What should I expect?

[Fire_Hawk]

I drew the September Rifle LE Elk tag for the Pilot Mountain/091area on the Utah/Nevada border this fall. I am really excited.

I am making my second trip out to scout this weekend. First was in May and saw a lot of elk but they were just starting to grow antlers at that time. Some definitely had the fronts growing well, but not much past there.

Anyway, my question is, what should I expect for antler growth at this point? We have another 6 weeks or so of velvet until they get hard horned. Is there a lot of antler growth at this point or should I expect to see a lot of growth difference between now and August when I go back out again?

If any of you have some "secret" advice for me, I am all ears as well. Shoot me a PM if you would like.

Been applying for a LE Elk tag for 21 years and want to take a "good" one. Having only killed one small raghorn and a spike for bulls in the past, I don't want to kick myself for shooting a "smallish" bull because I was so freaking excited to shoot a decent 6 point. Not that I can really tell a difference in a 330 or 345 bull, I have a friend who killed a 345 a few years ago out there. It is a bull I would be totally happy with. He shared that there were a few other nicer bulls out there that year too, but that he had killed the biggest bull he found during the hunt.

Thank you for the help!

FH

 

[ElkManDan]

The biggest bulls are nearly done growing at this point, you should see about 95% of the growth is done on them. Smaller bulls start growing later and will have a little more growing to do. Here is a group of bulls from July 2nd last year that we found. I shot the 2nd largest one during archery season.

 

[yoteduster]

I have to agree with elkman from what I've been seeing most of the mature bulls are pretty well done with antler growth anyway that's here in eastern utah

 

[2lumpy]

I have to agree with elkman from what I've been seeing most of the mature bulls are pretty well done with antler growth anyway that's here in eastern utah

Took a look around South Central Utah last week. The mature bulls I saw were very close to finished and looked like they’d had a relatively normal growth year.

 

[Fire_Hawk]

This is most excellent information. Thank you very much. Can't wait to see what I see tomorrow evening and Saturday. I imagine with this heat, they will stay bedded late and go to bed early in the morning. But I am excited to see what I can see.

 

[Fire_Hawk]

The biggest bulls are nearly done growing at this point, you should see about 95% of the growth is done on them. Smaller bulls start growing later and will have a little more growing to do. Here is a group of bulls from July 2nd last year that we found. I shot the 2nd largest one during archery season.View attachment 45618

Congrats on a great bull! And thank you for your help with this. Truly grateful.

 

[Servehim]

Make memories, enjoy your time in the pursuit enjoy the special time with family and friends. Definitely pursue those big boys but don't make that the source of your joy in the woods .

 

[buckhorn]

This is most excellent information. Thank you very much. Can't wait to see what I see tomorrow evening and Saturday. I imagine with this heat, they will stay bedded late and go to bed early in the morning. But I am excited to see what I can see.

I sent you a PM