LAST EDITED ON Jun-25-05 AT 09:17PM (MST)[p]Having hunted that area religously for the better part of my life I will tell you this. Although I quit hunting it the past three or four years because of the dumb people I encountered in the area and all the nice little wheeler tracks everywhere, we actually had some pretty good success out there until like I said the pressure became to much for us and we had to search out some new, higher country where the lazy and ignorant would not follow. We; me, my dad, my dads hunting buddy and his son have taken elk from cows to spikes to 300" bulls. You are not going to find many 300" bulls but they exist out there, I have pictures to prove it. However in the better part of fourteen years we killed between all of us a total of maybe 7-8 branch antlered bulls. It use to be an amazing area filled with many bulls, we could be alot more picky, but recently it just isn't that spectacular anymore. I will say the success rate is fair at best. At least compared to years in the past. I have heard rumors that success rates ranged from 65-80%, late season cow hunts account for a better part of the success people have. But because of the lack of interest in that area anymore I have not kept close tabs on the area. If you want to kill elk it can be done out there, I miss this area badly but refuse to even set foot in the neighborhood come hunting season. I still spend countless hours camping, fishing, and scouting for hopes they will close the area down to four-wheelers in the future. I find elk anywhere and everytime I look. I would like nothing better than to return to this area someday in the future, but until they reduce the number of tags and block off some of the roads I will not hunt there. I have talked several times to my local game and fish department and forest service to try and convince them to reduce the number of tags and also to stop repairing alot of the roads out there to allow for better hunting, and by better I mean from a trophy standpoint. Many of the roads get trashed each and every hunting season by hunters, using the roads simply to drive to our hunting locations and then to set out on foot, I would like to see them stop repairing the roads so people had to walk in. But never fail each and every spring they run right out there and scrape and repair the roads. There are also several roads that have springs running down the middle of the road, take into account that and a spit of moisture turns the roads to mush and those roads can get nasty come october. Be prepared to hunt hard and don't be afraid to leave the truck and you should have an excellent hunt. Beautiful country and plenty of game will all contribute to your hunt.
