UTAH Tooth Age: Returned

[Packout]

I recently asked if anyone had received the age on their 2004 Utah LTD Entry elk. Well I got my letter today. My muzzleloader bull was 8 years old. The unit I shot him in had bulls taken from 2 years to 9 years old, all weapon types, and a mean age of 6+. It is an interesting twist to the hunt.

So, How old was your Bull????

 

[Elkslayer]

What unit did you hunt? Is this unit now a 5-6 year unit or a 4-5 year old unit? Will be interesting to see how many more tag's they issue if units are over their new age obkective.
Congrats on your bull! Any pictures? Alan

 

[jdh]

Just got my tooth letter back this past week and it said the elk I killed was 7 years old. Here is a pic of him.

jdh

 

[predator]

Man, that is a beautiful bull!! Panguitch Lake perhaps, the bulls down there have those nice gnarly fronts.

Congrats, thanks for sharing.

 

[fin little]

Interesting stuff. jdh, how old was your grandpa's bull. I,m guessing at least 8. It would be interesting to know the average age of the bulls taken compared to current age objective and the new age objectives.

 

[Packout]

I killed my bull on what was a 5-6 year unit, which is now a 4-5 year unit. It will be interesting to see how slow or fast the DWR moves on bringing age classes into the objective. My guess is it won't be as fast as many fear and some want.

Nice bull JDH. How long were his mains?? My bull had 53" mains and your bull appears to be longer. Congratulations. And many thought that primative weapon hunters would just shoot younger bulls.

Anyone else get their elk age returned?

 

[gon4elk]

Shot a bull on the Bokk Cliffs in 2001. Never heard back from the DWR.

 

[Silentstalker]

I shot a bull on the Manti archery hunt this year. I have not recieved my letter yet but will post the age when I recieve it. I guessed mine was 3-4 years old. He was a young 6 point. Not bad for the 3rd to the last day but very small compared to the ones we were chasing! Congrats to all you who killed your bull!

Chad

 

[jdh]

fin little: not sure on gramps bull's age yet. Hopefully shortly we will know. I am sure he will be older then mine.

Packout: my bulls beams where just over 54" so not much longer then yours. It was an unreal hunt. I just wish I didn't have to wait till 2010 to start applying for utah elk again. Oh well. Here is a pic. of Grandpa's Elk. 56" beams grossed just over 380.

jdh

 

[kilowatt]

jdh,

Congrats to both your Grandfather and you on two beautiful Bulls and thanks for posting them too.

Brian

 

[MBM]

A buddy at my work got his tooth info back from the elk he killed last year. It was 8 years old killed on the Fish Lake unit during the archery hunt.

Mark

 

[NTHERUT]

I got mine back also and my bull was aged at 6 years old. Must be some great genetics on the unit. Who know's what a couple of more years would have done.

 

[Lien2]

Beautiful Bulls jdh!!!
Congrats.

Lien2

 

[Dub]

LAST EDITED ON Feb-14-05 AT 08:49PM (MST)[p]That's unreal NTHERUT. Can you imagine tht bad boy in a couple of years?

 

[jdh]

Man NTHERUT, I would have never guessed your bull to be so young. I am with Dub, he would have been really something. A 370+ 6yr old is incredible.

jdh

 

[NTHERUT]

Dub and jdh,

That is what I thought about my bull also. I guess if he could of made it a couple of more years he might have been a 400" bull. Most likely he would of with the genetics he had. I think we drew the right year though. Congrats to both of you on some tremendous bulls. 2010 can't come soon enough. We may never draw again, so I am glad I used my tag on a great bull. The average age class on my unit was 6.2 years old and the DWR is dropping it to a 4-5 year old unit. The quality might start going down a little.

 

[2_Point]

My friends bull was 9 years old, off the Manti with a rifle. It was a 290 class 5x5.

 

[jdh]

Just found out that Grandpa's bull, pictured above, was aged at 9yrs old. Better not tell ya grandpa's age...

jdh

 

[elk_horn]

Age dont mean anything its the genetics that count .. shot a 6X6 312 bull on the archrey hunt the bull was 8 years old.

 

[WARBIRDUM]

This bull was 8 years old taken on the boulder unit.Does anyone know the average age taken on the boulders last year?

 

[BIGOLMULEY]

My brother just got his back, 9 years old off the Pahvant

I am still waiting on my bull, San Juan. Who do I call to find out if my letter was lost?

