PAhunter
Well-known member
I've been around this board a long time but don't get to hunt the West enough to contribute often. But that hasn't kept me from lurking and reading and learning for years. Many thanks to Randy (and Moosie before that) for the years of education I've acquired through this site, not to mention the endless hours of entertainment that many of you here have provided.
I drew a Utah limited entry early rifle bull tag this year with my 19th application. Living so far from Utah and only having visited it once prior, I have depended heavily on the www for my research and scouting. I have hunted elk twice with over the counter tags, in Colorado in about 1998, and in Idaho in the early 2000s. On both of those hunts I struggled to see an elk, much less get an opportunity to harvest one. This spring when I applied, I got to thinking and realized that I have a second cousin who has lived in Utah a decade or so now. I knew that his dad did some hunting so I contacted him just to see if he had any knowledge of the unit where I was applying. Turns out he's been getting into archery elk hunting (general tags) and had actually done a late cow hunt or two on part of the unit. When I ended up drawing the tag, he said he wanted to join me as much as possible, as he has some points and may want to apply for a tag himself on the unit in the near future. He hadn't hunted the limited entry hunts, but his experience bowhunting elk was a welcome addition to my limited knowledge base.
In July I drove to Utah with two of my kids for a quick (only 2 full days in the mountains) scouting trip. My cousin joined us for those two days. We mostly drove and glassed, learning access points, road conditions, getting a feel for the different options of terrain and cover within the unit, etc. We did hike up to one basin that we thought could be good based on our e-scouting. We saw some elk sign on that hike, but didn't actually see elk there. We did see one herd of two dozen cows/calves in another area, and caught a quick look at a young bull while driving in another spot. Being able to take my kids along was awesome, and we made some great memories with cousin Ken (whom neither of them had ever met before). I also ended up hunting the basin that we visited on that hike.
My goal going into this hunt was a nice 6 point. I am not well versed in elk scoring, but looking at everything I could find online, I felt like a 300" bull would look pretty big to me, and I made that my target. However I knew that if I got 3-4 days into the hunt and wasn't finding bulls, that standard would come down quite a bit, especially since I had never taken any elk.
By the way, if you think that you recognize the area, have figured out where I was hunting, etc, please don't ask. I absolutely love the planning, the research, the 'nervousness' of "am I picking the right spot(s)??", and the satisfaction of figuring things out for myself. Therefore I am ornery enough to not steal that same pleasure from you all by just telling you the details of where I went.
No rudeness intended; just the way I choose to be.
Living below 1500' and holding down an office job, I knew I needed some serious exercise. My (football) knees do not appreciate when I run much, so lots of walking and climbing with weight in the pack was in order. I lost about 20# in preparation for the hunt, and managed to do so without hurting myself, lol.
After more time scouring everything online I could find, I had several areas I wanted to check out when we arrived in September. My brother, my cousin from PA, and I reached the unit with nearly two full days to scout. As we drove into the backcountry, we found large flocks of sheep still grazing in my plan C or D area, so we crossed that off the list immediately. We set up camp in my plan A area, at 10,000 feet. We truck camped, then hiked into roadless area for the hunt.
That first afternoon we hiked in we found 11 cows with a big 6 point herd bull, along with a couple of satellite bulls. We heard one or two other bulls that evening that we didn't see. The next day we saw the herd bull again, but an archery hunter whose hunt ended that day was making a stalk on him. We watched from across the canyon as that attempt ultimately ended in failure when the cows winded the hunter, and the herd moved out. We did find the bull that evening in the next drainage, but strangely (to us at least) he had no cows then. He did have a very distinct growling bugle, so we could recognize him easily when he was vocal.
Ken arrived in camp late the evening before season. In the wee hours of opening morning, at least two bulls were bugling close enough to camp that they awakened us. We were up early opening morning and as we hiked in we were interrupted by bugling bulls. We could see a couple of them by moonlight across the canyon. We ultimately worked our way back in (~3 miles) to where the herd bull had been the night before. We didn't hear him, but heard a couple of other bulls.
We worked in on those we heard, and eventually ended up getting to 120 yards on a big 5x6 with two cows. I decided to pass, given the size of the herd bull that we felt was still close by. The rest of the day passed without sight or sound of the herd bull, but in the evening bulls were bugling and we saw several more, including a pretty good six point.
