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Well I haven't made up my mind yet but I am really thinking of buying an archery elk tag and going up in the Uintas and try to stick some thing. The problem is I've never even been up there and I don't know where to start. I've hunted for years in Alaska and I've harvested a lot of animals but I've yet to get an elk. If you guys could point me in the right directions on where I could possibly find some elk I'd really appricate it. I'll trade some one a couple fishing trips on my boat if they help me out. Thanks. Matt
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I hate to discourage you but Utah's archery elk hunts suck!!! I have been participating in them for the last 10+ years and each year I keep telling myself that last year was just a bad year and this one will be better. This year I finally realized the situation and threw in the towell. I will not be out here in Utah again until they change the dates and some management policies.
Now, being off my whine box, the are still some elk in the Uinta's but they get hunted very hard, called to from the time the snow melts until after thanksgiving, and there is a lack of winter range for the North Slope herd. If you go up there you need to get as far away from the roads and other hunters as possible, and you need to be mobile and cover alot of area until you find sign. On almost all of my trips up there I would see elk, but very few and far between. Remember this "there's alot more space where they aint' than where they are". There are still guys who have found honey holes and still get one pretty regularly, but for the most part it's not a very fun hunt anymore.
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Thats about what I've been hearing every since I moved here. I am moving to Arizona in December so this is my last chance to hunt Utah before I have to go back to the old draw system of Az so I thought I'd just give it a try. I appreciate the advice Elkoholic I am sure all the good elk in the state are on private land or limited entry hunts. Thats one thing I miss about Alaska just going up to the counter and asking for a tag, any tag but a grizzly bear is free and thats only 20 bucks. Well once again thanks for the advice and if any one else has a comment there holding back just PM me. Matt
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Why go to the Uintas? You can find elk on the Mt. right behind us. Just do a little scouting around the canyons from Farmington to Salt Lake and near Big Mountain on the road from East Canyon to Salt Lake. There is more public ground in there than you might think. I spent alot of time up there scouting for my moose last year and seen plenty of elk sign as well as several elk. A buddy of mine who works on Base with me runs several trail cameras up near Bountiful Peak he had pictures of several nice bulls last summer up there, a huge 5X5 and a young 6X6. The country is rough and watch out for rattlers. Good luck on your hunt, you can PM me if you like and I'm also a member of the Hill Archers. The price of gas now days it sometimes pays to scout closer to home.[cool]
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I would like to know about the public land near east canyon, the big mountain you talk about.... I would like to buy a any bull tag but dont know where to go... where can i get a map that shows me the public land so i dont cross anyones land??? I like to walk alot so no problem going in there to find them... I just want meat not horns... if one shows up then I would take him but I wont pass on the first one I see..... any help would be appreciated... thanks
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any public land above ogden or by east canyon that I can hunt a any bull tag?? if so how do I get a map of the areas?? Rifle hunting....
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Buy a BLM map at a book store or at the DWR they show the status of all the land in the section that the particular map covers.
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Utah Idaho map supply in Ogden can hook you up with almost any map you need. then take a rip up to the DWR and try and get with a CO and seeif they can help you with some access points.
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thanks alot... i will be buying some maps...
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If you get the big Topographical Land ownership map, you will notice that some of the CWMUs maps now overlap the National Forest land. Don't know how that works, but just be careful. If you go to the DWR site and type in CWMU maps in the search engine, it will pull up all of the CWMUs. There are tons of them in Northern Utah to watch out for.
As for hunting above Ogden, I don't know where you are talking about, but the moutains directly above Ogden and behind (Snow Basin) do not hold very many elk, if any at all. I
if you are talking about the Causey area, then you are on the right track. Quite a few few elk up there, but it requires a lot of work and scouting. Most of the areas in Northern Utah that you can hunt any bull elk will require a lot of work.
If you are looking for meat, you should have got a Spike tag. That's guaranteed meat in a few spots I know of.
Good Luck
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are there any spike tags left, i will go online today and find out. I have been hunting wyoming the last three years and keep trying for bull tags but end up with cow tags for all three years. I got my elk all three years. tags over there are now almost $600.00 for non-resident so i figure I would hunt utah this year... I dont mind walking in. I actually feel better the more I walk. I packed out my last three elk a couple of miles every year in wy. I have great cousins up there who just love the torture of backpacks full of meat and the hike out.... If I can still get a spike tag can you point me in the right direction???
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If you get an archery tag, you can shoot a cow or a bull. So I would go up on Monte and hunt the LE up there (Spike or Cow only). There are a lot of elk in there and getting at least a cow shouldn't be very hard. There are also plenty of other LE that hold plenty of Spikes and cows. I'm sure a bunch of people could help you out if you go that route.
Getting a bull on a any bull unit on public land in Nothern Utah with a bow, is quite a task. Just finding elk on these units is hard enough. Most of the people that are sucessful with any bull archery tags, aren't going to talk. Do the research and work and you may just find yourself a good spot.
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Big mountain is located on the road from East Canyon to SL. There is a big parking lot on the East side on top and the Great Western Trail runs North and South from there. Some nice Bucks in that area as well. Your maps will tell you what is private. Thick hunting in the area between there and Parley's Summit.
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I'm sorry you have had such a bad experience lately. There are a lot of elk here though. Like someone commented I'm not willing to go into too much detail on areas but there are some real honey holes. Last year I saw way over two hundred head (not counting double) in one day. A different day and 100 miles away II was on three different herds with about 15- 25 each including two monster bulls at 30 yds (spike unit) what a rush. I would recomend asking fish and game, other hunters, farmers, sheep herders are awesome, and staying flexible on your game plan.
Another suggestion is call as little as possible. Every other hunter has been calling all day and all season long. I usually only call to stop them for a shot.
Good luck!
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