 

[jdh]

Bigolmuley,

That is a great bull your brother got!!!!!!! I assume that is your bro's and not yours. Those are some dandy G1's wow... Hopefully your letter didn't get lost in the mail somewhere. It is really kinda cool finding out the age on animals. I wish I would have saved some teeth on some deer I have taken.

jdh

 

[B_F_E]

The biologist who works the Boulder (Chris) told me the avarage age was 5.9 years old.

 

[kmur]

Recieved my letter in the mail today. My Manti bull was seven years old.

Ken M.

 

[BIGOLMULEY]

I finally got mine back. He was 10 years old. I was guessing 8. The average age was 8 on the rifle and archery hunts. Slightly lower on the muzz hunts

 

[oldoregon]

Congrats to you all on very nice bulls! Good Job Guys!

 

[JDelk]

I just received my aging results. My 2004 bull was aged at 5 years old. It seems hard to believe it would be that young and score 390+ B&C and over 400 SCI.
John Dowell

 

[jdh]

Holy smokes JDelk that is incredible; a 5yr old 400 inch bull. Wow.. any pics for us to drool over!!

jdh

 

[antlerrick]

My daughters bull was aged at 7 yrs old and grossed 382 from the Fishlake unit for 2004.

A bad day hunting is better than a Good Day at Work!!

 

[Blanding_Boy]

This one was hard for me to believe as well but the tooth data said 6 years old

we grossed it out at 398 and change. I think 2004 was just a great year for anther growth deer or elk.

Todd

 

[Silentstalker_work]

I just recieved the info on my bull! He was not a monster by any means. He was 3 years old off of the Manti. Scored just shy of 300 P&Y. Here is a link to his pictures.

http://www.monstermuleys.com/photos/PhotosID3/371.html

It seems obviuos to me we have some great genetics in these units even as 5-6 year old bulls. Congratulations guy's. Those are some great bulls!

Chad

 

[JDelk]

Here is a picture of my 5 year old bull.

 

[B_F_E]

Congrats to your daughter & you Rick, that bull looks sweat, kind of looks like a double set of eyeguards, did you get it over by nucular power-plant springs ?

 

[antlerrick]

Hey B_F_E
Thanks..... As a matter of fact, it was just heading down to drink at the Nuclear Spring!!!!! hehe
The "devil tines" were both over 5" long... If the dang thing would have grown some main beams, he'd have pushed 400....The beams were only about 45 each...For a pregnant little lady, it was the thrill of a lifetime!
But we were pretty happy with it anyway!!!!!

A bad day hunting is better than a Good Day at Work!!

 

[Tuffbucker]

I just heard back from DWR. My 2004 Manti Bull was aged at 7 years. Here's some pics:

SCOTT

 

[MBM]

Here is the summary from the DWR on the complete data.

http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/public_meetings/march_rac/4.pdf

 

[Silentstalker]

Looks like once again we are over objective. Thanks for the info!

Chad

 

[ktc]

SS,

I am chasin' ya down. I replied to you over on the RAC thread in the General Forum. Maybe I feel like arguing. ;-)

I need to ask, why are you so persistent in big elk tag increases? We argued this and it got a little heated, but I cannot understand why you think more elk tags is so good. I understand your hunt was tough because you had the general hunters out while you were. I agree that is a problem. You hunted an LE while many hunters were in the field. You said yourself this was a problem.

If the Manti has over a six year old kill, would you believe this was too high before you drew out? You also state that you saw some big bulls, luck just wasn't on your side. Was seeing and chasing big bulls a problem? Or, did it make the experience more enjoyable?

I sense you are kind of disappointed and want to get another crack at a fine Utah bull, but do you think it should come at the expense of me or others who have amassed 8,9,10, or 12 points? I am sorry buddy, your comments just look bad less than one year after you draw.

We met on common ground before. I just hope you can understand my stance. I certainly understand yours with the exception of handing out too many tags. I personally think the modest increase is ok, but I hope caution is used as it appears it has. If the stats prove out maybe a few more bow tags can be given. If the age class stays high maybe a few more. I hope you do get another chance. I hope the bulls are still big and I hope it doesn't take you forever to draw. Let those who are still waiting get the same chance you had.

Ok, give me your best shot. ;-)

 

[Packout]

KTC- Well I am not SS, but I'll throw my 2 bits in. If you have 12 Bonus Points then you started applying when the best bulls on LTD entry units were maybe 350. I remember just 7 or so years ago that a 320 bull was the talk of the town and a 350+ bull was idolized. Now it seems that unless the bull goes over 360+ people are disappointed. Guys asked if my 340ish bull was "the best you could find?".

