Limited entry/Canned hunts

South_slope · Oct 4, 2006

Is it me or do the limited entry elk in Utah seem like they are easier to hunt? Maybe because of the reduced pressure and exposure to people always chasing them with a video camera and their calls? They do not seem to act elk in general season areas or other states where if they have any inkling that someone is around and they are gone in a flash.

Just a observation from this year. Maybe I am more invisible this year than in the past.

ktc · Oct 5, 2006

Hey dumbass, how do you figure an LE is canned? I know quite a few guys who did not kill an elk. I know others who scouted a big bull only to be unable to find him later. Others did well. The difference I see is you do not have 12k people chasing their guts out.

Go pull the burr out of your ass because you cannot draw. If you were invisible you would not have wrote something as stupid as this. Go disappear again Casper.

dogwood · Oct 5, 2006

Man KTC, who has a burr up there butt, give the guy a break he just asked a question.

deadI · Oct 5, 2006

Don't agree on this one. My dads LE hunt this year was dang tuff. Those big bulls don't get big by being dumb. Thas is a very smart animal.

Wakin · Oct 5, 2006

I've been on a few including my own, For the most part it has taken at least 4 or 5 days of hard hunting to kill a bull.

If you think it's a canned hunt you are mistaken.

rutnelk · Oct 5, 2006

South Slowwwp are you really asking this question? You answer the question in your post, it's called limited entry, which means fewer people and less pressure. The LE rifle hunts are also during the rut, do you know what the rut is? During the mating season most animals are more active and more visible to us humans. Being more visible and active helps the bull attract more ladies that he can service. Once the rut is over a lot of these big bulls will take solitude in the deepest darkest holes on the mountain. To call these LE hunts canned is a joke. I lost 10 pounds during my limited entry hunt from hiking my tail off. If it was a canned hunt I would have gained 10 pounds from hanging out in the truck eating Cheetos. SS take some time to learn about the animals you are pursuing and please think about that before posting again.

KTC give um hell, that was hilarious.

proutdoors · Oct 5, 2006

dogwood, he didnt just ask a question, he implied a whole lot in his post. KTC is correct to respond to stupidity how he did. Anyone who thinks a LE tag is canned has either never been on one,got lucky, or was willing to shoot the first branch-antlered bull that came out. We hunted all 11 days and got a good bull with three hour left in the hunt, and we had scouted hard and hunted all 11 days hard.
So if someone asks a idiotic question they should be prepared for harsh reponses. I love hearing these remarks by people with their head up as$ desease. True most units have a high success ratio but I've seen alot of pisscutters and smaller bulls killed by people believing that there are 380+ bulls everywhere so when a bull walks out they shoot only to be heartbroken when they see what they have just done.

Craig · Oct 5, 2006

Hay KTC you don't need to be a a$$hole. He was just asking a question. He did not accuse you of doing anything wrong.

Antler1 · Oct 5, 2006

I,m with Ktc on this one. If you have ever hunted on a L.E elk hunt you know it is anything but a canned hunt. I have helped on several of these and have scouted and hunted harder then on any general season hunt. A couple days of the archery hunt this year we left camp at 4:00 A.M and returned at 1:00 A.M. The guy we were helping hunted a total of 10 days. Not what I would call a canned hunt. When people get on here and call L.E hunts canned hunts, slamdunk hunts, etc it tends to piss me off also.

ktc · Oct 5, 2006

Craig and dog,

Someone calls my animals canned and I will be an ass/honest or whatever you want to say. That was the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Especially with all of the canned/high fence threads here recently. I stand by my remarks.

Craig · Oct 5, 2006

KTC
I do think it was a stupid question and disagree with him. I just think there are better ways to get your point across.

If everyone on this site agreed and had the same point of view it would be a boring place.

I don't live in Utah but we have special permits ( same as LE hunts ) in Washington. I drew a tag a couple of years ago and it was the hardest hunt I have been on. I saw one herd of elk in 12 days of hunting and I was able to shot a bull. So some of these hunts have high success rates but they can still be hard hunts.

Bambistew · Oct 5, 2006

>Those big bulls don't get
>big by being dumb.

They get big because there is little to no hunting pressure. ;-)

BowHuntr · Oct 5, 2006

I was with my buddy every step of the way on his LE Elk hunt this fall. It was by far the toughest hunt I've ever been on. Took us 2 1/2 weeks to get in on a bull and finally harvest one. LOL...i just don't understand people sometimes. Comparing a LE hunt to a Canned operation, c'mon man.

