Hunting in Utah

dreaminbouthuntin · Nov 2, 2012

Well, hell officially froze over. My job is moving me to Utah. I have never hunted in Utah and have spent no time there outside of SLC.
I love to hunt and hike but have zero experience in Utah and dont have a clue on where to start scouting for next year.
I doubt I will be putting in for any hunts, so it will be all OTC Public land for elk and muleys.
I've been going over the regs book, but not being familiar with Utahs laws at all, to say the least has been overwhelming.
If anyone would be willing to help a new Utah resident get their hunting legs, i'd sure appreciate any help. I dont own an ATV so all hunting will be done on foot.
I know it takes time to learn areas and id like to start this next spring.
I dont even know names of places for OTC deer hunting or where exactly they even are in the state.
I will be living in the SLC area for work. I'd like to keep some sense of normalcy on my life. Best way i know how is to scout and hunt. Its what i love and i dont want to loose it due to the move.
Any general sense of direction would help me alot. I will do the scouting for sure. Just looking for guidance on a starting point to begin. I would like to try and continue the lifestyle i love. Hiking and hunting.

Thanks a million in advance.

huntin50 · Nov 2, 2012

Welcome to Utah. You are still close to WY and CO. A great area to live. I would recommend strongly to put in for draws and start building points. There are some over the counter tags, but most are through a draw process now.

Some scouting areas are available in secluded areas. The problem is most public general season tags have a lot of hunters.

Good luck with your new job and adventure.

shotgun1 · Nov 2, 2012

Where are you coming from?

dreaminbouthuntin · Nov 2, 2012

Across the border in Idaho. I would like to keep hunting there, but i wont be able to afford the tags.

kawboy · Nov 3, 2012

What type of hunting are you looking for ? Archery, muzzy?.... And I also throw in another vote for starting to build points

I'll tell you who it was . . . it was that D@MN Sasquatch!

BLooDTRaCKeR · Nov 3, 2012

What area/city are you moving to?? What type of terrain are you willing/capable of hunting??

dreaminbouthuntin · Nov 3, 2012

I hunt archery and rifle. I will be stationed in SLC. I can hunt any terrain. I had hunted the Church Wilderness for elk and deer for years. I like a good hiking challange. My nickname was the Mountain Goat due to my crazy love of climbing mountains. I've got a good pack so i can debone anything i get down to haul it out.
As for antler size, thats never been my thing. I enjoy the experience of getting out and if i'm lucky i'll have some good steaks to eat.

If i can help anyone with hunting Idaho, just drop me a line. I dont have any honey holes, but good general areas for deer.

Daxter · Nov 3, 2012

Buy your lifetime license for ID before you move. It will pay for itself in just a few years now that you will be a non-resident. Idaho is hard to beat for over the counter opportunity.

First off, pick up a bow and get started hunting the wasatch front extended archery. For a guy that doesn't mind some brutal hiking it is an awesome hunt and will be close to home.

You have to put in the draws in Feb. if you even want a general season deer tag. There are only a few OTC tags in UT. Generals season elk is OTC and there might be a few leftover deer, but you should start getting in the draw.

Dax

There is no such thing as a sure thing in trophy mule deer hunting.

elkfromabove · Nov 3, 2012

>Well, hell officially froze over. My
>job is moving me to
>Utah. I have never hunted
>in Utah and have spent
>no time there outside of
>SLC.
>I love to hunt and hike
>but have zero experience in
>Utah and dont have a
>clue on where to start
>scouting for next year.
>I doubt I will be putting
>in for any hunts, so
>it will be all OTC
>Public land for elk and
>muleys.
>I've been going over the regs
>book, but not being familiar
>with Utahs laws at all,
>to say the least has
>been overwhelming.
>If anyone would be willing to
>help a new Utah resident
>get their hunting legs, i'd
>sure appreciate any help. I
>dont own an ATV so
>all hunting will be done
>on foot.
>I know it takes time to
>learn areas and id like
>to start this next spring.
>
>I dont even know names of
>places for OTC deer hunting
>or where exactly they even
>are in the state.
>I will be living in the
>SLC area for work. I'd
>like to keep some sense
>of normalcy on my life.
>Best way i know how
>is to scout and hunt.
>Its what i love and
>i dont want to loose
>it due to the move.
>
>Any general sense of direction would
>help me alot. I will
>do the scouting for sure.
>Just looking for guidance on
>a starting point to begin.
>I would like to try
>and continue the lifestyle i
>love. Hiking and hunting.
>
>Thanks a million in advance.

