SEASON DATE CHANGE

I was a avid rifle hunter for 23 years I've killed a lot of elk over the years I've actually killed more elk than I've been hunting from bulls to cows and it's pretty easy doing so with a rifle and my point is we can shoot any where from 10 yards out to 300 to 800 yards at these animals I switched over last year to bow hunting I knew it was going to be more of a challenge that's why I did it I drew a LE Archery elk tag out in the BOOK CLIFFS last year I seen a grip load of elk out there but the rut didn't take off till the last three days of the hunt and the rifle hunters showed up on Tuesday of the last week of my hunt they where screwing me up they where out cow calling driving around all over the place and some where walking into the area that I was hunting and they knew I was in there That said they have just as much right to be there as I did but I would never walk in on someone else I could of killed one but as a avid hunter I was going for size I was in a LE unit and should of came out of there with a 330 bull I did miss a good bull the very last day of the hunt we called him in from the other side of the canyon I don't have any complaints of my hunt other than it stop way to soon just when it was getting good I could only imagine if I drew it the year before it ended on the 11 of September yeah the 11 that's total BS so this is what I got. ARCHEY needs to start at the 1 of September end on the 22 of September every year. MUZZLELOADER then needs to start the weekend after the archery hunt is over and go for 9 days. RIFLE hunt starts the weekend after the muzzleloader hunt is over and it goes for 9 days they have it way to easy they can shoot a hell of a lot further and they do not need the rut like ARCHERY HUNTERS do and MUZZY HUNTERS do I know this because I was a rifle hunter for years. I know it wont change but if it works great in the other states like Montana Colorado Arizona New Mexico it can work here (I know it's about the money that's all it ever is)

Ok I'll chime in, I can't disagree with anything you've said, but remember the big $ auction tags want there rut rifle tag. My beef is on General season archery elk, that should run the whole month. They have extra cow tags during the gen rifle hunt so I know it's not about saving the herd.

This topic has been absolutely beat to death for years. It'll never change. Ever. There's too much money in it for the state and private orgs that pimp out our wildlife, to not have a rifle hunt during the rut. It's as simple as it gets.

As for the archery hunt being harder when the elk aren't rutting? That's left up for debate. Elk are pretty easy to kill with a bow. Some tactics work better than others at different times of the year, but by no means are elk impossible to kill. You don't need a bull to be screaming to kill him. You don't need him to come to your call to kill him. Big bulls are shot every year by bowhunters. From the first day all the way to the last during the archery hunt. The biggest problem most bowhunters have with elk, is they make it harder than it needs to be.

For Utah I have always watched the dates for the LE hunts and before I drew my archery elk tag there were years I put in for the any weapon impossible to draw because of the date. The year I drew had good dates for archery hunt but ended up not needing it. I took my bull with the bow over Labor Day weekend while the elk were in a rutfest. Called him into 19 yards so it just really depends on the hunt and elk. I don't like the early dates but that is what it is for Utah.

Archery is a blast and yes much more challenging but hunting with a smokepole has it challenges also. Good luck in the future- once you get that monster bull with a bow it will be a Mount Everest of an experience then do it again speaking from experience.

This debate keeps coming up because the dates should be pushed back, no question about it. For multiple reasons. Everyone knows it, including the DWR. Will it change, most likely not, but it should, Nobody said elk are impossible to kill with a bow when they aren't in the rut. Saying guys make it harder than it needs to be is a pretty arrogant thing to say.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-04-17 AT 03:15PM (MST)[p]Big bulls in the rut are harder to kill than big mule deer in the rut with a bow in my experiences and in my neck of the woods that's my two cents why because they don't quit moving and they always seem to get there senses together at the last second. I killed a bull a couple weeks ago with my bow a raghorn and we had a big bull and another tagto fill. My buddy was stalking while we were calling for him and the bull was right in front of us behind a big pine tree Screaming his head off. We couldn't go look at my bull yet because we would have given the big boy the wind. We sat there for 45 min. while my buddy tried and tried to get in on him. I asked him what happened and he said he kept tree limbs between us the whole time and wouldn't stop. He had him inside 40 yds the whole time. If my buddy would have stayed put where he originally was to the right of me he would have got a shot when the bull cut down across from us. But I would have done the same thing as him slip in while we keep him talking. That's hunting and we live to hunt another day for a bull for my buddy. I love hunting elk alot more than deer but it sure is fun to chase muleys as well. I hate the Archery dates in utah, NV. does there rifle hunt right and utah should follow suit on that structure but as we all know and listed above it won't change the DNR has who they want in their bed.

How much does it really bring in is there a sight you can look at deerlove

Just follow the $ and the "conservation" tags. They sell hundreds. Ut sells more that all the western states combined.

That was on track to be the longest sentence ever.
http://www.monstermuleys.info/dcforum/User_files/4abc76ff29b26fc1.jpg

>As for the archery hunt being
>harder when the elk aren't
>rutting? That's left up for
>debate. Elk are pretty easy
>to kill with a bow.

>The biggest problem most bowhunters
>have with elk, is they make it harder
>than it needs to be.


Wow. I'm not sure whether to mock you, or worship the ground you walk on hoping for any tidbit of advice from a hunting-god. I've only hunted the elk rut with archery two times, and I found it far easier than pre or post rut. This year I knocked the arrow >10 times in the last three days, and once in the prior 19 days of the season (hunted all but 5 days). In my limited experience, there is no comparison in the ease and frequency of encounters on UT LE archery during the rut as compared to pre-rut.



>by no
>means are elk impossible to
>kill. You don't need a
>bull to be screaming to
>kill him. You don't need
>him to come to your
>call to kill him. Big
>bulls are shot every year
>by bowhunters.

The OP didn't make any assertion about bulls being "impossible", or that no large ones are shot pre-rut. That has nothing to do with the fact that the dates absolutely should be shifted. Bulls don't have to be at the very peak of their vocal phase for centerfire rifle hunters to have near 100% success rates.

LAST EDITED ON Oct-10-17 AT 08:40PM (MST)[p]>That was on track to be
>the longest sentence ever.



Yep

Burned my points on and archery LE tag on 2013. Didn't get the bulls bugling until the last week. Once they did it was pretty quick on pulling in a shooter. That being said I agree that I would like to see the hunt to longer into the rut. I really like NM set up were they had 1st, 2nd and 3rd archery hunts through Sept. More archery tags, spread across the rut and move the rifle tags into Oct and Nov. More opportunity while maintaining quality...it's a win across the board.

But.....before you lay blame and make assumptions I will say this. I know for a fact a few years ago the DWR asked about adjusting the archery hunts. It was the archery clubs that asked for it to stay where it was. Their logic was they wanted to keep it aligned with the archery deer hunt. Some things are not always as they seem!

LAST EDITED ON Oct-12-17 AT 11:14AM (MST)[p]Fair enough good valid dates, theres no excuse that the archery seasons should be longer on gen season elk.