BowHuntr

MuskegMan · Oct 5, 2006

"Those big bulls don't get
big by being dumb."

"They get big because there is
little to no hunting pressure."

To be a little more techincal - they are managed for a different age class structure.

MM

ktc · Oct 5, 2006

This is my last comment on this thread. I am a compromising person, so if I am wrong my apologizes. If not, well.....

SouthSlope, just a few posts down on the Diamond Mountain thread, states how tough his hunt was on an LE. He said it was "sad". So if LE's are a canned hunt then why the "disappointment?" I am reading two contradicting posts by SouthSlope. On one hand he says, and insinuates LE bulls are canned, then another post states sour grapes on his LE.

skyline · Oct 5, 2006

I think there is some truth to the question and that is why everyone is going crazy over this post. I was on a LE hunt for elk in Utah a few years ago with a buddy of mine and it could have been a very easy hunt if we were looking for a 330 bull. We could have filled the tag from the road everyday that we hunted. I remember my buddy accidentially hitting the horn and we had an elk bugle at us and then appair 100 yards away wanting to fight. I honestly felt like I was hunting Yellowstone Park with the only difference being the elk were bigger. The reasons we went home empty handed and blisters on our feet was that my buddy was hunting with a long bow and we were looking for a trophy bull in the 375 range(like most hunting out there), which we saw 6 different bulls in that range in the 5 days of hunting, and had 3 of the 6 within 25 yards. In my opinion, a raghorn in a general unit is more of a trophy then a 375+ bull in a LE hunt. Getting a trophy these days is all about drawing the right tag. And yes I put in for these hunts every year.

DonVathome · Oct 5, 2006

I have a friend who calls Utah a big game ranch! He is jokeing, he hunts there (he drew AR301 TWICE as a NR) and I will when I draw.

Without a doubt a good rifle Utah LE elk tag is one heck of a sure thing pretty much.

They are free ranging, but they are lightly hunted, lots of elk, and biguns.

Compared with OTC in CO on public land Utah is far far easier to kill a much bigger elk.

If you take a 350" bull, on public land in CO most likely you worked a whole lot harder then the same in Utah with a great tag.

I know they are free roaming, and I am very jealous I cannot get a tag there! I think that is all he was saying.

Deerlove · Oct 5, 2006

Kick his ass Sea Bass Um I mean KTC. I'm with KTC on this one.

proutdoors · Oct 5, 2006

You're comparing apples to oranges,of course killing a 350 bull in an any bull area or in Colo is harder. There are'nt very many of them!! Killing a 330 bull on a LE unit is somewhat easy but to take a 370+ bull anywhere on public land is hard. A bull of this class has been educated and has been hunted before, no matter which LE unit you want to talk about. A bull that has lived this long has a Masters in hunters who think it's a slam dunk. Some will get lucky but MOST hunters who harvest a 370+ bull on public land have EARNED it!!!

antlerrick · Oct 5, 2006

If you think these are easy canned type hunts, ask some of the guys who were on here right after the drawing talking about the huge bulls they were "guaranteed" to kill on their hunts, where their huge bulls are now? I'm sure most everybody who drew will assure you it wasn't a canned hunt. Yes, they are great hunts with great success, but canned, I don't think so? I will also assure you that most everyone who did draw that once in a lifetime permit spent many more hours scouting, and preparing for their hunt, than if they had bought an OTC permit. More time, more scouting, and more preparation, to me means more SUCCESS. We all know the LE units have more bulls and bigger bulls, but wasn't that the idea behind the LE thing? I'm also sticking with ktc here!

WARBIRDUM · Oct 5, 2006

LAST EDITED ON Oct-05-06 AT 05:52PM (MST)[p]I have had some comments made also about the Arizona archery elk hunt.I have heard it all and one of them is the hardest part is just drawing the tag right?I tell them guys draw and go try it.It was a tough hunt. yes plenty of elk but getting on them was tough.
Same Goes with Utah and it does not matter what weapon you choose if you are going after the big ones try it just dont talk all this bullshit about how easy it has to be.I have guided and helped guys on great units in Utah and it can be tough,the scouting and preperation before the hunt.And losing big bulls you think you have pin-pointed but do not see that animal again during the season.As far as pressure dont think that you have the whole unit to yourself on any of the limited entry units they have more guys on these units that know there stuff than you can even imagine.
Its not that easy to even see a 370 plus, you still have to work your tail off and still get lucky to bring down a big one.
I am also with ktc on this one.....................