First off, there are very few OTC tags for deer that are available only if they don't sell out in the draws or if you are willing to pay for various types of landowner tags. Second, unlike Idaho, you need to know we only have mule deer in Utah, with an occasional exception when whitetails drift in from Idaho or Wyoming. Third, we just made some major changes to the deer hunt that most of us aren't used to and so our advice will be speculative at best. You're pretty much in the same boat as we are. We had to chose smaller units in the draw this year and some of us saw more deer while others of us saw fewer deer and some of us thought our unit was more crowded, while others say they saw fewer hunters. Hopefully, these issues will resolve themselves as Utahns make choices in the next few years, but for now we are guessing, just like you.

The general elk hunts, on the other hand, are OTC. There are certain areas where you can only shoot a spike bull, but a lot of Utah is open to any bull, including a spike. There are some special draws for premium areas and for antlerless hunts, but otherwise you're pretty much assured a tag if you go online within a day or two of the application period. We probably don't have the number of elk you have in Idaho (I'm not sure), and the numbers don't compare to the number of deer here, but we have a good number of them, especially in certain areas. And the numbers are growing.

I live in Southern Utah and don't know very much about the area around Salt Lake, but I have hunted the Wasatch mountains just east of the city and have taken deer there. It's somewhat surprising how many deer (and elk) are that close to the populated areas of Utah. Others who hunt those areas regularly can tell you more about it.

In any case, welcome to Utah. And good luck on your hunts.

dreaminbouthuntin · Nov 3, 2012

Many thanks for the information. I didnt realize utah had low number of OTC deer. That will definitely change my ideas of hunting and how. Those mountains around town are definitely steep. But it may keep the folks that dont want to mountain climb

down lower. Did they change the regs to limit the areas you can hunt with OTC type tags? Just curious how they changed the regs. I'll definitely keep digging on the website to continue my Utah hunting education.

The OTC any bull is different than what i am used to for sure. I've hunted 1 spike only hunt in idaho and got lucky. I usually just put in for cow and hope to draw.

Good to know you can hunt that close to the city. I would have thought they would have shut everything down within a large radius of the city. I am completely out of my element living there for sure. Lived in the country my whole life.

It should be quite the experience! Thanks again

wstrntines · Nov 3, 2012

Welcome to utah sweet archery hunting in the state deer and elk real close to salt lake you dont have to go far to find good animals just gotta be willing to hike hard.

BrowningRage · Nov 3, 2012

Welcome to the greatest state I've ever lived in... Yes, it is the only one as well... But still..

I think you've got some good advice so far. As has been discussed, up until this year, the state was divided into 5 regions, but this ear was the inaugural year for the micromanaged deer units (29 of them I think there are). In Utah, we now have Limited Entry Bons points that you accumulate as you put in (and do't get drawn) for the LE areas. We also have Preference points that build when you put down for a general season tag on the same application for your LE tag, and dont draw the general season tag. Most units you will get a tag for, but there are some general season areas that will already require a point or two to draw the general season tag... before long, there will likely be some general season units that will become, or at least be treated like the LE units beause it will take a few years to draw them.

As far as spike elk hunts- Utah does this really cool thing where you get to hunt right alongside the guys who have waited 15+ years for a LE Bull Elk tag. You can either help em out, or blow it for them big time. Its really a cool idea...

But open bull units are great, and if you dont mind a hike, you can find em.

You can put in for the Limited Entry hunts in the state, but you had better pray to win the lottery as it takes more than a decade to have MAX points to draw any of the mule deer hunts, and almost 2 decades for elk... (With the "point creep" the odds get a little longer each year). Half of all tags issued for a particular unit are given to "Max" point holders. the remaining half of the tags go into a lottery of all those left over with less points. For each application and bonus point you have, a number is generated, you keep the lowest one that you receive. The remaining tags go to the lowest numbers given out. So if there are 35 tags to give out, the guys with the lowest 35 numbers get them, regardless of the number of bonus points they have. pretty simple huh..?

Seriously, welcome. You will figure things out and find some good hunting within a few short years I'd wager...

"Therefore, wo be unto him that is at ease in Zion!" 2 Ne. 28: 24

littlejoe · Nov 4, 2012

Apply,apply, apply. You have to play the game if you want to hunt. WY and CO are close and apply apply apply. Gladly hunt there every couple of years than every 10 plus years in Utah. Yes, you can get a general season draw tag but it is what it is. Somebody will always shoot a big one but the odds are very likely you will go home empty handed if you want anything bigger than a 2pt. Everyone is pretty much different but I apply for the top stuff as I don't need the meat. I have no desire to hunt for 2pt's or even 20" 4pts but the experience is different for everyone and what you make of it. But you have to get in the draw game or you won't hunt unless with friends.