the size of the wasatch bull

mgarrard1234 · May 28, 2009

I am totally confused, will some one be streight with me, I have a wasatch rifel tag and i have been told if i dont come out of there with a 360 bull or better i should be shot! I have read alot of forums and they all point that if i get a 320 bull i should be proud as (he!!) so should I look for the 360 or is it that just a mith? PLEASE BE STREIGHT WITH ME THANKS MIKE(SOME PICTURES WOULD HELP)

dwalton · May 28, 2009

The difference between a 330 bull and a 350 bull is a little over 1.5" per antler tine ( less if the bull has 1/2" more mass on the circumference measurements). If you can honestly tell that difference in the field, you're probably in the wrong profession.

Find a bull that looks like "the one" to you, and have a great hunt. Don't get wrapped up in the 360 or bust mindset, as it will only detract from the qaulity of your hunt.

That being said, I would say the general consensus is that the size of bulls on the Wasatch is on a downward trend.

sixgunn · May 28, 2009

I have spent a lot of time on this unit. With that being said, I think it is realistic for 360 bull there. However, there are a lot of bulls in the 320 range as well. This unit is big and has tons of areas which hold bulls. If your asking if there is a 360 bull behind every tree and in every drainage......my opinion is no there are not. But if you hunt hard, I think you could walk away with a 350 plus bull. Either way, good luck to you, this should be a great hunt.

Prism · May 28, 2009

For the most part the Wasatch has been on a pretty steady slide for the past 5 years or so.

There is a handful of giant bulls on the unit, and maybe you'll get lucky.

That being said, I'd bet 90% of the bulls harvested on the Wasatch are less than 350 with most of them being 300-330.

Odds are that you wont kill a 350 plus bull, but it's possible.

You'll have a great hunt and should see plenty of elk, just be really realistic with this tag. With another huge increase in permit numbers it'd be wise to scout hard shoot first if you find a bull you're interested in.

Good luck!

troutsniffer · May 28, 2009

I agree with Prism.

bullmania · May 28, 2009

LAST EDITED ON May-28-09 AT 05:34PM (MST)[p]I hunted the Wasatch rifle hunt last year and harvested a 340 plus type bull , it was a tough dry hunt.

I could have shot dozen of bulls and maybe one bigger but i chose the bull i shot because of the circumstances of the hunt and it was the last day .

I had two of the very best guides on the unit with Jim hiatt and Danny and we all worked hard and had a great hunt.

Your biggest challenge will be other people and having patience.

Dont get caught up in score but enjoy ,have a great time and harvest the bull you like the most.

I hear from the experts this should be a great horn growth year.

Good Luck and send us some pictures.
Bullmania

Packout · May 28, 2009

All those guys telling you 360 or bust don't have a 360 bull on the wall. Go have fun, shoot a mature bull and don't let the competition/score aspect of it take away from your experience.

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www.sagebasin.com
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hikenhunt · May 28, 2009

I also have spent a lot of time on the Wasatch. I agree with the 5 year slide, I agree that there are some huge bulls and I also agree that the majority of the bulls taken with a rifle are 300 to 330.

You should have a lot of fun but make sure you have a lot of time. Also make absolutely sure you have 2 or 3 areas in mind - you can get burned if you put all of your effort in one area - be ready to move if needed.

I hope you do great ! I hunted with an archery tag for 14 days and wound up eating tag soup. But I had many close encounters with lesser bulls and I was within 15 yards of a 350 to 360 bull as the light went away on the last day. I was on one side of some oak brush and he was on the other side - I just couldn't get a shot but I will never forget the hunt.

hunter03 · May 29, 2009

I had the rifle tag last year and wow it was a tough hunt. Very fun hunt, but very hot weather and full moon made it tough. If people are telling you that if you don't come off the mountain with a 360 bull you should be shot, well I say those people have never been on that unit hunting bulls. We had 2 tags last year and we hunted like crazy from sun up til sun down, hiked all over the place dropped in deep holes and we came out with a 350 bull and a 320 bull. I say just get out scouting find a bull you will happy with, one that you, not someone else thinks is good looking, but one that you like and put it on the ground, score doesn't matter. Good luck with the hunt! it was one of the funnest hunts I have ever been on.

NeverStopHuntin · May 29, 2009

Three years ago i would say you could set your sights on a 360 but i would not have such a lofty goal this year. Just look at the tag numbers for the last few years.

I think that doing away with the late hunt will help but increasing the tags more then 70 for this year is going to hurt.

I agree with a lot of whats been said. There are a ton of elk on wasatch and a ton of bulls. The hunt was tough last year but that was the case all across the west.

