself up to lose, at the end of the day it's just you and your conscience.

 

[OneMile]

LAST EDITED ON Jul-17-08 AT 12:43PM (MST)[p]Thanks. I'm not trying to set up for loss, but trying to figure out where to allocate my time. Until I get more time to scout, I want to figure out where to focus my efforts.

I agree with your reply. My belief is that the majority of people I talk to don't make it far off the road. My rule in general is at least a mile off road to be safe, and I'm usually able get away from the humans, enjoy the hills, and find success, so I'm not too worried. Like you, I'm a military dude and have missed some hunting to training and deployment, but I appreciate it that much more. I just want to make the most of time. If it is more productive to dedicate more time mule deer, first, then I'll go for mulies.

Don't get me wrong, I've got more reasons than just tagging out. I have to admit that one of my lesser reasons (challenges) is a wife taunting me about getting bigger antlers.


Guess I should have made that point in my intitial post. Thanks again for your help in my posts.

 

[nochawk]

You have a controled hunt for elk in Idaho so thats where I think you should concentrate your efforts as you dont draw one of those very often.

Like I have a LE archery Elk in Ut this year so that is my priority. PLUS...My Ut hunt starts 2 weeks before my Wy elk hunt, and a month before I have to be in AZ to help out my bud.

SO concentrate on the control hunt.