The second day of season the forecast was for great weather again, with possible rain in the forecast for the following several days. As we hiked in we weren't hearing bugles, but finally got a response down in a hole. About that time my brother spotted a couple of cows in the basin opposite where we'd heard the bull bugle. We moved a few hundred yards to a better vantage point and I spotted a pretty good bull going to the cows. Then another bull stepped out several hundred yards below the first, and challenged the bull above him. They didn't get together so maybe they had already sorted things out during the night, but glassing the lower bull I saw long fronts, and he had a wide frame. I wasn't seeing a sixth point on his one side, but one of my partners thought he saw six on both. I decided to go after him when he retreated into a small patch of heavy cover and didn't seem to come out.
We stalked in across the canyon from him, bugling a couple of times when we were getting close. He didn't answer, but finally stepped out at 300 yards, looking down across the canyon towards us. He raked the ground with his antlers and bugled. I got set up, then recognized him as the bull I passed on the day before. I had more time to look this time, and he looked pretty good to me. Since we hadn't heard from or seen the bigger bull for a day and a half, I wasn't sure if he was even still alive. I decided to shoot if the opportunity presented itself. I had some light limbs in the way, so I waited. The bull finally moved ahead into some cover. Some minutes passed, then my brother spotted the bull much further left than where I was looking, crossing a small meadow. I scrambled to get situated at the new angle, my cousin called out the range - 360 yards - then barked and the bull stopped nearly broadside.
My first shot was true, but the bull stayed on his feet and began to retreat so I kept shooting. He was on the move and the second shot missed him clean, then the third hit him too far back. I managed one more shot before he would disappear, and that one dropped him. He barrel-rolled a few times down the steep slope and came to rest in a place where we had to prop him with sticks and keep a hand on him while breaking him down to keep him from toppling and rolling down to the bottom of the deep canyon.
As I walked up on the bull, he just got bigger. I probably should not have passed on this bull, even on day 1. He has really great fronts and heavy mass all the way along the beams. I wanted a big bull, but hadn't dared to hope for one this big.
The packout was kind of brutal at 3+ miles, some of which involved steep climbs. Thank heaven for good buds with strong backs and positive attitudes.
Going into this hunt I knew full well that it would likely be once in a lifetime for me. I'll be 45 next month and given the five year wait before I can apply again, the only way I'll draw another Utah LE bull tag again in my lifetime is by beating those lottery-like odds. But the hunt lived up to my dreams in every way. Even as we packed out the last loads at 11 am the following day, multiple bulls were screaming at us. For me it was truly an experience of a lifetime. Getting to share it with my brother and cousins made it that much better.
I drew a Utah limited entry early rifle bull tag this year with my 19th application. Living so far from Utah and only having visited it once prior, I have depended heavily on the www for my research and scouting. I have hunted elk twice with over the counter tags, in Colorado in about 1998, and in Idaho in the early 2000s. On both of those hunts I struggled to see an elk, much less get an opportunity to harvest one. This spring when I applied, I got to thinking and realized that I have a second cousin who has lived in Utah a decade or so now. I knew that his dad did some hunting so I contacted him just to see if he had any knowledge of the unit where I was applying. Turns out he's been getting into archery elk hunting (general tags) and had actually done a late cow hunt or two on part of the unit. When I ended up drawing the tag, he said he wanted to join me as much as possible, as he has some points and may want to apply for a tag himself on the unit in the near future. He hadn't hunted the limited entry hunts, but his experience bowhunting elk was a welcome addition to my limited knowledge base.
In July I drove to Utah with two of my kids for a quick (only 2 full days in the mountains) scouting trip. My cousin joined us for those two days. We mostly drove and glassed, learning access points, road conditions, getting a feel for the different options of terrain and cover within the unit, etc. We did hike up to one basin that we thought could be good based on our e-scouting. We saw some elk sign on that hike, but didn't actually see elk there. We did see one herd of two dozen cows/calves in another area, and caught a quick look at a young bull while driving in another spot. Being able to take my kids along was awesome, and we made some great memories with cousin Ken (whom neither of them had ever met before). I also ended up hunting the basin that we visited on that hike.
My goal going into this hunt was a nice 6 point. I am not well versed in elk scoring, but looking at everything I could find online, I felt like a 300" bull would look pretty big to me, and I made that my target. However I knew that if I got 3-4 days into the hunt and wasn't finding bulls, that standard would come down quite a bit, especially since I had never taken any elk.
By the way, if you think that you recognize the area, have figured out where I was hunting, etc, please don't ask. I absolutely love the planning, the research, the 'nervousness' of "am I picking the right spot(s)??", and the satisfaction of figuring things out for myself. Therefore I am ornery enough to not steal that same pleasure from you all by just telling you the details of where I went.
