a little help

grenhdkilr · Feb 5, 2014

I hunt here in Colorado looking to expand my elk season. I wanna start collecting bonus points in Utah so I can draw a tag in a few years. My question is here in Colorado we have a over the counter tag that does not require you to draw you can just buy it and hunt. Does utah have this type license? And if they do are the areas worth the time and money to actually hunt. Thanks for any help.

travishunter3006 · Feb 5, 2014

Utah has general over the counter elk seasons that you can hunt.

The hunt is one of the worst hunts unless you know where the elk are and get lucky enough that the thousands of other guys hunting the same mountain font find it.

littlebighorn · Feb 6, 2014

grenhd,
Collecting pts in Utah "for a few years" will still not get you much in the way of a good elk tag. Most people are now waiting 15 years or so, unless you want to archery hunt. You can get an elk tag every year, but you may be limited to hunting spikes or a cow.
My point is, if you want a real quality Utah elk hunt, you need to plan on getting in a very long line. 50% of the tags go to random point holders, but the guaranteed tags are realistically decades away.

grenhdkilr · Feb 6, 2014

Thanks guys I do archery hunt I'm not looking for a tag to kill a 400" bull just a way to pull off another elk hunt with the chance of a decent bull.

Sherlock · Feb 6, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Feb-06-14 AT 09:48PM (MST)[p]In that case, you might want to look at New Mexico or Idaho. No point system, and the easy to draw units will likely be better than any general elk area you can do in Utah.

If you really want to extend your season, consider hunting those other states, and then hunt the extended archery in Utah. Goes clear til mid-December. Can be a tough hunt, too. Will put more hair on your willy.

Between Colorado, other state, and Utah extended, you could be having a non-stop 4 month long season. Is that enough archery elk hunting for you?

BTW, you really ought to believe the guys that tell you how hard it is for even Utah locals to find any area in the general archery units that are reasonably accessible and hold decent elk numbers. For those that have areas like that, good luck getting them to give it up.

grenhdkilr · Feb 7, 2014

Thanks sherlock I will look into all that you have mentioned I have new Mexico on the list but haven't looked into it yet I didn't know they had no point system thanks for the info.

goofyelk · Feb 7, 2014

Utah has the poorest archery elk oppertunity of any western
state. Just look at the bow hunt dates for 2014,
General and LE archery --Aug. 16 to Sept. 12
General spike/cow -- Aug. 16 to Sept. 5

That pretty much tells the story.

Zeke · Feb 7, 2014

That's true goofy. On the flip side, Utah has the best rifle elk dates for their LE tags.
I guess you can't please everybody all the time.

BTW: I wish the F&G would make the bow dates more user-friendly also. The rifle hunters don't need all the advantages and could still have a great hunt. (don't let coyote_chaser see me post this)

Zeke

grenhdkilr · Feb 7, 2014

We have great dates for archery elk here Aug 30 to September 29th. Are the deer tags just as jacked up as the elk in Utah or can a guy actually pull a good hunt in the general areas?

Zeke · Feb 7, 2014

General deer hunting can be excellent but remember that there's still plenty of pressure around the roads.

There are trophy deer in every unit but killing one is not an easy task.

Even though mule deer numbers are way down, so are the deer hunters in Utah. Sometimes it doesn't feel that way though.

Yes, general deer is a much better prospect than general elk if you're looking for a bit more trophy quality. IMHO

Zeke

grenhdkilr · Feb 7, 2014

Thanks zeke maybe a deer hunt Is in order. I pack in so I'm not one you'll find hunting near any roads.

grenhdkilr · Feb 7, 2014

I was told that all deer in Utah was a draw only license is there an actual over the counter license for deer?

Zeke · Feb 7, 2014

LAST EDITED ON Feb-07-14 AT 12:52PM (MST)[p]You've been told correctly.
Even the general season/general units are set up on a drawing with preference points and everything.
Again, check the F&G Web site for odds. It will probably take a point or two to get drawn. Some are in more demand than others, as you'd expect.
Zeke

ElkManDan · Feb 11, 2014

No general archery deer tag in Utah will likely compare to a 2nd choice draw high country archery tag in Colorado and there is no general elk area in Utah that comes close to the OTC elk areas that can be hunted in Colorado.
The Utah draw tags are much better than colorado but will take you longer to draw. For a Non resident to draw a good archery tag in the bonus round it takes 8-10 points and you don't even want to know what it takes for a NR to draw a premium archery tag. All odds can be found here [http://www.neverstophunting.com/DrawOdds2013/elk_nr.php]

Honestly if you don't want to build points for the long haul, I would look into drawing a Wyoming tag. A NR general tag can be drawn with 1 point typically and gives you the freedom to hunt a ton of different areas throughout the state with a bow and if you don't fill your tag then hunt later with a rifle on the same tag.