Being a fanatical shed hunter and living right in the middle of wasatch i like to keep an eye on the elk during the winter. I feel like watching them during the winter gives you a pretty good idea of what the unit has to offer (especially on a unit like wasatch because it is so glass-able) and this year was the worst i have seen for quality bulls (360+).

I'm not saying there aren't a few out there, it was just a lot better several years ago.

I'll post a few wasatch pictures from last fall

BradN · May 29, 2009

Great Pictures

Never Stop,

Great pictures. Care to share what camera body and lenses you are using?

Prism · May 29, 2009

RE: Great Pictures

Nice pics, those are some nice Wasatch bulls.

I agree that the big winter range bulls were pretty sparse this year. Not only are numbers of big bulls down, but I didn't see near the number of elk period.

Maybe the DWR is trying to help out the deer in the area. ;-)

As a general rule of thumb, the biggest bulls are going to come from the South and West side of HWY 40.

The late hunt definitely put the hurt on some big Wasatch bulls, but it's been around 5 years since they last had one on the unit, and I think there's been more than enough time to make a recoup from that.

It's going down hill because of HUGE tag increases and all of the cow hunts.

It is offering more opporunity for guys though and getting a few more guys through the system.

It's just not as good as it use to be for bigger bulls, and will never be again w/o cutting tag numbers.

monarchtaxidermy · May 29, 2009

RE: Great Pictures

We hunted rifle last year. My Buddy killed a 320 bull. Saw about 30 bulls in 4 days of hunting some thick stuff. We maybe saw one bull that would of pushed 340. A guy killed a bull in the area we were in that scored 354. Realistically, if you can kill a 340 bull I would be pumped. Probably gonna be seeing a lot of bulls in the 300-320 range.

Ticks N Tines · May 29, 2009

Why worry about a number? Just go out and find a bull that makes you sh** your pants and shoot it. People worry about score too much, just go out and enjoy the hunt.

mgarrard1234 · May 29, 2009

thanks for all the help, hope i get a big one I will post some pict. of the scouting, and the hunt. Thanks again Mike P.S. if any one else would like to comment please do i could use all the help

woodruffhunter · May 29, 2009

"I have a wasatch rifel tag and i have been told if i dont come out of there with a 360 bull or better i should be shot!"

I would guess that whoever said this:

1- Has never shot a 360 bull

2- Has never had a Wasatch Rifle tag

3- Couldn't tell the difference between a 330ish bull and a 360
bull.

ktc · May 29, 2009

Wow. A 360 bull or you should be shot? That is about the stupidest thing I have ever heard. There is no doubt the Wasatch holds those kinds of bulls, but to find one and get him is another story. If you go into your hunt with the thought you are going to get a 360+ you are going to probably be disappointed. I bet the guy who told you this cannot tell the difference between 360 and 300. I would forget about numbers and find a bull you like or want on your wall and shoot him. With a little work and luck you might find and get one 360, but dont bet the farm.

Utah has some real winners. The guy who told you this is like so many others. They think if they draw it is 380 or nothing. They talk a lot and make guys think 360's and 380's are every where, when in fact, they are a rare critter.

Good luck and I hope you find one you like.

cwarr · Jun 3, 2009

Ypur going to have to hunt longer and harder thats the diff between now and 4 years ago and how bad you want that 360 monster

ditchparrot · Jun 3, 2009

hope this works, we killed this bull opening day last year on the rifle hunt.

ditchparrot · Jun 3, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Jun-03-09 AT 07:22PM (MST)[p]http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/4a271c116405bfb2.jpg
figures, or you can go to the photo gallery, 2008 big buck bull contest, 2nd page towards bottom, only picture entered Nov 19 "jeremy's huge utah bull" and see the bull, it's a 8x8 shot at 56 yards with a rifle.

ditchparrot · Jun 3, 2009

REDDOG · Jun 3, 2009

LAST EDITED ON Jun-03-09 AT 11:37PM (MST)[p]is this it ditch?

ditchparrot · Jun 3, 2009

hey thanks for the help man, thats a bull my brother killed on the wasatch last year at 56 yards with a 300 win mag. We saw two other shooter bulls in the same canyon that morning and four other six point bulls that morning before we found the bull we were looking for. It was a great hunt and I would love the opportunity to go again. I had a complete blast messing with the young bulls and had them really close.

Gator · Jun 4, 2009

The weather will play a HUGE part of if their is a Big bull in your future with how much rainfall you get in the area during the horn growing season, Bulls have been know to put on alot of horn(inches) in one year because of the amount of food that is grown by RAIN. So how is the spring coming along so far lots of rain best you keep hoping it stays that way.

"I have found if you go the extra mile it's Never crowded".