No rudeness intended; just the way I choose to be.Living below 1500' and holding down an office job, I knew I needed some serious exercise. My (football) knees do not appreciate when I run much, so lots of walking and climbing with weight in the pack was in order. I lost about 20# in preparation for the hunt, and managed to do so without hurting myself, lol.
After more time scouring everything online I could find, I had several areas I wanted to check out when we arrived in September. My brother, my cousin from PA, and I reached the unit with nearly two full days to scout. As we drove into the backcountry, we found large flocks of sheep still grazing in my plan C or D area, so we crossed that off the list immediately. We set up camp in my plan A area, at 10,000 feet. We truck camped, then hiked into roadless area for the hunt.
That first afternoon we hiked in we found 11 cows with a big 6 point herd bull, along with a couple of satellite bulls. We heard one or two other bulls that evening that we didn't see. The next day we saw the herd bull again, but an archery hunter whose hunt ended that day was making a stalk on him. We watched from across the canyon as that attempt ultimately ended in failure when the cows winded the hunter, and the herd moved out. We did find the bull that evening in the next drainage, but strangely (to us at least) he had no cows then. He did have a very distinct growling bugle, so we could recognize him easily when he was vocal.
Ken arrived in camp late the evening before season. In the wee hours of opening morning, at least two bulls were bugling close enough to camp that they awakened us. We were up early opening morning and as we hiked in we were interrupted by bugling bulls. We could see a couple of them by moonlight across the canyon. We ultimately worked our way back in (~3 miles) to where the herd bull had been the night before. We didn't hear him, but heard a couple of other bulls.
We worked in on those we heard, and eventually ended up getting to 120 yards on a big 5x6 with two cows. I decided to pass, given the size of the herd bull that we felt was still close by. The rest of the day passed without sight or sound of the herd bull, but in the evening bulls were bugling and we saw several more, including a pretty good six point.
The second day of season the forecast was for great weather again, with possible rain in the forecast for the following several days. As we hiked in we weren't hearing bugles, but finally got a response down in a hole. About that time my brother spotted a couple of cows in the basin opposite where we'd heard the bull bugle. We moved a few hundred yards to a better vantage point and I spotted a pretty good bull going to the cows. Then another bull stepped out several hundred yards below the first, and challenged the bull above him. They didn't get together so maybe they had already sorted things out during the night, but glassing the lower bull I saw long fronts, and he had a wide frame. I wasn't seeing a sixth point on his one side, but one of my partners thought he saw six on both. I decided to go after him when he retreated into a small patch of heavy cover and didn't seem to come out.
We stalked in across the canyon from him, bugling a couple of times when we were getting close. He didn't answer, but finally stepped out at 300 yards, looking down across the canyon towards us. He raked the ground with his antlers and bugled. I got set up, then recognized him as the bull I passed on the day before. I had more time to look this time, and he looked pretty good to me. Since we hadn't heard from or seen the bigger bull for a day and a half, I wasn't sure if he was even still alive. I decided to shoot if the opportunity presented itself. I had some light limbs in the way, so I waited. The bull finally moved ahead into some cover. Some minutes passed, then my brother spotted the bull much further left than where I was looking, crossing a small meadow. I scrambled to get situated at the new angle, my cousin called out the range - 360 yards - then barked and the bull stopped nearly broadside.
My first shot was true, but the bull stayed on his feet and began to retreat so I kept shooting. He was on the move and the second shot missed him clean, then the third hit him too far back. I managed one more shot before he would disappear, and that one dropped him. He barrel-rolled a few times down the steep slope and came to rest in a place where we had to prop him with sticks and keep a hand on him while breaking him down to keep him from toppling and rolling down to the bottom of the deep canyon.
As I walked up on the bull, he just got bigger. I probably should not have passed on this bull, even on day 1. He has really great fronts and heavy mass all the way along the beams. I wanted a big bull, but hadn't dared to hope for one this big.
The packout was kind of brutal at 3+ miles, some of which involved steep climbs. Thank heaven for good buds with strong backs and positive attitudes.
Going into this hunt I knew full well that it would likely be once in a lifetime for me. I'll be 45 next month and given the five year wait before I can apply again, the only way I'll draw another Utah LE bull tag again in my lifetime is by beating those lottery-like odds. But the hunt lived up to my dreams in every way. Even as we packed out the last loads at 11 am the following day, multiple bulls were screaming at us. For me it was truly an experience of a lifetime. Getting to share it with my brother and cousins made it that much better.