So when you started applying, what kind of bull did you want?? There was no great Pahvant unit or SW Des or Mt Dutton. The Monroe produced a few 340-360s and the San Juan had a few 350s killed, but nothing really consistent (if my memory serves).

I know of many 360-380+ bulls killed in the past 3 years which were 6-7 years old. The high age units have so many bulls, mainly because someone shows up, shoots a 6 year old 360+ and leaves the 9 year old 320 class 5x6 alive. This squewed the age data so the DWR could not give more tags. This also caused less tags to be issued and has created a glut of Bonus Point holders who may never draw a tag.

I sure hope you draw your tag this year. I hope you are able to kill the bull of your dreams. (Especially because, most likely, your dreams have grown along with the elk over the years).

Best of Luck in The Draw.

 

[ktc]

I am ktc. ;-)

My dreams have grown with the elk. That is a good thing isn't it?

320? Hell when I started a 5 point was ok and a 6 point was great.

I can kind of understand your biological thinking, makes some sense, but I have to believe things are taken slowly as it appears they have.

I say keep the dreams growing and alive.

 

[ktc]

One more thing. The elk pictures posted here are outstanding. Dreams came true for some lucky and hard working people.

Congrats all.

 

[Silentstalker]

KTC,

Sorry, I did not see these posts until just now. My arguments for more opportunity have been ongoing. Even before I drew out. I had a TREMENDOUS hunt. We were in fact harrassed and screwed up by countless other hunters. We killed 1 bull on 2 tags. My Dad waited a LONG time to draw the tag. I waited 9 years. Am I disappointed that I did not kill a huge bull? Absolutetly!

That being said, We had the hunt of a lifetime! One night alone I had 5 bulls over 300 B/C at less than 40 yards. One of them was in the 380 class. I drew my bow several times but could not get those buggers to hold still long enough to get off an ethical shot. Another morning we snuck up on the biggest bull I have ever seen on the hoof. 390+. We got into a laser rangefinders reading of 15 yards in the maples and BLEW IT! The opportunity to witness what we saw and chase bulls that we chased was a chance of a lifetime!

I hope to heck you get to do it soon. I hope to someday take my son or daughters on their own LE elk hunt. As it sits right now they don't even have a snowballs chance in hell of drawing out. Should we sacrifice some quality to assure that more people get to hunt? I say yes. Many of you say NO! I respect your point of view and can't find a good angle too argue against it. All I truly know is that I hunt these LE units every year for spike/cow on the archery hunt and see a huge amount of big bulls. I believe that the permits can be increased slowly and methodically to maximize our resource. Some of my comments may seem like I want to open the floodgates but nothing could be further than the truth.

I see opportunity to increase primitive weapons tags. increasing pressure and reducing harvest. Thereby increasing opportunity without putting undue stress on the resource. I believe that Utah must get the rifle hunt out of the rut. I believe a lot of things, most of them would never fly but that doesn't mean I am not going to debate them. Maybe one day in our discussions we actually come up with a GREAT idea that helps everybody! Doubtfull but possible. Next to my family, Hunting is my life. I live and die by the Hunt. Especially elk. This passion is what drives us all and what leads to our "heated" discussions! I wish no ill or bad luck on any of you. I wish Bow hunters got their own elk season. We DON'T. Rifle hunters get their own in the RUT. Muzzleloaders get their own in the late RUT. And bow hunters get to hunt in August and pre rut September with ALL archery deer hunters and ALL archery spike elk hunters. Hardly seems fair. Life is not fair. We simply do the best we can. The unfortunate part of this debate is the rules seem to get changed EVERY year. It ends up being fair to no one.

I guess I really got rambling here! Sorry. Hopefully you understand a bit more into what I believe and hope for. We are not that different. We all want to hunt elk and I believe we both can see that each arguement has merit and very good points. Good luck to you in the draws and have a great day!

Chad

 

[elk_horn]

Chad, I agree with what you posted here!

 

[Silentstalker_work]

Thank you. I don't think we are the only ones that feel this way!

Have a great day!

Chad

 

[jdh]

Chad,

Great Post, I agree.. I fear some of Utah's greatest resources are dying of old age.

jdh

 

[Silentstalker]

Thanks,

And Congrats again on a monster bull! You are the MAN!

Chad