Anyone hunted Dutton before?
- Thread starter schmalts
- Start date
I would not get too excited about drawing one of the guaranteed tags since there is only 1 each for the 2 hunts you mentioned. There are 338 nonresidents with the same or more points.
I planned my fall around a tag once thinking I was nearly a shoe-in (I now have 11 points). The DOW dropped the tag numbers for the unit I applied so that there was only 1 NR tag that year; thus no guaranteed tag.
Anyway; apply, dream, but don't bet on it.
I planned my fall around a tag once thinking I was nearly a shoe-in (I now have 11 points). The DOW dropped the tag numbers for the unit I applied so that there was only 1 NR tag that year; thus no guaranteed tag.
Anyway; apply, dream, but don't bet on it.
PleaseDear
Long Time Member
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- 10,433
Plus with all the magazine coverage this month, the odds are bound to sky rocket for both res. and non-res....... (Huntin Fool and Eastmans Bowhunting, no doubt there will be some johnie come late mags. with articles in them too)
LAST EDITED ON Jan-09-05 AT 06:50AM (MST)[p] thanks for the input... but last year archery no one with more than 6 points applied for the unit archery, and no one with more than 8 applied for any weapon. I know its not a shoe in but the odds are damn good with 9 points and there will be bonus permits this year.. thanks for your input. Just a matter if i am willing to drop 9 pts on an archery only hunt... hmmmm yes i am. I am actually thinking about a guide service for this hunt since i will have so many years invested in the hunt and will be alone in an area i never been to.
With all the publicity those units are getting and the fairly good draw odds this past year you can bet there will be a lot of guys switching choices! From what I've heard, top-end bull quality in some of the other more reknown trophy units hasn't been as high as years past so some guys may also switch due to that as well. I've thought of the same thing and I guess only time will tell.
E
elk_horn
Guest
You do not need a guid service for an archery hunt on Dutton...if you draw take ten days and go... you will have plenty of chances if you hunt hard.
4
400Bull03
Guest
I hunted in 2003. Killed a 406 bull. Great unit, plenty of elk. I wouldn't get to excited about the "Any Weapon" tag with 9 points. You might look at archery or muzzleloader. My tag was muzzleloader and I had 11 points. Good luck.
W
WARBIRDUM
Guest
The hard part is trying to figure out how many tags they will be giving out in 2005 for archery,rifle,muzzleloader and late rifle hunts. It can change quite alot on tag numbers from year to year on any given unit. I think the odds wont even be close to what what they were in 2004 for the archery hunts.Who knows if everyone puts in for what looks good from 2004 it just might open up some better odds for the rifle or muzzleoader hunts.Just remember the nice bulls you see in kill photos from 2004 wont help you get a nice bull in 2005 they are no longer around. How many tags do they give and you only see a few real nice trophy class bulls harvested with archery equipment from all Utahs units now see how many get them with rifles and muzzleloaders. Look at the harvest data before you throw points away on which weapon you choose. Elk hunting in Utah is really a once in a lifetime hunt.
It's too bad Utah doesn't have tag numbers available prior to the draw so all of us weren't left guessing! I'm aware their quotas are based on tooth age class, herd numbers, etc so we all have to wait until all the data is compiled.
From what I've heard 25% of the total LE tags go to archery, 20 to late rifle, 40 to regular rifle, and 15% to muzzy. According to my calculations, "IF" the number of bull elk tags remained the same in 2005 compared to 2004 the archery and muzzy tag numbers would remain the same; however, tags would be taken away from the regular early rifle season and these tags would go to the late rifle season. There are also premium rifle tags that are only offered in 2 nonres units.
It takes an increase of approximately 10 resident tags in any given unit (or season) for nonresidents to gain 1 additional tag. Your guess is as good as mine if this will happen?
From what I've heard 25% of the total LE tags go to archery, 20 to late rifle, 40 to regular rifle, and 15% to muzzy. According to my calculations, "IF" the number of bull elk tags remained the same in 2005 compared to 2004 the archery and muzzy tag numbers would remain the same; however, tags would be taken away from the regular early rifle season and these tags would go to the late rifle season. There are also premium rifle tags that are only offered in 2 nonres units.
It takes an increase of approximately 10 resident tags in any given unit (or season) for nonresidents to gain 1 additional tag. Your guess is as good as mine if this will happen?
LAST EDITED ON Jan-09-05 AT 11:47AM (MST)[p]>I hunted in 2003. Killed
>a 406 bull. Great
>unit, plenty of elk.
>I wouldn't get to excited
>about the "Any Weapon" tag
>with 9 points. You
>might look at archery or
>muzzleloader. My tag was
>muzzleloader and I had 11
>points. Good luck.
You must be a resident? yea the residents have a lot of different odds games to play and so do the nonres guys. its a crap shoot with everything but I need to narrow my choices. Keep in mind 9pts for a nonresident is a lot more like 11 for a resident in a lot of units. The residents have a lot more higher point holders but also have a lot more tags to give out.
>a 406 bull. Great
>unit, plenty of elk.
>I wouldn't get to excited
>about the "Any Weapon" tag
>with 9 points. You
>might look at archery or
>muzzleloader. My tag was
>muzzleloader and I had 11
>points. Good luck.
