darter,
Below is a message that I posted after my trip home from the Big Horns this fall. To sum it up: there is a good number of elk, an un-believable number of people, not just elk hunters, all types of recreationists, none the less, I think that if a guy scouts hard, hunts hard, and has the mind set going into this unit that you are going to run into people everywhere, and I mean everywhere, you can harvest a decent bull in this unit if you put the time in. I am not trying to sound pessimistic or trying to scare you away, but there was a ton of people in the Big Horns this year. I am going to keep going out every year until I draw an archer tag for untit 38, because I already have scouting time invested in that unit.
"I was just in the Bighorns hunting Mule Deer and scouting for an Elk tag that I am hoping to draw next year. I saw lots of Elk. I actually saw 7 different bulls in one draw during two days of hunting. I would have been happy to tag all 7 of the bulls with my bow. I actually watched 4 bulls fight over a herd of cows for an hour and a half. Watching those bulls fight for an hour and half, is something that I will not forget for a long time to come. As far as the buling, I can only confirm hearing two real bugles, because I watched the bulls bugle, there was a lot of people running around blowing on Elk calls, so it is hard to say what was authentic and what wasn't. There are lots of people, but my personal experience was good enough that I think I will still try to burn my points up in the Bighorns. I think there is still plenty of Elk to go around."
Good Luck,
brookhunter