Shootwice · Oct 5, 2006

Dang, I'm off to the Gila next week and I thought it was going to be a walk in the park. I better start working out. I've never hunted elk inside a fence but I have to believe that thousands of acres fenced in would still challenge anyone out of shape unless we're talking about a friggin farm.

RIMROCK338 · Oct 5, 2006

The way I see it is on an LE hunt you can HUNT with out thousands of other hunters in the same area..Think about the whole picture not just the kill..so said one more with ktc :RIMROCK

Hooked_on_Coues · Oct 5, 2006

DItto, no need to be a dork.

South_slope · Oct 10, 2006

Wow, I just wanted to ask the question if anyone had seen a difference in the behavior. Could I have chosen my words better, yes I think we have all been accused of that. It is food for thought, and meant for conversation.

KTC, I did not mean to imply that it was unethical like ?shooting fish in a barrel?, or a ?girl hunt? as I believe you stated the late hunts were last year. I did not say the mountains are easier to hunt and the elk are easier to pack? Take a breath.

antlerrick · Oct 11, 2006

I think the difference in behavior between LE and open hunting units are that in the LE units, the elk are able to keep more of a normal routine, rather than heading for the dark timber with all the hunters around. Without every elk getting shot at, the animals will feed more often where they can be seen, versus going nocturnal and staying away from all activity.
I'm sure that if there were 100's of hunters on the LE units like there is in an open hunting area, the elk would go into the nocturnal/hiding mode..
They still are not anything like a tame animal, but less pressure does equal more animals seen more often..
But that is just MY opinion...

ktc · Oct 11, 2006

I never said fish in a barrel. I did say girlie hunt though. Look through the posts on MM. I think the girlies are out doing the guys. So I implied nothing other than if it gets tough the gilies are the ones to get after it. Go talk to bess about fish in a barrel.

So, was your Diamond Mountain hunt a disappointment or was it canned? If canned you should have had a better elk than a 3X4 tied to a tree. If it was a tough hunt quit the griping and be happy about your bull.

Would you like to argue more South Slowp?

AWHOLELOTTABULL · Oct 12, 2006

I just picked up on this thread so forgive me for being a late entry. I am here to tell you that there is a BIG misconception with regards to the LE areas in Utah being an easy hunt. I have talked to several people that think they are putting in for an easy hunt and are guaranteed a bull when they draw. I also talked to several people that used to think that way until they came away empty handed. I had my LE tag this year for archery but I didn't fill it. Yes I passed a couple of smaller bulls but I didn't draw that tag to shoot anything. proutdoors is right on the money with the difficulty of shooting a 370+ bull. For those of us who have put in countless hours and days "earning" the privelage for an opportunity at one of the big boys please don't insult our efforts by implying that you think it's easier. Elk are not stupid animals. The people that make it look easy are either lucky (1%) or have made an extremely time consuming effort to locate bulls. I spent a total of 31 days scouting and 19 straight days hunting and came away empty handed. By far one of the most physically and mentally demanding hunts I have ever been on. Let us know when you draw a tag. I think you will find that it will be a lot tougher than you think.

It's always an adventure!!!

duckslayer · Oct 13, 2006

In 2005 I drew a long awaited LE anyweapon Elk tag in Utah. I have hunted deer and spikes on the unit that I drew for five years so I cannot tell you the number days that I spent on the mountain in preperation for this hunt. Five years worth of elk and deer scouting trips. When the time came I knew where the elk would be and it still took me six days to get the bull I wanted. As far as pressure goes on these units, there are people pushing deer and elk around from the End of august all the way through the General season Elk hunt with out a break. 2006 Archery Elk started on August 24th and ended on the 15th of September, so what does that mean Spike hunters on the unit, not to mention that the Limited entry Archery Elk hut is at the same time. So you draw that Tag you have archery deer and elk hunters hunting at the same time you are. Blazing new trails with there 4 wheelers and calling up a storm at whatever they can. Also there bugling is hit and miss they bugle one day and the next day nothing. Then on September 16th Starts the Limited entry any weapon hunt which means 10 days of just the LE tags chasing Elk no deer hunters. The rut is still a little hit and miss for the first 3 to 4 days. This hunt ends on the September 26 then comes the LE muzzleloader hunters as well as the muzzleloader deer hunters. So there is no rest for these elk all the way through the end of the Late LE hunts.