You must be a resident? yea the residents have a lot of different odds games to play and so do the nonres guys. its a crap shoot with everything but I need to narrow my choices. Keep in mind 9pts for a nonresident is a lot more like 11 for a resident in a lot of units. The residents have a lot more higher point holders but also have a lot more tags to give out.
What most people applying for the Dutton don't realize is how rugged and remote the majority of the unit is. There are very few roads and horses are a must 80% of the time to get an elk out unless you want to make several very long and heavy trips with it on a packframe. With that said, it is a great unit for elk, but the top 2-3 bulls killed there each year are not any different than the top 2-3 bulls off of every other unit in Southern Utah. Nearly every unit in the south is capable of producing a couple 380+ bulls every year,with a real slammer or two killed each year on every unit. The Dutton just has more permits and so the drawing odds are better. Also keep in mind, with some of the rifle permits being moved to November, there will be fewer early rifle permits and probably only 3 (10%)non-resident early tags instead of 5 in 2004.
>.
> The Dutton just has
>more permits and so the
>drawing odds are better.
>Also keep in mind, with
>some of the rifle permits
>being moved to November, there
>will be fewer early rifle
>permits and probably only 3
>(10%)non-resident early tags instead of
>5 in 2004.
The lack of permits will not be from the late season hunt for the nonresidents, it will be from the retards at SFW stealing them and giving them to the rich at that dumn convention, thanks Don......
> The Dutton just has
>more permits and so the
>drawing odds are better.
>Also keep in mind, with
>some of the rifle permits
>being moved to November, there
>will be fewer early rifle
>permits and probably only 3
>(10%)non-resident early tags instead of
>5 in 2004.
The lack of permits will not be from the late season hunt for the nonresidents, it will be from the retards at SFW stealing them and giving them to the rich at that dumn convention, thanks Don......
fin little
Active Member
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- 764
My little brother had one of the two nonresident archery tags last fall. Like bugle said its steep and mostly roadless. I talked to a guy scouting for the rifle hunt who was really familiar with the unit and was planning on using horses. He admitted that there was a couple of drainages he couldnt even get a horse into. There are areas that can be hunted afoot. were not cowboys and we arnt hardcore bivy in the back country type hunters . We found alot of bulls in the 320 to 360 class. If little brother would have put one down it would have been a reasonable pack out. No more than a couple of miles. I think the unit produces monsters with a relative high number of permits due to its steep nasty terrain.
N
NTHERUT
Guest
Bugle hit the nail right on the head. The Dutton does produce a couple of good bulls but so does every other unit. San Juan, Beaver, Pahvant, SW Desert, Boulder, Manti and Deep Creek all produce 400" bulls every year. As a non-resident you can't go wrong with any of those tags.
Please don't think that all of these units have 380+ bulls running all over. They are few and far between and all I can say is that if you draw one of these tags, don't waste it because you have a chance to shoot a toad. Either spend a lot of days scouting or hire an outfitter.
The Dutton terrain is steep and rugged and it took me and my buddy 18 hours to pack my bull out.
I can only speak for the Dutton but the arechery hunters were only 38% successful. So if you have never archery hunted elk before then I suggest you stick with rifle or muzzle.
Just my 2 cents...
Please don't think that all of these units have 380+ bulls running all over. They are few and far between and all I can say is that if you draw one of these tags, don't waste it because you have a chance to shoot a toad. Either spend a lot of days scouting or hire an outfitter.
The Dutton terrain is steep and rugged and it took me and my buddy 18 hours to pack my bull out.
I can only speak for the Dutton but the arechery hunters were only 38% successful. So if you have never archery hunted elk before then I suggest you stick with rifle or muzzle.
Just my 2 cents...
S
Silentstalker_work
Guest
LAST EDITED ON Jan-10-05 AT 08:55AM (MST)[p]My good friend had a dutton tag last year (Archery) and he did not tag out. He held out for a toad or nothing. He said it was a great hunt but very rugged. Good luck to you in what ever unit you apply. The advice above is good. Every unit is good enough to produce these caliber of bulls. It is a whole other story getting an arrow into one of them. I had a Manti archery tag last year and hunted HARD. We had countless opportunities at 320 class bulls. Several opportunities at 340 bulls and 3 opportunities at true monsters. The biggest bull of all we guessed at 380+ and we called him into 15 yards. NO SHOT. It all came together sooner than we wanted and we blew it. It is the hunt of a lifetime so enjoy it. My only advice is go with an area you know the best. Knowledge of an area is 3/4 of the hunt.
Chad
Chad
Unfortunatly i dont know any of the units. UT is one of the few states i have no contacts in except for the guys here. maybe if i draw a tag i will get enough info or even someone bored enough who wants to spike out for a while with me. probably wont happen since most guys i know wont spike out like i do. I like to get a few miles of the beaten path and get away from any other hunters.
C
camandahalf
Guest
schmalts... Shot a 360 P & Y bull on Dutton in 02 on an AR301 tag. Shot him on the sixth night of the hunt. Got to see a lot of the country in those six days.Don't have a whole lot of points for this year, and probably won't draw. E-mail me, and I will be glad to tell you what I know. Marty
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