Utah elk rifle hunt Outfitter recommendations

Some may have recalled I made a similar request before but now I have made my decision to try to get drawn for the 2020 Utah LE elk rifle season and need a recommendations on several great elk outfitters.

I will have 20 points by then and although I don't have unlimited funds I do have a considerable budget. I will be spending all of 2019and all of 2020 up to the hunt preparing for my hopefully successful draw for the 2020 or 21 if need be season.

I am open to a late rifle hunt on as good a unit as I can reasonably hope to get drawn for and would like recommendations on outfitters who specialize in late season elk rifle hunts.

I would like a recommendation on an outfitter that after discussing my goals and expectations with me, will consider all the particulars of my situation, be 100% honest with me on what I can reasonably expect and then be able to best recommend what unit and season to put in for.
I would be open to both a rifle or muzzleloader hunt. I watched as others I know attempted solo or two person 100% DIY hunts of Utah LE elk units after spending 18-20 years building points and one came home empty handed and the other although successful didn't achieve the success he has been dreaming of for years and years. What they both said that caught them off guard was the shear immensity of the units they hunted and the difficulty they had getting to the bulls they spotted.

I wish to reduce the chances of suffering similar results as best as I can by hiring as good a outfitter as I can afford.

Thanks,
Arthur/DJager.

There's not really one outfitter that is going to be the best in every unit.

Bookcliffs hands down the best outfitter is droptine. Brett and Josh are great guys and have guided on some monsters down there.

I hunted with High Top Outfitters in 2011 muzzleloader season . Worth talking to they have great guides and can piont you to a unit/hunt to apply for .www.hightopoutfitter.com

mossback

It?d be short list for me, either Wasatch or Manti premium with an outfitter that was willing to be flexible with days hunted, or a muzz tag on whatever unit is max at 20 points.

If you're a non resident, definitely gonna have different thoughts

https://www.facebook.com/strawberrybayoutfitters

Utah has so many different options of units to fit different styles. You'll hear a bunch of different suggestions from guys in different areas that have had good luck with a variety of outfitters. There are a few outfitters to avoid, but as a whole, Utah has some great guys in the business. You have many options, I would narrow down what you want out of the hunt. The terrain, the experience, the accommodations, the techniques. I've had hunters from a bunch of different backgrounds and skill levels. Some guys want to kill something and get home, some guys want the true experience of the hunt. Do you want to hunt back country or easier flatland close to roads? Do you enjoy hiking or see it as a necessary evil that is best to be limited? Do you want to be horseback? Whatever you want is fine, just be specific and any good outfitter will do their best to tailor a hunt to your desires. Best of luck in your decision, you should be in for a great experience.

Cody Webster
GT Outfitters
www.huntwithgtoutfitters.com

Thanks to all who have replied so far. I now realize I should have included in my original post I have four 100% DIY elk hunts under my belt and killed a bull every time.

Although I am no expert elk hunter, as a non resident I do know what it takes to be successful elk hunting in mountainous terrain in a unit I have never before set foot in as I have done it four times already.

But Utah is different than the states I've elk hunted previously in the shear size of the units are 2-3x larger than any I hunted before.

I also have come to learn and fully realize because I am a non resident, many of the most important factors that will have the most significant affect my on chances of success are out of my control and much more difficult to over come than if I were a resident who could spend time preseason scouting the unit for bulls.

Also I have changed employers since my last elk hunt. Previously I could easily get 3 weeks off from work to allow me 5 to 7 days of scouting time prior to the opening of the season, now the most I can get off will be two weeks and four days of that I will loose in the drive there and back. I also do not have at my disposal a quad and after my last elk trip I swore I would not go elk hunting again in a unit that allowed quads without one. And considering the shear size of the LE elk units in Utah not having a quad would be a serious handicap, ESPECIALLY for a hunter on his own.

For a non resident like me who has never before set foot in the state let alone the unit finding bulls let alone big ones almost always requires covering large if not huge amounts of ground and a lot of it is on trails often (based on my experiences hunting four previous LE elk units in 2 different states) difficult even on a quad and are impassable to even a 4x4 pickup. And God help you on those trails is you get some rain.

So I came to the grudging realization considering I will only hunt Utah elk once in my life if I want the best chances of killing the biggest bull elk of my life I had better hire a guide.

And that is where the experiences of the members here could prove invaluable to me in finding the best guide that will maximize my chances.

Once I have enough recommendations on guides I will begin calling and talking with them and hopefully make the best possible choice.

Your options are somewhat limited as a non-resident. When you say you want the best chance to kill the biggest bull you've ever killed...how big is that?

Anything over 350 gross. I care not about net.

>Anything over 350 gross. I care
>not about net.

Nets are for fish.

I would reach out to berrysblaster at Strawberry Bay Outfitters (who replied to this already) and talk to him about your goals and see if they can help you out on the Wasatch. That type of bull isn't in every drainage on the unit, they are possible. I don't know anyone having more consistent success there than that outfit.

Full disclosure: I don't know him and have never used them, but have always admired them from afar. They flat get it done on the Wasatch. But I can't give a personal reference.

There are better units in the state, but not ones you could realistically draw.

Thanks for the referral ?niller that's an expectation I can definitely have a conversation about. I'll send you a PM with my number jager!

https://www.facebook.com/strawberrybayoutfitters

Just keep sharing pictures of the awesome bulls you guys take and you'll always have a fan in me!

Seriously, you guys get it done. And from everything I've heard, you run a class operation. We need more peeps out there like that.

Berryblaster
You have killed some great bulls in units that most don't hunt for big bulls. So you must know those units pretty dang good.
The information you give out is top notch.


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