It appears Utah will start managing some of their premium limited elk units for younger age class bulls to give more hunters opportunity to hunt elk. Each unit has a specific age class objective and I beieve they use tooth samples from harvested bulls to get each years data. In the past the premium units had objectives of 6 to 7 and it looks like the current objectives for these same units is 4 to 5.
Looking through previous year's average age of bulls harvested reports it currently appears most premium units produce bulls in the 6 to 7 year old range. Some of the units produce bulls in the 4 to 5 range that are managed for younger aged bulls. I have a feeling many of the units that are currently managed for 4 or 5 year old bulls have a majority of bulls peaking out at ~300-320 B&C? It appears this is the age class Utah will be managing for in the future?
It appears Utah will have a few new late season rifle tags as well as a few premium tags issued this coming season. Does anyone know whether these are in addition to the current tags that have been handed out in the past or will these tags be subtracted from them?
I was curious what you guys opinions are of this and if you think 380+ bulls are going to be just a memory from the past? Utah produces several state records this past year and seems to be at a peak for producing whopper bulls. I would also be curious if most of you would prefer to draw units more often and hunt 300 class bulls or wait 5 to 10 years and hunt units with 340 to 380 bulls?
Looking through previous year's average age of bulls harvested reports it currently appears most premium units produce bulls in the 6 to 7 year old range. Some of the units produce bulls in the 4 to 5 range that are managed for younger aged bulls. I have a feeling many of the units that are currently managed for 4 or 5 year old bulls have a majority of bulls peaking out at ~300-320 B&C? It appears this is the age class Utah will be managing for in the future?
It appears Utah will have a few new late season rifle tags as well as a few premium tags issued this coming season. Does anyone know whether these are in addition to the current tags that have been handed out in the past or will these tags be subtracted from them?
I was curious what you guys opinions are of this and if you think 380+ bulls are going to be just a memory from the past? Utah produces several state records this past year and seems to be at a peak for producing whopper bulls. I would also be curious if most of you would prefer to draw units more often and hunt 300 class bulls or wait 5 to 10 years and hunt units with 340 to 380 bulls?